Now, Komaromi is celebrating his $244,720 win and Uruguay's first title.

We'll be back with a wrap-up in just a few minutes. --BW

4:37pm: Call, check, bet, fold
Lots of limping, checking, and relatively uncontested pots thus far this level. Claudio Piedrabuena has made a couple of big raises, including one all in on the turn, but not much chip movement has occurred of late. Alex Komaromi still has about 6.5 million to Piedrabuena's 1.5 million. --MH

4:20pm: We're back
The final two players are back in their seats to play for the trophy. --BW

4:11pm: Komaromi reclaims lead
Alex Komaromi opened for 135,000 from the button, then Claudio Piedrabuena pushed all in. Komaromi called instantly, committing his entire stack of 3.25 million.

Komaromi [Ad][Ks]
Piedrabuena [As][10h]

The crowd rose in anticipation, all eyes fixed on the screens above to see what the community cards would bring. The first three were good for the Uruguayan -- [Kh][9c][5d]. Then came the turn, the [3c].

"Vamo! Vamo!" cried Komaromi after the turn card fell, ensuring that the [9d] on the river was no matter. Suddenly the pair is back to where they were when heads-up play began, with Komaromi out in front with just over 6.6 million versus Piedrabuena's 1.45 million.

That was the last hand of Level 26, meaning the players are taking another break before action resumes. --MH

4:03pm: Piedrabuena scores big double for chip lead
Claudio Piedrabuena was not messing around with post-flop play. Nearly all of his raises had been 10x the big blind. It was happening over and over again. Finally, Alex Komaromi had enough. He pushed all-in over the top. Piedrabuena took a bit, but finally called for his final 2,375,000 with [ts][td]. Komaromi showed [ah][js]. If Komaromi won the race, he'd win the tournament. Otherwise Piedrabuena would score the chip lead. The board ran out [2d][2s][8d][qh][kd] and Piedrabuena moved up to 5.8 million, good for the lead over the Uruguayan. --BW

3:56pm: Heads-up battle continues
Following that double-up with pocket rockets, Claudio Piedrabuena continues to battle with his short stack, having committed it a couple of times thus far but getting no call from Alex Komaromi. Komaromi maintains about a 2-to-1 chip advantage over Piedrabuena. There's about 15 minutes left in Level 26. --MH

3:37pm: Aces for Piedrabuena = double-up
Alex Komaromi limped from the small blind/button, then Claudio Piedrabuena announced he was pushing all in for his last 805,000. Komaromi called, showing [Ad][6d], but Piedrabuena had picked up [Ah][Ac].

The board ran out [Kc][4s][7d][6h][5d], and Piedrabuena doubles to about 1.7 million. He's still well behind Komaromi, who now has about 6.45 million.

3:26pm: Varela out in 3rd; Komaromi huge lead entering heads-up
Alex Komaromi opened with a button raise to 130,000, and Claudio Piedrabuena quickly folded from the small blind, excusing himself from the table as he did. Engelberth Varela called from the big blind, and the two remaining players saw the flop come [3c][Ah][7c]. Varela checked, Komaromi bet 160,000, and after a short think Varela called.

The turn was the [Qs]. Varela quickly checked again, and this time Komaromi bet 335,000. Varela took his time, carefully carving out the chips to call. Finally, after more than a minute, the Venezuelan called, leaving himself about 975,000 behind.

The river was the [5s]. Varela checked right away again, and Komaromi paused about 10 seconds before declaring himself all in. Varela sat with his hand over his mouth, looking up at Komaromi as he contemplated the situation. Finally he called, tabling [Ad][6s] for top pair. Alas for Varela, Komaromi had [Ac][8c], meaning his kicker played and Varela is out in third ($88,970).

Komaromi has 7.63 million to Piedrabeuna's 810,000 to start heads-up play. --MH

3:20pm: Tick, tock, tick...
If you were one of those people who said, "Well, now that they've talked business, we'll be out of here pretty quickly," feel free to slap yourself. After nearly half an hour of play, the chips have barely moved. It's slow going now. Grab a bowl of chips and get comfy. --BW

3:06pm: Level 26 begins
Blinds 25,000/50,000 now, with a 5,000 ante. --MH

2:56pm: Play resumes
Our final trio are back in their seats. About 10 minutes remain in Level 25. --MH

2:42pm: While we're waiting
Business talk continues between the three remaining players. While we wait for them to discuss what they're having for dinner, or whatever it is they are trying to negotiate at this point, here's some PokerStars.tv action. --BW

2:39pm: Updated chip counts (3 remain)
Alex Komaromi still has the big lead and hopes to claim the first-ever LAPT title for Uruguay. --MH

Alex Komaromi (Uruguay) -- 5.47 million
Engelberth Varela (Venezuela) -- 1.9 million
Claudio Piedrabuena (Argentina) -- 780,000

2:30pm: Carlos Watanabe out in fourth ($65,430)
Engelbeth Varela came in for a raise to 100,000. With only 120,000, Carlos Watanabe moved in from the small blind with [5c][5s]. Varela made the call with [qs][jc], spiked the [qc] on the flop, and sent Watanabe packing in fourth place for $65,430.

That hand puts Varela up to 1.9 million. The three remaining players have scooted off into the hallways to talk business. We'll be back when they are. --BW

2:21pm: Four Brazilians, four bustouts; Pasini out in 5th
It folded to Brazil's last hope, Felipe Pasini, in the cutoff who raised all in for 410,000 total. Carlos Watanabe folded from the button, then super-stacked Alex Komaromi pushed all in over the top from the small blind. Claudio Piedrabuena folded the big blind. Cards on their backs...

Komaromi [10d][10s]
Pasini [Qd][Jd]

The flop came [Ah][5d][8h], and Komaromi's tens were still best. The turn was the [3s] and river the [3c], and Pasini is out in fifth for $46,600.

Komaromi of Uruguay moves up to around 5.35 million now, well ahead of his three remaining foes. --MH

2:04pm: Neto nabbed in 6th
Nelson Neto opened for 100,000 from the hijack seat, then Alex Komaromi reraised to 230,000 from the button. The blinds folded, then Neto took just a few seconds before reraising all in for 900,000 total.

Komaromi tanked for a full two minutes, during which time the entire room fell silent. Finally came the call, which when the news was delivered to the crowd by the announcer, the room exploded with noise. Komaromi tabled [8h][8c] and Neto [Ah][Qs].

Neto began calling for a queen, but the flop came [Kc][5c][10h]. Then the [8s] fell on the turn, but Neto was still drawing live to a possible straight. The dealer burned a card and turned over the river -- the [As] -- and Neto is out in sixth, earning $37,190.

That's three of the four Brazilians down -- just Felipe Pasini remains. Komaromi remains the big chip leader, his 4.19 million now representing about half the chips with five players left. --MH

1:50pm: Piedrabuena takes chunk from Varela
Claudio came in for a raise and was immediately three-bet to 275,000 by Engelberth Varela. Play folded back around to Piedrabuena who immediately announced he was all-in for 700,000. Varela took a couple of seconds, but wasted no more time calling with [jh][jc]. This time, he was way behind. Piedrabuena tabled [ks][kh]. The dealer quickly spread out the [2h][9d][7d][5h][qs] board. After the chips found their proper home, Varela was sitting with 1.6 million to Piedrabuena's 1.5 million. --BW

1:41pm: Fernando Araujo out in 7th
On the first hand back from a short between-levels break, it folded around to Fernando Araujo in the small blind who open-pushed for 195,000 total, and Engelberth Varela called from one seat over.

Araujo [As][Kd]
Varela [Jh][Tc]

Araujo had the lead to start, but the [10h][9d][5d] paired Varela and put the Brazilian at risk. The turn was the [6c] and river the [5c], and Araujo is out, earning $27,770 for his seventh-place finish.

Varela is up to 2.55 million, creeping closer to leader Alex Komaromi's 3.3 million. --MH

1:37pm: Blinds up
Blinds are now 20k/40k/5k. --BW

1:23pm: Claudio Piedrabuena holds for double
Claudio Piedrabuena raised to 75,000, leaving himself only about 250,000 behind. Fernando Araujo put him all-in and Piedrabuena quickly called with pocket tens. Araujo only had [ac][7c]. The board ran out [kc][7h][qd][9d][2c] and Piedrabuena doubled to more than 700,000. Players are now on a 15-minute break. --BW

1:11pm: Watanabe doubles through Araujo
Carlos Watanabe opened with an all-in raise to 190,000 from the cutoff and it folded to Fernando Araujo in the big blind who made the call. Watanabe showed [8s][8h] and Araujo [Ad][6s]. The board ran out [10s][3s][Jh][9d][Qc], and Watanabe doubles back to 430,000 -- around what he he had at the start of today's final table. Araujo, meanwhile, slips to 520,000. --MH

1:05pm: Rafael Monteiro out-kicked, out-chipped, out in 8th ($18,360)
Engleberth Varela raised to 70,000. That got a re-raise to 170,000 from Rafael Monteiro. Varela was having none of it and bumped it to 390,000. Sensing the inevitable, Monteiro moved all-in for 710,000 and got the quick call.

Varela: [As][kc]
Monteiro: [ac][qc]

The board ran out [3d][4s][3s][7d][9h] and Monteiro was gone. He earned $18,360 for his eighth place finish. --BW

12:41pm: Neto steals chips from Varela
On the first hand, Felipe Pasini open-shoved from under the gun and got no callers. The second hand began similarly, with Nelson Neto likewise opening with an all-in raise -- for about 400,000. It folded around to Engelberth Varela who called from the button, and the blinds got out.

Neto [Kc][Jd]
Varela [3h][3d]

Varela's pocket pair remained best after the [7h][6d][7c] flop and [10h] turn, but the [Ks] fell on the river, sending Neto into an ecstatic bit of celebrating.

Included in his expression of joy was the surprise donning of a ski mask -- no shinola! -- followed by Neto jumping off the stage and running over to the crowd for a brief celebration with his supporters.

Finally, Neto returned to his seat. We think he's grinning.

He's taken the mask off now, but Neto looked a bit like a thief for a moment there. His theft of chips from Varela means he's back up to about 820,000, while Varela slips to 1.42 million. --MH

12:31pm: Final table begins
The introductions are complete and the first hand of the 2011 LAPT Punta del Este final table is being dealt. During those intros, leader Alex Komaromi entered with a Uruguayan flag draped around his shoulders, earning a large cheer from the crowd. He then sat down behind his big stacks of white (25,000) and blue (5,000) chips, their colors neatly matching the stripes of his home country's flag.

The other players appear to have cheering sections, too, so it looks like we're about to witness an exciting Sunday afternoon of poker. There are about 50 minutes remaining in Level 24 (blinds 15,000/30,000, ante 5,000). --MH

12:16pm: Almost there
LAPT President David Carrion is presently introducing the final eight players to what has already become a decent-sized crowd of fans and friends gathered here in the Mantra Resort and Casino poker room. A few more minutes, then poker! --MH

11:45am: Komaromi clear leader, but LAPT Punte del Este picture still developing
It's a bright, mild, sunny day here in Punta del Este, quite a contrast from the dark, cold, rainy night on which arrived. Also relatively less cloudy is the question of who is going to claim the trophy and $244,720 first prize for this LAPT main event. A leader has emerged, and just eight of the original 422 entrants remain.

