New Orleans, LA – “Big Pappa” made an astounding comeback in the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament, part of this year’s Bayou Poker Challenge series being played in The Big Easy. The Georgia senior not only overcome a massive chip disadvantage when the final table started – ranked eighth out of nine players – he ended up destroying his final two adversaries when play was at three handed and the tournament seemed all but over.
Indeed, when “Big Pappa” was locked into a three-handed match against the eventual runner-up Huey Hulin and Dan Walsh (who would end up taking third), it appeared Hulin would win his first major tournament victory. He had a massive stack size, in stark contrast to the other two players who were hanging on for dear life, seemingly with hopes of moving into second place.
However, once Walsh was eliminated, “Big Pappa” would end up catching every break possible en route to a head-shaking victory. Even those who watched and witnessed appeared dumbfounded that Hulinl did not win.
The beneficiary of a monster rush of good fortune late in the tournament was “Big Pappa,” a mystery man from Georgia who prefers to stay anonymous. The cagey winner pocketed $32,755 for first place, plus a WSOP Circuit gold ring.
Meanwhile, Hulin was left wondering what went wrong while Dan Walsh was last seen muttering expletives to himself for yet another WSOP Circuit final table appearance, but non-win.
This was the 13th gold ring event of 19 on this year’s WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah’s New Orleans. The $340 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 14th and 15th. The tournament attracted 498 entries, which was the second-biggest turnout so far at this year’s Bayou series.
The top 45 finishers carved up a prize pool totaling $139,768. After 489 players were eliminated over the first 16 hours of competition, final table play began on a Saturday afternoon. There were no prior WSOP Circuit gold ring event winners among the final nine players, which guaranteed a first-time champion.
Four players arrived at the final table with a decisive advantage over the remaining five short stacks. Hengli Tang, Dan Walsh, Huey Hulin, and Linda C. Kennedy each had the rest of the field outchipped by nearly 2 to 1 or more. But the massive number of chips in play and low blinds and antes meant that everyone had a chance to make a move – especially the player in the Three Seat nicknamed “Big Pappa.” It took more than 90 minutes for the first player to be eliminated.
When Final Table play began at 6:00 pm, the nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:
| Seat | Player | Hometown | Chip Count |
| 1 | Willie “Big Gravy” Ford | Albuquerque, NM | 463,000 |
| 2 | David Dao | Elizabethtown, KY | 239,000 |
| 3 | Seneca “Six of Spades” Easley | Ft. Worth, TX | 210,000 |
| 4 | “Big Pappa” Solomon | Hamilton, GA | 155,000 |
| 5 | Hengli Tang | Tallahassee, FL | 810,000 |
| 6 | Dan Walsh | Powder Springs, GA | 897,000 |
| 7 | Huey Hulin | St. Martinville, LA | 795,000 |
| 8 | Mike McNeal | Franklinton, LA | 119,000 |
| 9 | Linda C. Kennedy | Thomaston, AL | 790,000 |
Final table play lasted nearly six hours and ended at 11:45 pm. Players sung the blues in the following order:
Ninth Place: Willie “Big Gravy” Ford Goes “Boom, Boom”
Willie Ford, a.k.a. “Big Gravy” lasted about 90 minutes. He suffered the unfortunate trap feared by all Hold’em players of holding an over pair on an innocent-looking board, only to watch in horror when his all-in post-flop bet was snap called by a player holding a set. “Big Gravy’s” pocket nines ended up losing to pocket sevens when a seven came on board, leaving the player from Albuquerque, NM in ninth place, with $3,005.
Eighth Place: “The Thrill is Gone” for Dao
David Dao, a physician from Kentucky, was diagnosed with an eighth-place finish when his AJ ended up losing to pocket queens. This marked Dao’s 12th time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event. He has finished second three times, but has yet to win a gold ring. Dao was prescribed a payout amounting to $4,053, with some side effects of depression, for failing to win.
