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Throughout history, groups of individuals, with one
common goal in mind, have set out to mark their
place in the world. History remembers such groups as
legends; The Four Horsemen, the Knights of the Round
Table, Murderers Row, The Rat Pack, etc.
At NJ Free Poker, in the grandest poker stage of
all, another group has decided to try to claim their
territory; the renowned and often feared clan, known
throughout the league, as The 70 Crew.
In the wild and crazy, 2nd NJFP finals, one of their
own, John “The Love Shack” Ishak, battled his way
past more than 180 other Texas Hold’em opponents,
and emerged victorious, as the new NJFP champion. He
not only captured the win, but he will also
represent NJ Free Poker in a major WPT or WSOP
event.
After surviving a tumultuous Saturday, which he
endured, along with 71 other players, Ishak entered
Sunday’s game facing as tough a task as you can
imagine …. Table 6, or what will come to be known
as, “The Table of Death”. Some of the names at that
initial table read like a who’s who of NJFP… Shall
we say “characters”, Mark Shaw, Bernice Katz,
Lorraine Maguire, Andrew Scala, Jaime Mariano, as
well as, fellow 70 cohorts; Lee Balestier, Hasham
Khawaja, and Anthony Magallon, were just some of the
names that populated this dreaded table.
Interestingly enough, the first couple of memorable
hands did not involve the future champ. In a
three-way battle with a showing flop of A-2-2, both
Mark Shaw and Jamie Mariano felt like they were in
control. As they held A-J in their hand, they
decided to push the issue and risk all of their
chips on the flop. Unfortunately, they were outdone
by Anthony “Wonder Hair” Magallon, who called
immediately, with his … wait for it … 2-8, knocking
out both Shaw and Mariano.
Magallon has said in the past, that he will make
plays on certain hands that seem like rags, because
he has confidence that the first three community
cards will show, what is known as, “The Rob Flop”.
Sure enough, that’s what happened, and although
Magallon would eventually finish out of the top 20,
the “70 move” was a sign of things to come, for the
crew.
No more than 15 minutes after the initial call to
“Shuffle up and Deal”, there was a hand that
involved two of our more experienced players,
Bernice “Bunny” Katz and Lee “7-Old School”
Balestier. Bunny was short stacked with about $1500
in chips, but with queens in her hand and a
seemingly harmless flop, of three non-suited under
cards, Bunny made her move and pushed all-in. Senior
70 had nothing but an up-and-down straight draw, but
after much consideration, decided to call for two
reasons …
1. He was incredibly envious of Magallon’s chip
stack, comprised of whites that seemed to rise all
the way to the ceiling. Seasoned NJFP players know
how much Lee Balestier loves those high chip stacks
(If he could, he’d start every NJFP tournament with
60 blue chips).
2. Two words… Rob and River.
So, even though he knew he was well behind on the
flop, he made the call and sure enough …. The Lord
of the River struck again, handing him a river 8,
which gave him his straight. Lee celebrated, as if
he just won a year’s supply of hair gel; while all
Bunny could do was smile and wish the players well.
Balestier fell short of the final table, and ended
up in 15th place.
Flying quietly under the radar, John Ishak was
waiting patiently, as he slowly, but surely, built
his stack. In other action, and assuredly flying not
quite as quietly, Tamba “Batman” Peters, clad in his
Batman cape, went BAM – POW – ZOOM, and finished on
the “Bat-Bubble”, in 11th place.
After surviving “Table Six”, and over five hours of
watching his friends and colleagues get picked off
one by one, Ishak finally made it to the final table
along with nine other combatants, all with the same
dream of emerging as the champ.
As with the previous finals, Rose “The Spanking
Dealer” Smith, once again dealt the final table, and
once again, she performed her task flawlessly.
Throughout the two-day event, Rose made a point of
memorizing the names of all of the players who sat
with her, and only had to reprimand and spank three
players, for minor infractions. Whether or not she
will remember their names, now, remains to be seen.
With Rob “Lord of the River” Grosch and Ron “Green
Eyes Genie” Phillips on commentary, this promised to
be quite the eventful finals. And it proved to be
just that.
