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Just Say No! Kentucky Tax Accountant, Tony Hellmann Wins First Major Poker Tournament: Jack Binion World Poker Open Breaks Three-Day Attendance Record as Early Prize Pool Surges over $2.2 Million
Event 4 of the Jack Binion World Poker Open had none of that. In fact, it might very well have been the most restrained final table in recent memory. There were no loud outbursts. There were no emotional victory speeches. There were no encouraging chants from the rail. There were just nine expressionless men crowded around a table, which very much looked like your average Monday night poker game – except the pots were little bit bigger. Okay – a lot bigger. Still…. Maybe it was the cold, foggy weather outside deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. Maybe it was the fact that this final table, held on a Monday, immediately followed one of the busiest weekends in poker history. More than 2,500 poker players had streamed through the Gold Strike and Horseshoe Casinos in the previous two days alone, a record. Or, perhaps it was quite simply that not every final table necessarily has memorable confrontations and great strategic showdowns. None of this should take away from Tony Hellmann’s achievement. After all, the semi-retired tax accountant from Louisville, KY who is a familiar face on the tournament trail did something extraordinary. He topped a massive field of 628 players and ultimately won $201,365 in official figures (although a deal between the two finalists was reportedly struck). Hellmann overcame numerous obstacles, including a small stack size at the start of the final table, and ultimately took first prize in the tournament. After playing for 14 hours during the previous day, the nine finalists took their seats at the final table on Day Two. Players were eliminated in the following order: 9th Place – Jack Ward (not to be confused with another poker player with the same name from Alaska) came in second-lowest in chips, and only lasted a few hands. Ward, who has previously won poker tournaments in Los Angeles and Reno is a 55-year-old auto broker from Gulfport, MS. This marked his highest finish yet at the JBWPO. He collected $13,887 for 9th place. 8th Place – Alan Katzen finished second in the Limit Hold’em event here last year, but could do no better than 8th place this time around. He took a tough beat when he lost to a full house on the river. The retired restaurateur from Memphis received $20,831 for two days of poker playing. 7th Place – Darrell Strock, a real estate agent from Dallas, was playing in his first poker tournament ever. He beat out 621 other players, but could not knock out anyone from the final six. Strock won $27,775. 6th Place – Zeb Strawn had a tough task on Day Two, as he arrived with the lowest stack of the final nine. Outchipped by over 10 to 1 to the leader at all times, Strawn scratched and clawed his way into a 6th-place finish. The 35-year-old self-employed poker player from Charlotte, NC received $34,718. 5th Place – If there was a tragic figure at this final table, it was without a doubt, Jeremy Tinsley. He was certainly one of the two odds-on favorites to win the finale (along with tournament pro Freddy Deeb). But Tinsley suffered some horrendous bad beats that destroyed his chance to become a three-time JBWPO champion. Tinsley, who has won the Pot-Limit Omaha event twice in years past, took his worst beat with A-Q versus A-J in an ‘all in’ situation for his opponent. When a Jack flopped, Tinsley had lost over half of his stack. After a few more beats and a bad run of cards, Tinsley – a poker pro from Houston – exited a disappointing 5th, worth $41,662. 4th Place – Davood Mehrmand was certainly the most animated and unusual player at the final table. The Iranian-born businessman-turned poker player hummed songs and talked to himself throughout the close of the tournament. But his psychological ploys failed to bring the decisive moment needed by Mehrmand to win the tournament. Mehrmand took an awful beat on the final hand with A-6 versus A-5 and was ‘all in.” When a Five rained down on the river, Mehrmand was no longer singing. The colorful poker personality who now lives in Frankfurt, Germany and is also an accomplished backgammon player, received 4th place prize money of $48,606. 3rd Place – Well-known Las Vegas poker player Freddy Deeb came to the final table up 2 to 1 over everyone else, and must have liked his situation – holding chips against his two final adversaries -- Tony Hellmann and Pat Henehan. But by this stage, the blinds were so high that the last thing any player could do was play passively. By this time, Hellmann had seized the chip lead and it took only a few pots to wipe out what was left of Deeb’s stack. Deeb has now played every year at the JBWPO and added $55,550 to his lifetime earnings in this tournament. The last two players reportedly cut a deal and then played on. Tony Hellmann enjoyed a 3 to 1 chip lead at the start and never relinquished. At one point, Pat Heneghan staged a brief comeback, spiking a Ten on the river to make a pair against Hellmann’s two overcards. But Hellmann ended the night holding Q-2 versus Heneghan’s 10-7. The final board showed A-K-Q-9-6 giving Hellmann a pair of Queens. Pat Heneghan, a 52-year-old retired employee from the City of Chicago, had won major tournaments previously – including events at The Orleans and online tournaments. He was officially paid $106,238 for his second-place finish. At the conclusion of the tournament, as several bystanders were leaving the tournament area, Hellmann did what was unquestionably the most interesting thing at the final table. He took out a small badge and clipped it on his shirt pocket. Written on the badge was the word “YES” with a large red streak stripped across the letters. In other words -- “NO!” When asked what the badge meant, Hellmann smiled and said: “I wear this because if people try to borrow money from me, I can just point to the word and keep quiet. I really have trouble saying ‘no’ to people, so this might be a warning to everyone that I don’t lend money.” Who would have expected such shrewd financial prudence….from a tax accountant?
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2005 Jack Binion World Poker OpenHorseshoe Casino Hotel andGold Strike Casino-Resort, Tunica, MSDaily ReportJanuary 10, 2005 Event #4 Limit Texas Hold’em Buy-In: $500 Number of Entries: 628 Number of Re-Buys: 869 Prize Money: $697,527 Official Results: 1. Tony Hellmann 2. Pat Heneghan 3. Freddy Deeb 4. Davood Mehrmand 5. Jeremy Tinsley 6. Zeb Strawn Charlotte, NC won $34,718 7. Darrell Strock 8. Alan Katzen 9. Jack Ward
10. Herb Kelso 11. John Barch McKinney, TX won $7,638 12. Paul Maxfield 13. James Myers Fayetteville, GA won $6,250 14. Steven So 15. Jerri Thomas Las Vegas, NV won $6,250 16. Joe Spell Mansfield, GA won $5,011 17. Billy Duarte Beithoud, CO won $5,011 18. Collin Wilson Atlanta, GA won $5,011 19. Elias Hourani Houston, TX won $3,579 20. Greg Jensen Matterhorn, CO won $3,579 21. Joey Vitale 22. Dave Potter Wildwood, MS won $3,579 23. Greg Aston 24. “King” Nick Browning Union, OH won $3,579 25. Tony Cousineau Daytona Beach, FL won $3,579 26. Scott Fischman Las Vegas, NV won $3,579 27. Randy Murfin Nixa, MS won $3,579 28. Todd Urbina Alexandria, LA w0n $2,505 29. Michael Lutes Bloomington, IN won $2,505 30. Josh Jones Des Moines, IA won $2,505 31. George Miller Gary, IN won $2,505 32. Dan Heimiller Poughkipsee, NY won $2,505 33. Justin Young Moorehead City, NC won $2,505 34. Ross Tyler La Mesa, TX won $2,505 35. Don Mercer Sneads Ferry, NC won $2,505 36. Men “the Master” Nguyen Bell Gardens, CA won $2,505 Final Table Started at: 4:05 pm CST Final Table Ended at: 7:35 pm CST
Report by Nolan Dalla – JBWPO Media Director Tournament Director – David Eglseder Co-Tournament Director (Horseshoe) – Ken Lambert, Jr. Co-Tournament Director (Gold Strike) – Robert McGovern click for Schedule of Events
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