But still, there's much to be determined.

Of those who are left, four hail from Brazil, and one each from Peru, Argentina, Venezuela, and Uruguay. Its the latter -- young Alex Komaromi of nearby Montevideo -- who returns to a healthy chip advantage, his 2.92 million representing just over a third of the remaining chips in play.

While most of the others sport below average stacks, Engelberth Varela of Venezuela is well within shouting distance of Komaromi, beginning today with 1.84 million. Here's how the final eight will be arranged and how many chips each will have for today's first hand:

Seat 1 - Rafael Monteiro (Brazil) -- 810,000

Seat 2 - Felipe Pasini (Brazil) -- 345,000

Seat 3 - Nelson Neto (Brazil) -- 405,000

Seat 4 - Carlos Watanabe (Peru) -- 430,000 

Seat 5 - Alex Komaromi (Uruguay) -- 2.92 million

Seat 6 - Claudio Piedrabuena (Argentina) -- 490,000

Seat 7 - Fernando Araujo (Brazil) -- 860,000

Seat 8 - Engelberth Varela (Venezuela) -- 1.84 million

All will become clear soon. Start refreshing this page about 15 minutes from now for start-to-finish coverage of today's final table. Meanwhile, click here to learn more about each of our final eight. --MH

Live coverage of LAPT Punta del Este is brought to you by Brad "Let's do this" Willis and Martin "You have an ambiguous reference, there" Harris.

If I hadn't seen this with my own eyes, I would never have believed it. But after Vanessa Selbst successfully defended her NAPT Mohegan Sun title yesterday, her Team PokerStars Pro colleague Jason Mercier has just defended his High Roller Bounty Shootout title too.

According to mathematicians, that's a 27,000 to one shot. Yes, it's rigged. Obviously it's rigged.

However for something stage-managed, this looked remarkably authentic. Mercier came to the final table with the most bounty chips, having eliminated six players from his heat on Tuesday. Today, he won a further three bounties--including the crucial last one of Eugene Katchalov who he defeated heads up--and his winnings totaled $246,600.

This was Mercier's tenth major tournament victory in a career that is still only about three years old. It is, frankly, staggering stuff.

"There is no real secret to it," Mercier said. "I just try to make the right plays and do the best I can."

The heats on Tuesday had been quick-fire affairs, with a rapidly escalating structure prompting chips to fly into pots and players out the door. The reward for surviving that carnage, however, was a seat at this final table, where every bounty was now worth $10,000 apiece but picking them up was much more difficult.

After five opening levels, all nine players were still in the hunt. Stacks were evenly balanced and it seemed as though it could have gone on all night. Then something suddenly changed.

First, Joe Sweeney shoved his middle pair into Eugene Katchalov's flopped nut flush. Whoops. One down. Then Micah Raskin found tens when Jonathan Jaffe had found queens. Raskin was our second to depart.

The dust had barely settled on those two eliminations when we were looking at two more. Scott Blackman ([ad][qh]) came off third best in a three-way all in coup, also featuring Michael Pesek ([ac][kc]) and Jimmie Guinther ([qc][9s]).

Blackman busted then and there, out in seventh, and Guinther was also critically injured. He doubled his micro stack against Mercier, but couldn't continue an improbable resurgence. Instead he was all in again very soon after and Pesek this time finished the job. Pesek managed to get pocket twos to hold against Guinther's king high.

At five handed, the action barely slackened. Taylor von Kriegenbergh, who had amassed the loudest rail of supporters, also almost managed to pull off the most unlikely outdraw when he took pocket fives up against Eugene Katchalov's aces.

Von Kriegenbergh turned a set to send his supporters bounding across the tournament floor in delight. But the ace rivered to leave them sprawled on the carpet in despair.

Katchalov allowed himself a wry chuckle and a thumbs up to family on the rail, while Von Kriegenbergh knew he would have to get his short stack in the middle very quickly. He did, but his [kd][jd] was no match for Pesek's [Ad][Jc] and out went Von Kriegenbergh, pursued by his cavalry.

At this stage in the proceedings, Mercier was still ahead in the grand bounty race, but only owing to his destruction of the table in his heats, where he knocked out six opponents. He had not eliminated anyone from the final and Pesek in particular, who had slain three, was inching closer.

But cometh the challenge cometh the Mercier. The next player to fall, Jonathan Jaffe, was cut down by the Team PokerStars Pro. Jaffe had led the table for long periods today, but when he shoved for slightly more than 70,000, Mercier had a smidgen more both in terms of cards and chips.

Mercier's [ac][qs] was never behind Jaffe's [ah][9s] and that was the end of Jaffe's challenge.

With seven bounties and only three players left, Mercier was now guaranteed at least a tie of the $20,000 bounty bonus. The only person who could stop him was Katchalov, who would need to bust Pesek and Mercier to draw level.

But as the newest member of Team PokerStars Pro, Katchalov saw a perfect opportunity to prove his mettle. Lo and behold, he seized his chance - although he needed a stroke of good fortune to eliminate Pesek.

Three-handed and folded to Pesek in the small blind, he moved all in for about 70,000 and Katchalov, who had found an ace, called the shove. The problem was that Pesek also had an ace, along with a six, which was one pip better than Katchalov's [ah][5h]. But it wouldn't be a major final without an outdraw, and the [5d] appeared on the flop to vault Katchalov into the lead and send Pesek home.

With Pesek's chances in the bounty race thus extinguished, it was Team Pro v Team Pro not only for the title but for that bounty bonus too. They were pretty even in stacks (Mercier had a slight advantage) and the stage was set for a battle that might have gone on for several hours.

But there's another way to end heads up battles: Big hand against big hand. They had played less than ten hands when all the money suddenly flew into the middle on a flop of [9c][8c][7s].

Mercier had [9s][10d] (ie, top pair, an overcard and a straight draw) while Katchalov had also connected with his [7h][8s]. If there's one thing you can say about Mercier it is that he flips well. And although the [3s] wasn't an out, the [10h] on the river was.

Katchalov offered his hand, and Mercier shook it warmly. It is hardly a new thing for Mercier to walk off with a major title, but he still seems to enjoy it immensely.

"It's definitely not getting old," Mercier said.

That really is now it from NAPT Mohegan Sun. Vanessa Selbst laid down a gauntlet to Jason Mercier, and Jason Mercier rose to the challenge.

Congratulations to both of them on a remarkable, ridiculous week.

All photography © Joe Giron/www.joegironphotography.com

After calling an 8,000 pre-flop raise from Katchalov, Mercier check-raised all-in on a [9c][8c][7s] flop. Katchalov called, finding himself ahead with [7h][8s] for two pair while Mercier turned over [9s][Td] for top pair and a straight draw.

Mercier missed his outs on the turn when the [3s] fell, but the [Th] on the river made him a better two pair, tens and nines, sealing up yet another remarkable repeat win here in Connecticut.

Mercier's BSO haul totaled $246,600-- the $142,600 winner-take-all prize, $40,000 for winning his first-round table, $14,000 for the seven $2,000 Day 1 bounties he claimed (six knockouts plus his own bounty), $30,000 in final table bounties (also including his own $10,000 bounty), and the $20,000 bonus for winning the most bounties. For his runner-up finish, Katchalov collected $66,000.

In the time it took to type this post, I've been informed those odds are 27,000 to 1. And that this is Mercier's tenth live tournament win in only three years. My God.

We'll have a full wrap-up shortly. --KB

8.35pm: Trip aces
The early, small-ball, heads up encounters have tended to favour Eugene Katchalov. He flopped trip aces in one of the early hands and got Mercier to call him all the way to the river, but it was a relatively small pot.

The two of them--seasoned campaigners both--are deep-stacked and in no hurry to get this over with. This could end up being a long and fascinating heads-up battle. -- HS

8:26pm: Heads-up play begins
Jason Mercier and Eugene Katchalov are back in their seats to decide who walks away with the title. --BW

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 2,000-4,000-500

7.10pm: Dinner time
Ahead of the heads-up duel, we're now going for a one-hour dinner break. Join us the other side of 8.10pm.

7:03pm: Katchalov eliminates Pesek; Gates freaks everybody out
Michael Pesek open-shoved for around 69,000 and Eugene Katchalov made the call. Pesek held [ac][6c]. Katchalov had [ah][5h].

Just about that time, VIP Player Host Garry Gates wandered up and said, "Five a diamonds. Third card on the right."

The dealer laid out [as][qc][5d].

While we were busy freaking out over Gates' prediction, the dealer out out the turn and river [7c], and [kd]. Pesekwas gone with his $68,000 in earnings from yesterday.

Jason Mercier (269,600) and Eugene Katchalov (180,400) are now on dinner break. We'll be back in an hour. --BW

6:34pm: Mercier eliminates Jaffe, locks up at least a tie in bounty race
Following Eugene Katchalov's 6,000 opening raise, Jonathan Jaffe moved all-in for 71,500, Jason Mercier moved all-in behind him, and Katchalov folded. Mercier had him covered, leaving Jaffe's tournament life at risk.

Jaffe [Ah][9s]
Mercier [Ac][Qs]

Jaffe found no help on the [Ks][8s][6h][8d][5s] board and was eliminated in fourth place. His cash haul totaled $52,000 from his preliminary table win, the $2,000 bounty he collected in the first round, and the $10,000 bounty he earned today for eliminating Micah Raskin.

With this KO, Jason Mercier will at least tie the bounty race with seven total. (If Eugene Katchalov knocks out everyone else, he too would have seven.) Don't forget, the winner of the bounty race gets a $20,000 bonus as well as a free entry to the next Bounty Shootout, wherever it may be.

Mercier now also has the chip lead with about 180,000 as we move into three-handed play.--KB

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 1,500-3,000-400

6:13pm: Jaffe drops back-to-back pots
Jonathan Jaffe opened for 4,800 and Eugene Katchalov was the lone caller. Both players checked the [Qd][6c][Kd] flop. Katchalov led out for 7,600 when the [Jd] fell on the turn, Jaffe coming along with a call. The river was the [Kc], but Jaffe could not continue, folding to Katchalov's 10,400 bet.

Jaffe raised the next hand, opening again for 4,800. Jason Mercier made the call and they saw a [Qd][Qc][7h] flop. Mercier checked and Jaffe checked behind. Mercier did the same when the [2h] came on the turn and Jaffe took a stab at the pot, betting 6,600. Mercier called and they checked down the [7c] on the river. Mercier showed king-jack and it was good.

Between the two hands, Jaffe shed about 24,000 chips and is down to around 70,000. --KB

6:00pm: Pesek sends Von Kriegenbergh packing
Michael Pesek came in for a raise to 5,300. Taylor von Kriegenbergh pushed in his last few blinds. Pesek made the call with [ad][jc]. Von Kriegenbergh needed help with [kd][jd].

He didn't get it. The board ran out [7s][6s][9d][6c][qh], and Von Kriegenbergh was eliminated. He earned a total of $42,000 for winning his first flight table and one preliminary round bounty.

After coming into the day with only one bounty, Pesek now has four sitting in front of him. Jason Mercier still leads the bounty race with six. --BW

5:51pm: One two-outer deserves another
At last, a bit of drama!

