Chimps in the money

In spiritual circles, St. Francis of Assisi is best known as the patron saint of all animals. St. Francis was a 13th century friar who rescued, housed, and protected wounded and needy critters who could not care for themselves. If St. Francis has a modern-day disciple, his name is most certainly “Lee Watkinson.” And, if you don’t believe it, just ask a chimpanzee.

On July 12, 2006, Watkinson got a monkey the size of an 800-pound gorilla off of his back. After playing in major poker tournaments throughout North America and cashing dozens of times since 2002, Watkinson finally won his first WSOP gold bracelet. Watkinson prevailed in a blistering field of 218 players in Event #16– comprised of the very best Pot-Limit Omaha specialists in the world. Each player paid $10,000 to enter the event, which created a total prize pool $2,049,200.

It took two days to play down to the last nine competitors. The final table included three former WSOP gold bracelet winners – Rafi Amit (1 win), Mickey Appleman (4 wins) and Hasan Habib (1 win). However, what was most remarkable was the international composition of the nine finalists.

Demonstrating that Pot-Limit Omaha is the most “European” of poker variations, five different countries were represented – including three players from Europe. This competition was also unique because it marked the first time at this year’s World Series that a defending champion made it to the final table. Rafi Amit won this event in 2005.

There was also a greater sense of camaraderie present at this table than seen elsewhere. At one point, the entire table ordered a shot and drank a toast together. All poker games everywhere should be fun as this one.

Heads-up play started off with Watkinson holding a 3 to 1 chip advantage over Aussie Mike Guttmann. It took over two hours for Watkinson to overcome a very tough fight by the CEO from Melbourne. Midway through the duel, Guttman seized the chip lead momentarily when he rivered a flush against the shell shocked Watkinson. But that would be Guttmann’s high-point of the tournament. The man nicknamed “Sticky Micky” came unglued in the final stages of the tournament, seemingly helpless to stall Watkinson’s aggressive tendencies.

The final hand of the night was deal out when Watkinson held A-Q-6-5 versus Guttmann’s J-J-10-8. All of Guttmann’s chips went into the pot on a pre-flop re-raise. The final board showed 5-4-3-7-K. Watkinson’s 6-5 connected with the 7-4-3 on board to complete the straight. As runner up, Mike “Sticky Micky” Guttmann collected $360,659.

Afterward, Watkinson described the victory as more of a relief than a thrill. He finished second in this same event two years ago, which until tonight was the closest Watkinson had ever come to winning at the World Series.

“When I was playing heads-up and lost (the chip lead), I started thinking it was déjà vu all over again,” Watkinson said in reference to finishing in second-place at a number of majors in recent years. “But then, I just re-focused my game and realized that it takes a different kind of strategy to win a Pot-Limit Omaha tournament. I just played the percentages, wanting to get my money in with the best possible situation.”

Yet, as excited as Watkinson was to win over half a million dollars and the WSOP gold bracelet, he was quick to shift everyone’s attention to a greater, more humanitarian purpose. Watkins was joined up on the poker stage by his fiancé Timmi DeRosa. Together, they described their plans to constructively use some of the $655,746 in total prize money. Watkinson and DeRosa told of their longtime commitment to rescuing and retiring captive chimpanzees, many of which have been used in everything from major motion pictures to research laboratories.

Watkinson and DeRosa told about how chimpanzees are not as useful as they become older and are commonly discarded. So a few years ago, the couple made a commitment to rescue as many creatures as possible and eventually build an animal sanctuary. “All the animals need our help,” DeRosa said. “But we really try to focus on the chimpanzees.”

Event #16
$10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
Final table results:

1. Lee Watkinson $655,746
2. Mike Guttman $360,659
3. Mark Dickstein $184,428
4. Rafi Amit $143,444
5. Hasan Habib $122,952
6. Nicholas Gibson $102,460
7. Jani Vilmunen $81,968
8. Thomas Wahlroos $61,476
9. Mickey Appleman $40,984