Worst to First

Lorinda Beals won tonight's tournament after being first out the last time she played. Brian Grayson took second place. Dan Lawrence took third, following up his 1st place finish last month. Dan also accumulated six bounties, garnering more cash in bounties than for finishing third. Nick Lawrence rounded out the money finishers taking 4th place.

Let's Play Cards

Action got under way at 7:20 with 19 players at 3 tables. Reggie, Shawn, Stanley, Charles, Chad, Jeff, and Brian comprised the main table. Ernie, Larry, Rachel, Norman, Wesley, and Nick sat in the back. The TV table consisted of Don, new-comer Toni, Arnold, Terence, Dan, and Lorinda.

Ernie was first out at 7:46. His lost to pocket 9s, when a made a backdoor straight for Rachel.

Uncharacteristically, Larry was next out at 7:55. His pocket Js were bested by Norman's when an ace came on the flop and Norman didn't believe Larry's stab at representing a flush. Larry is human after all.

Shawn was out next at the main table, but he failed to completed an elimination card. So the nature of his elimination by Brian is lost to history. It must have been harsh, since Shawn vacated the premises soon after.

At 8:00 Dan "The Bounty Hunter" took out 3 players in a single hand, the most ever in the tournament history. He took out Terence, Don, and Toni when he made the nut flush and benefited from other players betting into him. It doesn't get any better than that. He looked poised to be the first back-to-back tournament winner.

Having knocked out half the players at the TV table, Dan was reseated at the main table, while Lorinda and Arnold were reseated at the back table.

Dan continued his carnage at the main table, taking out Stanley and Reggie for the next two ousters. Dan's pocket 6s outlasted Stanley's , and later his out-kicked Reggie's when a pair and some rags came on the board.

With Stanley and Reggie eliminated, Arnold was moved to the main table. Dan then made his 6th straight elimination by taking out Arnold when Dan's escaped from under Arnold's when a king hit the board.

Dan was brought back to earth with a couple run-ins with pocket aces, but was still formidable.

Charles was eliminated at 9:00 by Norman when Norman's pocket 10s dominated Charles's short-stack last stand with a -.

Play continued for 40 more minutes, as 9 players vied for the 8 seats at the main table.

It took 3 players to gang up on Chad and bounce him out. Chad's pocket 5s could not stand up to the combination of 3 other hands: , , and . A river made a flush for Brian, and two pair for Dan.

The Final Table

We sat the final table at 9:45. In order around the table, the final players consisted of Lorinda, Rachel, Dan, Norman, Jeff, Wesley, Nick, and Brian.

Rachel had only 10 chips left at the final table. After quadding up with a pair of 8s, she was soon eliminated when her pocket 6's fell victim to Brian's when both an ace and king came on the flop.

Norman and Wesley were eliminated on the same hand at 10:00. Norman went all-in from early position. Wesley called, as did Brian. An ace came on the flop prompting Wesley to go all-in. Brian called. Norman revealed , Wesley , and Brian . Brian won the hand due to the 5 that also came on flop. There was no 10 on the turn or river to rescue Wesley.

Jeff was next out at 10:15 when his lost to Dan's . An ace on the flop gave Jeff a pair, but the flop also had two ominous hearts. Hearts on both the turn and river gave Dan the better flush.

Nick was out 10 minutes later when his brother took him down. Nick was forced all-in as a result of being short stacked. Nick's was no match for Dan's .

Dan, Lorinda, and Brian played for another 30 minutes, trading the chip lead around the table. Very few flops were seen, until Lorinda crippled Dan when her pocket tens stood up to Dan's .

The Last Dance

The tournament ended with an exciting final hand. Dan was short stacked and was forced all-in. Brian called, and Lorinda completed the small blind.

When the flop came, Lorinda bet Brian all-in and he called. It was time to see the cards.

Dan had not looked at his cards and was happily greeted with pockets 7s. Brian revealed suited, his pairing a found on the flop. Lorinda held . It looked possible that no one would be eliminated, and that the resulting stacks would be very even.

The turn favored no one, but a on the flop gave Lorinda the best pair and the tournament win! Congratulations to Lorinda.