Jason Mercier led off the action with a raise to 4,800, Taylor von Kriegenbergh moved all-in for 59,400 and Eugene Katchalov called from the big blind. Mercier folded and the cards went on their backs.

Von Kriegenbergh [5d][5c]
Katchalov [As][Ah]

The flop fell an innocuous [9c][7d][3h], but the [5h] fell from the heavens on the turn, sending Von Kriegenbergh's railbirds into an apoplectic fit of ecstasy. Their celebration, however, was short-lived as Katchalov spiked the [Ad] on the river to double up, leaving Von Kriegenbergh on less than 15,000 in chips.

"Did that really just happen?" one of the aforementioned railbirds mumbled aloud. --KB

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 1,200-2,400-4,00

5:35pm: A few words from Eugene Katchalov
Our video blogging team caught up with Eugene Katchalov at the break. Here's what he had to say. --BW

5:27pm: Von Kriegenbergh quads up, doubles up
Jonathan Jaffe came in for a raise and got the call from Taylor von Kriegenbergh. On a flop of [Td][9d][9c], Von Kriegenbergh led out for 6,500. Jaffe raised him to 14,800. Von Kriegenbergh moved all-in and Jaffe called.

Jaffe: [ad][4d]
Von Kriegenbergh: [jc][9s]

The [9h] came on the turn and have Von Kriegenbergh the double. --BW

5:21pm: Mercier doubles through Jaffe
On a flop of [3h][7h][ad], Mercier moved all-in for around 40,000 and Jonathan Jaffe called. The hands:

Jaffe: [kd][qd]
Mercier: [7d][8d]

The [5d] came on the turn, and the [9h] on the river. Mercier doubled up and is now back in contention to repeat. --BW

5:17pm: Pesek gets Guinther
Following an opening raise to 4,800 from Michael Pesek, Jimmie Guinther moved his short stack all-in and Pesek quickly called.

Guinther [Kh][8s]
Pesek [2h][2c]

The [9h][6h][6d] flop favored Pesek and although Guinther picked up a slew of outs on the turn when the [7c] fell, the river was the [3d], sealing his elimination in sixth place. Guinther's winnings totaled $36,000 from his first-round win plus the two bounties he collected in the process.

We're down to five. --KB

5:14pm: Guinther doubles, needs to do so several times more
Jason Mercier open-shoved for 47,200 with [kh][7s], and play folded around to the couple of blinds in Jimmie Guinther's stack. Guinther squeezed his [jc][4c] and got his last chip in the middle. The board ran out [2d][9s][4d][qc][ts] and Guinther doubled...which still doesn't mean much. --BW

5pm: Counts
Here are the counts as we start level seven.

Taylor Von Kriegenbergh - 59,000
Michael Pesek - 99,125
Eugene Katchalov - 76,600
Jimmie Guinther - 5,700
Jonathan Jaffe - 160,875
Jason Mercier - 47,800

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 1,000-2,000-300 IN LEVEL 7

4.45pm: Break
Players will take a 15-minute break.

4:42pm: Scott Blackman eliminated in three-way all-in
Jimmie Guinther raised to 3,600, Scott Blackman three-bet to 29,400, and Michael Pesek moved all-in for 31,225 from the big blind. Both opponents called, Guinther having both Blackman and Pesek called.

Pesek [Ac][Kc]
Blackman [Ad][Qh]
Guinther [Qc][9s]

Although Guinther hit top pair on the [9h][7h][3s] flop and remained safe when the [Js] hit the turn, Pesek scooped both the main and side pots with the [Kh] on the river to triple his stack to 99,000. Guinther was left with only 5,700 and Blackman exited in seventh place, earning a total of $36,000 for his first-round win along with three $2,000 bounties. --KB

4.25pm: End of the road for Raskin
Micah Raskin is our eighth placed finisher, coming out on the wrong side of a pair against pair pre-flop shove-fest. Jonathan Jaffe opened the pot, making it 3,600 to go. Raskin raised to 13,600 and then Jaffe shoved, covering Raskin.

Raskin called for all his chips and for the first time at this Bounty Shootout final, we saw two big hands.

Raskin: [10c][10h]
Jaffe: [qs][qc]

"We got this far, we ain't gonna quit now!" shouted Dwyte Pilgrim, supporting Raskin. But his confidence turned to despair on a flop of [9c][kh][jc]. The [5s] turned and the [4c] rivered, which meant it was all over for Raskin.

He earned $40,000 for winning his heat and a further $4,000 for two first-round bounties. But that's the end of the road for Raskin. -- HS

4:20pm: Mercier ahead! Mercier behind! Mercier wins!/
On the hand immediately following his loss to Jonathan Jaffe, Jason Mercier open-shoved for 24,600. Play folded to Michael Pesek in the big blind. He thought for several minutes before calling with [js][9d].

Mercier had [kc][9c], which was all well and good until the flop came [jh]qh][6s]. The turn, [3c], was no help. That left Mercier with only a few options, one of which, the [td] hit on the river to double him up to around his starting stack.

Color commentary's Dwyte Pilgrim asked all who would listen, "You think Jason's gonna miss six outs? You think Jason is gonna miss that? Not in this decade!" --BW

4:15pm: Jonathan Jaffe doubles through Jason Mercier
Eugene Katchalov opened for 3,800 and Jonathan Jaffe reraised to 6,000 in the cutoff before Jason Mercier made a cold four-bet to 11,700 on the button. Katchalov folded, Jaffe moved all-in for 43,500 and Mercier called.

Jaffe [Ks][Jh]
Mercier [9h] 9d]

Mercier's nines held on the [Td][Th][3h] flop, but Jaffe hit top pair on the turn when the [Jd] fell. The river was the [Ac] and Jaffe moved up to second in chips with 90,000, leaving Mercier on only 25,000. --KB

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 800-1,600-200

3:56pm: Katchalov flops nuts, Sweeney just flops
Eugene Katchalov came in for a raise to 2,400 and Joe Sweeney called out of the blinds. When the flop fell [kd][5d][9d], Sweeny moved all in for 28,300. He picked the wrong time to do that. Katchalov had flopped the nuts with [ad][2d]. Sweeney was dead to runners and stayed that way. Joe Sweeney still made a total of $50,000, $40,000 of which he earned for winning his heat, and $10,000 for five first-round bounties. --BW

3:46pm: Jonathan Jaffe doubles through Micah Raskin
Micah Raskin opened for a 2,700 raise, Jonathan Jaffe three-bet all in for 17,200 and Raskin quickly called.

Jaffe [Ah][Kh]
Raskin [As][9h]

The board ran out [4s][6d][Tc][6s][Js], Jaffe's ace-king holding up to double his stack to 38,000. --KB

3:36pm: Five pots, two showdowns
There was little notable action or significant chip movement in the last five hands, but just to give you a slice of life from our vantage point on media row, here's a look at how they played out.

1. Jimmie Guinther raised to 2,900, Jason Mercier three-bet to 7,650 and Guinther folded.

2. Michael Pesek opened for 2,900, Eugene Katchalov called, Scott Blackman called, and Joe Sweeney called. The action checked around to Blackman on the [Td][6h][3c] flop and he bet 5,000, enough to chase away all three opponents.

3. Eugene Katchalov made it 2,700 to go and Joe Sweeney was the lone caller. Both players checked the [Qs][9d][Td] flop as well as the [5c] on the turn. The river was the [8s] and Sweeney led out for 6,000. Katchalov called and turned over [Ac][Jd] for a jack-high straight, besting Sweeney's [As][7s].

4. Jimmie Guinther opened for 3,000 and both Taylor von Kriegenbergh and Joe Sweeney came along. The action checked around on the [Td][4c][3h] flop. The turn was the [8h] and Guinther led out for 6,500. Von Kreigenbergh called and Sweeney folded. Both players checked the [Jh] on the river. Guinther showed the winner with [jc][tc] for two pair and took it down.

5. Jonathan Jaffe raised to 2,800, Jason Mercier reraised to 6,600 and Jaffe folded. --KB

3:23pm: Jason Mercier knows how to play poker
We'll be honest. We watched the taping of this particular segment. It offered Jason Mercier a pop quiz on poker math, etc. The fact that we knew the answers to the questions meant one thing: this was like Jason Mercier showing up for final exams in a kindergarten class. Nonetheless...here it is. --BW

3.20pm: Structure
Plenty of players were surprised by the steepness of the structure in the opening heats, where they started with a 25,000 stack and played 30 minute levels. But this 50,000 stack and 40-minute levels has offered much more opportunity for measured play. Another way of putting it: we're still nine handed entering level five.

BLINDS UP. PLAYING 600-1,200-200 IN LEVEL FIVE

3.10pm: From the cutting room floor
Taylor von Kriegenbergh raised to 1,600 from mid-position and attracted Eugene Katchalov, in the small blind, to a flop. It came [4d][8h][2h]. Check, check. The [8s] turned and Katchalov checked again, encouraging a 3,000 bet from Von Kriegenbergh. Katchalov folded.

My guess is that that one won't make the TV edit. -- HS

2:58pm: Of course he had...the six of diamonds
Taylor von Kriegenbergh raised it to 1,600 and got calls from Scott Blackman and Jonathan Jaffe. On a flop of [3s][8h][qs]. Jaffe led out of the blinds for 2,600 and Von Kriegenbergh raised him to 5,800. Blackman mucked his hand, and Jaffe did the same. Just for fun, Von Kriegenbergh showed the [6d]. --BW

2.45pm: Mercier moving
Jason Mercier, sixth in chips at the break, has quickly set about moving up the leaderboard, winning a pot against Joe Sweeney. Mercier opened to 1,600 and Sweeney, a couple of seats to his left, called. The flop came [2c][7s][js] and Mercier bet 2,450. Sweeney called that too, taking them to a [4d] turn.

Sweeney was finally shaken off by a bet of 5,600 from Mercier. --HS

2:36pm: Action resumes
Although the first few levels lacked what we might normally define as action, under the loosest of definitions of the word, we're back in it. --BW

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 400-800-100

2:25pm: First break chip counts

Eugene Katchalov 69,350
Taylor von Kriegenbergh 69,000
Micah Raskin 65,675
Joe Sweeney 63,450
Michael Pesek 53,325
Jason Mercier 41,400
Jimmie Guinther 34,525
Scott Blackman 28,875
Jonathan Jaffe 24,400

2:15pm: Players take a 15-minute break

2:02pm: Blackman folds to Raskin's four-bet
After opening for a 1,500 raise, Scott Blackman got two callers in Micah Raskin and Eugene Katchalov before all hell broke loose on the [9s][9h][6c] flop. Katchalov checked, Blackman bet 2,200, Raskin raised to 6,000, and after Katchalov got out of the way, Blackman came back over the top for 12,000. It wasn't enough for Raskin who four-bet to 25,000 straight and after a long tank, Blackman surrendered. --KB

2pm: Blind on blind
Joe Sweeney and Micah Raskin have renewed their acquaintance in the blinds, and this time Joe Sweeney took a small pot. Sweeney raised to 1,200 from the small blind and Raskin called from the big.

They both checked the [jd][4c][9c] flop, and then Sweeney check-called Raskin's 2,200 bet on the [10h] turn. The river was [5h], which they both checked, and Sweeney's [10c][7s] was good. Raskin mucked.

