Michael Gebhardt Takes the Money and Runs
New Orleans, LA (December 15, 2009) – Pot-Limit Omaha is poker’s second most popular variant, behind Hold’em. But in some parts of the country, Pot-Limit Omaha is just as popular. For instance, when Harrah’s New Orleans first opened ten years ago, there were just as many "PLO" games inside the poker room as Hold’em games.

Of course, after the poker boom, everything changed. Hold’em and "No-Limit Hold’em" in particular became the king of all cardrooms. But there remains a steady following for Pot-Limit Omaha games, and a demand for them at tournaments.

World Series of Poker Circuit events played at Harrah’s New Orleans have been among the most Omaha-friendly. Each year, there are multiple Omaha events offered, largely in response of the player demand here which remains strong. Indeed, if Pot-Limit Omaha has a capital it most certainly is not in Nebraska. More than likely, it should be in Louisiana or Mississippi, which remain hotbeds for the game.

Michael Gebhardt won the most recent Bayou Poker Challenge tournament held at Harrah’s New Orleans. The $300 (+50) buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha tournament attracted 66 entries – a modest-sized field affected no doubt by the New Orleans Saints game which started the same day. This was the sixth event of 15 on this year’s Bayou Poker Challenge schedule. The two-day tournament generated a prize pool totaling $19,204.

This marked Gebhardt’s first major live tournament victory. However, he has cashed several times in both live tournaments and online. His winnings include in-the-money finishes at the Caesars Classic (Las Vegas) and WSOP Circuit event at Harrah’s Rincon and Caesars Palace. He also final tabled a million-dollar tournament played online earlier this year. It took Gebhardt five full hours of play at the final table to earn the victory – which came after the top four finishers agreed to a deal. His share of the prize money officially amounted to $6,145.

Gebhardt is a 28-year-old college student. He is pursuing an M.B.A. degree at the University of Denver. Gebhardt admits that he now sure what he will do following graduation. He financed his education largely by playing poker, mostly online. He fully supported himself for four years as a pro before becoming a full-time student. Furthermore, Gebhardt says he has been able to travel a great amount because he has been so successful playing poker.

"I really love New Orleans," Gebhardt stated afterward. "Since this tournament came during my school break, I decided to come here and play. So far, it really worked out well."

Only the tournament’s top nine finishers (the final tables) collected prize money. There were at least two prominent players who made it to the final table – former WSOP Gold bracelet winner "Captain" Tom Franklin and Walter Chambers, the Main Event champion of the inaugural WSOP Circuit event held at Harrah’s New Orleans in 2005. The top nine players were eliminated in the following order:

9th Place – Jeff Bennett, a 64-year-old retired part-time poker player from Metairie, LA was the first player out, finishing ninth. Bennett arrived at the final table with the short-stack and was unable to win a key early hand which would have put him back into contention. He ended up with a payout totaling $720.

8th Place – Mendel Lee, a 34-year-old musician from New Orleans, LA ended up with an eighth-place finish. He is a percussion instructor with the Tulane University Marching Band. Lee was drummed off the final table when he moved all-in on his final hand, but missed a flush draw. This marked the first-ever final table appearance in a major tournament for Lee, who is originally from Cherry Hill, NJ. Lee ended up with $816 in prize money.

7th Place – Walter Chambers, a 35-year-old self-employed business owner from Baton Rouge, LA ended up with a seventh-place finish. The LSU graduate ran into a bit of bad luck late, losing with a flopped set to a higher set against "Captain" Tom Franklin who managed to widen his chip lead. Chambers is perhaps best known for winning the very first WSOP Circuit championship held at Harrah’s New Orleans, back in May 2005. That victory was broadcast on ESPN and was worth a whopping $787,340 in prize money. For this finish, Chambers’ payout amounted to $960.

6th Place – Pete Donnelly, a 57-year-old retiree from Austin, TX finished in sixth-place. This was his third time to cash this year in a major poker tournament. He ended up with $4,195 for his sixth-place finish.

5th Place – Morton L. Davis finished in fifth place. He picked up $1,392 in prize money.

4th Place – "Captain" Tom Franklin, a well-known poker pro from Gulfport, MS fourth place. Franklin has more than $2.5 million in career tournament winnings to date, including a WSOP gold bracelet victory he earned in Limit Omaha which took place in 1999. Franklin remains very much at the top of his game, with several cashes so far this year. He has also been busy as a players’ rights advocate, heading up the World Poker Association, which fights for poker players. Franklin, an accomplished musician who plays the drums just as well as he plays poker, received a payout totaling $1,728.

3rd Place – Larry Satterwhite, a retired part-time poker player from Houston, TX finished in third place. Satterwhite has an impressive record of accomplishments in tournament poker over the past 20 years. He first cash at the WSOP in Las Vegas in 1990, and has enjoyed numerous in-the-money finishes since then. Satterwhite has cashed on the WSOP Circuit seven times. However, his first major tournament victory remains somewhat elusive. Satterwhite’s official payout for third place amounted to $2,448.

2nd Place – Mark Gallagher, a 24-year-old poker pro from Houston, TX, was the runner up. He plays online poker mostly, although he has also cashed several times at major events, held mostly in the South. Gallagher cashed twice at last year’s WSOP Circuit event held in New Orleans. He’s also finished in-the-money at tournaments held in Mississippi and Oklahoma. Gallagher should certainly be proud of another fine performance here, worth $3,841 in prize money.

1st Place – Michael Gebhardt, a 28-year-old college student from Boulder, CO was declared the winner. He collected $6,145 and bragging rights for his first official major tournament victory.

The 2009 Bayou Poker Challenge, which is an official World Series of Poker Satellite location, continues for eight more days and will conclude on December 20th. There’s still time to make plans to come to Harrah’s New Orleans and join in the poker action. For more information, please visit: www.harrahsneworleans.com