The 1999 World Series of poker was an entirely different event than those that came before it. In the wake of Becky Binion-Behnen seizing control of the Horseshoe Casino from brother Jack, Jim Albrecht and Jack McLelland were relived of their duties, leaving the Series without its three most fervent stewards. That wasn’t the only change.
The number of events went from twenty to sixteen, the regal way in which players had become accustomed to being treated was no more and the quality of the gold in the traditional bracelets was lowered. These and other lessening of the tradition cause two more notable absences; Doyle Brunson and Chip Reese chose not to attend the festivities in their support of Jack.
Still, the Series played on. Amongst the first-time winners that year were three men who would leave indelible marks on the game: Layne Flack, who would go on to win four more bracelets, Josh Arieh and the unmistakable Mike “The Mouth Matusow”, who had a third of Scotty Nguyen’s main event win a year earlier. The final table of the Main Event didn’t have stars as flamboyant as these, but it did see six professionals play for the title.
1996 Champion Huck Seed, Chris Bigler, Erik Seidel and Padraig Parkinson were eliminated in order, leaving just two men in contention for the title: Alan Goehring, who would go on to win the first WPT World Championship, and Irishman Noel Furlong, a sixty-one year old ‘amateur’ who’d made the final table a decade earlier. Both successful businessmen, it was safe to say they were both more interested in the title than the cash that accompanied it.
The duel began with even stacks, but a cold run of cards left Alan gasping for air and Noel took a 3:1 chip lead. Finally, Goehring found a playable hand with pocket sixes. He decided to see a Qs-Qc-5s flop after Furlong limped in from the small blind. Both men checked again.
When 2s hit on the turn, Goehring checked, looking to trap the aggressive Furlong in the belief he had the best hand. Furlong did indeed bet T150,000, and Goehring was ready with a T300,000 raise, but when Noel re-raised all-in, Goehring was dead to rights. He made a begrudging call only to see Furlong held pocket fives; he’d flopped a full house. The river was 8s, giving the Irishman the championship.
Gary Wise
gary@wisehandpoker.com
