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WORLD SERIES OF POKER 2003
The final table was comprised of an eclectic mix of poker players, of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of experience. At one end of the spectrum were players including Jay Heimowitz (with 6 gold bracelets), Berry Johnston (with 5), and John Bonetti (with 3). Then, there were players making their first final table appearance at the World Series of Poker, including Richard Ashby and Bill Schonsheck. In between were players such as Jim Meehan (winner of a gold bracelet this year), Dale Phillips (third time in the money), Marc Durand (second cash), Jimmy Cha (4th cash), and Frankie O'Dell (second cash).
Two players, Marc Durand and Jimmy Cha, came in very low on chips. Desperately needing to win a pot, Durand went "all-in" with his last chips and ran into John Bonetti's club flush and nut low. Durand went out and collected $4,340 for 10th place.
Jay Heimowitz came into the final table in decent chip position, with $33K. However, the former Budweiser beer distributor and member of the Senior's Hall of Fame was never able to generate any momentum and went out in 9th place -- good for $5,785.
A short time later, "Minneapolis Jim" Meehan went "all-in" with a full house -- 7s full of jacks. But he ran into an even higher full-house, Frankie O'Dell's 10s full of jacks, which meant and eighth-place finish and $7,220 in prize money. The big pot put Frnakie O'Dell back up to $160K in chips, nearly 2 to 1 over Dale Phillips.
Meanwhile, Bill "Shony" Schonsheck made the biggest leap in the first 90-minutes of play. Shony went from just $15K in chips to nearly $100K, as he scooped a couple of key pots against John Bonetti.
After short-stacked "Jimmy Jimmy" Cha went out in 7th place and collected $9,040, Richard Ashby from London went "all-in" on a club flush draw, but missed. Shony made a heart flush, sending the Londoner out in 6th place with $12,640.
It was hard to tell if John Bonetti was sitting at the final table or riding a roller coaster, so precarious were his swings in chips. He bounced back and forth between virtual elimination and $50K in chips much of the day, before catching a wave that propelled him into a comfortable chip position with nearly $70K. 1986 World Poker Champion Berry Johnston was not so fortunate. He was never able to muster much of a rally and went out in 5th place, collecting $16,220 for the two-day tournament.
After Johnston went out, Bonetti followed a half an hour later, when had K-K-x-x and lost when Frankie O'Dell made two pair on the river. The lone pair of kings was no good. Bonetti received $21,680 for 4th place.
O'Dell had roughly a 2 to 1 chip lead over his remaining two opponents -- Dale Phillips and Shony Schonheck. The three finalists battled for over an hour before Phillips found himself lowest on chips following a series of bad cards. Down to just $10K, Phillips went in with a decent low (2-3-3-x) but ran into O'Dell's wheel, A-2-3-4-5, which scooped the pot. Phillips took $34,320 for 3rd place.
The final two players squared off with O'Dell holding a $243K o $145 chip lead over Shony. With the betting limits fixed at $10K-20K, O'Dell gradually increased his stack to the point where he held a 3 to 1 chip lead. Since the limits were so high, all it took was one or two big hands to throw things out of balance.
The first key hand occurred when Frankie scooped a big pot with a nut low and a flush. One hour into heads-up play, Frankie kept applying pressure on his opponent by raising almost every hand before the flop, then betting out no matter what cards fell. It was a strategy that worked.
"The key to winning in Omaha is to gamble, have fun, and play your cards," O'Dell stated afterward. "I play fast, I'm a fast player."
The final hand of the night came when O'Dell was dealt Q-9-3-2 (with two diamonds) against Shony's 9-7-6-4. All the money went in on the turn when the board showed 6-4-2-J (with three diamonds). Shony had two pair, 6s and 4s. But O'Dell had a diamond flush. Shony needed to catch a 6 or a 4, but when an ace fell on the river, O'Dell scooped the pot and won the title.
Shony congratulated his opponent for playing well, and collected $68,640 for second place. Meanwhile, Frankie O'Dell was ecstatic with his first World Series of Poker victory.
"The only game I enjoy playing is Omaha," O'Dell said. "No-limit and pot-limit (hold'em) are both very stressful. But I really enjoy playing Omaha."
O'Dell's poker abilities obscure the fact that behind the poker face is a deeply spiritual man. Afterward, O'Dell acknowledged his deep religious convictions and said, "I am fortunate to have been blessed with this win today. Win or lose, I love God above everything else."
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