It's still very quiet here. -- HS

1:54pm: Three-bet-fail
Jonathan Jaffe surrendered a good chunk of his stack in back-to-back hands where he was forced out of the pot after three-betting preflop. In the first, Micah Raskin opened for 1,500 and Jaffe reraised to 4,000, only to be met with a four-bet to 12,000. Jaffe folded and Raskin took it down. On the next deal Eugene Katchalov got things started with a 1,500 raise and again Jaffe three-bet to 4,000. This time Taylor von Kriegenbergh was the spoiler, cold four-betting to 10,500, a move that folded out both his opponents.

Undeterred, Jaffe opened the next pot and took it down without a fight. --KB

LEVEL UP. PLAYING 300-600-75 IN LEVEL 3

1.35pm: Level over
In common with the heats, the early levels haven't seen any eliminations from the final table. However the steep structure meant that players started flying out the door from about level three onwards. I'm predicting at least one elimination in the coming 40-minute level.

1:25pm: Katchalov raises out Jaffe's dark bet
Joe Sweeney led off the action with a raise to 1,200 and Eugene Katchalov called before Jonathan Jaffe put in a three-bet to 3,800. Both players called. Jaffe led out for 4,800 on the [Jc][5c][2h] flop, Sweeney folded and Katchalov made the call.

Jaffe bet 7,000 in the dark before the [9c] fell on the turn, a move that was met with a raise to 20,000 by Katchalov. Jaffe tanked for several minutes before conceding the pot. --KB

1pm: Maybe he is that good
On Tuesday night, as Joe Sweeney was stacking up five bounties and winning his heat, a friend and supporter arrived to the rail and said (with a good degree of admiration): "You must have got some help from the man upstairs because you ain't that good."

Sweeney, an amateur player, had just beaten a table stacked with some of the best professional poker talent in the game and had not looked at all out of place.

That same friend is back today to support Sweeney at the final table, and he was the most vocal in his admiration for this recent hand too.

Sweeney made a standard opening raise pre-flop and then called Micah Raskin's three bet. "No one's pushing us around Joe!" shouted Sweeney's supporter. So it proved.

The flop came [6d][4s][8h] and Raskin bet 4,000. Sweeney raised to 13,000 and Raskin called. Both players checked the [4d] turn, but then when Sweeney led for 15,000 on the [10c] river, Raskin folded.

Big--and deserved--cheers from Sweeney's rail. -- HS

LEVEL UP. PLAYING 200-400-50 IN LEVEL TWO

12:51pm: Raskin the early chip leader
Micah Raskin just moved into the chip lead after taking down two consecutive pots. In the first, he opened for 600, earning calls from Eugene Katchalov and Jimmie Guinther. Guinther checked to the raiser on the [Tc][9d][3h] flop and Raskin bet 1,200. Katchalov called and Guinther folded. The turn came the [7s] and Raskin slowed down and checked, leaving the door open for Katchalov to bet 3,000. Raskin called and the [Kc] hit the river. Raskin turned around and led out for 6,000, a bet too rich for Katchalov as he pursed his lips and folded.

On the next hand, Raskin and Guinther went heads-up to a [7c][7d][2h] flop. Guinther led out for 800, Raskin raised to 2,500 and Guinther gave it up as Raskin moved up to 60,000 in chips. --KB

12.50pm: Portents
This week is all about repeats, and superstition's Joe Giron has just noticed that Jason Mercier, looking to repeat his Bounty Shootout triumph of last year, is today occupying the nine seat, the same chair that Vanessa Selbst occupied yesterday as she completed her back-to-back main event triumph. Oooooh. What could it mean? -- HS

12:41pm: Von Kriegenbergh does a little advertising
Opening his fourth pot out of five, Eugene Katchalov made it 600 to go, Jason Mercier called from the cutoff and Taylor von Kriegenbergh three-bet to 2,000 on the button. Katchalov folded and Mercier called. The flop fell [Kh][5c][5d] and Mercier check-called von Kriegenbergh's 4,100 bet. However, when the turn fell the [6s], Mercier couldn't continue, folding to von Kriegenbergh's 8,000 bet.

Von Kriegenbergh showed the bluff, showing the [2c][4c] as he raked in the pot. --KB

12.35pm: Raskin involved
Michah Raskin, who always likes to be involved, has been playing true to form in the early stages today. After Jason Mercier raised to 400 from late position, Joe Sweeney called in the small blind. Raskin, in the big blind, raised to 1,800 and the squeeze got rid of Mercier. Sweeney called.

The flop was [3c][jh][2d] and after Sweeney checked, Raskin bet 2,100 which was enough to take it down. -- HS

12:30pm: Presto!
Eugene Katchalov opened his third pot in a row with a raise to 600, Jason Mercier looking him up from the small blind. Mercier checked over to Katchalov on the [6h][8h][6d] flop, then raised his fellow Team Pro's 800 continuation bet to 1,600. Katchalov called and both players checked down the [Ad] on the turn and the [Qs] on the river.

Mercier showed pocket fives and they were good. --KB

12:27pm: Early analysis
For a quick pre-game chat between a nice-looking woman and bloated old man, check out the video below. --BW

12:20pm: Jaffe scores first blood
Taylor von Kriegenbergh came in for a raise and set the stage for a three-bet to 1,900 form Joe Sweeney. Jonathan Jaffe was having none of that and made it 4,200 to play. Von Kriegenbergh got out of the way, but Sweeney called. On a flop of [js][3h][9h], Sweeney checked and Jaffe bet 5,800. Sweeney got out of the way, and Jaffe picked up the first pot of the day. --BW

12:15pm: Away we go
Cards are in the air with blinds starting at 100-200-25. Levels are 40 minutes long and players start with 50,000 in chips. Here's what they all look like. --KB

11.45am: Mercier also leads bounty race
In addition to the first prize of $142,600 for winning this tournament, there are also a number of other ways players can pick up additional money.

Each table winner has already taken either $36,000 or $40,000 for besting their eight- or nine-handed opening tables, and they will have also taken $2,000 for every player they have eliminated.

The value of the bounties now increases. They are worth $10,000 each. At the end of the entire tournament, the player who has picked up the most bounties will also get a bonus $20,000 in cash, plus a buy in into the next NAPT Bounty Shooutout.

Currently leading that charge is, you guessed it, Jason Mercier. He has six bounties from his opening heat. Joe Sweeney picked up five and the closest others, Katchalov and Blackman, have three.

It's still possible for everyone to win that race, however.-- HS

11.40am: Mercier aims to emulate Selbst
At almost any other tournament in world poker, Jason Mercier's achievement of making the final table 12 months after he won the same event would be enough to have commentators purring. The problem for Mercier, who will sit down today at the final of the $10,000 NAPT Bounty Shootout final and attempt to defend his own crown, is named Vanessa Selbst.

Last night, Selbst completed a remarkable back-to-back triumph in NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Events. Today, anything less than back-to-back victories for Mercier will somehow feel like a disappointment, even though his is also already a spectacular achievement.

Mercier railed Selbst to triumph yesterday. Today Selbst is back in class at law school, so Mercier will have to go it alone. He will also have to beat a field including his Team PokerStars Pro colleague Eugene Katchalov, as well as seven other players who emerged victorious from a stacked field of talent on Tuesday.

The full line up, in seat order, is:

1. TAYLOR VON KRIEGENBERGH
2. JOE SWEENEY
3. MICAH RASKIN
4. MICHAEL PESEK
5. EUGENE KATCHALOV
6. JIMMIE GUINTHER
7. SCOTT BLACKMAN
8. JONATHAN JAFFE
9. JASON MERCIER

Play is due to begin at noon.

Reporting team: Kristin Bihr, Howard Swains and Brad Willis. Photography: Joe Giron.

This time last year, the Team PokerStars Pro from Brooklyn, New York, bested a field of 716 to win $750,000 and her first NAPT Mohegan Sun title. A year later, here we are again.

This time the field was 387 players and the first prize is $450,000. That means 1,101 players have tried and failed to knock Selbst out of a poker tournament in this room and $1.2 million is the combined reward for this Uncasville immortality. (Let's not forget, in the intervening year she also won close to $1,650,000 in France.)

But let's say it again because it becomes no less remarkable through repetition: Vanessa Selbst is the back-to-back NAPT Mohegan Sun champion. No one can beat her.

"I don't know, I'm speechless," she said when asked if there would be a three-peat next year. Her supporters seem to think so. One of them carried a sign today that read: "Every year the same damn thing."

Tonight Selbst overturned a near three-to-one heads up chip deficit against Dan Shak to win. It was the first time she had ever gone to a heads-up duel without the lead, but it didn't seem to matter one jot. She had had the breaks when necessary, but was extraordinarily focused too.

"I didn't win this in my typical fashion," Selbst said. "I didn't steamroll the table. I had some luck on my side and I played a pretty good heads up game against a formidable opponent."

We started on Saturday with those 387 players, and began today with eight. Steve O'Dwyer and Aaron Overton were two of the shorter stacks coming into the final, and they were the first to fall.

O'Dwyer never really recovered from a massive skirmish with Selbst on the third hand of the day, while Overton, who had led at the end of day two, couldn't outdraw Selbst's [ah][2h] with his [kh][qd]. Those two were out in eighth and seventh respectively.

One intriguing sub-plot in this story of Selbst was the tale of Joe Tehan, the NAPT Los Angeles champion. Tehan had also made the last eight of this week's tournament, only a matter of four months since he was in the winner's enclosure himself.

According to many commentators, if anyone was going to stop Selbst, it would be Tehan. But he couldn't bring the Californian fortune to the east coast. A couple of missteps, then an unfortunate chop of a pot that should have been his, put Tehan on the short stack. When he got it in with [kd][6s] he couldn't outdraw Thomas Hoglund's [8c][8d]. Tehan went to the rail in sixth.

It was around this time that Shak really came to prominence. He won a massive pot from Selbst when he managed to spike an ace with his [ad][6h] to beat [7d][7s] and he was then able to sit back and watch as his table-mates devoured one another.

Selbst took a huge chunk from Vincent Rubianes, another player who had once soared to the chip lead in this tournament, only to be pegged back. Rubianes was then blasted to the rail in fifth by Tyler Kenney, who had been chip leader ahead of the final. Rubianes had ace-high pre-flop, Kenney only had a king. But when two more kings turned and rivered, Rubianes was rubbed out.

Thomas Hoglund Jr. had played a largely quiet final table, picking his spots to manoeuvre his short stack into the middle and slowly climb the leaderboard. But then he got it in with queen high and ran into Kenney's aces. Hoglund was the first player to earn a six figure score. Fourth bagged him $120,000.

The next major confrontation might easily have been Selbst's last. She shoved her [ac][5h] into Kenney's [ah][kd] sending her loyal followers--seven friends and one dog--to gather anxiously around the monitors. But you don't win poker tournaments without the occasional stroke of good fortune. And you certainly don't go back-to-back without a larger slice than most.

The dealer duly delivered a five on the flop, sending Poker Dog into howls of delight.

Kenney, whose entire family (but no dogs) had come to Uncasville to watch him at his first major final, was not quite so delighted. He soon found an ace and moved in with [as][7s], but Shak was lying in wait with [ah][qs]. It held.

That brought us to heads up and a battle that amply represented everything that is terrific about this game. Selbst started as the short stack, but chip, chip, chipped away until she had Shak on the ropes.

