Continued from Part Four…

With this Tournament You Are Really Spoiling Us

Another familiar face causing havoc was Vic stalwart Willie Tann, a man who I sensed was itching for a score. If early signs were anything to go by, then Willie seemed destined for the final table having crippled a visibly distraught Catgirl with queens catching a third lady on the river versus kings. Catman (honestly, what are the chances of two people with those names getting together?) was on hand to console his other half during the dinner break, but Catgirl remained on the verge of tears, and it later emerged that she’d also had aces versus jacks only for the board to split the pot. Leather skin is a necessity in poker, and this served as a stark reminder.

Willie, meanwhile, was closing in on the final, but sadly it wasn’t to be as with 11 players remaining, he ran A-8 into the aces of James Vogl and was forced to leave empty-handed. Likewise, eventual bubble P Tserliagicos (try saying that twice) was left equally light of pocket when he snapped up 10th, As-7h no good against Ac-Qc despite a teasing flush draw on an 8c-2s-Js-Ks-4d board. The assassin was Mr. Vogl once again, and it was a double whammy that would grace him with the chip lead heading into the final table.

The approximate chip counts for the final table were as follows:

Seat 1: Brian Johnson -- 165,000
Seat 2: Chris Brider -- 45,000
Seat 3: Ross Boatman -- 360,000
Seat 4: A Ahmed -- 65,000
Seat 5: James Vogl -- 385,000
Seat 6: C Heich -- 30,000
Seat 7: Nick Jenkins -- 140,000
Seat 8: Roland De Wolfe -- 105,000
Seat 9: T Maxwell -- 355,000

With £222,000 in the prize pool and £77,700 for first, there was plenty to play for. Whilst ninth place money may have been small change for someone of Roland’s ilk, it was a good return for the online qualifiers, one of whom was C Heich who had scraped his way onto the final and couldn’t resist a punch of the air as the bubble burst.

Also welcoming the final’s arrival and similarly short stacked was Chrissy Brider, a man who’d rented out an apartment for the trip and brought along a couple of mates, both of whom were avidly offering their support from the sidelines. One of them was a chap by the wonderful name of Ché Percival, a lively character who revealed he was one of few Brits to be named after Marxist revolutionary Ché Guevara. “Out of the six billion people on this planet, I think I’m probably the only person with that name. The only problem was that kids used to call me gay Ché at school, and also it’s not easy getting the accent onto Facebook.”

Unusual names aside, Ché, informed me that friend and finalist Chrissy was a low level player who hadn’t been playing for long, but had already won a few small tournaments nonetheless. “We live near Butlins and he used to be a Red Coat, singing and dancing and everything. Then he started playing poker.”

I later learned that this group were pranksters, and the types who couldn’t resist shaving eyebrows and gaffa-taping people as they slept, as had been the case for poor Ché that very morning. Whilst this all seemed rather immature at first, I couldn’t help but laugh when I caught sight of a familiar face in Chrissy’s album of Facebook photos. Jokes of this nature are, on the whole, pretty infantile, but when someone I know is the recipient, I quickly make exceptions.

Remarkably for Chrissy, he was able to turn his short stack into a cheque worth £17,760 and a credible fifth place finish. Ross Boatman, meanwhile, was less fortunate, and was forced to settle for a disappointing eighth place after kings were rivered by Roland’s tens, and A-K failed to out coin flip Vogl’s pocket queens which made a set on the flop. Further proof that dominating an event doesn’t count for much if your luck runs out in the vital spots.

After a dogged battle, the tournament was ultimately decided on a three-way deal with Roland De Wolfe being declared the winner. But whilst Roland’s victory will have been a nice, but not life-changing addition to his wallet, what Nick Jenkins took home will surely have had a massive impact to his ‘roll. An online pro who used to frequent the STTs on the now defunct Tribeca network, Nick turned a small investment (he qualified via an online satellite) into £39,000, his biggest win to date. Also profiting was James Vogl, a name many of you may recognise, but be unsure as to why. Your memory lapse would be understandable, however, as it’s been a near six years since James invaded our TV screen and snapped up bracelet gold at the 2004 World Series of Poker. Since that triumph, he’s slipped into the background, playing only sporadically, but this appearance and subsequent finish could be the start of a more permanent return. Only James will know.

The final results were as follows:

1st   Roland De Wolfe -- £77,700
2nd  James Vogl -- £42,180
3rd  Nick Jenkins -- £28,860
4th  T Maxwell -- £22,200
5th  Chris Brider -- £17,760
6th  Brian Johnson -- £13,320
7th  C Heich -- £8,880
8th  Ross Boatman -- £6,600
9th  A Ahmed -- £4,440

As I daydreamed (well, nightdreamed in this case) in the taxi home, I pondered the potential impact of this tournament and whether it would indeed satisfy Craig’s primary goal: to create more interest in Les A and encourage more high rollers to enter into the cash games. For Mansion, Les A was the perfect place for them to hold the tournament, if only because they owned the venue, but was the tournament the perfect match for Les A? I wasn’t sure. Although it will undoubtedly spread the word, create intrigue in this unique location, and see articles, such as this, make it onto websites and magazines, I can’t help but feel that the target audience aren’t the type who will be reading Bluff Magazine, or logging into Black Belt Poker, but I could be wrong. For me, their biggest weapon is word of mouth, and if enough of the participants tell their affluent friends of the time they enjoyed at Les A, then the tournament will have been worth its while.

What I did learn, however, was that despite what the industry wants me to believe, poker isn’t the level-playing platform they we’d like to think it is. It’s not something I think is particularly bad, but an illusion that I’ve quickly begun to see through, whether it’s through the elitism shown at the World Series or the focus on high rollers at Les A. The truth is, that like everything else, poker has it tiers, and Les A doesn’t hide the fact that it’s target audience is wealthy, businessmen with money to spend. I can respect that. This is poker after all, and money talks, but maybe this tournament marked a new direction for Les A, and one in which they start to see the benefit of attracting players off all kinds of bankrolls.

Return To Les A - Part One: Do Not Pass Go
Return to Les A - Part Two: Same Game, Different Location
Return to Les A - Part Three: Rich in History
Return to Les A - Part Four: The Next Best Thing

Also see our daily reports from the Full Tilt Million Dollar Challenge:

Les Ambassadurrrrs – Day One
Les Ambassadurrrrs – Day Two
Les Ambassadurrrrs – Day Three