Terry Hill Wins $1000 Buy-In Hold'em Championship at 2007 WSOP Circuit Grand Casino Tunica

2007 Grand Casino Tunica
World Series of Poker
(WSOP) Circuit Event
Event #2
$1,000 No Limit Hold'em
Tournament Report

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2007 Grand Casino Tunica WSOP Circuit Event Report

"Over the Hill"
Terry Hill wins $1000 Buy-In Hold’em
Championship at 2007 WSOP Circuit
Grand Casino Tunica

Terry E. Hill

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Missouri man visits Tunica, enters poker tournament, wins $56,884, and
receives WSOP Circuit gold ring for first place

Tunica, MS – Terry E. Hill might be considered just an average, everyday
poker player. He enjoys playing in his weekly home game in Jackson,
Missouri along with several friends. Despite his love for the game, Mr. Hill has
never appeared on television nor has he won a major tournament of any
kind. He is content to spend most of his free time with his family and friends.
He has three children and also enjoys hunting and fishing.

A few days ago, a friend suggested making a trip to Tunica, Mississippi – the
site of this month’s World Series of Poker Circuit. Initially, Mr. Hill was a
reluctant tournament entrant. The 49-year-old business owner who supplies
truck parts didn’t think he had much of a chance playing against so many
good players, from all over the country. But Mr. Hill proved once and for all
that all it takes is a buy-in, some talent, iron willpower, and a little luck to rise
to the highest plateau in tournament poker. He demolished a fiercely-
competitive final table that lasted four hours and won his first-ever poker
tournament.

The $1000 buy-in event at Tunica’s 2007 WSOP Circuit attracted a tough field
of 181 players generating a total prize pool of $175,570. After 171 players
were eliminated on Day One, ten finalists returned to the final table for Day
Two. The seating positions and chip counts were as follows:

Mr. Hill started out as the chip leader, a well-deserved advantage earned
from several aggressive moves and pots won on the previous day. After Mike
“Little Man” Sica – a former WSOP gold bracelet winner -- busted out in tenth
place, Chuck Pate was forced to play a hand as the shortest stack. He was
dealt pocket eights, normally a solid hand mandating an all-in push. Sadly,
Mr. Pate’s timing could not have been worse as super-stacked Terry Hill woke
up with pocket queens, called the raise, and crushed Mr. Pate’s hopes for a
come from behind victory. Chuck Pate, who has enjoyed tournament success
previously, mostly notably at the Rio in Las Vegas, earned $3,511 for ninth
place.

John Martin had a tough time during his short stay at the final table. He lost
a critical hand early when he missed on a semi-bluff all-in move with an
outside straight draw. The straight failed to materialize and his opponent
ended up making a flush. That left Mr. Martin with just a single chip,
prolonging the inevitable for one more hand. He went out as the eighth-
place finisher. Mr. Martin, a restaurant owner from Kansas, was served
$5,267.

Ty Rundquist took a tough beat when his pocket kings were ripped up by
Jimmie Smith’s A-Q. Mr. Smith moved all-in and was instantly called by Mr.
Rundquist. It looked as though Mr. Rundquist would knock-out a player and
catapult up into second place. But an ace on the flop gave Mr. Smith a bigger
pair, and Mr. Rundquist was left to imagine what might have been had he
won the hand. Ty Rundquist, a 24-year-old landscape company owner from
Washington State who has played in several major poker tournaments,
added $7,023 to his lifetime poker winnings.

Two hours into play, Terry Hill remained as the chip leader. Jimmie Smith
would not be so fortunate. He went out shortly thereafter when his A-7 was
topped by Robert Meier’s K-J, and lost his remaining chips a few hands later.
Mr. Smith, who cashed in last year’s WSOP $2500 buy-in event, could be
proud of his sixth-place finish this time, netting $8,779.

Another hour passed before the next elimination. That turned out to be
George Austin – who was playing in his first-ever WSOP-related event. Mr.
Austin lost a 50,000 pot when his K-Q was hammered by Terry Hill’s pocket
aces. That put Mr. Austin out in fifth place, which paid a very respectable
$10,534.

Blake Hall was the youngest player in the finale. The 23-year-old student
outlasted all but the last three players en route to a $14,046 payoff. Mr. Hall
was dealt A-8 on his final hand of the tournament and made a pair of aces.
But Robert Meier’s Q-J made a straight to the board’s K-10-4-A-2 resulting in
Mr. Hall’s elimination. That big pot shifted the momentum of the final table in
Meier’s favor, at least temporarily.

At three-handed, Robert Meier enjoyed the chip lead for the first time – with
280,000 in chips to Terry Hill’s 170,000. Jim Lindsay had 99,000. Mr.
Lindsay’s chips were scooped when he ran into a chainsaw, with Terry Hill
slinging the massacre. On his final hand of the night, Mr. Lindsay was dealt
J-10. The flop came Q-8-6 with three diamonds. Mr. Lindsay held the jack of
diamonds and moved all-in on a flush and straight draw. The bold move
might have worked, except that Mr. Hill was holding the stone cold nuts – A-2
of diamonds. Mr. Lindsay was drawing completely dead. The calm and cool
man from North Carolina walked away quietly and collected $17,557 for third
place.

For the many spectators gathered on the second floor of the Grand Tunica
Casino, the last two hands of the tournament were well worth the wait.
Robert Meier made a great play when he bluffed Mr. Hill out of a big pot with
an all-in move on the river. The board showed three spades and Mr. Hill
paused for three full minutes, wondering what to do with his middle pair (he
had two sevens, but faced two overcards in addition to the threat of a
flush). “This will either be the bravest call or the dumbest fold I’ve ever
made,” Mr. Hill said as he contemplated what amounted to a $27,000
decision. Mr. Meier had played super aggressive during most of the final
table and Mr. Hill made the correct read on his opponent. But he folded the
winning hand instead. Mr. Hill later explained that if he was wrong in his
assessment, that would have been the end of the tournament. But by
folding, he expected he could trap his opponent later.

That is precisely what happened. On the very next hand, Terry Hill made a
pre-flop raise and Robert Meier moved all-in. Mr. Hill called instantly. The
cards were tabled and Mr. Hill showed A-Q offsuit to Mr. Meier’s A-6 of
hearts. The final board showed 7-5-2-Q-2 giving Mr. Hill a pair of queens and
his first major tournament victory.

The runner up was Robert Meier, an electrical contractor from Orlando, FL. He
received $29,847 for his excellent play over two days.

In a post-tournament interview, Terry Hill was visibly moved by the
experience of winning a WSOP Circuit event. Not only did he collect $56,884
for first place, he was also awarded a custom-designed gold ring which is
presented to all the winners in Tunica. When asked about returning back to
his home game and playing poker again with his friends, Mr. Hill stated that
he has plans for the gold ring.

“I’m going to use this ring as my card protector,” he said. “That way now
when I play those guys back home, maybe they’ll show me a little respect.”

Report by Nolan Dalla

For a complete list of results for Event #2 of the 2007 WSOP Circuit
Event at Grand Casino Tunica, click on the link below:

2007 Grand Casino Tunica WSOP Circuit - Event #2 Results

Tournament Director – Janis Sexton

Grand Tunica Poker Room Manager – Karen Kaegin

Seat 1
Seat 2
Seat 3
Seat 4

Mike Sica
Blake Hall
Jimmie Smith
Ty Rundquist
Terry Hill
George Austin
Robert Meyer
John Martin
James Lindsay
Charles Pate

31,000