But then Shak showed his fighting spirit, doubling up a couple of times at crucial moments to keep the yo-yo exchange going for close to two hours. In the end, Selbst flopped two pair with her [kc][7c] and stayed good against Shak's single pair of sevens.

"This is seriously the most special thing in my career," Selbst said. "Maybe last year wasn't a fluke."

So, after Selbst's remarkable display today, we might as well just give her the NAPT Mohegan Sun trophy for good. She certainly seems in no hurry to hand it over.

All photography © Joe Giron/www.joegironphotography.com

On the second hand after we returned from the break, Dan Shak limped in on the button and Vanessa Selbst checked her option. The flop came down [Ks][7d][3s] and Selbst checked to Shak, who bet 300,000. Selbst raised to 625,000, Shak immediately moved all-in and Selbst just as quickly called.

Shak [Jh][7h]
Selbst [Kc][7c]

Selbst had nearly flopped him dead, Shak drawing only to running jacks against her kings up. It was all over on the turn when the [5h] hit the felt, the river falling the [2h] to seal Selbst's remarkable repeat win here at Mohegan Sun. She'll take home $450,000, while Shak earned $254,000 for his runner-up finish.

Congratulations to Vanessa Selbst on her historic run, which puts her over the $4.1 million mark in career tournament earnings and third on the Womens' All-Time Money List. Stay tuned for a full wrap. --KB

LEVEL UP: PLAYING 60,000-120,000-10,000 BLINDS IN LEVEL 30

Hands 50-59: Selbst chips away at Shak's comeback
Dan Shak's comeback was all but erased in hands 50-59. The chip counts as the players take a 15-minute break look like this:

Selbst: 8,875,000
Shak: 2,835,000

Here are the hands.

Hand 50: Selbst limped in and Shak checked his option. On a flop of [3h][tc][ks], both players checked. Shak checked the [8s] turn, Selbst bet 175,000, Shak raised to 400,000, and Selbst folded. -

Hand 51: Shak raised to 250,000 pre-flop and Selbst folded.

Hand 52: Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak folded.

Hand 53: Shak limped in, Selbst raised, Shak folded, and Selbst showed a pair of nines.

Hand 54: Selbst limped in and Shak checked his option. On a flop of [2s][6][5h]. Selbst bet 125,000 and Shak called. The [ts] came on the turn. Shak checked and Selbst bet 280,000. Shak then raised to 680,000. Selbst made the call. The river was the [3s]. Shak bet 800,000 and Selbst called. [kd][2d]. Selbst showed [ad]td] for a pair of tens and the win.

Hand 55. The two players saw a flop of [9h][6c][ah]. Selbst checket, Shak bet 100,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 56: Selbst raised to 200,000, and Shak folded.

Hand 57: Shak raised to 200,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 58: Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak called. On a flop of [kc][qc][kh], Shak checked, and Selnst checked behind. The [ad] came on the turn. Selbst bet 160,000. Shak raised to 400,000. Selbst folded and Shak picked up the pot.

Hand 59: Shak folded and Selbst won the pot.

9:48pm: Hands 40-49-- Shak doubles through Selbst, misses value on nut boat
Dan Shak managed to make a bit of a comeback over the last ten hands. He doubled up with a straight against Selbst's nut flush draw on Hand 42, but could not get paid off on the full house he turned on Hand 45. Currenlty Selbst is on 7.1 million in chips while Shak is up to about 4.6 million.

Hand 40: Selbst opened for 200,000 on the button and Shak called. Shak checked the [4h][Js][8h] flop over to Selbst, who bet 260,000. Shak folded and Selbst won the pot.

Hand 41: Shak limped in on the button and Selbst checked her option. Selbst led out for 100,000 on the [5c][Jh][Ac] flop and Shak folded. She showed the [Js].

Hand 42: Selbst limped in and Shak checked from the big blind. The flop was [8h][7c][4h] and Shak checked to Selbst, who bet 125,000. Shak raised to 375,000, Selbst moved all-in and Shak called.

Selbst [Ah][3h]
Shak [5d][6d]

Shak flopped an eight-high straight but Selbst had outs to an ace-high flush draw. She missed on the turn when the [6c] fell, and again on the river with the [Jd]. Shak doubled to just over 4 million, leaving Selbst on 7.7 million.

Hand 43: Shak raised to 250,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 44: Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak folded.

Hand 45: Shak raised to 250,000, Selbst three-bet to 500,000 and Shak called. The flop fell [Kc][7c][7h] and both players checked. Same story when the [Ac] came on the turn. The river was the [Td] and Shak cut out a 1,000,000-chip bet. After talking through the hand out loud and speculating about Shak's hand, Selbst decided on a fold. Good thing she did--Shak showed pocket aces for the nut boat.

Hand 46: Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak folded.

Hand 47: Shak gave Selbst a walk

Hand 48: Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak called. Shak led out for 200,000 on the [2h][Js][8d] flop and Selbst called. The turn was the [Qd] and Shak checked to Selbst , who bet 580,000. Shak folded and Selbst won the pot.

Hand 49: Shak raised to 250,000 and Selbst folded. --KB

9.30pm: Another ten hands

Hand 30 - Selbst limped from the small blind and Shak checked. The flop came [9c][5s][3h], which they both checked, to take them to a [ac] turn. Selbst bet 125,000, called by Shak, and the [7c] rivered. This time Selbst bet 400,000 and Shak called again, only to be shown the [3c][4c] for a flush. Selbst took it.

Hand 31 - Shak raised pre-flop to 250,000 and Selbst let him have it.

Hand 32 - Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak called. The flop was [3c][2d][kc] and Selbst's bet took it. "Unstoppable!" bellowed one of Selbst's fan club in the bleachers.

Hand 33 - Shak folds.

Hand 34 - Selbst made up Shak's big blind and Shak moved all in. Selbst wasn't having any of that and folded. Shak still has less than two million chips. Selbst has close to nine million.

Hand 35 - Shak limped from the small blind, and Selbst raised 200,000 more. Shak called. That took them to a [8d][2d][6s] flop and Selbst bet 250,000. Shak called. The [4d] turned and Selbst fired again, this time for 300,000. Shak folded, and Selbst showed [ad][kd] for the turned nut flush. "I thought you were going to shove some time in that hand," Selbst said.

Hand 36 - Selbst open shoved, which, of course, is simply asking Shak if he fancies playing for all his chips. He didn't. He folded.

Hand 37 - Shak moves all in and Selbst calls! This could be it...

Selbst: [kc][jc]
Shak: [qh][6h]

Selbst is miles ahead, and the [4c][10d][3h] doesn't change that. The turn, however, comes [6c], which puts Shak into the lead.

Selbst still had plenty of outs, but the [10h] isn't one of them. That gave Shak the double up and he now has about 3.5 million. Most importantly, he's still alive.

Hand 38 - Selbst raised. Shak folded.

Hand 39 - Shak folded. -- HS

9:16pm: Hands 21-29-- Selbst steamrolling
How about some more hands? Here's another nine, which saw Vanessa Selbst chip up to nearly 10 million via a series of small pots, while Shak slipped to 1.8 million.

Hand 21: In a limped pot, Selbst led out for 150,000 on a [Kd][Jc][3h] flop and Shak folded.

Hand 22: Selbst opened for 200,000 and Shak called. Both players checked the [8s][5d][2s] flop. When the [Jc] hit the turn, Shak bet 200,000 and Selbst called. The river was the [5s] and they checked it down. Selbst's A-Q high was good.

Hand 23: Shak limped in on the button and Selbst checked her option. THe [Ad][Jc][7c][Ah][4s] board was checked through the turn before Selbst put in a 115,000 bet on the river. Shak folded and Selbst took it down.

Hand 24: Selbst opened for 200,000, Shak three-bet to 600,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 25: Shak gave Selbst a walk.

Hand 26: Selbst did the same for Shak.

Hand 27: Another limped pot. Selbst check-folded to Shak's 300,000 bet on a [As][Qs][3c] flop.

Hand 28: Selbst opened for 200,000 and Shak called, only to fold to her continuation bet on a Q-5-3 rainbow flop.

Hand 29: Shak opened for 250,000 and Selbst caled. Both players checked the [Jh][6h][4c] flop. The turn came the [5s] and Selbst bet 340,000. Shak gave up his hand and Selbst took the pot. --KB

9:03pm: A brief recap
You can see the first 20 hands below, but the only one that really matters after the first 45 minutes of play is the one in which Selbst turned the tables. Selbst started off heads-up play by keeping the pots small. She won most of them, and only stumbled when she ran into Shak's very disguised quad kings. That cost Selbst a bit of her stack, but not so much that she couldn't turn Shak upside down and shake out his pockets when she played kings as straightforwardly as she could and got paid off for everything she had in front of her after flopping middle set. The chip stacks are now reversed from where they were when Shak and Selbst got heads up. --BW

8:59pm: Hands 13-20--Shak pulls quads, but Selbst now leads
In the hands below, you might just want to check out the last one. It explains how the chips now look something like this:

Dan Shak: 3.25 million
Vanessa Selbst; 8.3 million

Hand 13: Shak limped in and Selbst checked her option. On a [js][3s][ah] flop, both players checked. The dealer put out the [6c] on the turn. Selbst check-folded to a bet from Selbst.

Hand 14: Selbst limped in and Shak checked in the big blind. On the [tc][qs][4c] flop, Selbst bet 155,000. The turn brought the [ts]. Shak checked and Selbst checked behind. On the [kc] river, Shak checked again and Selbst checked behind. Shak showed [jh][4h] for bottom pair and the win.

Hand 15: Shak folded pre-flop and Selbst won the blinds and antes.

Hand 16: After the level went up, Selbst min-raised to 200,00. The flop came down [ks][kc][7h]. Shak checked, Selbst bet 210,00 and Shak called. The [8h] came on the turn. Both players checked to [2s] on the river. Shak bet 500,000 and Selbst called and let her mouth hang open a little but when Shak showed her...pocket kings...for quads.

Hand 17: Shak raised to 200,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 18: Shak raised to 200,000 and Selbst folded

Hand 19: Shak limped in and Selbst checked her option. The flop was the [kh][7h][7s]. Both players checked and saw the [8h] on the turn. Two more checks to the [5d] on the river. Two more checks and Shak's queen-high wins it.

Hand 20: Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak re-popped it to 600,000. Selbst didn't back down and bumped it up to 1.3 million. Shak made the call. The flop brought [ad][2s][kh]. Shak checked and Selbst fired out 800,000. Shak moved all in. Selbst snap-called with [kd][ks]. Shak held [kc][qc]. The [jc] came on the turn. The river was the [js] giving Selbst kings full and the massive pot.--BW

8.50pm: Counts
The approximate chip counts at this stage are:

Dan Shak 6,000,000
Vanessa Selbst 5,600,000

Ms Selbst is coming back. -- HS

LEVEL UP. PLAYING 50,000-100,000 IN LEVEL 29

8:40pm: Hands 11-12 of heads up play--Selbst wins a big one

Hand 11: Shak raised to 200,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 12: Selbst raised to 175,000 and Shak called. On a [4s][jc][9c] flop, Shak checked and Selbst bet 155,000. Shak, in his first display of aggression since heads-up play began, raised to 355,000. Selbst wasn't ready to go away and made the call. The dealer put out the [9d] on the turn. Shak led at the pot for 500,000, and Selbst called. The river brought the [4d]. Shak put out a bet of 800,000. Selbst announced she was all-in and Shak went into the tank. He rested his cheek on his hands, looked at Selbst for about a minute, and folded. Score the first big one for Selbst. --BW

8:32pm: The first ten hands of heads-up play

Hand 1: Selbst took it down on the turn for a min-bet.

