. This is the first Hall of Fame title for Bloch, who also holds a no-limit Hold'em title from the World Poker Finals. A graduate of MIT with a degree in electrical engineering, Bloch plans to attend law school next year.
. Almost down to the felt when heads-up play began, runner-up Paul Pudaite was soon forced to relinquish his last two chips when Bloch showed down the winning combination -- queens full of eights in back, a pair of kings for the middle hand, and A-J-9 in front. Pudaite set his final hand as follows: treys full of fours in back, a pair of fives in the middle, and A-J-9 in front.
. "Paul is a talented player," said Bloch. "He taught me almost everything I know about Chinese Poker, and it seems strange that I ended up beating him. But there's a little bit of skill and a lot of luck in this game, and I got good cards when it counted."
. Pudaite, 36, of East Lansing, Michigan, pocketed $16,500 for his second-place finish. A Chinese Poker player since childhood, he became a serious competitor just two years ago. He and his wife, Gretchen, captured first place in this year's mixed doubles event at the Peppermill Spring Tournament.
. Placing third and taking home $9,900 was Kiet Tran of Alhambra, California, who began playing a form of Chinese Poker years ago in his native Vietnam. A 26-year-old competitor, Tran placed third in the Chinese Poker event during the 1995 Queens Poker Classic and finished sixth in a recent Hold'em event at Commerce Casino.