$350 Seniors (50+) No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 22: 6,000/12,000/2,000 Ante
When heads-up play began, these were the chip counts:
Marsha Wolak – 430,000 (53 bb)
Phyliss Jefferson – 170,000 (21 bb)
Their first big hand was after a flop of 
, when Wolak shoved, and Jefferson called all in with 
for a diamond flush draw. Wolak turned over 
for a lower flush draw. The turn was the 
, the river was the 
, and Jefferson won the pot with two pair, nines and sevens, to double up in chips — and take the chip lead.
Phyliss Jefferson – 370,000 (46 bb)
Marsha Wolak – 230,000 (28 bb)
A short while later, after a flop of 
, Wolak moved all in for 251,000, and Jefferson snap-called with 
for top two pair. Wolak turned over 
for a flush draw. The two players had nearly identical chip stacks, so it looked like the entire tournament was on the line.
The turn was the 
, the river was the 
, and Wolak rivered a club flush to win the pot. The chip stacks were counted down, and Jefferson had Wolak covered by just 15,000 in chips. But she was still alive.
Marsha Wolak – 585,000 (73 bb)
Phyliss Jefferson – 15,000 (2 bb)
Wolak had a 39-to-1 chip lead. It wasn’t quite a chip and a chair for Jefferson, but it was close.
Over the course of the next 12 hands (during which the blinds increased to 5K-10K), Jefferson won four all-in situations and several other hands to completely even things up at 300,000 each.
Marsha Wolak – 300,000 (30 bb)
Phyliss Jefferson – 300,000 (30 bb)
Their chip stacks stayed pretty close to even for the next 20 minutes or so, until they got it all in after a flop of 
. Jefferson had 
, but Wolak turned over 
for a pair of jacks.
The turn was the 
, the river was the , and Wolak won the pot with two pair, jacks and sixes. The chip stacks were counted down, and again Jefferson had Wolak slightly covered — by only 10,000.
Marsha Wolak – 590,000 (59 bb)
Phyliss Jefferson – 10,000 (1 bb)
The next hand, Jefferson was all in with 
against Wolak’s . The flop came 
to give Wolak two pair, but the turn was the 
, the river was the , and Jefferson rivered a six-high straight to double up to two big blinds.
Marsha Wolak – 580,000 (58 bb)
Phyliss Jefferson – 20,000 (2 bb)
Perhaps having flashbacks to the last time Jefferson bounced back from the brink of destruction, Wolak offered a deal — an extra $100 if Jefferson took second place. Jefferson asked for an extra $200 (“So I can take care of the dealers”), and Wolak agreed.
So Marsha Wolak lost the final hand of heads-up play, but still won the tournament. Now there’s something you don’t see every day.
Congratulations to Marsha Wolak!
1st: Marsha Wolak – $7,200
2nd: Phyliss Jefferson – $4,600
3rd: John Merchant – $2,700
4th: Morris Heider – $1,900
5th: Richard Riviello – $1,500
6th: Harry Eisenberg – $1,200
7th: Grady Yeager – $900