Sam Joo Wins $500 Event at Harrah's Atlantic City WSOP Circuit

2006 Harrah's Atlantic City
World Series of Poker
(WSOP) Circuit Event
Event #3
$500 + $60
Tournament Report

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2006 Harrah's Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Event Report

Sam Joo Wins $500 No-Limit at
Harrah's Atlantic City After
Seven-Hour Final Table Marathon

It took 191 hands and seven hours of grueling play, but a determined Sung
“Sam” Joo, an electrician and high-stakes side-game player, finally wore
down his final opponent, full-time player and real estate investor Will “The
Thrill” Failla. Victory in event three of Harrah’s WSOP Circuit tour at Harrah’s
Atlantic City, $500 no-limit hold’em, paid $44,480.

Actually, the three finalists (including Thomas O’Connor) made a deal to lock
up $25,000 each and play for the remaining money and ring, even though,
tournament rules compel everyone to sign for the official amount of their
finish.

Joo, 38, a resident of Toms River, New Jersey, was born in Korea, came to the
U.S. at an early age, and works for his father’s electrical company, though
now he spends most of his time playing poker. He’s been playing 20 years,
prefers $20-$40 and sometimes $40-$80 limit hold’em, and his prior best
tournament cash-out was a $15,000 chop at Borgata. A fairly solid player, he
says he likes to mix up his play. Tonight he was usually all in with the best
hand, though he said he got lucky twice in two big hands.

Actually, the highlight of this event might have been a hand so spectacular
that it looked like it was straight out of some hokey poker movie. More on
that later.

This tournament provides generous starting chips and a graduated structure
giving participants plenty of play. As a result, none of the events thus far
have gotten to the final table on Day One. Yesterday ended with 18 players
left, and they returned on Day two with O’Connor in front holding 186,000
chips. Two hours later we started the final table when O’Connor, with pocket
kings, knocked out Robin Sills, who held K-J and missed her inside straight
draw. O’Connor, with 315,000, was now in second chip position behind the
327,000 held by William Demaree, a retired editor of Fortune magazine.

Here were the seats and chip counts:

The final table started off much tighter than the prior two, with the first
dozen deals bringing only one flop. On that hand, Joo, with pocket aces, was
all in for 60,000 on the flop and doubled through when Demaree missed his
draw to a straight flush.

Rogelio “Roger” Figer, a naval retiree, now a day-trader, busted on hand 23.
He re-raised with A-10, and Anthony Hill put him all in with pocket kings. All
rags came, Hill had his opponent’s 153,000 covered, and Figer, from Clinton,
MD, took home $2,970 for ninth.

Blinds now went to 6,000-12,000 with 2,000 antes. Two hands later a
second player went broke. William Stradley Sr., a 34-year-old police officer
from Boothwyn, Pennsylvania, was all in with As-Qs against Demaree’s A-K.
The board of 9-8-8-A-3 changed nothing, and Stradley cashed out eighth for
$4,445.

And now for that unbelievable hand. It came down on the 20th deal.
O’Connor moved in with pocket kings and Hill called with pocket queens.
Three 4's flopped, giving O’Connor the bigger full house. But then Hill hit a
miracle queen on the turn, giving him queens full. Got it? Wait, there’s more.
The river brought a fourth 4, and O’Connor’s king kicker made him a winner,
stunning the players and spectators. Joo pulled out his cell phone camera to
record the hand for posterity. Suddenly O’Connor was the big chip leader
with about 705,000, while Hill had under 30,000.

Hill kept his chips for only two more hands. He was in the big blind when Joo
raised all in. Hill had only 9c-6d, but with 12,000 of his remaining 19,000
already posted, he didn’t have much choice but to call. Joo turned up
10h-10s. A flop of Ac-10c-5c gave Joo a set and Hill a flush draw. He couldn’t
catch a club and ended up seventh, picking up $5,940. Hill, 27, is a pro from
Syracuse, New York, playing poker eight years. His poker highlight was
finishing 170th in the 2005 WSOP championship event.

