WSOP: Michael Davis Wins Seniors Championship

Michael Davis had plans to move to Las Vegas due to its warmer winters compared to home state Iowa. Talk about making a statement when coming to town.

Davis was able to beat Scott Buller and his impressive chip lead to win the USD 1,000 Seniors No Limit Hold’em World Championship (Event 43), USD 437,358, and the World Series of Poker gold bracelet Wednesday night.

“I sold my (home inspection) business last week, now I don’t have a job to go home to,” Davis, 58, joked after the win.

Davis won the championship when his A 9 was able to beat out Buller’s A J . The flop came down 4 3 5 , but the 9 on the turn put Davis ahead. A jack or a deuce would keep the game going, but the 4 on the river ended the tournament and gave Davis the win.

The 2-1 chip lead Buller had as he and Davis began heads-up play quickly swapped. Davis raised from the button with A A and Buller went for the knock out, re-raising all in with 9 9 . Davis jumped even further ahead hitting the A on the flop, and Buller was unable to catch up.

Davis was able to pull closer to Buller’s massive chip lead by eliminating Barry Bounds to face Buller heads up. Bounds moved all in with A 6 and Davis called with A Q . The flop came down 4 2 7 and Bounds would need a six or runner-runner for a straight. The 5 hit on the turn to give him a two-way straight draw on the turn and when the 8 came on the river he turned around and gave former Main Event Champion Tom McEvoy, who had been sweating him the entire day, a high five, not realizing the card gave Davis a flush. Bounds left with USD 179,210 for finishing third.

“I got lucky,” Davis said. “Both those guys played great. Everybody at that table deserved to win. “I feel I was lucky during the entire tournament,” he said. “It was unbelievable fun.”

The tournament, held specifically for players at least 50 years old, had a record field with 2,707 creating a prize pool of USD 2,463,700. This was the second time Davis entered in the event, finishing 115th last year.

“I figured I’m not getting any younger,” he said. “Make it a yearly pilgrimage.”

As with most final tables at the WSOP, the last 10 were going to combine, but as one table said good bye to Ted Garner in 11th, Mitch Garshofsky was all in at the other table and lost the hand. So, instead of playing down to the official final table, Davis, Buller, Bounds, Dan Delatorre, Robert Beck, Michael Morusty, Richard McCall, Art Duncan, and Charles Simon made their last table change to play for the gold bracelet.

The group played only for a few minutes before going on dinner break, and played only a few hands before losing three players.

Beck was the first eliminated when he moved in with top pair against a set. Holding K J , he pushed on the J 6 8 flop and Morusty instantly called, holding 6 6 . Needing another running cards, the turn and river came 9 and Q , sending Beck out in ninth, collecting USD 53,208.

Then, almost immediately after, McCall was knocked out, again, with top pair. He made his move with Q J on the board of Q 7 2 , but DeLatorre made the call with K J . Like Beck, McCall would need runner-runner for a full house, but the K and 6 eliminated him in eighth. He won USD 56,903.

The third elimination of the table came about 20 minutes after play resumed when Duncan was knocked out. He re-raised Simon, who opened from under the gun, with K J , and Simon made the call with K Q . The A Q 6 flop gave Simon a pair, but Duncan was able to improve his odds to win by picking up the straight draw with four outs instead of the three he would have had with the jacks. The next two streets, however, came 3 , 9 , and Duncan was sent to the rail in seventh, winning USD 64,047.

After the Razz tournament wrapped up at the feature table, the seniors made their move to the stage. The bright lights, however, were unkind to DeLatorre as he was the next to leave. He made a push from under the gun with Q 4 hoping to get the blinds and antes, but Morusty, to his right, had kings. The board ran out 8 3 2 6 8 and the K K of Morusty stood up. Delatorre took USD 76,118 for the sixth place finish.