Seventh Place: “Six of Spades” is “Born Under a Bad Sign”
Seneca “Six of Spades” Easley, from Ft. Worth, TX earned his interesting moniker from riding in a motorcycle gang. His nickname seemed tailor-made for an aspiring WSOP Circuit champion, but the cards had no literary appreciation. Easley went out about two hours into play and settled for $5,101 in prize money. He previously cashed twice in tournaments held in Las Vegas, but this was his first WSOP-related in-the-money finish.
Sixth Place: “Lady Sings the Blues”
Linda C. Kennedy, a retired air traffic controller who now lives in Thomaston, AL started out the final table with a decent number of chips. She lasted about three hours during which she became short-stacked. Finally, Kennedy moved all in with A9 on what turned out to be her final hand.
She was thrilled to get a call from one of the big stacks, who showed the dog hand 74 offsuit. But the puppy hand barked when a seven flopped, ending up biting Kennedy, who left the table with mixed feelings. Given her early stack size, she hoped to finish higher. But the $6,499 in prize money she received helped to soften the blow. Kennedy previously finished in second place in one of the WSOP Circuit tournaments held earlier this year at Harrah’s Tunica.
Fifth Place: “It’s a Cryin’ Shame,” Says Mike McNeal
Mike McNeal could not have picked a worse time to try and make a move with a marginal hand. He was dealt KT and moved all-in hoping to steal some chips. But he got called down by pocket aces. A ten flopped, giving the financial consultant from Franklinton, LA some hope. But that’s as far as McNeal improved, which resulted in his fifth place finish, worth $8,246.
Fourth Place: For Hengli Tang, “Out Goes the Light”
Hengli (Henry) Tang, from Tallahassee, FL began play with a healthy stack size. But he ran low on chips late in the competition. Tang moved all-in pre-flop with a tiny pair hoping to either steal a round of blinds and antes, or double up in a possible race. Unfortunately, Tang moved in with pocket deuces and got a call from a rival holding pocket sixes. Tang failed to hit a set or improve and ultimately went out in fourth place with $10,133.
Third Place: “They Sky is Crying” for Dan Walsh
Poor Dan Walsh. He can’t catch a break. Despite unquestionable dedication to the game, tons of hors spent playing poker, and obvious talent, Walsh can’t get a breakthrough victory.
He lost three races early, which cut his stack size in half. Then, he held on for dear life for nearly three hours before finally taking a bad beat with A5 against Q7. A seven came, provoking a colorful filament of commentary from the occasionally-bombastic Georgia poker pro. Walsh ended up losing the pot and collected $12,579 for third place. Nevertheless, Walsh has enjoyed a good series, with a second place finish four days earlier in the No-Limit heads-Up tournament.
Second Place: Huey Hulin “Can’t Be Satisfied”
It’s hard to imagine what must have been going through Huey Hulin’s head after watching his chips magically disappear during the last 20 minutes of the tournament. It was as if the poker gods flipped a switch somewhere, cutting off all energy to the contractor from St. Martinsville, LA.
First, Hulin watched helplessly when he was just one card away from victory, and “Big Pappa” ended up rivering a full-house.
On the key hand, Hulin and “Big Pappa” both had flopped trip nines. Hulin had the better kicker. But “Big Pappa” brought down the hammer on the final card and spiked his miracle. After a few hands during which Hulin lost the chip lead, “Big Pappa” had his adversary all-in and ended up winning the tournament with king high.
For his effort, Hulin received $20,266, which seemed about as satisfying as missing the lottery jackpot by one number. This was Hulin’s first time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event.
The two key heads-up hands can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie10nKn80dw
First Place: “Big Pappa” Says -- “Lets the Good Times Roll”
A Georgia man who goes by the nickname “Big Pappa” won $32,775. He also received a WSOP Circuit gold ring. He did not wish to have any publicity. Hence, the most mystifying of all tournaments that have taken place at this year’s Bayou Poker Challenge ended on a most fitting note -- with the eventual champion just as enigmatic a figure as his win was inexplicable.