Event #2: Limit Hold'em
Location: Harrah's Rincon, San Diego
Buy-in: $200 (+25)
Number of Entries: 203
Total Prize Money: $39,382
Day One lasted 10 hours, during which 193 players were eliminated. Nine of those players received prize money. On Day Two the final nine players were eliminated as follows:
9th Place: Bill Croft, $788
Croft lost to two pair, going out on the same hand as 8th-place finisher Mark Hayes.
8th Place: Mark Hayes, $1,181
Hayes went out on the same hand as 9th-place finisher Bill Croft.
7th Place: Eric Saikin, $1,575
Thirty years of practice did not help Saikin rise above 7th.
6th Place: William G. Sholz, $1,969
Though Sholz appeared to be the most serious threat to chip leader Andrew Ball, he succumbed to a bad run of cards.
5th Place: Dr. Barton Gratt, $2,363
Dr. Gratt, a Professor of Radiology, is the author of two poker books and currently writes for Card Player magazine.
4th Place: William Guerena, $3,151
Guerena was blinded down and played A-7 as his last hand. Ball called his bet with Q-J, and caught a Queen on the turn.
3rd Place: Robert Topham, $3,938
On his final hand, Topham was pot-committed with Q-5. Though the final board showed A=Q=2=9=4, Topham lost to April Solis' higher pair of Aces.
Runner up: April Solis, $7,168
Winner: Andrew Ball, $12,996
The heads-up battle between Solis and Ball lasted 78 hands. On the final hand of the tournament, Ball took K-J up against Solis' K-10. The final board showed A=Q=6=3=9, giving Ball the highest card.
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