Hand #224: Kenneth Lind continued to employ his small ball strategy, limping in and giving Dana Ott the option. Ott checked to see a flop of hit the board, and he led out for a bet of 400,000.
Lind appeared focused on the hand, sizing up Ott's stack and staring intently across the table at his opponent. Eventually, he flat-called and the turn came the . Slowly tapping the table, Ott announced a check, and Lind immediately moved two stacks forward for a bet of 1 million even.
Now it was Ott's turn to tank, and he thought things over for thirty seconds or so, before rising to his feet and saying "I'm all in."
Lind stood to his feet and made the quickest call of his life, and with that Ott suspected the worst.
"You got the straight don't you?" he asked, while tabling the for trip sevens on the turn.
"Yes I do," was Lind's reply, and he proudly tabled his for the flopped nut straight.
Ott appeared to be resigned to his fate, and although he had plenty of board pair outs to make the winning full house, even he seemed to suspect that destiny was simply on the other side of the table.
River:
With that, Lind erupted in an unbridled expression of joy, screaming "Yes!" as loudly as he could while pumping his fists in the air. Ott graciously congratulated the winner, and despite falling short in this heads-up battle, he played with admirable skill and resolve to mount a brief comeback from a 3:1 chip disadvantage. For his runner-up finish here at the Seniors Championship, Ott takes home nearly $400,000, along with a story to last a lifetime.
Hand #153: John Holley's last hand in this Senior Championship ended with a bang, but it began with a simple check of his big blind option. Dana Ott had limped in on the button, and Kenneth Lind did the same from the small blind.
After tapping the table, Holley saw a flop of , and after Lind checked to him, Holley did the same. Ott seized on this sign of weakness by betting 275,000, which folded Lind quickly, and the action was back on Holley.
He assessed the size of his stack in relation to Ott's, and then reraised to 575,000, putting the pressure back on his opponent. Ott grabbed a stack of chips and moved it forward, saying "I call it" as he did so, and for a brief moment the table thought he had moved all in. After correcting the dealer, Ott's flat call was accepted and the arrived on the turn.
Holley then shipped his stack into the middle, shoving for just over 1.5 million, and he was dismayed to hear Ott snap him off while beating him to the pot.
"Nice hand sir," said Holley, turning over his and suspecting he was in bad shape. When Ott turned over his for the nut straight, Holley discovered that his tournament life had come to an end, and the meaningless on the river changed nothing. The WSOP Circuit veteran exited in 3rd place, and despite coming up short here at the Mothership, he just added a few more buy-ins to his bankroll.
Kenneth Lind is leading this final table with more than half the chips in play. He took a few minutes during the last break to tell PokerNews a little about himself.
PokerNews: What motivated you to play this tournament?
Lind: I’ve been playing poker, Hold’em, for 10 or 12 years. Played a few tournaments here and there. I play every Wednesday night with a bunch of friends. And I put it on my “Bucket List.” I said I want to play at the World Series before I start pushing grass up. So I spent some time thinking about it, and my wife kept saying, “Go, go, go.” And I kept saying, “Well...it’s a thousand dollars. That’s a lot of money.” I might have a couple hours of fun and then I’m sitting on my...derriere, who knows? And I guess there are people around that have more confidence in me than I have in myself. And a real good friend of mine said, “Ken, you go. Why don’t you go, and I’ll pay your entry fee.” And I told him, “No.” I kept saying “no” for months. And finally he said, “A lot of pros have somebody backing them. I’m going to back you.” And I said, “OK,” and that’s why I’m here. It’s my first WSOP. I’ve never been in a tournament with more than 10 tables. And here I am at the end of this tournament with 4,407 people, and I’m still in shock.
Several legends of the game were in this tournament. Johnny Chan, T. J. Cloutier, to name a few. How does it feel to outlast them?
They were both in this one? The only pro that I saw was Bill Baxter. I looked around, but I don’t know which other pros were in the tournament. Chan and Cloutier...that’s really something. I’m shocked. You put in shock again. We might need a defibrillator here before long.
Are you planning to play again next year
My inclination is yes, but who knows? I might not even be around next year. My whole family died at 40, and here I am at 68. For the last 28 years, it’s been nothing but gravy for me.
Hand #83: Barry Bashist opened for 225,000 from under the gun, and with the overwhelming chip lead, Kenneth Lind could easily afford the call.
