1999 Champion
David Grey
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Event #4 Results
Seven-Card Stud
$2,500 Buy-in
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1. David Grey $199,000
Henderson, NV
2. Eli Balas 99,500
Las Vegas, NV
3. Ross Jackson 49,750
Portsmouth, England
4. Chris Ferguson 29,850
Pacific Palisade, CA
5. Ross Lichen 24,875
Ocean, NJ
6. Louis J. Asmo 19,900
Dublin, OH
7. Tom McCormick 14,925
Fargo, ND
8. Bob Oxenberg 9,960
Aspen, CO
9. Robert J. Patrick 7,460
10. Scotty Warbuck 7,460
11. Richard M. Holmes 7,460
12. Eugene Lang 7,460
13. Jose Brennes 4,975
14. Catherine Brown 4,975
15. Max Stern 4,975
16. Cesare Poget 4,975
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Total Prize Pool: $497,500
Number of Entrants: 199
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Entries to Date: 1,186
Prize Money to Date: $2,215,000
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NEVADA PRO OUTGUNS FIELD
TO CLAIM FIRST WSOP TITLE
Tournaments are such a shootout at the end, and somebody's got to be holding the gun -- I'm glad it was me," commented David Grey, who mowed down 198 opponents to capture first-place prize money of $199,000 in the $2,500 buy-in seven-card stud competition. The 40-year-old poker pro from Henderson, Nevada, also took home a traditional 14-karat gold winner's bracelet for his victory in the fourth event of this year's World Series of Poker.
This is the first WSOP title for Grey, a respected high-limit player who also has to his credit two titles from the Hall of Fame Poker Classic and has cashed in several other major competitions. He began playing poker 20 years ago.
Prior to the beginning of the competition, it was announced that one of the finalists -- Ross Lichen of Ocean, New Jersey -- had suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. After some discussion among the players and Lichen's representative, it was decided that Lichen would receive fifth-place prize money of $24,875, and his chips were removed from play.
Although Grey arrived for the final showdown as a chip leader, he had a major setback early on, losing several pots in a row to almost decimate his stack. But he managed to survive two all-in battles before rallying to get back in the game for good when he won a monster pot with jacks up against Louis J. Asmo's pair of kings. From that point forward, nothing could stop Grey's onslaught, and after dispatching one opponent after another, he held more than a 3-to-1 advantage over runner-up Eli Balas when heads-up play began. It was all over a few hands later when Balas raised on third street with J/7-9 and was challenged by Grey, who reraised with 5c 2c/5h. On fourth street Balas caught an eight and bet all in. He made two pair on the river but was washed up when Grey showed down a king-high club flush to claim the pot and his first World Series title.
"You've got to hang in there, hang in there, and then get very lucky to win a tournament," Grey said. "I got the best hands at the end and caught some cards. That's why I got the bracelet."
For his runner-up finish, Balas was awarded $99,500. A professional competitor and a regular on the tournament circuit, he has cashed in numerous other major events.
Placing third in the stud contest and pocketing $49,750 was Ross Jackson, 39, of Portsmouth, England, who lists "opportunist" as his profession. His poker accomplishments of note include back-to-back titles in hold'em and stud at the 1997 Orleans Open. Left short-stacked after losing two pots in a row, Jackson was soon eliminated when he called all in on third street with 2-2/6 against Grey, who held Q-Q/3. When neither player improved, Grey dragged the pot and quipped, "I've always been good with the ladies."
Though Chris Ferguson of Pacific Palisades, California, briefly held the lead, he lost it -- along with most of his chips -- in a confrontation with Eli Balas, who made quad treys on fifth street. Ferguson mucked his hand without showing it and shortly thereafter met his demise when he reraised all in on fourth street with A-8/10-4 against Grey, who held four spades. When Grey made an ace-high flush on sixth street, Ferguson was drawing dead and exited in fourth place for $29,850. A recent Ph.D. recipient, Ferguson has to his credit numerous in-the-money finishes from major tournaments and holds two Legends of Poker titles.
Knocked out in sixth place for $19,900 was Louis J. Asmo, a travel agent from Dublin, Ohio, and the 1997 WSOP $3,000 limit hold'em champ. After losing one pot and forfeiting another on fourth street, Asmo threw his last punch when he took K-6/K up against Grey, who started with J-7/J and made jacks up on fifth street. On sixth street Asmo bet all in, but he failed to catch on the river and went down for the count.
Tom McCormick of Fargo, North Dakota, was shot down in seventh place for $14,925 when he called all in on third street with A-K/2 against Balas, who started with J-7/6. On sixth street, McCormick still had the lead with a pair of aces and Balas had made a pair of nines. But Balas caught a second jack on the river, and when McCormick failed to help, he was gone. The president of a construction company, McCormick has made numerous WSOP final-table appearances over the years.
Collecting $9,960 for his eighth-place finish was Bob Oxenberg, an artist from Aspen, Colorado, whose favorite subjects to paint are "naked ladies and poker scenes." He made his last stand when he bet all in on fourth street with Q-10/A-7 against Asmo, who called with a four-flush. When Asmo made a spade flush on sixth street, Oxenberg was drawing dead to a pair of queens.