It took 182 hands for Cincinnati resident Mike Scarborough to take down the title at the Hollywood Poker Open, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT), on Wednesday night. The path to victory was far from easy, as Scarborough tangled with poker’s all-time money leader, Erik Seidel, heads-up. In the end, the Full Tilt Poker pro’s reign of terror ended with a second place finish.
Perhaps the outcome wasn’t too surprising either. Scarborough won two preliminary events during the Hollywood Poker Open and finished second in another for over $36,000 combined. According to the Hendon Mob database, he has eight cashes in live tournaments during his career; all eight are for top five finishes.
It took all of three hands for a player to be axed from contention in the WPT Hollywood Poker Open’s final table. Ali Eslami, who entered the six-handed finale with the fourth largest stack, moved all-in on the turn with the board showing J-7-7-A. William Reynolds, the chip leader, called with pocket jacks for a flopped full house, while Eslami turned over 9-7 for trips.
Eslami was drawing to the case seven, which didn’t show up on the river when a king hit. He departed in sixth place for $51,000 and Reynolds widened his chip lead over the rest of the pack.
Four hands later, ClubWPT qualifier Andy Whetstone fell by the wayside in fifth place. Whetstone open-shoved all-in on a flop of K-Q-9 with pocket threes for an untimely bluff. Scarborough gingerly called with A-Q for second pair, which held when a six and king fell on the turn and river, respectively. Whetstone’s miracle run ended with a $62,000 payday.
2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year Tom Marchese was the next to go. Marchese 5bet all-in before the flop with A-K and Reynolds looked him up with pocket tens. The flop came A-J-10, giving Marchese top pair, but also giving Reynolds a set. Trust us when we say this hand was a roller coaster.
A king on the turn gave Marchese Broadway, but another queen on the river improved Reynolds to a full house and sent Marchese away. Marchese picked up $77,000 in his second final table of Season IX of the WPT. He finished third in the Foxwoods World Poker Finals last November for $211,000.
After a considerable amount of jockeying, Reynolds was bumped in third place. He 3bet all-in from the small blind with A-10 of diamonds pre-flop and Scarborough made the call with A-J. There were no fireworks this time, as neither player improved, and a heads-up showdown between Scarborough and Seidel was set. Reynolds pocketed $110,000.
Scarborough held a 4:1 chip lead over Seidel entering heads-up play and a dozen hands later, he was the champion. On the final hand, Seidel 3bet all-in before the flop with A-9 of diamonds and Scarborough looked him up with J-10 of hearts. The flop of 10-9-7 gave Scarborough top pair and an eight on the turn improved him to a jack-high straight. With Seidel rooting for a jack on the river for a chop, another 10 came to hand Scarborough the Hollywood Poker Open title in his very first WPT cash.
Here were the results from the 2011 WPT Hollywood Poker Open:
1. Mike Scarborough – $273,664
2. Erik Seidel – $155,103
3. William Reynolds – $110,788
4. Tom Marchese – $77,551
5. Andy Whetstone – $62,041
6. Ali Eslami – $50,962
Next up for the WPT is the tour’s first ever trip to the Sunshine State, as the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida will host the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown. The $10,000 buy-in tournament kicks off on April 27th and will crown a winner on May 2nd.