Big Easy XXII

June 18, 2022

Twenty-Two! Twenty-two years of fun, mayhem, and camaraderie. Breaking down the 22^nd^ year of the tourney... is the same as always... everyone is a Winner! This year everyone that played had purchased a smart and stunning lunch tote celebrating the 22^nd^ year. As in all items available for purchase, it is both functional, classy and a BET exclusive. There will surely be many a self-satisfied poker player eating their lunch out of this year's token.

Labelled as the best day of the year for most, the day begins. This year saw 26 people fighting it out for the coveted title of the Big Easy Tournament Champion. And it was not chance that got them here, only the ones able to tempt fate with skill, dedicated to poker playing, eating good food, and imbibing get to make it into the BET. With these handpicked, invite-only players, considered the cream of the crop, competitiveness ensues. And only one of the 26 will win the championship, 25 will ultimately end with shattered dreams.

Our menu included Lance's World Famous, Award Winning Homemade Chili, and Red's renowned store-bought boudin. Throughout the day we also snacked on green onion sausage, pork tenderloin, chips, candy, and some hot fries from Andy Capp! For the main course, Chef Jeff cooked some white beans with jambalaya.

The day begins as always, seeing old friends and catching up with new ones. Mike C and Kevin D's kiss starts the uniqueness of the day ahead. After the initial player shots, we gave a toast to the poker players of yesteryear. It was with a heavy heart we toasted the venerable Mr. Frank P. After reading the rules, we used the almost-patented seat randomizer and Let the Games Begin!

Many claim the true victory goes out to the winner of the "First Out" award! A whopping $1.00 was awarded to Kevin D. for being 1^st^ out! The jealousy felt by the other players was almost crippling.

Vocalman Mike C once again ran this year's side pots:

4 of a kind or greater: Big Worm John M!

2-4: Aaron B with the Big Win!

No Big Easy Tournament would be worth it's weight in gold, without service by Nick. Running like a chicken with his head cut off, trying to keep everybody fed and hydrated, Nick kept everyone in the zone!

After the dinner break, we started back with 20 people. With 21 rebuys this year, it was clear that the competition remained fierce. As the antes quickly rise after dinner, the ability of the remaining players become visible... with only a few remaining. By 9:00 PM, the Tourney was down to 11 people.

- In the money & The Final Table-

The BET committee paid all Final Table spots this year, and, as mentioned earlier, still funded the coveted first-out award!

At 10:32 PM, the final table is formed, consisting of Andrew D, Red, Adrian C, Dillon L, Glen L, Kelly D., and Geoff P.

Glen L goes down at 11:27 for 7^th^ place.

Kelly D goes down at 11:49 for 6^th^ Place.

Dillon L goes down at 11:57 for 5^th^ Place.

Red goes down at 11:59 for 4^th^ Place.

Geoff P goes down (not like that) at 12:16 AM for 3^rd^ Place.

And 12 minutes after Geoff P goes out, Adrian C and Andrew D fight it out.

Last Game:

Omaha

Adrian C holds:

Andrew D holds:

Board ends up with:

A big congratulations to Adrian C, for coming out of many years of retirement to take second place...

But as for the history books, some acorns, do indeed, fall far from the tree... Andrew D wins!!! He wins the money and the desired entitlement as the Big Easy Tournament Championship!