Tournament Details

Befitting its self-proclaimed status as "the Biggest Little City in the World," Reno, Nevada week plays host to the final WPT Season 3 stop, the 5th Annual World Poker Challenge. After this the poker train reaches its final destination in that slightly more famous Nevada town to the south, Las Vegas, for the WPT World Championship at Bellagio.

To give Reno its due, this was one tough hombre of a western poker shootout and now the final guaranteed $25,000 seat at the season ender has been claimed. 381 players opened their saddlebags for a $5,000 entry fee, pushing the prize pool to a hefty $1,700,000, with $600,000 going to the victor. At the start of final table play, this was the lay of the land:

Seat 1, Russ Carlson, a retired sanitation exec from Black Hawk, CO, with 805,000.
Seat 2, Blair Rodman, pro gambler and tournament poker player, from Las Vegas, NV, with 478,000
Seat 3, Arnold Spee, an ex-advertising and marketing salesman turned poker pro from Thousand Oaks, CA, with 721,000
Seat 4, Michael Yoshino, a 23 year old Southern California Marine Corps Reservist, the chip leader with 937,000
Seat 5, Mark Chapic, a custom home builder and satellite qualifier from Cleveland, OH, the sole amateur, on the short stack with 182,000
Seat 6, Phil Ivey, world renowned young poker pro in his fifth WPT final, with 490,000

Blinds and antes started at 2,000, 6,000, and 12,000.

Chip leader Michael Yoshino instantly ran into trouble, getting bet out of four straight hands to lose his hold on the chip lead. It was a prophetic opening to a day that saw the chip leader position being passed around quite a bit.

Just a few hands later, Chapic, still the short stack, found As-Jh, and decided to make a stand, pushing all-in for 164,000. Carlson, with 7h-7d, took a moment to consider, then exclaiming, "well, I'm here to gamble," went over the top all-in with his 2nd-to-last chip stack, 226,000. Rodman, looking down to see As-Kh, considered Carlson's words, realizing he was likely up against a gambling hand in one spot and a desperate man in the other, decided to take a crack at knocking out two players at once by calling. A flop of Qd-9s-6s helped nobody, but a Kd on the turn instantly made Rodman breathe a lot easier, even though his pairing card brought Chapic a Broadway gutshot draw. A Qc on the river ended the Ohioan's dreams though, sending him to the rail in 6th place, with $60,387 in remodeling funds. It also knocked Carlson out in 5th place, with $77,641 in traveler's checks for he and his wife's personal poker tour.

The four remaining players then put on a poker clinic - bluffing, check-raising, making great bets and even better laydowns, as the chip lead shifted among them. The next pivotal hand came when Yoshino, in 2nd chip position, caught pocket K's, and got action from Rodman, now the short stack, who came over the top all-in with Ah-Qh to the tune of 740,000. Yoshino called quickly and was breathing a bit easier after a flop of Tc-6c-4s, but a Qc on the turn gave Rodman a few more outs, and then a miracle Qd on the river knocked the wind right out of the young Marine reservist, while breathing fresh life into Rodman. The next hand was anti-climactic with Yoshino finding 5s-4s in the big blind and calling two raises in front with his last 74,000: Rodman's 100,000 opener with Kc-8h, and Spee's 300,000 re-raise with Ah-Ks. After Rodman mucked, the flop came As-6s-3c, giving Spee the top pair, but Yoshino the up and down straight draw. It wasn't meant to be though, even after the turn offered a flash of hope, pairing Yoshino's 5, but a 6c on the river officially ended the young Southern Cal pro's night, sending him home in 4th place, with a $103,521 payout.

All night Phil Ivey kept his eye on the prize, showing the skills that have made him one of the most feared and respected players in the game today. After gaining the chip lead, he found 6h-6s, and continued to put the heat on, coming over the top of Rodman's 150,000 opener, all-in. And as has happened to the great young player so many times in his 4 prior WPT final tables, fate sent him a twist, and he was called smooth by Rodman, who flipped over a pair of his own, pocket Q's. When the board ran out J-9-4 rainbow, a 4h on the turn, and an emphatic, unnecessary Qc on the river Ivey was on the short stack. Things looked up for Ivey on the very next hand, finding 9s-9d he pushed all-in for 715,000 trying to claim Spee's 120,000 opener. Unfortunately he found himself to be a major dog again when Spee quickly called and showed Kd-Kc. When the board ran out Jh-8s-4c, Ts, Tc, a shell-shocked Phil Ivey staggered into the Reno night. With his 3rd place finish and a consoling 163,908, Ivey added to his already impressive tournament résumé the unfortunate distinction of joining John Juanda and Scotty Nguyen as the only players to make 5 WPT final tables without a victory. As all three of them would be quick to tell you, though: "that's poker."

Now down to two, with blinds and antes up to 10,000, 40,000, and 80,000, Spee and Rodman squared off. All night Spee was racking cards and now during heads up the cards didn't desert him. It wasn't all cards though, as Spee showed a lot of heart, pushing his chips in when he sensed weakness and never seeming to make a wrong decision. After he pushed Rodman around on a semi-bluff with the worst hand, he decided to limp with 4s-3s, just in case. Rodman, with Kd-7h, checked, and the flop came 9s-7s-3c, giving each of them a little piece. Spee decided to press his bottom pair, and led out for 200,000. Rodman accurately assessed that his middle pair was the best hand, and came over the top of his fellow pro, all-in for an additional 575,000, putting him to the test. It was a quick test, as Spee instantly called, and didn't seem too distressed to see what a big dog he was. The turn came 2d, but as it had happened so many times before that night, the cards carried Spee when a 4d floated up on the river. Just like that, the journeyman from Thousand Oaks, California had spiked his first WPT title with two baby pairs, taking the final guaranteed $25,000 seat at the WPT World Championship as well as a $638,380 payday.

Rodman was nicely rewarded for his good play and 2nd place finish with $327,815 to add to the bankroll.