July 15, 2005

Tom Sartori has a new CD coming out. One of Buffalo's most popular musicians hasn't picked out a title yet, but he's got a sweet idea.

"I was thinking about calling it, "I'm all in,' " Sartori said.

Then Sartori let out a laugh, punctuating his astonishment Wednesday in the backseat of a Las Vegas cab. He was rushing to the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, minutes away from starting the fifth day of the World Series of Poker's showcase no-limit Texas Hold 'em event at ESPN's featured table with defending champion Greg "Fossilman" Raymer.

That Sartori had lasted this long in the prestigious international spectacle would be miraculous enough. The Buffalonian qualified for the $10,000 entry by cleaning up in a $200 satellite tournament on PokerRoom.com.

But what made his story all the more remarkable was opening the day in 14th place with $1.2 million in chips. There were only 54 players remaining out of a record field of 5,619 entrants.

Play continued into Wednesday evening until Sartori was one of only 27 players left and play was stopped. Players were to return at 6 p.m. (EDT). The champion is expected to be crowned Friday night or early Saturday morning.

That's right. Sartori's still alive and competing for the $7.5 million championship prize. He is guaranteed at least $304,680. "The whole experience right now is completely surreal," said Sartori, who has outlasted such poker icons as Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Sammy Farha, T.J. Cloutier, Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth.

Virtually everyone who knew Sartori would classify him as dead money in this card shark-infested tank. But when he found himself in the overall chip lead for a brief time Monday night and near the top of the leaderboard heading into Tuesday's action, his family scrambled to arrange flights and hotel rooms so they could root for their boy in person.

"He went all in a few times, and I buried my head in my husband's chest," said Jeanie Sartori, Tom's mother. "My husband is sick to his stomach. We can't even eat. We haven't slept. It's just real exciting."

Sartori, a fixture on the Buffalo club circuit, is gaining incredible exposure he hopes will help launch his music career on a national basis.

ESPN will air the World Series of Poker on a tape-delay basis, and Sartori has been getting priceless face time.

"I imagine it could really help me out," Sartori said. "The people from ESPN have my CD and are aware of my Web site. When I asked him if they could have the announcers mention it on the air they said they were all over it. Hopefully that will help out."

And fans of Sartori's music won't have to worry about him leaving his guitar behind for a career on the green felt.

"I'll probably end up dumping all my prize money into my music career," he said.

Sartori has sat at ESPN's feature table off and on throughout the past few days. He has played alongside such superstars as Raymer, Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow, Layne Flack and Michael Mizrachi.

"I watch these people play poker on TV all the time, and I can't believe I'm playing with them," Sartori said. "It's so overwhelming."

Sartori hasn't let wide-eyed wonder get the better of his poker game.

His chip count has been up and down throughout the tournament, but he has enjoyed some immense rushes to keep him in contention.

"He has a horseshoe up his butt," Jeanie Sartori said.

On Tuesday a pair of grave miscalculations dropped him down to $125,000 in chips while a few players at this table were in the millions, putting him at a distinct disadvantage.

Then he went all in on three straight hands, doubling up each time. The second time he doubled up he was holding pocket aces, the dream hand for Texas Hold 'em players.

"I thought I was basically out of the tournament, so I sat there and waited about two hours," Sartori said. "I just limped in and five people called, which isn't really what you want. The flop came king-rag-rag (a king with two unimpressive cards), and a guy made a large bet.

"I just put on an Academy Award-winning performance. I leaned back in my chair, tried to look like I was in agony. Finally I said "I'm all in.' The other guy called me, and I ended up taking his money.

"During a break the dealer came up to me and said, "I've been dealing for 14 years and I've never seen anyone play aces so well. I had no idea what you had.' My heart was thumping, and I felt like I was going to pass out."

A couple dozen Western New Yorkers entered the World Series of Poker's main event, and a few of them finished in the money.

Buffalonian Justyn Budwey took home $16,055 for finishing 428th. Dan Piccioli of Olean won $12,500 for placing 537th. Thomas Stanek of Buffalo, who picked up $2,325 in a lower-limit Texas Hold 'Em event in the World Series of Poker's early stages, won $12,500 for coming in 543rd.