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Ichihara wins TDHC Black Jack tourney
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Posted on Dec 13 2011
Etsuko Ichihara topped a field of 119 competitors to win a cash prize of $75,000 along with being deemed the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino’s final Black Jack Challenge champion over the weekend.
Ichihara’s chip count of 8,050 held the lead coming into the final five hands by 1,375. She hung on to the top spot in the clutch and beat the dealer in the final round to seize top prize. She also was presented with a crystal championship trophy.
Ichihara was fortunate to draw a 20 in the last round that edged out the dealer’s 19.
She bested fellow Japanese contestants Noboru Watanabe and third place finisher Na Young Kim.
Notably, only 75 in chips separated the runner up and third place finishers.
Watanabe bet 1,000 on the last hand, but his 18 fell just short.
The bet was would not have been enough to catch Ichihara anyways, but he almost dropped $14,000 in prize money.
Kim shoved out 500 and was dealt a pair of nines, which she opted split.
Kim doubled-down after seeing the first card on both cards and was left with a 17 and 20.
The dealer showed a 5 and drew a 10 and a 4 for a standing hand of 19.
Watanabe briefly took the lead during the final five hands, but settled for $28,000 and second place.
Kim floated around in the middle of the pack, but managed to take third prize and $12,00; the pair also was awarded crystal trophies.
Other finalists in descending order included Japan’s Masayuki Onuma, Korea’s Hyun Woo Son, and Japan’s Yuji Otomo and Tomatsu Sakuma; they each won $1,000 in consolation prizes.
Ichihara and Kim were the only female competitors.
The finalists started out with a 5,000 bank, where the minimum bet was set 25 with a 1,000 limit.
The final round lasted one and a half shoes; there were eight decks in a shoe.
On Saturday players started out with a 3,000 bank and the field competed to land one of 35 spots in the semifinals.
As mentioned above this past event marked TDHC’s final Black Jack Challenge.
Next year, they plan to offer six invitation-only Baccarat Challenges.
The first event is set for Jan. 14 through Jan. 15 and organizers are hoping for at least 50 participants. From there, events are scheduled to take place every other month.