Born in Greece, Steve Bouzikas, 49 and self-employed, lives in Philadelphia.
He came to the final table short-chipped with 38,000. Down to 4,000, he
doubled through once, but busted on the next hand. He moved in with A-6,
was called by O’Connor with A-Q, and was drawing dead with a board of
Q-5-3-5. Sixth place paid $7,425. Bouzikas has played poker for 30 years,
and “only good hands.”

At the next break, O’Connor was down to about 540,000, still enough for the
lead. Dean Schultz was next out. He moved in for his last 45,000 with J-10,
and Demaree took his chips when Schultz couldn’t catch his Q-10. Schultz is
46, from Monroe Falls, Ohio, and divides his time between poker and real
estate. He’s been playing for 30 years, and his best cash-outs were
$302,475 for winning a $2,500 no-limit event at the Borgata Poker Open, and
$81,625 for fifth in the $10,000 U.S. Poker Championship event, both in 2004.
Tonight he got $8,910 for fifth.

On hand 61, Demaree moved into a slight lead when O’Connor opened for
68,000 and mucked when Demaree moved in. But the lead didn’t last long. A
few hands later, Demaree bet 60,000 into a board of 6-5-4-9, then folded
when O’Connor moved in and showed just a queen-high. Demaree later tried
a bluff of his own. With a board of Ah-Kh-7s-3h-Jh, he bet 45,000 with
nothing and was picked off by Joo, who had a straight, but didn’t dare raise
with four hearts showing.

With blinds at 10,000-20,000, O’Conner led again with 449,000. As play went
on, Demaree, playing very carefully, laying down hands when anybody moved
in, gradually lost chips. On hand 121 he finally made a stand, moving in on
the button for 77,000 with K-4. Joo called with A-10 and left him in fourth
place, worth $10,395, when the board came Q-3-2-6-3. The retired editor,
69 and a grandfather of six, has been playing poker 50 years and got one
WSOP Circuit ring when he chopped a $500 event at Grand Tunica.

After the $25,000 deal, Joo began picking up pots with all-in moves, and by
the time blinds went to 15,000-30,000 with 3,000 antes, he had close to a
million chips. Failla finished third on the 137th hand when O’Connor moved in
for 160,000. Failla, easily the most demonstrative player at the table, called
with A-Q and whooped when O’Connor showed K-Q. The board was
10-7-6-8-2, and O’Connor got $13,365 officially, $25,000 for real. O’Connor,
21, gave his occupation as “not working.” He is from Rockaway Beach, New
York, and has played four years.

Heads-up, Joo had 918,000 to 569,000 for Failla. Failla soon pulled about
even when he won a big pot holding 10-3 and made two pair.

In all, the match-up lasted some 54 hands, with each player folding
whenever their opponent moved in. But Joo, the more aggressive, gradually
increased his lead. On hand 191, with blinds now 20,000-40,000, there was
finally a showdown. Failla moved in for his last 170,000 with A-2, only to see
that Joo had A-8. The board came K-5-3-7-8, and Joo had his victory and gold
ring. Failla officially got $24,464 for second. He’s 38, from Smithtown, New
York and has been playing five years. His best prior finish was 16th at
Borgata.

Report by Max Shapiro

To view a complete listing of results for Event #3 of the 2006 Harrah's
Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Event, click on the link below:

2006 Harrah's Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Results - Event #3

Max Shapiro - WSOP Media Director
World Series of Poker Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack
Director of Poker Operations for Harrah’s Entertainment – Jack Effel
Harrah’s Atlantic City Poker Room Manager – John Arthur

SEAT 1
SEAT 2
SEAT 3
SEAT 4
SEAT 5
SEAT 6
SEAT 7
SEAT 8
SEAT 9

Anthony Hill
Thomas O’Connor
Rogelio Figer
William Stradley, Sr.
Allan Demaree
Dean Schultz
Will Failla
Steve Bouzikas
Sung “Sam” Joo