LAS VEGAS
– Gilroy resident Ausencion Quezada gambled through nearly eight
hours of intense No-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em poker Saturday before
being eliminated from play in the 35th World Series of Poker at
Binion’s Horseshoe Casino.
LAS VEGAS – Gilroy resident Ausencion Quezada gambled through nearly eight hours of intense No-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em poker Saturday before being eliminated from play in the 35th World Series of Poker at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino.
The tournament drew a remarkable total of 2,576 players, creating a prize pool of $24.2 million. The winner will receive a record $5 million Friday night, with the next four places earning $3.5, 2.5, 1.5 and $1 million. The success of the event meant that 1,300 played Saturday, the second group Sunday.
“The amount of people playing,” was Quezada’s lasting impression of his first foray into a nationally acclaimed poker tournament. “I was expecting to play with 1,000 or so, not 2,600.”
Quezada, who qualified for the tournament winning the $10,000 entry fee during a tournament last month at Gilroy’s Garlic City Club, battled through four 105-minute sessions. He was eliminated at 11 p.m. during the fifth of six levels for the opening round. The tournament was set up to eliminate all but 600 players before action ended early Sunday morning.
“I’m very proud of the way I played,” Quezada said. The South County representative lost twice with full houses within the first 10 minutes, quickly dipping to $4,000 in chips before rebounding to carry over $10,000 in chips into the second level.
“I was down to $4,000, then worked back to $15,000 and managed to play another six hours.”
In last year’s event, Jose Gomez of Hollister represented the Garlic City Club. He also bowed out the first day, although he outlasted 500 others.
At one point during the first level of play, Quezada threw all his chips in. He won with two pairs (aces and deuces) to stay alive in the event.
At the end, Quezada knew he was in for tough competition when he opened betting with a respectable hand for $700, only to see one player with excessive chips put $8,000 on the table. That amount would have eliminated Quezada on the spot without the best hand, so he bowed out. Four hands later, Quezada went all-in chasing a flush. “I was drawing diamonds, but the last one never showed,” Quezada said of his final hand.
“I couldn’t do anything at the end because of his number of chips,” added Quezada about the closing table action. “On the last hand, I was semi-bluffing, hoping the guy would muck his hand. He had an ace, I had a king-10 suited.”
While Quezada held on through most of five levels of play, defending champion Chris Moneymaker was eliminated in the third level.
The tournament opened on a light note when an announcement was made that ESPN wished to interview the first person eliminated. After five minutes, three players had already lost their $10,000 investment.
Along with a tripling of the entrants, up from 839 in 2003, celebrities such as Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Edward Norton played. The series of one-hour programs from the tournament will begin next month on ESPN.
