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Three-Chip Lead Gives Ali Akram Win In Cal State #6 After Three-Way Deal
Akram 'John' Ali had just a three-chip lead over Chris Cellery when a three-way deal ended tonight's tournament. But that was sufficient, and he was declared the winner of the sixth event of Cal State 2005, $500 no-limit hold'em. Akram, who is in the real estate business, requested relative anonymity and declined to provide details about his poker background, other than noting a couple of online wins. The breakthrough hand for him came on the 80th deal when he broke two players to move up close to the chip lead, which he grabbed soon after and gave up just once for a few hands. Cellery, who is only 23, is an ex-tournament dealer who is having a very good year. He had a sixth, a third and then a first-place finish, all in no-limit hold'em events, at the Bicycle Casino's Legends of Poker last month. He also had a win in limit and a fourth in no-limit at the Hustler Casino's Grand Slam of Poker the month before that. Third-place finisher Ben Yahalomi, who is in the construction business, earlier had a 13th-place cash-in at a seven-card event here at Cal State. Meanwhile, in an effort to help the relief efforts for victims of hurricane Katrina, Commerce Casino has announced that it will match, dollar for dollar up to a maximum of $100,000, all contributions from employees and patrons. Blinds were $1,500-$3,000 with $500 antes, 31:02 left, when the final table started. Cellery arrived as chip leader with 60,500. On the first hand, Shmuel Dassa was left with 4,000 when he moved in with K-3 and lost to Freddy Legaspi's K-10. Dassa, a jeweler, survived one all in before he was eliminated on hand eight. He raised all in with Kh-8h and lost to pocket 10s held by Jennifer Mason, a poker writer from London. Fourth place paid $1,966. Ben Osborne, a designer with several tournament wins, took the lead when he raised to 7,000 pre-flop, got two callers, then moved in and took the pot on the flop. Blinds now were $2,000-$4,000 with $500 antes. By hand 22, Osborne had close to 70,000 and had an easy call with A-Q when the 'shmata man' (clothing manufacturer) Dani Pourat moved in for 14,000. The board of K-Q-8-K-5 gave Osborne a winner, and we were down to eight players. At the break, Osborne had taken a commanding lead with 114,000, three times his closest competitor. At the bottom was Jack Boghossian with 18,000. Blinds increased to $3,000-$6,000 with the same antes. The third hand at this level brought three all ins. Perry Webb, a contractor/farmer with a win at this year's Hustler Grand Slam, moved in for 15,500 with A-4. Then Ali pushed in for about 21,000 with A-K. Finally, Boghossian also called all in for 10,500 with pocket queens. When the board came A-6-6-3-3, Ali's paired ace with the higher king kicker won the pot, as two players were knocked out at once. Webb, with more chips, finished seventh and collected $4,159, while Boghossian ended up eighth, worth $3,327. Ali now was challenging for the lead with about 80,000, and within a few hands had moved into first place. As blinds rose to $4,000-$8,000 with $1,000 antes, Ali continued to lead with 105,000. He was followed by Osborne, 83,000; Freddy Legaspi, 49,000; Mason, 40,000; Cellery, 23,000; and Yahalomi, 22,000. In the next five hands, Osborne took two hits, leaving him with only 9,000. First he lost 20,000 when he called with Js-10s after Yahalomi moved in with K-9. Then he took a bigger blow, this time giving up 37,000. He moved in with K-J and Cellery called with A-3. Osborne took the lead when a king turned, but Cellery caught him with a river ace. On the next hand, Mason moved in for 29,000 and Osborne committed his 8,000. Mason had A-2, Osborne A-3. It looked like a split pot, which happened earlier with an A-7 versus A-6. But the petite poker writer flopped one deuce and turned another, and Osborne cashed in sixth for $5,822. Just before the next break, Legaspi, a businessman (and also a twin), moved in for roughly 65,000 with A-Q. He was a big favorite when Cellery, who had him covered, called with A-J. Then a flop of K-Q-10 gave Cellery a straight, and the lead, as Legaspi cashed fifth for $7,486. One hand later the players took a 10-minute break, returning to blinds of $5,000-$10,000 with $1,000 antes. Tournament director Cheri Dokken had set the small increase from the prior 3k-6k to give the participants more play. With four left, the count was, Cellery, 163,000; Ali, 92,000; and Mason and Yahalomi, both 44,000. On hand 80, Mason was in the cut-off seat and tried an all-in move with Kc-3h. Ali quickly called and turned up Kd-Qd. Two deuces flopped, but this time they didn't help Mason as they did the time she had A-2. When the board showed 9-2-2-10-6, Mason was out in fourth place and collected $9,981 The count now showed Ali had recovered the lead slightly over Cellery, 148,000 to 145,000, with Yahalomi in third place with 50,000. The clock was stopped for a chip-count deal calculation. The figures showed that Ali would get $42,392; Cellery, $41,824, and Yahalomi, $24,776. The players quickly agreed, and Ali got the title and trophy along with top cash. â€â€ÂÂMax Shapiro
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