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Carlos Mortensen celebrates with his wife, Cecilia, left, after winning the World Series of Poker on Friday at Binion's Horseshoe.
Photo by K.M. Cannon.
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| Saturday, May 19, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Poker title won with straight 29-year-old claims $1.5 million prize in Texas hold'em event By JEFF SIMPSON
lasvegas.com GAMING WIRE
Carlos Mortensen won $1.5 million Friday evening on the last card of the last hand of the championship event of the World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe. When the dealer turned over the final card in the $10,000 buy-in Texas hold'em event, the nine of diamonds gave Mortensen a straight, beating Dewey Tomko's two pair. The 29-year-old professional poker player formerly of Madrid, Spain, kissed his wife and smiled, holding up his arms in joy as the standing-room-only crowd of 600 roared its approval. "It's unbelievable," said Mortensen, who moved to the United States a few years ago to play poker. Mortensen started the event's last day with the second most chips out of the nine-player field, but by the time the eight-hour marathon was down to two players, he had a 2-1 chip lead over Tomko. Observers said the 32nd annual event had its longest final day in memory, as only six players played on the final day in past years. At the start of the last hand, Mortensen had about $4.1 million in chips; Tomko had about $2 million. In Texas hold'em, players each receive two cards. All players share five community cards. Each player uses any combination of two cards and the five community cards to form the best five-card poker hand. After each player received two cards, Tomko raised to $100,000 and Mortensen called. The dealer turned over the first three community cards: a 10 and a three of clubs and a jack of diamonds. Mortensen bet another $100,000 and Tomko raised, putting in a total of $500,000. Mortensen put all of the rest of his chips in the pot, and Tomko called, as the crowd roared. "This could be it," yelled a woman as both players turned over their cards. Two aces for Tomko, a king and a queen of clubs for Mortensen. The crowd buzz intensified, as Mortensen needed an ace or a nine to make a straight, or a club to make a flush. If he didn't, Tomko would almost certainly win with his pair of aces. If Mortensen won, the tournament was over; if Tomko won, he'd take a commanding 2-1 chip lead. The dealer turned over the fourth card, the three of diamonds. Tomko was still in the lead with only one card left. But the last card was the nine, giving Mortensen the king-high straight, sending his fans into a frenzy. The winner's $1.5 million prize was already on the table, topped with the gold champion's bracelet, and Mortensen and his wife, Cecilia, stood next to it with huge grins as they shook hands with well-wishers. Tomko was left shaking his head. "I played as well as I could have," said the 54-year-old professional player from Haines City, Fla., who collected $1.1 million for his second-place finish. "Fate is fate." Horseshoe owner Becky Binion Behnen presented Mortensen with the championship bracelet. "It's a tradition at the Horseshoe," she said, smiling. This year's 613-player championship field topped last year's record field of 512 entrants by almost 20 percent. The $1.5 million winner's share of the $6.13 million prize pool equaled the record first-place prize earned by last year's champion, Chris Ferguson. The $1.1 million second prize is more than the event champion earned before last year. The 25 World Series events had more than 6,000 entrants and generated almost $18 million in prizes, easily breaking records set last year.
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