Dakota Kid Presents - Deadwood Nuts

The Silverado Celebrity Tournament
"Two young "guns" take on "Buffalo Bill" and a Moneymaker was out early"

By
Mike Randall

Last November Cadillac Jack�s brought to town Greg Raymer who won the 2004 WSOP Championship event and had won his entry online at Poker Stars (see January issue of Full Tilt Magazine). Now less than six months later the Silverado Casino has brought the other �Poker Star�, Chris Moneymaker, to Deadwood to be the star attraction and play in there Celebrity Free Roll Tournament. Chris Moneymaker is the winner of the 2003 WSOP Championship event, and also won his entry at Poker Stars thus making him the other �Poker Star�.

The participants in the tournament had to qualify in one of three ways for the Sunday April 24th tournament. Starting in February the winner of the next eleven Sunday tournaments, the top 33 timed in players and five wild card draws earned entry to the Celebrity Free Roll Tournament. The winner of the tournament would receive a 2005 WSOP buy in or $7000 cash, with the final table all being in the money and a $2000 bounty on Chris Moneymaker. Poker Room manager Steve Erickson directed an excellent tournament with a very player friendly blind structure that allowed for a lot of playing time.

Chris arrived on Saturday afternoon and held an autograph session for his new poker book. After the book signing session Chris joined us in the poker room and played with us at all the tables from the $5 - $50 spread limit down to the $3 - $6 game. After a dinner break Chris returned to play more poker.

The tournament began at 1:00 pm on Sunday with five full tables. Early in the tournament we saw quit a bit of play from Chris but he wasn�t able to put together enough wins to build he stack. By the second round Chris was short stacked and went all in against Josh Carter with KQ and lost to Josh�s AQ. Josh clamed the bounty but wasn�t able to make it to the final table.

In the first hand of the final table three players went all in. Jim McNenny�s pocket queens hold up against pocket nines and ace jack to take out two players and make it an eight handed table. A few hands later Jimmy Reed makes a raise with ace nine off suit in early position, not a play I�d recommend unless you are short stacked in relation to the blinds. Everyone folds to the big blind who re-raises all in. Jimmy is pot committed with half of his chip count, calls and looses the hand to ace queen. A few hands later Jimmy is blinded out and it is now seven handed.

Tom Fletcher, who won the Greg Raymer tournament, raises with ace king and is raised all in by a young man with pocket kings. Tom takes the kid out with an ace on the flop to make it six handed. At five handed, one of the young �guns�, Justin McVay goes all in with ace jack and is called by Woody �Buffalo Bill� Cochran in the big blind with ace eight suited. Justin�s hand holds up and has a substantial chip count and Woody is left sort stacked. A few hands later short stacked Tom Flecher goes all in with queen jack and is called by Justin McVay with ace king of hearts. Justin flops a heart draw, Tom turns a queen and Justin rivers the heart to make it a four handed game. A few hands later Mike Lococo, the other young �gun�, in the small blind calls the big blind and they both check the flop. On the turn Mike checks and Gary goes all in. Mikes studies the situation for a few seconds and calls. Gary has bottom pair of threes and Mike, with a great read, takes Gary out with the next higher pair, fours.

Now we are down to the three players that I had referred to as the two young �guns� and �Buffalo Bill�, Mike Lococo and Justin McVay, and Woody Cochran. My first reaction was to nickname Woody �Wild Bill� because of his old west look, but realized he looked much more like another Wild West character, Buffalo Bill with his goatee and big cream colored hat. I can even imagine his out going personality and conversation being much like o� Buffalo Bill himself.

There was quit a little play at three handed with Mike and Justin with more chips than Woody who made several come backs when he was all in. Mike and Justin were almost even in chips when Justin goes all in with pocket eights and Mike calls with ace ten. The flop brings a queen, jack, and ten putting Mike ahead with a pair of tens. The turn is a nine giving Justin the lead with a strait, but Mike regains the lead when a king on the river gives him the higher strait. This leaves Justin almost out of chips and he is blinded out in the next two hands. A few hands later Mike calls Woody in the big blind with ace queen of hearts and Woody checks. I wondered why Mike didn�t raise with such a strong hand, possibly he hoped Woody would try to steal and he could re-raise or else what happen next. The flop came queen high and Woody holding queen four went all in, Mike happily called and won the tournament.

The next celebrity tournament will feature Mike with a bounty on his head. In a few months 54 players will be gunning for this young �gun� and the bounty on his head.

Correction to last month�s article �The Dakota Kid goes on Full Tilt�. A fraise read: I lead out. Larry re-raised� is incorrect poker terminology as I well know but missed in proof reading. It should have read: I lead out. Larry raised and I re-raised�
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