Hand 2: Selbst limped in. Both players checked the [jd][4s][3d] flop. On the [5s] turn, Shak bet 100,000 and Selbst called. The [9h] came on the river. 200,000 from Selbst on the river. Selbst called with a three in her hand. Shak announced eight-high and mucked.

Hand 3: Another to Slebst, uncontested.

Hand 4: Selbst limped in. Shak raised to 400,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 5: Shak gives Selbst a walk.

Hand 6: Selbst min-raised to 160,000 and Shak called. The flop came out [ad][ts][5s]. Shak checked and Selbst bet 140,000. Shak folded.

Hand 7: Shak called, Selbst checked her option to the [qh][jc][4c] flop. Both players checked. The [3c] came on the turn. Both players checked again. The river was the [kc]. Selbst min-bet 80,000 and Shak folded.

Hand 8: Selbst raised to 160,000 and Shak called. On a flop of [2s][tc][as], Shak checked, and Selbst checked behind. The [4s] came on the turn. Shak checked, then folded to a 180,000 bet from Selbst.

Hand 9: Shak raised to 200,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 10: Selbst Made it 160,000 and Shak folded.

8:13pm: Cards back in the air
We have an obscene amount of BBQ in our bellies and hopefully our two remaining gladiators are similarly sated after the one-hour break. Action has just resumed, and Poker Dog has taken front-row seat alongside Team Selbst. --KB

7pm: Schedule change
We're going to take a one-hour dinner break. Play will resume at 8pm. Join us, and Poker Dog, after the break!

6:55pm: Heads-up chip counts

Here's how our final two are stacked going in to heads-up play:

Dan Shak 8,650,000
Vanessa Selbst 3,025,000

6:48pm: Tyler Kenney eliminated in third place
Dan Shak opened to 200,000 and Tyler Kenney moved all-in. Shak snap-called with [ah][qs]. Kenney was in rough shape with [as][7c] and didn't improve on the [9h][jh][8h][tc][4h] board. Kenney banks $170,000 - and a hug from Vanessa Selbst.

There is going to be a ten-minute break before we begin heads-up play. Approximate counts have Dan Shak with a 8.6 million to 3 million lead.--BW

6:38: Kenney's river raise shakes Shak
Dan Shak and Tyler Kenney limped in from the blinds and saw a [Qs][6d][5d] flop. Shak checked, Kenney bet 100,000 and Shak made the call. Both players checked the [4h] on the turn. The river fell the [3s] and Shak tossed in another 100,000-denomination chip only to watch Kenney raise to 325,000. Shak quickly folded and Kenney took down the pot. --KB

6:09pm: Selbst doubles, poker dog scored with assist
Tyler Kenney opened to 200,000 from the button and short-stacked Vanessa Selbst shoved for 1.2 million from the small blind. Dan Shak folded, but Kenney made the quick call with [ah][kd].

Selbst was in bad shape with [ac][5h]. Selbst's rail squeezed up to the flop-cam monitor. Included in the rail is a labrador retriever service dog that has become the de facto mascot for Team Selbst today. One of Selbst's friends muttered, "Come on, poker dog."*

The dog must have done the trick. Selbst hit a five on the flop.

Kenney couldn't find a king on the turn or river and Selbst is back up to 2.5 million. --BW

*Later immortalized in song by falsetto's Brad Willis.

6pm: Break counts
Here are the three handed chip counts at the latest break:

Dan Shak: 6,950,000
Tyler Kenney: 3,525,000
Vanessa Selbst: 1,280,000

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 40,000-80,000-10,000

5:46pm: Shak looking unbeatable
Tyler Kenney came in for a raise to 140,000 and got calls from both Vanessa selbst and Dan Shank. On a [8c][8h][qd] flop Selbst and Shak both check-called a 160,000 bet from Kenney.

The [9d] turn drew a check from Selbst, but this time Shak came out betting 250,000. Kenney gave up, but Selbst raised to 750,000. Shak made the call.

When the [ks] fell on the river, Selbst checked. Shak didn't think for long before moving all-in. Selbst wasted no time in folding and gave up the giant pot to Shak.

Players are now on a 15-minute break. --BW

5:40pm: Selbst takes it sans showdown
Tyler Kenney limped in on the button and Vanessa Selbst made it an additional 135,000 to go from the small blind. Dan Shak folded and Kenney made the call. The [Js][7d][6s] flop saw Kenney call Selbst's 155,000 bet, which both players followed up with checks when the [3c] fell on the turn. The river was the [4h]. Selbst bet 365,000 but it was too rich for Kenney, who mucked his hand. With that pot, Selbst is back up to 2.3 million while Kenney fell to 3.8 million. --KB

5.25pm: Thomas Hoglund Jr. out in fourth, winning $120,000
Tom Hoglund Jr., who has done a good job of staying out of trouble and moving into the final four, could go no further. He is out in fourth, winning $120,000 for his week in Connecticut.

Hoglund shoved his short stack all in from the button and was called by the mighty towers of Tyler Kenney. Kenney also had the best hand when they were showndown:

Hoglund: [qh][9s]
Kenney: [as][7d]

Both players flopped pairs on the [ac][qd][6h] board, but Hoglund couldn't get any further help on the [5c] turn and the [8d] river and that meant he was sent to the rail. -- HS

5.05pm: Rubianes out in fifth, winning $90,000
Vincent Rubianes was close to a triple up, but now he's close to the cash cage. He is out.

Tyler Kenney opened to 140,000 and Dan Shak called. Sensing that potential triple up, Vincent Rubianes decided this was his chance and moved all in for 155,000.

The flop came [3c][4d][2d] and Kenney bet 160,000. Shak mucked, leaving Rubianes and Kenney to decide the former's tournament life.

Rubianes: [ad][7c]
Kenney: [Kh][10c]

At this stage it looked good for a potentially life-saving moment for Rubianes. He only had a few outs to fade on turn and river. Howevever, both turn and river were horrible for him, coming [kd][ks], and that was that for Rubianes.

He is out in fifth for $90,000. -- HS

4:59pm: Selbst doubles through Rubianes
On the shortstack and down to 1.2 million in chips, Vanessa Selbst open-pushed for around 1.1 million with [kd][jh]. Vincent Rubianes called her with [8d][8c]. From the rail came the call of "One Time Chip!"

The flop came down [kh][2h][7h], leaving Rubianes with just one out...until the turn came the [ks]. The opened up one more out for Rubianes. It didn't hit. The [4c] came on the river and Selbst doubled to around 2.3 million. The hand left Vincent with 150,000. He'll be all in before I hit publish on this post. --BW

4:50pm: Moving pictures

4:45pm: Shak seizes the chip lead, doubles through defending champ
On Day 1 of this event, we reported a hand where Dan Shak, quite literally asleep in the small blind, woke up to ace-six and ultimately called his opponent's re-shove, doubling his stack. The hand once again proved to be lucky for the New York City futures trader, as it just gave him a double-up through (formerly) second-in-chips Vanessa Selbst.

Selbst opened for her standard twice the big blind raise to 120,000, Shak three-bet to 400,000 and Selbst moved all-in. Shak didn't waste too much time in calling, revealing [Ad][6h] to Selbst's [7d][7s].

Although Selbst's pair held on the [Th][8c][4h] flop, the [Ah] on the turn left her drawing to only a single out as Shak picked up the nut flush draw. The river was the [9d] and Selbst shed about two-thirds of her stack, leaving her on 1.2 million while Shak vaulted into the chip lead with over 4 million.

Meanwhile, Vanessa Selbst's normally enthusiastic rail has been temporarily silenced. --KB

4:36pm: Small flop, small(ish) pot for Kenney
Tyler Kenney opened for a raise to 140,000 and got one caller in Vincent Rubianes. The flop fell [3d][2s][2h] and Rubianes checked to Kenney, who made a 140,000 continuation bet. Rubianes called, and the [6d] came on the turn. Rubianes checked a second time, Kenney made it 325,000 to go and it was enough to fold out Rubianes, our hooded leader adding a few more chips to his growing stack. --KB

4.30pm: Five for it
Welcome back to Connecticut, where there are five players still in the hunt for NAPT glory.

On the final hand of the past level, the NAPT Los Angeles champion Joe Tehan was eliminated, ending his hopes of becoming the first two-time NAPT champion.

But Vanessa Selbst, the only other player with that chance at the start of the tournament, could still pull it off. She not only remains at the final table, she is also the chip leader.

The full counts of the remaining five are as follows:

Vanessa Selbst: 3,230,000
Tyler Kenney: 3,200,000
Dan Shak: 2,135,000
Tom Hoglund: 1,590,000
Vincent Rubianes: 1,550,000

Blinds are now 30,000-60,000, meaning each small blind is now the equivalent of a starting stack in this tournament.

Reporting team: Kristin Bihr, Howard Swains and Poker's Brad Willis. Photography: Joe Giron.

Hochman [Qh][Th]
Rubianes [Ad][Qd]

It was over for Hochman on the turn, the board running out [5h][Jd][5s][Ac][Td]. He'll take home $26,000 for his ninth-place finish.

The final eight are currently bagging and tagging their chips. We'll have official chip counts and a full wrap shortly. --KB

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 15,000-30,000-3,000

7:01pm: Final table redraw
Here's how the final nine have taken their seats.--BW

Seat 1: Corey Hochman
Seat 2: Joe Tehan
Seat 3: Thomas Hoglund, Jr.
Seat 4: Dan Shak
Seat 5: Vincent Rubianes
Seat 7: Steve O'Dwyer
Seat 7: Tyler Kenney
Seat 8: Aaron Overton
Seat 9: Vanessa Selbst

6:53pm: Stefanski bubbles (unofficial) final table
The televised final table of NAPT events is eight-handed, but the unofficial final table comes together with nine players remaining. That has just happened after Tyler Kenney came in for a raise from the button. David Stefanski shoved all in for a little more than 400,000 from the small blind. His [ac][tc] looked good until Kenney turned up [as][kd]. Kenney's hand held up and Stefanski left in 10th place. --BW

6:38pm: Hoglund doubles, Fernandez departs
Thomas Hoglund made a stand, moving all-in for 310,000 with pocket queens and David Stefanski looked him up with [As][Qh]. The ladies held and Hoglund chipped up to 660,000.

Meanwhile, one table over, Jacobo Fernandez got the rest of his chips in the middle preflop with [Kh][Qs] and Joe Tehan made the call with pocket jacks Again, the pocket pair was good and Fernandez hit the rail in 11th place. --KB

6:32pm: Selbst doubles Overton, loses chip lead
Tournament short stack Aaron Overton moved all-in for his last 350,000 and Vanessa Selbst made the call, turning over [7c][7s]. Overton showed [9d][Td] and hit a nine on the flop, doubling his stack to 740,000.

