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Buechel Airman last man standing in USAFE Texas Hold 'Em Championship

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Tammie Moore
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  Thirty-two players sat down with a stack of chips and the opportunity to prove they had the skill and determination to be titled the top poker player of the command during the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Project Cheer Texas Hold 'Em championship tournament.

With the Club Eifel ballroom transformed into a poker hall and after the last river card was dealt, Tech. Sgt. Mark Bowen, 702nd Munitions Support Squadron, claimed the championship title after defeating Master Sgt. James Wells, 52nd Fighter Wing. The win was the second year in a row that the title was earned by an Airman from Buechel Air Base, Germany.

After about six hours of intense play, patience and luck were the keys to Sergeant Bowen's victory.

"First I played tight, then when it came down to the end, everyone was playing tight, so you had to play what came to you," said Sergeant Bowen who is a technical load maintainer.

The players entered the tournament with a number of strategies to earn the grand prize, a $1,000 Army and Air Force Exchange Services gift card. The winner of each base's Texas Hold 'Em championship earned a silver bracelet, the equivalent of the green Master's jacket in golf.

"This was a very challenging tournament," said Sergeant Wells, the Spangdahlem AB Judge Advocate Office NCOIC of General Law. "This is the first time I played at this level. I was sitting at a table full of bracelet winners from the various USAFE bases."

He placed second in the tournament, "Services did a phenomenal job putting this on. We had an extraordinary set up, a great bunch of people, good poker players and it makes for a fun game."

For Staff Sgt. Jason Halpin, 422nd Security Forces Squadron, Royal Air Force Croughton, England, playing against the best players in the command was a memorable experience.

"Making it to this level was great," he said. "It is a great feeling playing against the best in USAFE. Obviously we are not at the professional level by any means, but it is still trying to go through 31 different people to get to the top. It was challenging. The best part was being the first one to knock someone out of the tournament."

To earn a seat at the final table means being one of the last ten players with chips. Sergeant Halpin attributes maintaining his composure after taking some bad beats on the river to earning his seat at the final table.

Like wise, Sergeant Wells said he played well to get to the final table, but heads-up play when down to two players is very different. "The cards just did not fall his way the last two hands, and that made the ultimate difference between first and second place."

Project Cheer is an Air Force program that works to bring events like this to Airmen throughout the year.

"One of the Air Force's top three priorities is to take care of Airmen," said Roger Banner, headquarters U.S. Air Forces Services communications specialist. "We try to bring the biggest trends to our Airmen and recreational events are part of that."

Congratulations to the following poker players who ranked in the top 10 in USAFE:
First place - Tech. Sgt. Mark Bowen, Buechel Air Base, Germany
Second place - Master Sgt. James Wells, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany
Third place - Staff Sgt. William Taylor, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey
Fourth place - Master Sgt. Michael Lemond, Spangdahlem AB
Fifth place - Senior Airman Timothy Rowland, Spangdhalem AB
Sixth place - Staff Sgt. John Kuliczkowski, Fairford England
Seventh place - Staff Sgt. Brian Westburg, Spangdahlem AB
Eighth place - Amanda Hendrix, Spangdhalem AB
Ninth place - Staff Sgt. Jason Halpin, Royal Air Force Croughton, England
Tenth place - Stefanie Ford, Spangdahlem AB
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