Simon was eliminated soon after as well. He moved all in from the small blind after Buller raised from under the gun. Simon’s A Q was the underdog to Buller’s A K going to the flop, which came down J 6 2 . The K gave Simon a straight draw to a ten, and the 9 on the river gave him and the crowd some excitement, but was ultimately not enough. He finished in fifth for USD 95,332.

But the excitement and disappointment from that hand was no match for the next elimination. Morusty re-raised Buller’s under the gun raise from the big blind and Buller moved all in, which Morusty instantly called. The crowd went insane when Morusty flipped over A A , which was a huge favorite to Buller’s A K . The audience was much calmer when the flop came K 3 8 . They almost cried when the 4 hit on the turn, and Buller channeled the excitement they used to have. The river came with another club, 7 , and Morusty was out. He took USD 126,863 for the fourth-place finish, and Buller took a dominating chip lead three-handed.

Final table results and payouts
1. Michael Davis - USD 437,358
2. Scott Buller - USD 268,507
3. Barry Bounds - USD 179,210
4. Michael Morusty - USD 126,863
5. Charles Simon - USD 95,332
6. Dan Delatorre - USD 76,118
7. Art Duncan - USD 64,047
8. Richard McCall - USD 56,903
9. Robert Beck - USD 53,208

'Miami’ John Cernuto Collapses During WSOP Razz

After collapsing at the table during Day Two play at the USD 2500 Razz tournament at the World Series of Poker and being wheeled away on a stretcher, professional poker player “Miami” John Cernuto is reported stable and is undergoing tests at a Las Vegas hospital.

Cernuto’s collapse went unnoticed for some time before it was recognized that he was unconscious. Around 6 P.M. (Pacific Time), players around the felt assumed that Cernuto was sleeping during play. His problem was detected only after one of his competitors nudged him and he collapsed on the table.

Play was immediately stopped and paramedics were called to assist Cernuto. After approximately half an hour, paramedics wheeled the now conscious “Miami” John from the tournament arena to a round of applause from the Brasilia Room players and audience. Much like a valiant gladiator, Cernuto acknowledged the crowd with a wave and was on his cell phone, presumably to contact his family. While most people thought that Cernuto had suffered a heart attack, he contacted World Series of Poker Media Director Nolan Dalla at 9 P.M. to update on his condition. Initial testing at the hospital revealed that Cernuto was suffering from internal bleeding and had to be held overnight for testing.

Indicative of many poker players, one of Cernuto’s first questions for Dalla was comically what happened in the play of the hand. He is reported to have said that he looked at his hand, saw three small cards and entered into the action before he lost consciousness. While his desire to know if he won the hand is admirable, the point was moot. Tournament directors killed the hand and there was no outcome.

A former air traffic controller, Cernuto has been a stalwart at the World Series for the past 20 years. He has been able to earn three WSOP bracelets in his career in three different disciplines, Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo (1996), No Limit Hold’em (1997) and Limit Omaha (2002). He has also made a final table on the World Poker Tour and has numerous cashes in other events around the world. With two cashes at this year’s WSOP in the USD 10K World Championship Mixed Event (won by Ville Wahlbeck and the $1500 Seven Card Stud event (won by Jeffrey Lisandro), Cernuto has 47 WSOP cashes and earned more than $4.6 million in tournament earnings.

Strangely enough, this isn’t the first time that this type of situation has presented itself at the World Series. In 2007, poker pro Paul “Eskimo” Clark collapsed in not one but two events, including this Razz tournament. Clark suffered a stroke during play and, rather than seeking medical assistance, continued on to finish fourth in the tournament that was won by German professional Katja Thater.

After the scare by Cernuto on Tuesday night, play will continue today in the tournament. Jeffrey Lisandro, who has already captured two bracelets this year, is looking for a third as he is the chip leader in the tournament. Lisandro is followed by Steve Diano, Vegas pro Don Zewin and Kenna James and the champion of the event will be determined tonight. Poker News Daily will have a report on all the action from the Razz final table and wishes a quick return to the tables for “Miami” John Cernuto.