Bob Willis, a 41-year-old professional motorcycle racer was on the receiving end of three twists of good fortune at the final table of event #4 at Caesars Atlantic City yesterday.There were three big hands in the WSOP circuit event that combined with his well disciplined play to give him his first major poker tournament victory.
The $500 buyin tournament attracted 510 players, 501 of which were eliminated in the first 12 hours of play. The nine survivors returned yesterday to play the final table.
Willis' first lucky hand occurred when he busted 6th place finisher JJ Hurley. Hurley tried to bluff when Willis had a 6 in his hand and two more showed up on the flop for a set.
The second lucky hand Bob had 5-5 in his hand, against the K3 of hearts of Derek Buonano. Two hearts came out on the flop, but so did a 5 so all the chips went into the middle. The turn produced a heart so Bob's set was looking shaky... Until the board paired on the river and Bob's lucky full house beat Derek's flush and sent him to the rail in 3rd place.
Heads up play began and Willis enjoyed a 2-1 chip lead over David Santitoro. Santitoro made up some ground to take a slight chip lead until Bob's third lucky hand was played.
After being dealt A6 he raised against David's cowboys - KK. Santitoro was all in with his kings and after thinking long and hard, Willis called to see he was drawing to just three outs.
But of course an Ace hit on the river, and a few hands later it was all over. Willis had lucked himself into an extra $35,000 in prizemoney with $76,500 for first place.
But that's poker - it happens in real life too, not just online!
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