The truth is -the cards played themselves.
-- James Vogl (poker champion)
The second event at the 2004 World Series of Poker attracted a near-record 834 poker players. In the 35-year history of the world's biggest and most prestigious poker tournament, only the main event last year attracted a higher number (839). Play at the final table of nine players began with 90-minute levels -- a $1K ante and blinds at $3K-6K. JAMES VOGL, a poker pro from London came in with a slight chip lead, with BRIAN HAVESON and SHAWN RICE closely behind.
Unfortunately, HAVESON -a Philadelphia-area poker professional who has enjoyed tremendous success the previous year on the tournament trail -- experienced every poker player's worst nightmare. About 30 minutes into the finale, HAVESON picked up pocket kings and ran into a virtual atomic bomb -- pocket aces. To make matters worse, the player holding the "pocket rockets" was the chip leader, JAMES VOGL. The final board showed 10-3-2-4-2, which meant HAVESON missed his two-outer (drawing to a king).
"It was the worst possible thing that could happen" HAVESON said afterward about the kings losing to aces."There's just no way I could have played the hand any differently." HAVESON took $30,700 for 9th place. Moments later, JC TRAN found himself severely short-stacked and made his final stand with K-10. CARL FROMMER was delighted to call with his own nuclear weapon, A-A. The pocket rockets held up again when the final board showed K-4-4-9-10. TRAN made things interesting with his two top pair, but FROMMER's two-pair (aces and fours) busted the Vietnamese-born TRAN. "I had to make a move because I (was low on chips)",TRAN explained. "I caught a king on the flop and had a chance, but came up short." TRAN, who has made final tables at other major tournaments, but was playing in his first-ever WSOP final, took $46,040 for 8th place.
Exactly one hour into the final table, another classic hold'em confrontation took place when JAMES VOGL was dealt A-K versus TONY LELLOUCHE's Q-Q. LELLOUCHE announced "all in" and was horrified to see an ace flop. The final board showed A-9-5-7-9. VOGL's two-pair took the huge pot. LEELOUCHE, from France said "au revoir" to the final table. LELLOUCHE, making his first-ever visit to the WSOP, received $61,380 for 7th place.
CHARLIE SHOTEN started Day Two with $79K was down to his last $20K. He desperately committed his last chips with K-10. SHAWN RICE faded the SHOTEN's action with A-J. RICE caught an ace on the flop and when the final board showed A-7-3-Q-3, RICE's two-pair had eliminated another player. "I never had any cards to play", SHOTEN said following his 6th-place finish. "The best hand I saw at the final table was K-Q. But I did make nearly 80-grand. So, that's not too bad."
DAVID CHIU's encounter at the final table was a roller coaster of enormous chip swings. He started the day low on chips ($79K) and was "all in" four times within the first two hours. CHIU played his short-stack brilliantly, and by the time of the first break -- he had soared from a low of $35K at one point, up to $400K. Antes increased to $2K. Blinds went up to $6K-12K. The next major confrontation occurred when SHAWN RICE flopped a monster hand -- quad nines. The final board showed 9-9-7-3-A and RICE bet out $105K on the end, which was called after some serious thought by DAVID CHIU. A loud “gasp” was heard from the crowd, and RICE (now with $820K) hurdled over the previous chip leader (VOGL -- second with $560K). "I knew he didn't have an ace or a seven," CHIU said afterward. "I thought he bet too much (on the end), so I believed he might be bluffing. I'm wrong sometimes," the three-time WSOP bracelet winner added.
CARL FROMMER, a CEO now living in Los Angeles, went out next in 5th place when he was dealt pocket jacks and ran into SHAWN RICE's A-Q. FROMMER went from being a slight favorite to a huge underdog, after the flop came Q-5-4, giving RICE top pair. The queens held up, and the Spanish-born FROMMER was sent packing and traveled across the rail with.$92,080.
