The final table of the $5,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Hold’em event would prove to be a “colorful” affair. First, there was Gavin Griffin’s hair, which he dyed bright pink as a way of honoring breast cancer research—his girlfriend survived a battle with the dreaded disease. Then there was Alan Jaffray’s black hat, which was adorned with a bright red flower and resembled something an octogenarian would wear to the Kentucky Derby. And of course Humberto Brenes brightens any table he sits at, although the only person who seems to find amusement in his antics is himself.
Those who remember Jeffrey Lisandro’s dustup with Prahlad Friedman from ESPN’s coverage of last year’s World Series might suspect that he added to the drama, but as the chip leader for most of the day he let his game do the talking. On the 69th hand of the day he limped in for 30k under the gun and called when Gavin Griffin raised to 120k from the small blind. The flop came Q
9
2 and Griffin moved all in for his last 185k. Lisandro called with KJ. Griffin flipped over A10. The J on the turn gave Lisandro a pair of jacks and the 8 on the river gave him a winning flush.
“Gavin, you want a beer?” one of Travis Rice’s very vocal supporters shouted as Griffin walked off the stage. Rice’s fan club wouldn’t have much more heckling to do. Ten hands later, Rice, sitting in the big blind, called Allan Cunningham’s raise from the small blind. The flop came A
K4. Cunningham bet 100k. Rice moved all in for 385k, and Cunningham called with AJ. Rice only had K7 and was gone in seventh place. Suddenly, Cunningham had pulled even with Lisandro, and with the departure of Rice’s fans the place got a whole lot quieter. You could actually hear the chips on the table being riffled once again.
Five hands later, the two chip leaders would collide. Lisandro raised to 80k from the button and Cunningham called from the big blind. The flop came K
32. Cunningham checked, Lisandro bet 80k, and Cunningham called. The turn was the 7. After Cunningham checked again, Lisandro bet 200k, and Cunningham called. Both players checked after the J fell on the river. Cunningham showed his queen-high flush, which was good enough to take down the 740k pot as well as sole possession of the chip lead.
It was at this point in the evening that all the talk turned to the subject of what it would mean if Cunningham were to win—not only would he have won a bracelet three years in a row but he would also join an elite crew of players who have won five in their career. I was made aware of these potential accolades on a hand that didn’t even involve Cunningham. When Jason Lester got all his money into the pot in a hand against Joe Patrick—Lester had AJ and Patrick had pocket nines—Melissa Hayden, Cunningham’s girlfriend, told me that she had a dream that Cunningham beat Lester for the bracelet so she was rooting for Lester to win the hand. It made sense, she told me, because Lester was the defending champion of this title and when Cunningham won his third bracelet in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event he had to beat the defending champion of that event (Scott Fischman) to do it. Lester caught a jack on the river to win the hand and double up, and Hayden was pleased.
Lester’s run would end on the most exciting hand of the evening. He got all his money in with AK as did Joe Patrick with 77, but Lisandro had them both covered as well as two queens in the hole. The queens held up and suddenly there were only three players left at the table, two big stacks and Humberto Brenes. Brenes valiantly held on for eight more hands until he made a move with 109, only to run into Cunningham’s AQ. The queen on the flop ended Brenes’ day and set up a classic heads-up match between Cunningham and Lisandro. The two have nearly the same amount of chips.
