WORLD SERIES OF POKER CIRCUIT EVENT #3 RESULTS

The third event of the 2005 World Series of Poker Circuit at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Resort played the final table this evening, March 15. The final hand was won by Asher Derei of Las Vegas when his pocket Ace paired on the flop and defeated an all in John Barbieri of Runnymead, New Jersey. The two players had been going heads-up for more than an hour before the last hand was dealt. Las Vegas professional player, James Van Alstyne, finished in third place after he lost the lead and most of his chips when a river eight made a straight for Asher to beat Van Alstyne’s flop paired King.

The following list of the final nine players includes their chip position (indicated by the number in the parenthesis following the name) coming into the final table along with the prize money won.

1. Asher Derei(3) Las Vegas $93,120

2. John Barberi(1) Runnymeade, NJ $51,216

3. James Van Alstyne(2) Las Vegas $26,390

4. Blair Rodman(4) n/a $20,370

5. K D Adams(6) Las Vegas $17,460

6. Leon Kunkel(5) Miami, FL $14,550

7. David Levi(7) Las Vegas $11,640

8. Johnny Landreth(8) n/a $8,730

9. Sam Grizzle(9) Las Vegas $5,820

Today’s victory was the first WSOP Circuit event for Asher Derei. Along with the cash he receives the gold championship ring. The final table began at 4:00 pm and play continued for more than 4 hours before the winner was crowned.

Event #4, $1,000 + $60 buy in Limit Hold’em, got under way at noon today with the final table scheduled for 4:00 pm tomorrow. Among the notable professional players spotted in this event was Max Pescatori, Minneapolis Jim, Dan Alspach and Andy Bloch.

The following ‘official report’ from World Series of Poker Media Director, Nolan Dalla, covers the details of the final table and the official order of finish for event #3.

2005 World Series of Poker
Las Vegas Circuit Event
Rio All-Suites Casino and Resort
Daily Report

After many years and several other tournament wins, Israeli-born poker pro wins Rio’s Limit Hold’em championship

Every poker player has a unique story, all his own. Behind every poker face, there are distinctive human characteristics that make every poker decision the appendage of a long chain of life’s experiences. But there are players who truly stand out. Asher Derei’s story is just as captivating as it is unique.

“I started playing poker in Israel,” Derei said. “There were house games every Friday night. There were so many games. I came from a kibbutz and we didn’t get a lot of money. Our parents would send us money, but it wasn’t very much. So, I was helping my allowance from the kibbutz by playing poker.”

Derei’s fascination with the game continued when he joined the Israeli Army. “We used to play no-limit and five card draw between attacks,” he said. “The (enemy) would attack us every day at certain times, and when we weren’t fighting…we were playing poker. You wait for hours between attacks. You have to do something…otherwise get bored to death. This is how I became experienced and learned how to play poker.”

Derei moved from Israel to Europe and enjoyed several tournament successes, including championship wins in Holland, England, and elsewhere. But bigger pots were to be found across the Atlantic. Derei came to the United States primarily for one reason…to play poker. Since most of the biggest tournaments, including the World Series of Poker, took place in the U.S., it was natural for Derei to relocate. He settled down in Los Angeles and continued to achieve success at the tables.

Yet, for all of his cashes and final tables, the one thing that had eluded the 52-year-old poker pro had been a title at the World Series of Poker. When play commenced at Event #3 at the Rio Las Vegas WSOP Circuit, Derei was the clear crowd favorite. He came to the final table third in chips, but he was outgunned by formidable chip-leader John Barbieri by almost 4 to 1.

On Day One, 291 players were eliminated. Places 10 through 27 were paid prize money in amounts ranging from $1,745 up to $3,490. On Day Two, nine players returned for the final table and were eliminated in the following order:

9th Place…It didn’t take long for the action to start. On the very first hand, two players were eliminated. Lovable Sam Grizzle was low on chips and moved ‘all in’ with 9-6 (top pair) after the flop came 9-5-3. Johnny Landreth (second lowest in chips) thought he had a monster, since he had 3-3 and flopped a set. Trouble was…the chip leader John Barbieri had 5-5 and flopped a bigger set. It was a nightmare start for both Grizzle and Landreth. Blanks fell on the turn and river and, before anyone had settled in their seats, two players were eliminated and it was down to the final seven. South Carolina-born Grizzle walked away in a daze with $5,820 for 9th place.