FROMMER said later: "I think my strategy backfired. I tried to play a patient game, waiting for the right cards. When the right cards came, I didn't get (callers). I made some big laydowns….when I did make some bluffs, they backfired. My timing was off on my bluffs." Soon thereafter, TUAN NGUYEN tried to take a $150,000 pot on a flush draw, after the flop came A-8-6, with two clubs. NGUYEN had J-9 of clubs and moved "all in." JAMES VOGL who out-chipped NGUYEN about 3 to 1, made a bold call with 5-5 and ended up winning the pot when NGUYEN missed his club draw, with two overcards.
"I think my family will be very happy," Nguyen said of his 4th place finish. He collected $105,420. DAVID CHIU failed to benefit from the depth of his colossal poker skill and experience, largely because he was severely short-stacked against his two final opponents. Playing in his eighth straight WSOP, CHIU has won three gold bracelets - his last victory coming in 2002. He is clearly due for another win, but on this night it wasn't to be. When play became three-handed, CHIU was down to just $160K -- versus RICE's $900K and VOGL's $600K. CHIU's last hand was A-J against RICE's 4-4. CHIU was "all in" with the two big cards, but failed to connect with a pair when the final board showed 9-8-5-9-10. CHIU, one of the most respected and feared poker players in the world, received $122,640 for 3rd place.
"The money is nice, but it's always disappointing when you don't win," the former champion said afterward.
When heads-up play began, the chip counts stood as follows:
RICE: $955K
VOGL: $717K
The battle between the two finalists lasted for 27 minutes. After the stakes increased again -- this time with a $2K ante and blinds at $8K-16K -- it meant that every two hands cost $30K to play.
The key hand of the tournament occurred when both players were "pot committed" with less than spectacular hands. RICE (dealt 4-4) opened with a pre-flop raise, and VOGL (dealt 7-7) announced "all-in." RICE didn't take more than a few seconds to call with 4-4, and VOGL suspected he might have taken the worst of it. However, when both hands were shown, VOGL's pocket sevens was the dominant hand, and RICE was in desperate need of a four. The suspense of the moment was shattered when VOGL flopped a set, and then made a full-house on the turn. The final board showed 10-8-7-8-9, and in one stunning hand, VOGL had seized the chip lead. VOGL now had a 7 to 1 chip advantage with about $1,400,000 to RICE's $250,000.
The final hand was dealt a few minutes before midnight:
RICE: K-Q
VOGL: A-Q
RICE raised with his remaining chips, and VOGL called instantly. The final board showed 9-8-4-8-Q, with four spades. VOGL didn't need the flush, but won anyway with his queen of spades as the fifth card.
SHAWN RICE, a business owner from Lubbock, TX was the runner up. He made the final table in a WSOP event back in 1992 and was making his second final table appearance."He deserves to win," RICE said about his opponent. "He's a great player." "I have a lot of friends out here, it's a lot of fun, it's a blast," RICE said of his WSOP experience. "Tons of money to be won - it's the best place in the world to be."
The winner was JAMES VOGL, a 24-year-old Londoner. In addition to excelling in poker, he is also a serious backgammon player. VOGL is single and holds a degree in economics. His best prior finish had been a 2nd-place showing at the Master Classics in Amsterdam, Holland – netting $100,000. Now, the English economist will add $400,000 to his poker budget and will certainly be a player to watch the remainder of the World Series.
"It's a miracle really," said VOGL during his post-victory interview, as ESPN television cameras rolled and captured the moment."I managed to get lucky early in the tournament when I had (9-9 versus J-J) and doubled up when I caught a nine. At the final table, I came in with the most chips, but I made some really horrible plays….somehow I managed to stay relaxed and come back and win." "The truth is - the cards played themselves. It's no (challenge) to pick up aces and find someone with kings and double up with a huge stack against one of the other chip leaders. I had so many big hands tonight - I had pocket aces (and) ace-king suited against the pocket queens (and won). It's a strange feeling because, I don't think I'm good enough to be a ‘world champion,' it just all happened so quickly."
Final Table Started at: 7:40 pm PST
Final Table Ended at: 11:55 pm PST