TURMEL: Steen Rassow Back-to-back Canadian Holdem Champion

[John Turmel]

TURMEL: Steen Rassow Back-to-back Canadian Open Poker Champion

Cardinal Ontario's Steen Rassow, last year's 1995 Canadian
Open Holdem Poker champion, prevailed once again in 1996. Second
place went to Irvin Hoffman. Third place went to John Turmel.
Fourth place went to Malcolm MacVicar. Fifth place went to Claude
Leveille.

I have no hesitation in saying that Steen Rassow is one of
Canada's finest tournament Poker players as his back-to-back
Canadian Open victories do attest. Steen knocked me out and it
was an honor to lose to the eventual champion. He and his wife,
Lynn, are off to the tournament at Foxwoods and I wish him luck.

I first gained respect for Irvin Hoffman of Ottawa. We both
cut our teeth playing Poker in the Carleton University student
lounge 25 years ago. Irvin was the 1989 Ottawa Regional Champion
and usually ends up in the money. Congratulations Irvin.

Malcolm MacVicar was our first ever Ottawa Regional Holdem
Champion in 1985 and has been one of the region's most respected
no-limit players for the whole 23 years I've been playing with
him.

Claude Leveille placed third last year and slid down to
fifth this year and is only one of two people who have ever held
me off to break-even in marathon heads-up games. I consider him
one of the toughest players I've ever met and I've met a lot.

I cannot imagine a tougher field of all-Canadians though
Greg Petriv of Toronto and Robbie Gingras, two former champs,
certainly would always be contenders in any tournament.

The banquet was a fiesta none of us will ever forget. My
mate, Pauline Morrissette, pulled off an unusually stellar
production including two commemorative hand-made bottles of win
for each participant. All were delighted with the magnificent
feast provided by George Ebrahim of Dage Food Services in Ottawa.

Pauline formed the 1997 Organization Committee for next
year's Canadian Open which will be held in Toronto.

Pauline and I would like to thank the staff at the Monterey
Inn on Hwy 16 for their helpfulness and attention to detail.

Thanks to all who participated and all who came for the
festivities. See you all next year. Pauline says it will be even
bigger and better.

--
John C. "The Engineer" Turmel, Leader, Abolitionist Party of Canada
Box 111 Canada K2C 3L4, Tel/Fax:613-723-2739
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