Event #41: $1,500 Mixed Limit/No-Limit Hold'em

Event # 41 began three long days ago with a field of 731 entrants. Over the course of 25 levels of play, that number was whittled down further and further until there was just one man left standing. That man was Frank Gary. Gary outlasted the whole field and a tough final table of nine to capture his first gold bracelet and well over $200,000 in cash money. Gary was by far the tightest player at the final table for the first several hours, contrasting mightily with the loose and aggressive style of dominant chip leader Nick Binger. Gary waited patiently though, only opening up his game when the table got down to four and three-handed. His rocky style of play paid off, and he was able to come out on top of Jonathan Tamayo in a relatively quick, high-level heads-up skirmish. Gary is soft-spoken and mild, coinciding nicely with his style of play. We finally got to see him smile though as he was awarded the gold hardware and crowned as the victor. Congratulations to Frank Gary, Event # 41 Champion!

Limit Hold'em: On the final hand of the limit level, we saw another big pot. Frank Gary comes limping in, and Jonathan Tamayo jacks it up one more bet. Gary calls the raise. The flop brings      . Tamayo bets out, and Gary pauses for a moment before making the call, always deliberate with his actions. The turn is the  . Tamayo checks and then calls a bet from Gary. The river shows the  . Tamayo bets and Gary laboriously makes the call. The hands are turned up: Tamayo -     Gary -     Tamayo nailed his ace on the river, but it was not the out he needed. Gary's two pair is enough to take down another big pot, crippling Tamayo all the way down to just 129,000 chips.

Limit Hold'em: Tamayo comes in raising from the button, and Gary three-bets it. Tamayo calls. The flop brings      . Gary bets and Tamayo calls. The turn comes the  , and both players check. The river is the  . Gary leads out again, and Tamayo calls. Gary looks disappointed with the call, and he shows    . Good news for him; the pot is split as Tamayo tables his own    .

Limit Hold'em: Tamayo raises from the button and Gary calls. The flop comes      . Gary checks, Tamayo bets, and Gary calls. The turn is the   and both men check. The river is the  . Gary leads out, and Tamayo quickly folds. Though there weren't many bets in the pot, it still contained 500,000 chips, a significant chunk with the high limits they're playing.

Limit Hold'em: On the very first hand of play following break, the players find themselves in a big pot. Frank Gary raises from the button, and Jonathan Tamayo makes the call. The flop comes      . Tamayo checks it over, and Gary bets and gets called. The turn card is the  . Tamayo leads out this time, and Gary comes right back over the top with a raise. Tamayo flat calls. The river is the  . Tamayo leads out again with another bullet, and Gary looks frustrated. After taking a moment, he does make the call, and the cards are revealed: Tamayo -     Gary -     Gary's set of nines is plenty good enough to win him a big pot, and vault him well up into the chip lead. He has closed in on the one-and-a-half-million mark.

The tournament clock has been paused while the two remaining players take a 20-minute break.

No-Limit Hold'em: Frank Gary raises to 87,000. Jonathan Tamayo wastes little time in making the call. The flop comes       and Tamayo checks. Gary fires out 125,000. Tamayo raises to 425,000 to put the pressure back on Gary. Gary studies and then decides that it's right to fold.

No-Limit Hold'em: Frank Gary raises from the button to 77,000. Jonathan Tamayo peeks at his cards and then makes the call. The dealer pulls the chips in and deals the flop...      . Tamayo checks and Gary bets 95,000. Tamayo folds. It may not be much, but these small pots do add up.

No-Limit Hold'em: Frank Gary raises to 112,000. Jonathan Tamayo reraises all in and has Gary covered. Gary makes the call for his last 430,000. Tamayo:     Gary:     The flop is      , giving Gary two pair and Tamayo a gutter. The turn is the   and the river is the  . Gary has successfully doubled up and the players are just about dead even in chips.

After just a quick pause to prepare the table, the players are facing off across the table from each other. Frank Gary gets a walk on the first hand of man-to-man play.