When the flop rained down , Lind checked it over to Bashist, who quickly fired a bet of 300,000 forward. Lind thought about it for thirty seconds or so, before tossing out the requisite chips for a call.
The turn brought the on board, and Lind checked a second time, prompting Bashist to announce himself all in for his last 950,000.
Lind then stood up and snap-called with authority, throwing his down on the table to proclaim that he held the nuts. Bashist could only reveal his in shock, going from exhiliration at hitting his two pair on the turn, to anguish after being trapped by Lind.
Bashist still had hope to fill up on the river, but the was not the card he was looking for, and he exited the Mothership main stage with a 4th place finish.
Hand #78: Ken Lind raised to 225,000 from under the gun. Randy Spain reraised to 725,000 from the cutoff and Lind called.
Lind check called Spain's 600,000 bet on the flop.
Lind checked the turn. Spain moved all in and Lind called with for two pair. Spain had for top pair. The river gave Lind a full house, eliminating Spain in 5th place.
Ken Lind raised 130,000 "on top" of the big blind for a total of 180,000. Michel Bouskila reraised to 475,000. After a staring down Bouskila for few moments, Lind moved all in with a call from Bouskila, who is at risk.
Lind:
Bouskila:
The board came and Lind's queens hold up, eliminating Bouskila in 6th place.
Hand #47: Randolph Spain opened for 125,000 in middle position, and he heard James Miller announce himself all in for his last 645,000 or so chips. Spain snap-called with his , and big slick was dominating Miller's .
Flop:
Every poker game needs a little sweat, and we got ours with two spades on the flop. Miller now needed any spade or ten in the deck for salvation, but the turn () and river (} did not cooperate, sending him to the payout desk in 7th place.
With the win, Spain pushed over the 3.5 million chip plateau, and as he is seated to the left of chip leader Kenneth Lind, there may be more fireworks to come.
Hand #44: Kenneth Lind opened for 115,000, and Jack Ernest Ward moved all in over the top for his last 670,000. With the chip lead and in the hole, Lind stood and announced a call, and he was delighted to find his hand was crushing Ward's .
The board ran out , and with his pair of tens Lind knocked Ward out in 8th place.
Ken Lind opened the pot from early position and made it 105,000. Jack Ward called from the hijack as did Fernando Halac from the big blind.
Fernando checked the flop and Lind made it 335,000. Ward folded over to Halac who moved all in. Lind thought for a while and made the call with . Halac had for a flush draw.
The turn and river made Lind a boat, eliminating Halac in 9th place.
Hand #28: With his chip lead growing, Kenneth Lind opened to 135,000 trying to collect another uncontested pot, but Michel Bouskila reraised all in for his last 750,000 instead. Next to act, Barry Bashist quickly announced a call, and Lind was now forced to consider the situation carefully. He stood to examine Bashist's stack, which had about 1.2 million behind after the call. Eventually, Lind tossed his face up on the table, and the remaining players tabled their holdings.
Showdown:
Bashist:
Bouskila:
Bouskila had Bashist dominated, and the final board of kept him out in front. The double up kept him in contention for a gold bracelet in this Seniors Championship, while Bashist lost almost half of his stack with the loss.
hit the board, and he led out for a bet of 400,000.
. Slowly tapping the table, Ott announced a check, and Lind immediately moved two stacks forward for a bet of 1 million even.
for trip sevens on the turn.
for the flopped nut straight.
, and after Lind checked to him, Holley did the same. Ott seized on this sign of weakness by betting 275,000, which folded Lind quickly, and the action was back on Holley.
arrived on the turn.
and suspecting he was in bad shape. When Ott turned over his 
for the nut straight, Holley discovered that his tournament life had come to an end, and the meaningless 
, Lind checked it over to Bashist, who quickly fired a bet of 300,000 forward. Lind thought about it for thirty seconds or so, before tossing out the requisite chips for a call.
down on the table to proclaim that he held the nuts. Bashist could only reveal his 
was not the card he was looking for, and he exited the Mothership main stage with a 4th place finish.
flop.
for top pair. The 
) and river (
} did not cooperate, sending him to the payout desk in 7th place.
.
flop and Lind made it 335,000. Ward folded over to Halac who moved all in. Lind thought for a while and made the call with 
for a flush draw.
