Las Vegas, NV
Andrew Malott has taken some wicked beats in his short, but memorable professional poker career. At last year’s WSOP, Malott had a healthy stack and was down to five-handed play in a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event. Malott moved all-in with pocket kings and was called an opponent who showed ace-jack.
Malott loved his spot and seemed primed to take the chip lead en route to what could have been a gold bracelet victory and nearly life-changing prize money of half a million dollars. Instead, Malott’s kings were cracked, leaving 29-year-old aspiring champion to ponder the possibilities of what might have been.
Fast forward ten months later to Caesars Palace Las Vegas and the latest WSOP Circuit event.
Andrew Malott, a year older and a bit wiser, overcame a tough field of 162 players in the $550 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event and won his first WSOP-related victory. First place paid $20,820. But for Malott, it was just as much about the gold ring and the satisfaction of victory as the prize money.
“It’s really cool to win here because when you get to that situation (before) when you get the win within your clutches and you go out the way I did, you just come back with even more of a hunger,” said Malott moments after the victory.
“Every time you get into one of these situations, you want to do everything you can so it won’t slip through your fingers because it’s such a brutal experience to go to a WSOP final table and not scoop it.”
Malott had some fun immediately following his victory. Boosted by the confidence of his first-ever WSOP Circuit win, he issued a challenge to three-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner Dwyte Pilgrim.
“This is to my boy, Dwyte Pilgrim,” barked Malott for the entire poker world to hear. “I’m going to catch up to your rings, kid. The rings are going to be all over my fingers. You know how it’s going to go….I’m coming for you Dwyte Pilgrim, let’s go!”
Pilgrim, who did not show up at this year’s Caesars series was not available for comment.
(Editor's Note: Pilgrim was at the Borgata Spring Poker Open at the time of Malott's remarks, where he took 2nd place in the $1,000 buy-in, six-handed NLH event. Veteran poker writer Kaelaine Minton, who is currently in Atlantic City covering the event, posted Pilgrim's response to Malott in her blog which can be seen here: http://borgatapoker.blogspot.com/2010/04/dwyte-pilgrim-responds-to-challenge.html)
The tournament, the 13th of 19 on this year’s Caesars schedule, was played on April 22nd and 23rd. The tournament attracted 162 players, which created a prize pool totaling $78,570. The top 18 players collected prize money. After 152 players were eliminated on Day One, the final table was held on Day Two.
Malott was not the only winner worthy of praise. Among those who cashed was Patrick Kellett, who finished in 10th place. Mr. Kellett is 85 years old, making him one of the oldest players ever to cash in a WSOP Circuit event. An English native, he served as a fighter pilot in World War II for the Royal Air Force and fought under Gen. Montgomery’s command in North Africa.
When Mr. Kellett was eliminated in tenth place, all the players in the tournament gave him a round of applause and offered handshakes. It was a special moment for everyone, demonstrating that despite poker’s competitive nature, there remains room for mutual respect and admiration.
Another player who cashed in this tournament was Everett Carlton, who won Event #3 and his first gold ring. This time, Carlton took 17th place in what was his third time to cash at this year’s Caesars series. He also took 4th place in another event.
There was one former WSOP gold bracelet winner among the final nine players – Toto Leonidas, who won a seven-card stud event at the 2003 WSOP. Andrew Malott arrived at the Final Table as chip leader. Closest in chips when play began was Kenton Taylor, who was within striking distance. During most of the eight-hour finale, Malott was the chip leader. In fact, he was never in serious danger of elimination at any point.
When Final Table play began, the nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:
1 Toto Leonidas Los Angeles, CA 220,500
2 Matt Schwarmann Orlando, FL 200,000
3 Sean “the Bluffer” Mullaghy Billings, MT 41,500
4 Kenton Taylor El Centro, CA 271,000
5 “KC” Panjwani Houston, TX 190,500
6 Andrew Malott Las Vegas, NV 307,000
7 Louis Lau Seattle, WA 142,000
8 Jason Smith Chandler, AZ 129,500
9 Anton Kunikeyev Las Vegas, NV 37,500
Final table play began at 2:00 pm and ended nearly eight hours later at 9:45 pm. Players busted out in the following order:
Ninth Place: KC Panjwani Suffers 9th Nervous Breakdown
KC Panjwani, a remodeling contractor from Houston, was eliminated quickly and went out in ninth place. He lost a few big hands very early on, and was forced to settle for $2,161 in prize money.