8th Place…John Landreth suffered one of poker’s worst indignities. Losing with ‘set over set’ is as painful as it is disheartening. Instead of tripling up and becoming a force at the final table, Landreth instead was forced to hit the rail. Landreth, from Alabama won a tournament in Tunica, MS last year and will certainly be someone to watch in future WSOP Circuit events. He collected $8,730 for 8th place.

7th Place…The quick win gave John Barbieri an even bigger chip lead. He crossed the $300,000 mark before the next player was eliminated. Another Israeli-born poker pro, David Levi came in third lowest in chips…and was knocked out in sequential order. Levi was playing with few chips and made a raise from the small blind with K-8 hoping to steal the blinds and survive another round. Fellow former-countryman Asher Derei had Q-9 called and flopped a Queen. Levi was gone before you could say ‘Lehitraot.’ He received $11,640.

6th Place…Leon Kunkle, from Miami, Fla., went out next. Kunkle who plays mostly online and has won a few local tournaments, was short on chips and made his final stand with 8-9 suited. James Van Alstyne had an Ace and called the modest sized raise and picked up an Ace on the turn which left Kunkle crackled and drawing dead. Kunkle earned $14,550 as the 6th-place finisher…not bad for two days of poker playing.

5th Place…K.D, Adams made a nice run. Out-chipped by the table captain Barbieri by nearly 10 to 1 throughout, Adam survived two hours before being bounced out of the finale. Adams picked up A-5 and tried to take the blinds with a raise but was covered by Barbieri with 9-9. An unnecessary Nine fell on the turn for a full-house, destroying Adams’ final hopes of a comeback. A Las Vegas local, Adams made $17,460 for 5th place.

4th Place…This was Blair Rodman’s second final table at the Rio. He appeared in Event #1, making him the only player to make two final tables. Rodman was cheered on by supporters but failed to bring home a crowd-pleasing victory. He finally ran out of steam when he was short on chips and was hammered by James Van Alstyne’s pocket Aces. Rodman picked up a draw on the river but failed to hit, so he was out. Rodman collected $20,370 for 4th place.

3rd Place…The final table essentially took place in two distinct phases. The first phase consisted of the elimination of the first six players. Stage two was the three-way battle between Barbieri, Derei, and Van Alstyne. The chips went back and forth for over an hour, with Barbieri maintaining his chip lead most of the way. He started with $266K against Derei with $177K and Van Alstyne with $167K. Van Alstyne nearly broke Derei when his Q-8 paired on the turn against Derei’s flopped top pair (Nines). Derei was left with a paltry $40K and looked to be the next elimination. But Derei is certainly resilient. Twenty minutes later, he doubled up twice and put Van Alstyne back into third chip position. A key hand took place when Derei had 10-9 of hearts and moved ‘all in’ after the flop came Kh-Jh-7. Van ALsyne had top pair with Kings. Derei missed his flush but spiked an Eight on the river, good for a straight. That was perhaps the key hand of the tournament. Van Alstyne went out a short time later with K-J of diamonds after two diamonds flopped. John Barbieri had pocket Nines, which held up. James Van Alstyne, who has made three WSOP final tables and other tournament wins, received $26,194 for third place.

The heads-up duel between John Barbieri and Asher Derei lasted about 15 minutes. Barbieri, a high-stakes player from Atlantic City was not as widely known in tournament circles as the more experienced Derei. Nevertheless, Barbieri was in control of the final table until the very end, when his chip lead vanished and he ended up short on chips. On Hand #139 of the final table the last chapter was closed when Barbieri was dealt Q-9 against Derei’s A-9. The final board was massive overkill, showing A-7-4-9-x…good for two pair for the winner. As runner up, Barbieri received $51,215.

Asher Derei caught one big break at the final table (making the straight when play was three-handed) but also demonstrated the depths of his experience and game knowledge. Analogies between ‘poker and life’ and ‘poker and war’ may be cliched and overused, but Derei clearly won the battle on this day. The spoils of victory included $93,120 in prize money and the gold ring, awarded to every WSOP Circuit event winner.

Mazal Tov, Asher!

Report by Nolan Dalla…World Series of Poker Media Director

World Series of Poker Tournament Director…John Grooms

World Series of Poker Circuit Director…Ken Lambert

Rio Manager of Tournament Poker…Robert Daily

Rio Poker Room Manager…Michael Matts