Former Marine Marches to Victory in 2007 WSOP Circuit at Grand Casino Tunica

2007 Grand Casino Tunica
World Series of Poker
(WSOP) Circuit Event
Event #3
$500 No Limit Hold'em
Tournament Report

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2007 Grand Casino Tunica WSOP Circuit Event Report

Semper Fidelis
Former Marine Marches to Victory in
2007 WSOP Circuit at
Grand Casino Tunica

Corey Sanders

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Iraq War Vet Corey Sanders wins first major poker tournament, collects
$75,939, and receives WSOP Circuit gold ring for first place

Tunica, MS – The motto of the United States Marine Corps is “Semper Fidelis,”
which is Latin for “always faithful.” It’s an ideal which has served the Marine
Corps, and a thankful nation well, for more than 200 years. It is no
coincidence that many brave men and women who served in the military tend
to do very well as poker players. Perhaps it’s the tough training that every
new recruit must endure. Maybe it’s the exposure of exotic foreign lands and
unusual situations. Or, it may be the pressure of battle and the constant
threat of death that makes playing in a poker tournament a walk in the park,
by comparison.

Corey Sanders served eight years in the Marine Corps. Part of that time was
spent in Iraq. He returned from active duty to the United States in March
2005. Since then, Mr. Sanders has spent much of his time playing poker. He
enjoys playing in cash games and found it to be a constructive diversion
while he was enlisted in the military.

“Like many other people, I saw Chris Moneymaker win the World Series on
television,” Mr. Sanders said – referring to his fellow Tennessean, who won
$2.5 million at the 2003 World Series of Poker. “After I saw that, I was
hooked.”

On January 11, 2007, Mr. Sanders joined 539 other poker players and put up
$500 at Tunica’s World Series of Poker Circuit, held at the Grand Casino-
Resort in Tunica, Mississippi. The large field generated a total prize pool of
$261,900. After 532 players were eliminated during 14 hours of play on Day
One, eight finalists returned to the final table for Day Two. Corey Sanders
found himself in second place, slightly behind the chip leader – Parker Binion
from Houston, Texas. The seating positions and starting chip counts were as
follows:

It didn’t take long for the first player to exit. On the third hand of play, Kevin
Elwood picked up A-K and moved all-in before the flop. Parker Binion looked
down and saw every hold’em player’s dream come true -- pocket aces. He
jammed the pot and won 150,000 from Mr. Elwood, thus taking a
commanding chip lead in the tournament. Mr. Binion had nearly 400,000 in
his stack while his closest threat (Sanders) had less than 200,000. The
remaining players were left with 140,000 and less. Meanwhile, Kevin Elwood,
a grocery store manager from Springfield, Missouri left the finale and stocked
$7,857 into his bankroll for eighth place.

On the very next hand, another player went out when Mitch Sporleder was
low on chips and decided to try and steal the blinds. With blinds set at 4000-
8000, Mr. Sporleder moved all-in holding K-6, which was called by Nick
Andricopulos with K-9. Sporleder was dominated and failed to make a pair.
That resulted in a seventh place finish for the restaurant manager from
Chattanooga, Tennessee. He received $10,476.

Hand number six was potentially devastating to Parker Binion, who had built
up hip chips to about 425,000 as the chip leader. Mark Lucas moved all-in
with 78,000 pre-flop holding pocket kings and Binion reluctantly called with
Q-J. The kings held up and Lucas rocketed up to nearly 200,000 in chips.
But Mr. Binion’s controversial strategy of calling all-in raises with weaker
hands in an effort to eliminate the competition paid off a few hands later.
Julio Fernandez raised with A-Q and was called with K-5. Mr. Binion caught a
king on the flop and ended up crushing Mr. Fernandez with two pair – kings
and fives. Julio Fernandez was left to wonder what might have happened
had he won his final hand, but instead was forced to settle for a payout of
$13,095. The mortgage broker from Miami, Florida was proud of his finish
and could not be bitter having moved all of his chips into the pot with the
best hand.

