The latest installment of the London-based PartyPoker World Open featured a little bit of everything. The fifth World Open had controversy, excitement, big names, and even a little romance at a seven-person final table that included Mike Sexton, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak, Jennifer Tilly, and Luke “Full_Flush1” Schwartz. In the end, it was Laak who prevailed over the tough field, defeating online qualifier Jan Veit to take the $250,000 first place prize.
The $10,000 buy-in invitation-only event featured six preliminary heats and a runner-up consolation round, with the winner of each heat advancing to the final table. The event got off with a bang before the cards were even in the air. Schwartz, a brash online poker pro, arrived at the Palm Beach Casino only to learn that he had been banned from the property and was not going to be let on the premises. The ban stems from Schwartz’s behavior at the European Poker Tour (EPT) London stop earlier this month, where he stole a pickle and cheese sandwich and then refused to pay for it, claiming he was a VIP and deserved to be treated as such.
Initially, it seemed as though the fallout from “Sandwichgate 2009” was that Schwartz would be banned from all Grosvenor-owned casinos, but the Palm Beach incident suggests that many other venues in Britain have followed Grosvenor’s lead. Schwartz was eventually admitted into the casino to participate in the tournament, but only under the condition that an escort accompanied him at all times. The drama did not appear to have any affect on Schwartz’s play, as he won the first heat to advance to the final table.
Veit, Laak, Tilly, Sexton, and Andrew Black also prevailed in their preliminary heats to advance to the final table, while the final seat went to PartyPoker sponsored pro Bodo Sbrzesny of Germany, who won the runner-up heat. At the outset of the final table, longtime couple Tilly and Laak were seated side-by-side, with Laak having position on his paramour. The two clashed in a couple of pots, including a blind versus blind confrontation in which Tilly moved all-in with pocket aces and Laak doubled her up with K-Q, but the lovebirds would be separated early on when Tilly was eliminated in fifth place.
Sexton also made an early exit when he was eliminated in sixth place, but received an exciting consolation prize, as news broke on Thursday that he would be the 38th member to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and the only person selected for that honor from this year’s list of nine nominees.
Online qualifier Veit took the lead early in the event and picked up even more chips when he eliminated Schwartz in third place. Heads-up play between Laak and Veit was a crazy affair, with the chips flying early on. The two players got it all-in shortly after heads-up play was underway, with Laak holding A-8 to Veit’s A-4. Laak doubled up to take a massive chip lead and Veit could not recover from the big hit. He was ultimately eliminated in second place when his J-7 could not prevail over Laak’s Q-9.
The entirety of the event will begin airing on the British Five network on October 28th and will be hosted by Kara Scott.
Here are the complete results from the final table of the PartyPoker World Open V:
1st Place: Phil Laak – $250,000
2nd Place: Jan Veit – $100,000
3rd Place: Luke Schwartz – $40,000
4th Place: Bodo Sbrzesny – $30,000
5th Place: Jennifer Tilly – $25,000
6th Place: Mike Sexton – $20,000
7th Place: Andy Black – $15,000
