1995 Hall of Fame Poker Classic

$1,500 Buy-in
Entries: 88
Rebuys: 106
Total Prize Money: $291,000

1994 Winner: Herb Bronstein -- $64,200

1995 Champion: F.D. "DODY" ROACH

• The Winners.
• The Showdown.
• The Final Table.
• The Final Hand.

1. F.D. "Dody" Roach                       $116,400
Corpus Christi, Texas
2. Trai "Danny" Dang                         66,930
Los Angeles, California
3. Chris Bjorin                              34,920
London, England
4. Dr. Phil Earle                            20,370
Houston, Texas
5. John Spadavecchia                         16,005
North Miami Beach, Florida
6. Perry Green                               13,095
Anchorage, Alaska
7. Humberto Brenes                           10,185
Miami Lakes, Florida
8. Surinder Sunar                             7,275
Wolverhampton, England
9. Kevin Song                                 5,820
Hacienda Heights, California

. Retired from Reynolds Metals, Roach has one World Series of Poker title to his credit, as well as a title from the Cajun Cup tournament, and has cashed several times in other major competitions. He began playing poker at the age of 12.

. Roach arrived at the final table as the chip leader and managed to maintain his position until only three players were left. Then a key hand came down when Trai "Danny" Dang opened the betting with AS 9D 8S 6C and was called by Roach, who held A-K-Q-7, and by Chris Bjorin, who had K-Q-J-2. The flop came KS JS 10D, and Bjorin moved all in with two pair. Roach, who had flopped the nut straight, raised all in, and Dang called all in with the nut flush draw. The 3S fell on the turn, and when the river brought the 8D, Dang won the monster $195,000 pot, knocking Bjorin out of the tournament and taking more than a 2-to-1 lead over Roach.

. Over the next two hours, Roach chiseled away at Dang's stack, then seized the advantage when Dang failed to fill a straight. A few hands later, Dang was almost down to the felt and put his last few chips all in before the flop with 10-10-7-6 against Roach's Q-8-8-6. The final board showed J-6-5-Q-3, and Roach won the pot and his first Hall of Fame title with queens up.

. Dang, a 34-year-old professional poker player from Los Angeles, California, received $66,930 for his second-place finish. A former college student, Dang holds titles from the Queens Poker Classic, the L.A. Poker Classic, and the Legends of Poker Tournament, and has cashed in a number of other major competitions. He began playing poker just five years ago.

. For placing third in the pot-limit Omaha competition, Chris Bjorin of London, England, pocketed $34,920. A 48-year-old compiler for SSP, the largest bookmaker in the world, Bjorin won the Omaha High-Low Split event and $68,400 on December 15. He now has to his credit two Hall of Fame titles, as well as titles from the Queens Poker Classic and the L.A. Poker Classic. Although Bjorin has played high Draw and Five-Card Stud with a stripped deck since childhood, he began playing the popular American games just eight years ago.

. Dr. Phil Earle, who finished in fourth place for $20,370, had his concentration on the game abruptly shattered when one of the railbirds suffered a seizure and stopped breathing. Doc leaped from his chair, the game was temporarily halted, and he and Dr. Kian Kaveh, who also had seen what happened, rushed to the man's aid and administered CPR until the paramedics arrived. Thanks to the good doctors, the Horseshoe is pleased to report that the man, whose name remains unknown, survived.

The Final Hand

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