Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas NV:
Million Dollar Blackjack Tournament III Qualifier, January 2005

Reported by Joe Pane

The final table of the Las Vegas Hilton Million Dollar Blackjack Tournament III qualifiers has 28 hands, played with a bankroll of $5000 in non-negotiable chips. Betting limits are $100 to $2500 in increments of $100. Late surrender is allowed.

Finalists, starting in seat 1 were Bill Ponstein, Elyssa Zuniga, Anthony Kuczynski, Jerry Gibson (Wild Card), Mary Garant, Edward Wardell, and Jonney Jones.

We'll pick up the action on hand 24, just after the countdown.

Seat		Player	Bankroll	Bet	Cards	Value	Win/Loss
Hand 24
1		Ponstein	$3450	$200	T 5 T	Bust	$-200
2		Zuniga	$5600	$300	7 4 A T	Bust	$-300
3		Kuczynski	$4200	$100	8 2 T	20	$100
4		Gibson	$4000	$200	T T	20	$200
5		Garant	$3800	$700	A 5 3	19	$0
6		Wardell	$3450	$600	T 2 A 9	Bust	$-600
7	==>	Jones	$4350	$700	A 5 6 8	20	$700
		Dealer		Upcard T	T 9	19
Hand 25
1	==>	Ponstein	$3250	$100	A 3 4	18	$-100
2		Zuniga	$5300	$100	9 3 6	18	$-100
3		Kuczynski	$4300	$100	T 6	16	$-100
4		Gibson	$4200	$400	T 5	15	$-400
5		Garant	$3800	$700	T T	20	$0
6		Wardell	$2850	$1200	T 9	19	$-1200
7		Jones	$5050	$700	8 9	17	$-700
		Dealer		Upcard 2	2 2 3 4 9	20
Hand 26
1		Ponstein	$3150	$1500	T T	20	$0
2	==>	Zuniga	$5200	$600	2 6 5	13	$-600
3		Kuczynski	$4200	$100 + $100	8 T / 8 9	18/17	$-200
4		Gibson	$3800	$300	T 7	17	$-300
5		Garant	$3800	$800	T 6	16	$-800
6		Wardell	$1650	$500	T 7	17	$-500
7		Jones	$4350	$600	T 7 / T 5	17/15	$-1200
		Dealer		Upcard 3	3 3 4 T	20
Hand 27
1		Ponstein	$3150	$1500	9 9	18	$0
2		Zuniga	$4600	$300	6 3 T	19	$300
3	==>	Kuczynski	$4000	$100	5 T T	Bust	$-100
4		Gibson	$3500	$100	T 4 Surr	Surr	$-50
5		Garant	$3000	$700	T T	20	$700
6		Wardell	$1150	$1100 + $50	8 4 T (Ins $50)	Bust	$-1150
7		Jones	$3150	$1500	T 5 Surr	Surr	$-750
		Dealer		Upcard A	A 2 5	18
Hand 28
1		Ponstein	$3150	$2000	6 7	13	$-2000
2		Zuniga	$4900	$1500	T T	20	$-1500
3		Kuczynski	$3900	$1900	T 5	15	$-1900
4	==>	Gibson	$3450	$2500	T 3	13	$-2500
5		Garant	$3700	$2500	T 7	17	$-2500
6		Wardell	$0	$			$
7		Jones	$2400	$2400	4 8	12	$-2400
		Dealer		Upcard T	T A	BJ

Final Standings
Player	Final Bankroll	Place	Prize Money
Elyssa Zuniga	$3400	1st	$20,000
Anthony Kuczynski	$2000	2nd	$10,000
Mary Garant	$1200	3rd	$6,000
Bill Ponstein	$1150	4th	$3,500
Jerry Gibson	$950	5th	$2,500
Jonney Jones	$0	6th	$2,000
Edward Wardell	$0	7th	$1,500