My friend Mike Paulle has given me permission to post his daily reports for each event of the World Series of Poker this year to the ChipBoard! Below is his report on Event #22. Andy - Las Vegas

WORLD SERIES OF POKER 2002

EVENT #22 7-CARD STUD
Thursday, May 9, 2002
$5,000 BUY-IN
$5,000 in chips

AFGHANISTAN

How appropriate is it that the World Series of Poker should have its first
event champion from Afghanistan in the year following 9/11?

There were 92 entrants in the $5,000 Buy-In, Stud for a total prize pool of
$432,400. One table was paid, a total of 8 players.

The Final Table was setup Thursday night when two players went out on the same
hand tied for the non-paying 9th spot. At one table, Thor Hansen made a King
high flush to lessen Peter Moore. On the other table, Men Nguyen made Kings up
to flatten Ken Flaton. That allowed us to be charmed again the next afternoon
by the adorable Cyndy Violette, if only for a few minutes.

THE FINAL TABLE: 90 mins left of 90.

The ante was $400, bring-in $1,000, playing $3,000/$6,000

Player Hometown Chip Count

Seat 1 Mel Judah London UK $48,400
Seat 2 Morad Qushqur Hamburg, Germany $147,700
Seat 3 Cyndy Violette Abescon NJ $ 7,900
Seat 4 Men 'The Master' Nguyen Bell Gardens CA $ 73,600
Seat 5 Phil Goatz Las Vegas NV $ 86,200
Seat 6 Randall Skaggs Las Vegas NV $24,800
Seat 7 Thor Hansen Oslo, Norway $ 38,900
Seat 8 Steve Banks Santa Clarita CA $32,600

It's not often, with players of this caliber, that one of them would have
nearly a third of the chips starting the Final Table. Who does this guy think
he is, Phil Ivey?

Actually, the success of Morad Qushqur in poker is a function of his success in
life. Like a lot of wealthy businessmen, Morad plays for a change of pace from
his tension-filled business. You can believe Morad's wife Margaret when she
says, "Most people come here (the WSOP) to make money, he only wants to have
fun. He loves to play the game." For Qushqur the $5,000 entry fee is like an
unlimited-ride ticket to an amusement park. He gets to play for 23 hours for
one price. From the get-go, it was obvious that Morad's idea of fun is to
dominate a poker table. The only question was who would finish second.

For Cyndy Violette the only question was whether she would win the only hand
she'd get to play. And the answer was no. The eternally youthful Violette
couldn't wait forever at a $400 ante plus an occasional $1,000 bring-in. Cyndy
found a buried pair of 7's and went for it. To Morad Qushqur, Cyndy's raise and
bets were meaningless to his stack. Morad called Cyndy's all-in with no pair
and spiked an 8 on the river for an overpair. This group got a whole lot less
pretty when Violette shrank in 8th.

At every Final Table, it seems, there is one player who is living through a
nightmare. Today that player was Phil Goatz. How could an excellent player like
Phil not be able to win a last longer bet with another player at the table who
started with less than a third his chips? Easy! You repeatedly get dealt
quality starting hands, then you add a few delicious draws on 4th and 5th Sts.
Finally, you serve up absolutely nothing on 6th St and the river. Before you
know it, $86,200 has disappeared and you are on the rail in 7th place. From the
very first hand, Phil Goatz was the paymaster to the table, he had to pay
everyone off. Steve Banks and Randall Skaggs won their all-in hands against
Phil. Goatz made Kings against Banks' Aces. He can't call Men Nguyen twice on
the river. Perhaps gratefully, the nightmare ended quickly. Within the first
hour Phil Goatz was broke. All-in against Morad Qushqur, Phil saw his last draw
fail and Morad catch a third King.

It's not comprehensible why Randall Skaggs has so few WSOP cashes. There must
be some database error. He's a terrific tournament player. Under pressure from
the beginning with so few chips, Skaggs fought bravely but got a tough beat on
his all-in hand. Randall started with trip 10's on 4th St. and made a King high
straight. Either of these two hands should have been enough to win, but Skaggs
didn't have enough chips to get Steve Banks off a flush draw that got there on
the river. Randall, in 6th, isn't through with this WSOP.

Even before the Final Table, Mel Judah was aggravated. Mel spent much of the
preceding day at the same table as Men 'The Master' Nguyen. Many of the
psychological games Nguyen likes to play in a tournament, Judah would be eager
to tell you are 'out of line.' Now at the Final Table together, Mel was still
steaming. Of course, it's 'The Master' who puts Judah out in 5th. Men was
catching the kitchen sink at the time and had a 10 high straight on 5th St. Mel
was all-in with three Aces and couldn't fill. Don't invite these guys to the
same party.