It took an hour for the next player to exit. That unfortunate finalist was Nick
Andricopulos, from Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Andricopulos was getting low and
chips and made his final stand with A-8 offsuit. That turned out to be an ill-
timed decision as Parker Binion showed that he was just as capable of calling
with powerhouse hands, as with marginal ones. Mr. Binion called the raise
instantly and showed pocket queens. The royal pair held up which meant a
fifth-place finish for Mr. Andricopulos. The 50-year-old restaurant owner
feasted on $15,714.

With Mr. Binion holding 60 percent of the total chips in play, it looked as if the
night might end early, with Mr. Binion taking home his first poker title. But
poker tournaments are impossible to predict – a fact soon sadly realized by
Mr. Binion. After Mark Lucas doubled up to nearly 300,000 in chips, next it
was David Nunel’s turn to leap back into contention. Mr. Nunel doubled
through holding pocket nines against Mr. Binion’s A-J. That pot gave Mr.
Nunel about 300,000 in chips and after a few more hands were played, all
four players were virtually even in chips.

The last two days were quite a birthday present for the youngest player at
the table, Mark Lucas. Barely 48 hours after his 21st birthday (allowing him
to legally play in Mississippi), Mr. Lucas entered his first poker tournament
ever. It was either a case of beginners luck, or poker skill learned elsewhere
that accounted for a phenomenal first-time result. Mr. Lucas outlasted all but
the final three players en route to a payout of $18,333.

That left three players still alive. Parker Binion (no relation to the great poker
legend) had dominated much of the play during the earlier rounds. But he
took a tough beat on his final hand of the night when dealt pocket queens
and faced Corey Sanders’ pocket kings. The bigger pair held up and Mr.
Binion was forced to exit in third place. Parker Binion, the man with the
perfect literary name for a poker champion, earned a well-deserved $20,952.

When heads-up play began, Corey Sanders enjoyed the chip lead, -- with
832,000 versus David Nunez 252,000. After a brief rally by the underdog
during which he cut the margin to a 2 to 1 chip lead, it took eight hands for
the fateful end to come. The final chapter was written when both players
were dealt what would normally be classified as “bad” hands. Mr. Sanders
had 6-4. Mr. Nunez had 5-4. The flop came 8-5-3. A flurry or betting and
raising broke out and Nunez found himself all-in – albeit with the best hand.
Mr. Nunez held a pair of fives. Mr. Sanders had two inside straight draws (a
three or seven completed the straight). Wham! The magical three rained
down from the sky on demand, and Mr. Sanders high-fived several friends
and supporters in the audience. Mr. Nunez, from Doral, Florida ended up as
the second place finisher. This was his first WSOP final table appearance. He
collected $40,071 in prize money.

Following his victory, poker’s newest champion reflected back on his
experience and what winning this tournament meant. “I’ve been doing this
some time now (since I left the Marines), and I was not sure I could make a
go of it,” Mr. Sanders admitted. “I’ve been playing poker with some success,
but it’s very tough sometimes. To win one of these big events really gives
me confidence.”

When asked about his plans for the $75,939 in prize money, Mr. Sanders
seemed to have his priorities straight. “I just bought a new house,” he said.
“A large chunk of the money will go to pay off some of the house.”

As for the rest of the prize money – look for Corey Sanders to wage battle in
many future poker tournaments. True to his Marine Corps roots, he’s
keeping the faith.

Report by Nolan Dalla

To view a complete listing of results for Event #3 of the 2007 Grand
Casino Tunica WSOP Circuit Event, click on the link below:

2007 Grand Casino Tunica WSOP Circuit Results - Event #3

Tournament Director – Janis Sexton

Grand Tunica Poker Room Manager – Karen Kaegin

Seat 1
Seat 2
Seat 3
Seat 4
Seat 5
Seat 6
Seat 7
Seat 8

Mark Lucas
Parker Binion
Kevin Elwood
Nick Andricopulos
Julio Fernandez
Corey Sanders
David Nunel
Mitch Sporleder

83,000