For the first time all day, Selbst has fallen below 2 million in chips and out of the top spot.--KB

6:25pm: Selbst can't bluff Shak
After taking a bit of a tumble by doubling up Vincent Rubianes, Dan Shak has regained most of those lost chips. Vanessa Selbst limped in from the small blind and Shak checked his option from the big. Selbst led out for 28,000 on the [Qd][7h][5c] flop and Shak made the call. The turn brought the [8h] and Selbst loaded another bullet, making it 63,000 to go. Shak called again, and they went to the river which fell the [Th]. Selbst bet 157,000 and Shak quickly called.

"You got it," Selbst said, as Shak turned up [Qs][7c] for two pair.

Shak is back up to 1.45 million while Selbst slipped to 2.45 million. --KB

6:13pm: Rubianes doubles through Shak
Vincent Rubianes' downward slide today has ended. After starting Day 4 with more than a million in chips, Rubianes was down to half of that. He finally just got all-in with Dan Shak. Rubianes held [ah][ks] to Shak's [td][tc]. Rubianes made his pair on the flop and got back up around where he started the day. --BW

BLINDS UP, PLAYING 12,000-24,000-2,000 IN LEVEL 23

5:30pm: Kenney climbing
A pair of pots late in the level have pushed Tyler Kenney up to second in chips. In the first, Steve O'Dwyer opened for 43,000 from the cutoff, Kenney three-bet to 115,000 on the button and O'Dwyer made the call. Both players checked on the [As][3s][9s] flop, then did the same when the [8s] hit the turn. The river fell the [5h] and O'Dwyer check-called Kenney's 125,000 bet. Kenney turned up [Qs][Qh] for the flush and O'Dwyer mucked.

A few minutes later, O'Dwyer opened again for 43,000, Kenney flat-called and Thomas Hoglund made it 143,000 to go from the cutoff. O'Dwyer folded and Kenney called. Hoglund led out for 150,000 on the [Kc][7c][2d] flop, earned a call, then made it the same amount when the [4d] came on the turn. Hoglund called again and both players checked the [5d] on the river. Kenney showed [Kd][Th] for the win and vaulted to 1.85 million in chips. Hoglund was left with 350,000.

Players are now on a 15-minute break.

5:01pm: Selbst leaves Overton on the short stack
Vanessa Selbst opened for a min-raise to 40,000 from early position, Aaron Overton three-bet to 122,000 from the big blind and Selbst made the call. Overton led out for 202,000 when the flop fell [Qh][7c][3d] and after about a minute in the tank, Selbst moved all-in.

Overton elected to save his remaining 260,000 and folded. Selbst is up to 2.7 million.--KB

4:44pm: Plouffe go poof
(Yes, we've been waiting to use that headline for a couple of days now). Steve O'Dwyer opened to 44,000 and got a flat call from Tyler Kenney. That opened the door to a 431,000 shove from Philippe Plouffe. O'Dwyer must have had something on Plouffe, because he made the call with [as][9c]. Kenney got out of the way, and Plouffe turned up [8c][tc]. The board ran out [kc][[4s][jh][kh][7h] and Plouffe exited in12th place. --BW

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 10,000-20,000-2,000

4:09pm: The kids might call this a "level"
This hand wasn't so remarkable for the betting sequence or the result, but for the sheer amount of time Corey Hochman took to make his decision. As the final seconds ticked off Level 21, Hochman opened for 32,000 in the cutoff and Steve O'Dwyer called on the button. The flop came down [As][Ks][4c] and Hochman checked to O'Dwyer, who bet 42,000. With the ESPN cameras trained on his face, Hochman began mumbling something about putting O'Dwyer specifically on the [8h][Th] and sat in the tank as the 15-minute break ticked away.

"Seriously, this might take the whole break," Hochman said. O'Dwyer remained stone-faced as his opponent hemmed and hawed.

After six and a half minutes ticked off the clock, Hochman finally settled on a raise to 125,000. O'Dwyer snap-folded and headed off for what was left of his break showing no signs of tilt as Hochman continued to mug for the cameras. --KB

4:02pm: Matte's day is done
With just minutes to go before the third break of the day Jean-Philippe Matte took his half-average stack and got it in the middle with [ad][9d]. It was a bad spot. David Stefanski was sitting with black kings, flopped his set, and put Matte out in 13th. Players are now on a 15-minute break. --BW

3:50pm: Updated chip counts
Head over to the NAPT chip count page for fresh-from-the-oven updates on our 13 remaining players. Vanessa Selbst is still atop the pack with 2.5 million, with Dan Shak in second with 1.68 million. --KB

3:29pm: Another scalp for Selbst
The wheels could still come off, but for now Vanessa Selbst is ruling the day. She just opened for 38,000. When Ara Melikian shoved for 176,000, Selbst snap-called with [ac][kc]. Melikian was way behind with his meager [kh][qh]. The board ran out [8c][8d][7s][ts][6c] and Melikian was gone in 14th place. --BW

3:14pm: Gibbons gutted
Following an opening raise to 35,000 from Phillipe Plouffe, David Stefanski three-bet to 85,000 on the button, only to be met with a shove from Joseph Gibbons in the big blind. Plouffe gave up his hand and Stefanski called. Stefanski had Gibbons dominated with [Ad][Ks] to his [Kc][Tc], the board running out [5h][5d][7h][9d][Qc] to send him home in 16th place. --KB

3:05pm: Phillipe Plouffe doubles through Joseph Gibbons
Phillipe Plouffe's stack has been rising and falling faster than the Dow Jones index today. Only minutes after busting Taylor von Kriegenbergh, Plouffe saw nearly all those chips go "poof" when he played a massive pot against David Stefanski right before the last break, Stefanski claiming all but 189,000 of Plouffe's stack. However, Plouffe is back on the rise after doubling through Joseph Gibbons in dramatic fashion.

Gibbons limped in, as he's prone to do, and Plouffe moved all-in for 265,000. After a long tank, Gibbons made the call and turned up the best hand-- pocket nines against Plouffe's [Kc][8c]. The [Qh][6c][2h] flop agreed with Gibbons, as did the [4d] on the turn, but the [Kd] spiked on the river, saving Plouffe's tournament life.

"Yes!" Plouffe exclaimed.

"F**k!" cried Gibbons, before apologizing for his profanity.

Gibbons is down to 300,000 while Plouffe is back up to 555,000. --KB

2:55pm: Redraw
With 16 players remaining, here's how they are seated now. --BW

Table 1
1. Aaron Overton
2. Vincent Rubianes
3. Vanessa Selbst
4. Dan Shak
5. Nenad Medic
6. Joe Tehan
7. Jacobo Fernandez
8. Ara Melikian

Table 2
1. Philippe Plouffe
2. Jean-Philippe Matte
3. David Stefanski
4. Thomas Hoglund Jr.
5. Joe Gibbons
6. Corey Hochman
7. Steve O'Dwyer
8. Tyler Kenney

2:54pm: Overton ousts Olivier
Aaron Overton opened for 36,000 on the button and Olivier Busquet three-bet to 65,000. Overton called the extra 29k, and they went heads-up to a [Ad][Js][5d] flop. Busquet checked, Overton bet 45,000 and Busquet called. The turn brought the [Kd] and Busquet moved all-in. Overton snap-called, revealing [Kc][Jd] to Busquet's pocket queens. The [3s] on the river sent Busquet to the rail in 17th place while Overton hit the million-chip mark.

With 16 players remaining, they're re-drawing for seats on two tables.--KB

2:48pm: Players are back in action
The third level of the day is underway. A fresh chip count is up on our chip counts page (just see that little black box on the right).--BW

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 8,000-16,000,2,000

2:12pm: Plouffe busts Von Kriegenbergh in 18th
Following a 27,000 opening raise from Taylor von Kriegenbergh Phillipe Plouffe moved all-in for 276,000 and Von Kriegenbergh made the call for his last 271,000. Unfortunately, his [Ad][Tc] was dominated, as Plouffe tabled the [Ah][Qc]. No help on the board for Von Kriegenbergh and he departed in 18th place. Plouffe can cool down a bit now, he's up to a far healthier 586,000 in chips. --KB

2:07pm: Plouffe steamy
Philippe Plouffe is not a weak man. He looks like the type of guy that could handle himself in a bar fight. RIght now is not the time to cross him. Moments ago, Corey Hochman came in for a raise to 26,000. Plouffe made it 80,000 to play. Hochman moved all-in for 348,000 and Plouffe snap-called with pocket kings. Up again Hochman's [as][kh], Plouffe was in good shape until the [ah] hit on the flop. Suffice it to say, the five-foot radius around Plouffe is now a place you enter only if you are collecting hazardous duty pay. --BW

2:00pm: Selbst invites Busquet to value-town, Busquet declines
Vanessa Selbst opened for 27,000 from under-the-gun and Olivier Busquet called from the big blind. Both players checked the [Ac][9s][7d] flop. The turn came the [5d] and Busquet checked again. Selbst bet 38,000 and Busquet came along. When the [Qh] hit the river, Busquet checked to Selbst who made it 48,000 to go. After a long think, Busquet folded. Selbst flashed the [6d][8h] for the turned straight.

"I was hoping to get some value there," she said. Busquet confessed to having a suited ace in diamonds for top pair on the flop and a flush draw on the turn. --KB

1:52pm: So long, Sandhu
Joe Tehan came in for a raise to 26,000 from the cutoff. Sukh Sandhu had 102,000 more and moved all-in. Tehan made the call with [9h][th]. Sanhu held [5c][5s]. He looked good on the [ac[2s][8d] flop, but that [js] turn and [qd] river ended his day in 19th place. --BW

1:35pm: Adam Geyer out in 20th
Adam Geyer met his tournament end following a battle of the blinds that saw him get the rest of his chips in the pot with [As][Tc] against David Stefanski's [Ad][Jd]. Stefanski hit top pair on the turn, the board running out [7h][8c][2s][Jd][6d] to send Geyer to the rail. Stefanski is up to 745,000. --KB

1:20pm: Tryba's day ends
An early-days chip leader, Chris Tryba could go no further than 21st place. The end came just now when he opened to 20,000. Jacobo Fernandez three-bet to 60,000. Tryba shoved for 184,000 total, and Fernandez made the call. Tryba's [6s][6h] was behind [jc][jh]. The board ran out [7c][8c][8s][as][8h] and Tryba headed for the rail. --BW

1:11pm: Back in action
The 21 remaining players are back in their seats and ready to play at 6,000-12,000-1,000. --BW

1:04pm: A few words from our chip leader
If you were wondering what was on Vanessa Selbst's mind as she sat down today with the chip lead, here's a little peek. --BW

LEVEL UP. BLINDS NOW 6,000-12,000-1,000

12:57pm: Battle of blinds ends Loman
Kyle Loman was down below 200,000 and in desperate need of a double-up. With [ah][jc] in the small blind, he didn't figure to get a better chance. Unfortunately for Loman, Steve O'Dwyer woke up with [ac][kc] in the big blind. O'Dwyers hand held and Loman left in 22nd place. Players are now on a 15-minute break. --BW

12:55pm: Phillipe Plouffe doubles through Adam Geyer
On the last hand before the break, Adam Geyer opened for 23,000 and got a call from Joe Tehan in the cutoff before Phillipe Plouffe shoved from the small blind. Geyer re-shoved and Tehan folded.

