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For Wall pair, nothing bad about jackpot win

By Journal staff

Gold Dust "bad beat:" Full house of aces and 10s claims biggest prize

When Tom Kruger saw the ace turned over, his heart went to his throat.

"I was shocked," Kruger said.

Seldom do you want to finish second in a hand of poker, but for Kruger, it was worth $24,629. Kruger's full house of aces and 10s was beaten by Dean Schulz's full house of aces and kings, but that Texas Hold 'em bad beat earned Kruger half of the $49,258 jackpot April 17 night at the Gold Dust casino in Deadwood.

Last won on Labor Day

A bad beat at the Gold Dust is any hand equal to or greater than an aces over 10s full house. It was the largest such bad beat jackpot ever won in Deadwood, according to Gold Dust officials, and had been building each night since it was last won -- during Labor Day weekend 2008.

"Dean weighs about 300 pounds, and so do I, so it's a good thing there wasn't a waitress between us when we high-fived," said Kruger, who runs a guide service in Wall. Schulz is also from Wall.

"It's like a dream that two guys from Wall were in the same hand," said Schulz, who owns his own construction company.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet," Kruger said.

Talk of Deadwood

Kruger admits that when the bad beat jackpot reached $30,000, he and a group of friends began playing nearly 50 to 60 hours a week at the Gold Dust. The jackpot was the talk of Deadwood.

"A lot of people came here for it," Ken Kermu, director of security at the Gold Dust, said. "It's been great."

In the hand, the flop came 6-A-10, giving Kruger two pair and Schulz a pair of aces. The turn was a king, helping Schulz take the lead with two pair. Dealer Lance Wiles of Deadwood delivered the ace on the river, giving both players a full house, with Schulz’s being larger.

"I had a sad feeling when it came, because I knew I had him beat," said Schulz, who initially didn't realize that Kruger's losing hand would wind up taking the bad beat jackpot. For winning the hand, Schulz received $14,777 of the bad beat jackpot. The remainder of the players at the table each received $1,231.

"I've been to Vietnam and Alaska, but there's nothing that gets the adrenaline flowing like Texas Hold 'em," Kruger said. "I haven't had my hand shaken so many times, ... and the Gold Dust has been great to the poker players."