Eighth Place: Time is “Not” on Lau’s Side
Louis Lau, a restaurant owner from Seattle, WA ended up in eighth place. Lau, who is originally from Hong Kong, cashed for the first time in a WSOP-related event and pocketed $2,554. He had previously won an event at The Wynn Poker Classic.
Seventh Place: Anton Kunikeyev, We Miss You
Anton Kunikeyev, a performer in the Cirque du Soleil’s Las Vegas show “Zumanity,” was the seventh-place finisher. The Moscow-born artist plays in many local tournaments. He has also previously cashed on the WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Atlantic City. Seventh place paid $3,142.
Sixth Place: Tumbling Dice Come Up Snake Eyes for Sean Mullaghy
Sean Mullaghy, a welder from Billings, MT is an avid poker player. He plays in many Montana games, which is a hotbed of poker. Mullaghy, who has the poker nickname “the Bluffer,” has also previously cashed at the WSOP in Las Vegas. This was his second time to finish in the money at this year’s Caesar’s series (he was 17th in Event #3). Mullaghy received $3,929.
Fifth Place: Toto Can’t Always Get What He Wants
Toto Leonidas, former gold bracelet winner, went bust about six hours into play when he lost a race with AK versus pocket 4s. Leonidas therefore had to settle for fifth place, which paid $4,911. Leonidas currently has 24 WSOP cashes, which puts him in the top-100 all time. This was his third time to cash at the WSOP Circuit at Caesars Palace.
Fourth Place: Matt Schwarmann Gets Shattered
Matt Schwarmann, a 23-year-old graduate of University of Central Florida-now turned poker player, went out in fourth place when his draw missed and he ended up losing to a pair of aces. Schwarmann, who took fourth place in the WSOP Circuit championship held two weeks ago at Harrah’s St. Louis repeated that same finish here, which paid $6,286. Schwarmann also cashed in last year’s WSOP Main Event (279th).
Third Place: No Emotional Rescue for Kenton Taylor
Kenton Taylor went deep, but ultimately ran out of momentum late when he busted out with A9 against pocket 8s. Taylor, an accountant from the San Diego area, accepted third place, which was his best major tournament finish ever. Taylor, who finished in ninth place in one of the Harrah’s Rincon tournaments held last month, accepted a nice payout totaling $8,053.
Second Place: Jason K. Smith Gets No Satisfaction
When heads-up play began, Andrew Malott enjoyed about a 3 to 1 chip lead over Jason Smith. The two rivals battled for about 20 minutes before Malott won the final hand of the tournament.
The last hand came when Smith was dealt Qs Jd. Malott was dealt Kc Ts. Smith moved all in on the turn hoping to steal the pot and Malott quickly called holding top pair. The final board Kh 8c 6c 5d 4s showed , which meant Malott’s pair of kings took down the last pot of the night.
Jason K. Smith, from Chandler, AZ ended the tournament as the runner up. He currently has four WSOP cashes, and finished in third place just three weeks ago at the WSOP Circuit event held at Harrah’s Rincon, near San Diego. Second place paid $12,571.
First Place: Andrew Malott is a Street Fighting Man
Andrew Malott is originally from Detroit. He lived for several years in Chandler, AZ and has recently relocated to Las Vegas, primarily to play more live poker. Malott says he expects to win “at least one” WSOP gold bracelet coming up in June and July, and is confident he will achieve a breakthrough year in poker. First place paid $20,820 and the coveted gold ring, presented to all WSOP Circuit event champions.
(source - http://www.wsop.com)
