Tournament Details

In Los Angeles, California, the World Poker Tour was treated to a race worthy of the Tour de France at the Bicycle Casino's "Legends of Poker" tournament. True to the tournament's name, after a day of fast and loose play, a new poker legend was born.

The breakdown at the final table had a little of everything, including for the first time on the World Poker Tour, a woman. Kathy Leibert, a seasoned pro, was no long shot. Though men have long dominated poker, women are making waves. Kathy is spearheading that movement, having recently won a million dollar tournament. She joined fellow pros Chris Karagulleyan, Stan Goldstein, Can Kim Hua and Hon Le. Rounding out the field was the group's only amateur, Mark Seif.

Much of the game's fast-paced action centered on the personal grudge between Seif, a volatile prosecuting attorney, and Le "The Kamikaze Kid." A week earlier, Seif had taken most of Le's chips in a tournament and Le was out for revenge. "He raises me every pot!" Seif exclaimed.

Midway through the tournament, Mark was dealt a pair of aces, the top hand. Hon Le called Mark's bet with the 8 and 9 of hearts. The flop came with two more hearts. Hon Le bet $30,000. Mark raised to $80,000. With nothing but the hope of making a flush, Hon called. The turn card did nothing for either player. Mark bet another $10,000. Hon called, now all in. They turned over their cards -- and Mark had Hon Le cold. Hon's only out was a heart on the river. Against the odds, it came. Hon won, and leaped for joy.

As Seif suffered from several bad beats, his own play became increasingly desperate. He started playing weaker hands, and letting his emotion get the best of him.

It was just as interesting to watch Karagulleyan play. By turns he was maddeningly conservative (folding with a middle pair), and curiously aggressive (raising heavily with only low diamonds, but stealing pots as a result).

Karagulleyan's strategy paid off. In the final mad dash, he and Hon Le raced for the finish, chip lead shifting back and forth, before Karagulleyan finally bested the Kamikaze Kid to win the first place in the $660,000 prize pool. Karagulleyan became the newest "Legend of Poker".

This tournament is included in the World Poker Tour Season One DVD Collection.