Another player with a kitchen sink in his portfolio was Steve Banks. Starting
6th in chips, Banks looked like just another also-ran to Qushqur and Nguyen,
but huge cards kept coming. How about this hand! With the antes and bring-in
elevated, Thor Hansen had to make a move. He picked a good hand and went for
it, making an Ace high straight. Steve Banks was performing magic at the time,
however, and wasn't content with a full house. His trip 4's could only look
good in quads. Two Hansens have already won bracelets so far this year. Thor
is one of them, but ONLY 4th in this event. Poor Thor, hate to see a Norse god
struggling.

Ever the manipulator, Men Nguyen tried a beauty this time. The Master was third
in chips behind Qushqur and Banks, with less than half of Morad's. "How about a
save of $100,000 each and we play for the rest," Men suggested seriously.
Morad's English isn't too good, but his Russia-born wife Margaret's is. Sitting
right behind Morad, it was Margaret who said 'Nyet' to this deal. Nguyen, who
had been so hot early, now was just as cold. The killer hand for Men was when
he made Aces up on Sixth St. Most players go broke on this hand, but they don't
call him The Master for nothing. Men was able to lay the hand down. Morad
Qushqur showed Nguyen rolled up 7's.

It was getting ridiculous for The Master. Short-stacked now and three-handed,
Men was getting every low card bring-in. Nguyen was giving the dealers looks
that could maim if not kill, when the funniest incident of the Final Table
occurred. Mark, a new dealer, was brought in on normal rotation. He dealt one
hand. Men won the hand. This was the only hand Nguyen had won in a half hour
when his chips were felt-bound. The dealer coordinator comes in after Men's
winning hand and pulls Mark out of the box. Mark didn't have his tie on so he
was improperly dressed. Predictably, The Master went nuts. "I win one hand and
you pull the dealer? What's going on here?" Nguyen had so few chips left, he
wasn't seriously offended. It was just another opportunity to put on a show by
one of the great showmen of poker. Morad Qushqur made Aces up to send the
showman out in a frustrated 3rd with $51,880, just over half of the amount he
generously said he'd be content with minutes before.

Steve Banks is a high-stakes Stud and Omaha player in the LA-area casinos, so
the chip values weren't intimidating to him. But if he could have Morad's
money, he'd gladly throw his away. Commencing with a 2-3 chip disadvantage,
Banks was campaigning for a redistribution of wealth. He wanted some money
added to 2nd place. It was difficult to get these Socialist ideas across to a
capitalist like Morad, but eventually the message was translated properly and
Banks got his wish. Playing for the bracelet meant a lot to Steve Banks, but
oddly it meant even more to Morad Qushqur. That's because it wasn't just the
gold bracelet to Morad. It was the chance to be the first player born in
Afghanistan to win one. Just as John Juanda is the first Indonesian and Hasan
Habib the first Pakistani, being the first from any country is an honor that
can never be taken away.

"Every time he had me by the throat, he'd let me go. I don't understand it."
Steve Banks was talking about the tactics of Morad Qushqur during a late break.
Steve hadn't talked to Margaret so he didn't understand Morad's motivation. The
money was meaningless to him. The guy just wanted to have fun. Like a cat who
keeps a mouse alive as a more playful toy, Morad didn't want the game to end.
Banks actually took a brief chip lead, until Morad put the hammer down on him
with a 6 high straight to Banks' rolled up Aces. Normally the pros make a
living off businessmen, but there wasn't going to be any other winner at this
table but Morad Qushqur. If you could escape the immense poverty of Afghanistan
to become a rich Import/Exporter in Hamburg Germany, what's the challenge of a
card game. It could only be fun.

Official Money Winners
1. Morad Qushqur $172,960
2. Steve Banks 99,460
3. Men 'The Master' Nguyen 51,880
4. Thor Hansen 30,260
5. Mel Judah 25,940
6. Randall Skaggs 21,620
7. Phil Goatz 17,300
8. Cyndy Violette 12,980

Having a Layne Flack-type year in the $10,000 Super Satellites for the
Championship event is Jan Sjavik now with TEN wins. That means he's won a seat
in the Big One and a whopping $90,000 in tournament chips. And the super
satellites aren't yet two thirds over. It's possible we are seeing the making
of a record that will never be broken. You'd think winning a Super Satellite
was easy. It's anything but. A saavy poker book publisher should get a
manuscript from Jan immediately on Super Satellite play. He's a gold mine.

Other recent winners are: Roger Smith, John Montgomery, Donaid Burchell,
Surinder Sunar (3rd), Phil Laak, Scobie Trumper, James Huntley, George Geros,
Ken Adams, Scott Mayfield, John Woo, Manuel Teixeira, Owen Bradley, Nicholas
DiLeo (2nd), Marsha Waggoner, Frank Callahan, Rameen Sai, Doug Shanley, George
Rodis, Jogvan Colerfoss, Paul Ladanyi, Simon Trumper (2nd).