NHL Fan Takes a Beating
By: By Rob Gillespie, President, Bodog.com

For a lot of hockey fans, this year's season- long NHL drought has been pretty grim. So then, what do you get when you cross a hopelessly devoted Detroit Red Wings fan with an ill-timed momentary lapse of judgment at the 2005 WPT Jack Binion World Poker Open in Tunica, Mississippi? Atruly sad, horrendously bad beat - with no chance of making it to the final (or being within walking distance of a Starbucks).

Tunica, a town which boasts historical landmarks that include numerous farms and plantations, is the third largest gaming destination in the United States, with 10 Las Vegas style casinos, including the Horseshoe, which was created by Jack Binion himself, and was home to this year's World Poker Open. It was also an ideal destination for Team Bodog's big debut and its first run at a $5.1 milliondollar prize pool.

John Kozlinski, a member of Team Bodog who plays under the screen name 'RedWingFan' in the Bodog Poker Room, had his eyes on the big prize. Unfortunately, his Bad Beat happened during Day 1 at the World Poker Open, putting an abrupt end to any dreams he may have had of being the tournament's next champion. Oh well. Here's how it played out…

Heading into the fourth level, RedWingFan was sitting pretty with $15,200 in chips. After losing a few small pots, he had roughly $13,000 in chips and was looking at an A K . A large bet found only one caller and the flop came up K 7 3 .

RedWingFan admits this is where he may have made a small error. "I only put in a middle-sized bet,” he said, “I really should have gone all in.”

The middle-sized bet was called and the turn came up a 9 . edWingFan put in another bet and was quickly called. The river card was a 10 and with the top pair RedWingFan pushed all in.

This was a classic case of 'too little, too late', however. His opponent, who had a larger stack, called.

His opponent turned over a J 8 and put RedWingFan out of his first WPT event with a runner runner inside straight.

"I'll be back,” RedWingFan said. “I'll be playing in the satellites for the L.A. Poker Classic and I'll definitely be back. I have no doubt I can hang with these guys."

Look out, Los Angeles. RedWingFan vows not to lose out to another Bad Beat.

[Preflop]: 65% RedWingFan, 35% Opponent
[Flop]: 97% RedWingFan, 3% Opponent
[Turn]: 91% RedWingFan, 9% Opponent

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