That dream ended prematurely for Mike “Church Mouse”
Feliciano, as he went all-in, with his short stack
on the first hand, and was knocked-out, in 10th.
Soon after that, Rich “Button Boy” Kaluzny was
eradicated, in ninth place; Steven Cabreja, captured
eighth and top 10 player, Scott “Minute Man”
Hernandez, eventually was eliminated in seventh.
Hasan “Sunny” Ulqinaku, a longtime NJFP player,
finished in a very respectable sixth. All of the
above received a $100 satellite sponsorship, for
their hard work.
The only female member of the 70 crew, and the only
woman at the final table, Anna Antimony, placed
fifth, and was awarded a sponsorship, for a $200
satellite seat. The very popular, Johnny “Ace”
Demitro, landed in fourth and earned a $250
satellite, while the grizzled veteran of the group,
Charles Sita, was knocked-out in third, and received
a $500 satellite.
Eight down and only two to go… Chris “The Scarecrow”
Dotson, who had up to this point, dominated the
competition, started the day with a high chip stack
of nearly $13,000, and had cultivated his stack on
the way. Cheered on, by longtime companion and
formidable NJFP player, Sharon Gillis, Dotson
remained calm, cool and collected, as he had,
throughout the tournament. Dotson had acquired
nearly $350,000 chips, by the time he went heads-up
with Ishak, who by comparison, was way behind, with
only about $115,000 in chips. Unfortunately, for
Dotson, that advantage did not last long.
Ishak went all-in, pre-flop, with A-Q off-suit, in
the hand that would turn the tide of the match in
Ishak’s favor. Dotson, holding “News Radio”, a/k/a
Lisa T’s birthday (a pair of 10s), quickly called,
and was slightly favored to win it all.
However, the cards were just not going to cooperate
with Chris, and after the flop, the odds turned in
Ishak’s favor, when he paired his Ace. Two bullets
in the bag and two cards to go… but it ain’t over
‘til…
Three clubs came on the flop, and with his 10 of
clubs, Chris had the nut-flush draw, with two cracks
to clinch the title, with one more club. With the
rest of his 70 crew nervously cheering him on, (Hash
probably aged 10 years watching this final table),
Ishak managed to escape, without a club on the turn.
And the river… wasn’t a club, either. It was a
Queen, giving Ishak two-pair, the hand, and a slight
advantage in chips. A couple of hands later, the
game would be decided.
Dotson raised; Ishak called. The flop was 6-8-10.
Dotson decided to make his stand and went all-in. In
what was undoubtedly the decision of the match,
Ishak immediately called with his under pair of 4s,
obviously believing that Dotson didn’t hit. His
instincts proved to be correct, as Dotson only held
two over cards; A-K. All Ishak had to do now, was to
avoid either of those cards, or dodge two higher
pair on the board, to become the new NJFP champion,
a title formerly held by Nestor Martinez.
The turn and river would prove rag/rag, and like the
winning pitcher for the NY Yankees at the World
Series, the entire 70 crew encircled Ishak, and the
celebration began. The always cordial, Chris Dotson,
took it in stride, congratulated the victor, and his
second place finish earned him, a well deserved,
$1000 satellite sponsorship.
But on this night, for the man who began Day 2, with
the least amount of chips of everyone at the final
table, John Ishak’s dream of playing in a major
event, came true. NJ Free Poker will be sponsoring
Ishak, in a World Poker Tour or World Series of
Poker major event. Ishak, who is, as persistent, as
he is consistent, will be representing all of the
players at NJFP and the 70 Crew are sure to be right
by his side.
Thank you to everyone who played this season, to all
of the NJFP dealers for their fantastic
performances, and congratulations to all who
participated in the second NJFP finals, surely this
is one to remember. Most of all, congratulations and
good luck to John Ishak… Call him “70”; Call him
“Love Shack”; Call him “The Champ”.
The NJFP third season has just begun, and in a few
months, we will be crowning a new champ and more
sponsorships will be awarded, to the best NJFP
players. Keep an eye on the website for details and
results of the sponsorships, and for upcoming
events.
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