The Annual · 8th Denny Poker Tournament
Lee Ugarte Wins the Longest One Yet
Nine hours and forty-seven minutes, nineteen players, and a first Annual trophy at the sixth attempt.
Nineteen players sat down and nobody got up for nine hours and forty-seven minutes — the longest Annual this tournament has ever run. Lee Ugarte won it for $345 and the trophy, at his sixth attempt and with four knockouts, including the first man out and the last.
He beat Charlie Drotar heads-up in thirteen minutes. Charlie took $205 for second, three weeks after finishing third in the league finale.
Mike Conner was third for $140 with four knockouts of his own. Mandy Denny finished fourth for $90 having put out three players, and her husband Eric Denny was fifth for $65 with four — the two of them accounting for seven eliminations between them and finishing one place apart. David Doole completed the money in sixth for $50 without making a single knockout.
Where the money went
| Player | Prize | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Ugarte | $345 |
| 2 | Charlie Drotar | $205 |
| 3 | Mike Conner | $140 |
| 4 | Mandy Denny | $90 |
| 5 | Eric Denny | $65 |
| 6 | David Doole | $50 |
The undercard
Paul Coffman bubbled in seventh in his first Annual. Mike McEvoy was the first player out, and even that took three hours and twenty-five minutes. Nobody in the field rebought, in a tournament that allows it.
The bigger picture
Eight Annuals, six different winners. Joe Johnson and Brian Albers have two each; Lee joins Dan Myers, Mandy Denny and Tom Buzbee on one.
The Canterberry Poker League season ended three weeks ago and went to Rick Mazza on 94 points. He came here and finished tenth of nineteen. That makes five Annuals since 2009 in which the newly crowned champion has turned up, and he has cashed at one of them — Eric Denny, fifth in 2010.
The 8th Annual Denny Poker Tournament — Saturday, May 3, 2014. 19 entrants, no rebuys, six paid from an $895 prize pool.