Mr. Double December Upgrades To Triple D's & A Crown!

    The anticipation of the year end 2006 SBPT Tournament was at an all time high; you could sense the enthusiasm in the room.  The top points leaders had a lot riding on this, the 28th SBPT event!

    This months tourney was hosted by the Turtle at The Casino De Paris.  The Turtle said next time he wins he will host at his new pad, maybe he will call it "The Tortuous Shell Casino"? We all look forward to that, if his wife's home-style chili was just a sampling of what is to come! 

With all the eagerness in the room to play, it raised a few questions..............

    With so many players bunched up towards the top, was El Guapo going to be able to hold onto the lead he had held for 3/4 of the season? or was another player going to be able to swipe it from under him like "el bebé que duerme"?  One thing would prove to be certain,  El Guapo was going to need a Manpon by the nights end because his "asno extremo" would undoubtedly be bleeding.  El Guapo and Slick would calculate and re-calculate the standings all the way to the final hand of the night. 

    Sporting 2 new players, game time started at 6:30ish with 14 players in attendance.  The headhunter table wasted no time calling all-in, then came the 2nd all -in, and the 3rd, 4th..... you get the point!  The action was looser than US immigration policies.  As for the leader's table, El Guapo was playing tighter than virgins on prom night just waiting for his opponents to take each other out in hopes he could fold his way to victory.  With a couple of complete re-buys at the leader's table and multiple re-buys at the headhunter's table the pot was sure to be fat with 9.4M chips in play. 

    Break didn't come soon enough with the players salivating over the smell of homemade chili simmering on the stove, cornbread, and hot cider in the air.  Many thanks and many compliments to the chef (Turtle's wife Jen). Congratulations to houseboat for actually making it to the break and not having to take his food to go. 

    8:00ish full bellies and all, the mood had actually lightened up considering there was such a race at hand.  Players were playing their best with Slicks off-suit flush and Scooters 4 card straight (just to note a couple), nothing was being held back. The headhunter table was still up to their antics as they wasted no time calling all-in, all-in, all-in.  In a flash we lost our first player. Chili couldn't seem to catch a break all night!  I am sure happy I wasn't on that table.  The Saw held up to her name by snatching the headhunter award from the raining champion and giving us the final table.

    The final table brought us the best of the best (except for Sandy, as she went out before taking a seat).  We saw The Dry Cleaner, The Saw, Spongie, El Guapo, Slick, and Butterfingers.  Butterfingers  playing a strong game came to the table with an enormous chip lead.  He was looking for a victory, and to throw a wrench into the works, but lived up to his name within short order of a few hands and a few bad beats from Slick, and Butterfingers was out. 

    Time was a thief as chip stacks started to whither away as the blinds and antes increased.  Although playing a good game, The Dry Cleaner was out next leaving only 4.  After more calculations El Guapo had to pull the trigger on his short stack only to be sent to the rail by his adversary, Big Slick.  That left The Saw and The Sponge to take out the dominate chip stack and give El Guapo the title.  This pressure proved to be too much for The Saw as she gave up a large stack of chips to Sponge, and then to Slick taking the final blow with pocket queens.  This left the fate of  the Guap to Sponge.  I guess if you need someone to soak up your mess he would be the sponge to do it.  Unfortunately for Guapo the Sponge was already soaked as Slick had a 4 to 1 chip lead on him.  It was only a matter of a few hands for Sponge to miss step with nothing in the pocket and Slick was crowned Mr. December for the third time and Tour Champion at approximately 2:30am!

    Now that the smoke has cleared, congratulations are in order to Big Slick for holding on to his December Title, and most importantly on his year end win.  Congratulations are also in order to El Guapo for his great run and 2nd place year end finish, and to Brawny for her third place year end tie with Scooter, without even showing up!  We must also bid farewell to Chili and M.C. however, we hope they will reconsider and attend whenever possible, as they will both be missed!

    Good luck to everyone next year.  Lets make 2007 another fun, enjoyable, yet competitive poker tour.  Thanks to everyone for playing, and thank you to all the players that had the opportunity to host.  Lets not forget the wives, since we know who does the majority of the hosting.  As for me, I am looking forward to 2007 and competing with all the new and seasoned players.  L'éponge et Sableux Gagnera Casino De Paris 2007!!!!

    Sponge

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