It was a standard race, Plouffe's [Ac][Jh] up against Geyer's [8h][8c]. Plouffe flopped a jack and turned an ace to double his stack to 440,000 while Geyer fell to 385,000. --KB

12:38pm: Eric Froehlich eliminated in 23rd place, Selbst nears 2 million
And the rich get richer.

Vanessa Selbst opened for 22,000 from the cutoff and Eric Froehlich made the call from the big blind. Froehlich checked the [Tc][9d][2d] flop over to Selbst, who made it 28,000 to go. Froehlich called, and the [Qc] landed on the turn. Froehlich checked, Selbst bet 62,000, Froehlich moved all-in, and Selbst snap-called, revealing a set of deuces. Froehlich needed serious help with [Js][Th] but he could not fill his straight draw on the river, the [Jh] falling instead to give him a no-good two pair. Froehlich hit the payout desk in 23rd while Selbst's stack crested the 2,000,000 mark. --KB

12:28pm: Jonathan Schroer eliminated in 24th place
Jonathan Schroer, our man of a thousand quirks (resting his head on the table during all-ins, scooting his chair three feet back from the table to peer at his hole cards) is Day 4's first casualty. After Thomas Hoglund opened for 21,000, Schroer shoved from the cutoff, only to have Dan Shak re-shove right behind him on the button. Hoglund folded and the cards went on their backs, Shak with pocket tens and Schroer with [Ad][Kc]. Schroer could not catch up on the [9h][5h][3c][Qd][6c] board and departed in 24th place, while Shak's stack rose to 670,000. --KB

12:21pm: Busquet takes it with a four-bet
Following Jean-Phillipe Matte's opening raise to 21,000, Nenad Medic made it 56,000 to go from middle position. The action folded to Olivier Busquet in the big blind, who made a cold four-bet to 100,000. Matte quickly folded and Medic, after quite a long tank, did the same.--KB

12:18pm: David Stefanski doubles through Joe Tehan
Adam Geyer opened for 22,000 from under-the-gun, Joe Tehan flat-called and David Stefanski moved all-in from the big blind. Geyer folded and Tehan called.

Stefanski: [As][Ks]
Tehan: [Ah][Qh]

No disasters for Stefanski on the [Ad][8c][4s][Jd][5d] board and he doubled to 322,000, leaving Tehan on 380,000. --KB

12:15pm: Joseph Gibbons doubles through Jacobo Fernandez
Jonathan Schroer led off the action with a raise to 22,000 and Joseph Gibbons called on the button before Jacobo Fernandez made it an additional 65,000 to go from the small blind. Schroer folded and after a long tank, Gibbons called. The flop came down [Kd][9c][7c] and Fernandez moved all-in,having Gibbons significantly covered. He snap-called, turning over [7d][7s] for bottom set while Fernandez revealed [As][Ks]. The set held through the [Tc] on the turn and the [2s] on the river, doubling Gibbons to 215,000. --KB

12:10pm: Play underway
The final 24 players have kicked off play for the day. As the cards went in the air on Table 1, the players started calling out their ages. Nenad Medic thought he was getting old at age 28. Olivier Busquet, on his way to 30, said he had Medic beat. The old man at the table, Jean-Philippe Matte, quietly informed them he was the senior member of the table at 30 years old. I've never felt so aged and decrepit. --BW

As we set up our gear this morning, a polite young man approached the media desk, asking where on the PokerStars Blog he could find the post containing the overnight chip counts.

"All I can find is last year's, when Vanessa Selbst was the chip leader," he said.

We informed him that no, he was not hallucinating, he had indeed found the correct post and that Selbst was once again the overnight chip leader following a Day 3 that saw the field trimmed from 74 to the 24 that will unbag their chips in about thirty minutes' time. Today's mission? To play down to a final table of eight that could very well include defending champion Selbst. Stacked at 1,406,000, she has a 383,000 lead over second-in-chips Vincent Rubianes, the only other player who has crossed the seven-figure mark.

For a full look at the chip counts and today's table draw, click over to the NAPT Mohegan Sun Day 4 seating assignments. We'll also be tracking the first day of the $10,000 Bounty Shootout, which is about to start its first flight over on the ESPN set.

Stick around, it's going to be a jam-packed day of poker up here in the Connecticut woods. We'll be underway at Noon with 48 minutes remaining in Level 19.

Reporting team (in order of 12-oz. cocktails consumed last night): Kristin "change100" Bihr (2), Brad Willis (0). Photography: Joe Giron

If you're not familiar with the name Aaron Overton as its applies to the poker world, you can be forgiven. To date, that name has been associated with just two cashes in major tournaments, the biggest of which was a $20,000 139th place cash in this year's PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. The man from Philadelphia, a dark horse at the outset of the NAPT's Season 2 event at the Mohegan Sun, is working to make you remember his name.

As the lights go down on Day 2, Overton sits atop the leaderboard with 598,700 in chips, well enough to get him to the money on Day 3. He has a 200,000 chip lead on his nearest challenger Aaron Mermelstein (382,500), a man who has been trying to get to a wedding in Mexico and can't seem to lose his chips.

When play began Sunday afternoon, 230 people had a chance at the Season 2 title. As the bags make their way toward their overnight home in lockdown, fewer than 80 players have a reason to come back here tomorrow. In a field as tough as this one has been, you're bound to recognize many of the names.

A year ago tomorrow, Vanessa Selbst and Mike Beasley fought heads-up for the first NAPT Mohegan Sun title. Selbst snagged it and carved her own path to the stables of Team PokerStars Pro. Today, Selbst again firmed up her reputation as one of the most unpredictable players in poker.

In one of the last hands of the night, she five-bet shoved an average stack into the middle with [8d][4d]. She ran right into aces and crushed them after making a straight on the river. "I haven't done that to somebody in a long time," she said. "I do stupid (stuff) sometimes." So, tonight there remains the chance Selbst and Beasley could repeat their performance from Season 1. Selbst enters Day 3 with 339,200. Beasley is right where he was last year at this point with a near average stack.

It's just been one month since Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin won The Big Event at The Bicycle Casino. Today he rode his trademark Ramdin Roller Coaster to its highest peak. He will return on Monday with 296,100, good for one of the top spots on the leaderboard. He and fellow Team PokerStars Pro Greg DeBora (164,400), and Team Online's Andrew Brokos (127,200) are all set to return for tomorrow's fight for one of the 56 spots in the money.

We've posted some selected chip counts over on our NAPT Mohegan Sun chip counts page. At some point in the very near future, we expect the full overnight chip counts. You'll find them in the same place.

Selbst will be the only Vanessa sitting down on Day 3. After finishing in tenth last year, Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso stormed through the first day and half of this year's main event, only to end up finishing out of the money, a victim of Day 2's finishing chip leader, Overton. She joined PokerStars flag-bearers Jonathan Duhamel, Joe Cada, Jason Mercier, PatPezzin, and George Lind III on the rail.

If you'd like to see the nitty and gritty of Day 2, click on any of the links below.

Levels 9 & 10
Levels 11 & 12
Levels 13-14

If that's not enough to keep you busy, check in with the superlative reporting from EPT Berlin. The wrap was so good, they wrote it twice.

NAPT Mohegan Sun play will resume Monday at noon ET when the remaining players return to fight for the final 24 seats. Join us then for live coverage and all the Aarons you can handle.

All photography from Mohegan Sun is ©Joe Giron/www.joegironphotography.com.

We'll have a full wrap shortly.--KB

8:51pm: Selbst's five-bet shove...
No time to do this hand justice, as players are starting to bag their chips, but with just a couple hands left to play, Vanessa Selbst five-bet shoved for a better than average stack with [8d][4d]. She ran straight into aces. And she got there for a pot worth more than 300,000. The board ran out [jd][6d][5c][5s][7s]. "I have not done that to someone in a long time," she said to us. To her shell-shocked opponent, she said, "It was a great play. You got me. I thought you had nothing and you owned me. I don't know what to say. 'm sorry, but I'm not really sorry." --BW

8:45pm: Stop the clock
The clock was just stopped with ten minutes remaining in Level 14 and a card drawn to determine how many hands will be played before the players bag and tag. Tonight's magic number was a five, ergo five more hands and we'll call it a night.--KB

8:43pm: Binger doubles (and then some)
Adam Geyer opened for a raise, Nick Binger flat-called from middle position and the cutoff moved all-in for 16,500. Geyer four-bet to 75,000 and after a long think, Binger moved all-in for just over 80,000. Geyer quickly called the small balance, turning over [Ah][Kd]. The cutoff showed [As][Js] and Binger tabled [9c][9h].

It looked like curtains for Binger as the flop came down [Ac][7c][6c], but he spiked a set on the turn with the [9s]. The river fell the [Qd] and Binger more than doubled to 190,000. The cutoff was eliminated and Geyer was left with 270,000.--KB

8:25pm: Ramdin snaps off aces, hijinks ensue
Never underestimate the power of the [9d][5d]. Victor Ramdin sure doesn't.

After opening the pot for 7,000, Ramdin faced a 20,000 three-bet from Steve Happas in the small blind. Ramdin made the call and they saw a [8d][3d][2c] flop. Happas instantly moved all-in for his remaining 52,400 and Ramdin made the call, turning over the aforementioned [9d][5d] for a flush draw. Happas tabled [As][Ac].

"Come on, no diamond," Happas said, turning away from the table. He remained in that position as the dealer burned and turned the [7h]... and the [Qd].

"Dude, he hit a diamond," said one of their tablemates, prompting Happas to finally turn around.

Happas so loudly bellowed an expletive the entire room nearly stopped and two floor supervisors began charging over, only to discover there was no penalty to give since the culprit had busted.

"Now you know. If you reraise me I'm not going to fold the nine-five of diamonds," the ever-jovial Ramdin chuckled as he stacked up the pot. He's currently sitting on just over 300,000 in chips. --KB

8.10pm: Froehlich doubles
Joe Tehan, who won on the NAPT in Los Angeles last year, is still ploughing away here today. But he has just been forced to ship about 23% his stack to Eric Froehlich after making a speculative pre-flop raise and being priced in to call Froehlich's shove.

Froehlich only had about 26,000 or so and Tehan probably felt he had to call, even though he was only holding [qc][4c]. Froehlich's [10s][10h], with which he shoved from the small blind, stayed good.

Tehan still has about 80,000 and Froehlich about 60,000. -- HS

8pm: The power of the big stack
Aaron Overton is edging up towards half a million chips, and with that kind of stack you can do pretty much anything you please. Doesn't Overton know it. He's pushing around everyone on his table, including the well-stacked David Weisberger and Adam Geyer.

Geyer first. There was about 18,000 in the middle and a flop of [3d][6c][5h] already dealt. Geyer, who was in the big blind pre-flop, checked and Overton, who was on the button, bet 10,300. Geyer called.

The turn was [6d] and Geyer led for 18,000. Overton casually shot out a raise to 36,600 and after a moment to think about it, Geyer folded.

A few hands later, it was Weisberger's turn to be muscled out. There was a flop of [ac][kc][6h] out and Weisberger, who would have been in the big blind pre-flop, bet 11,000. Overton, who was in mid-position, raised to 26,000, which was called.

The turn was [2c] and Weisberger checked now, which only prompted a bet of 37,300 from Overton. Weisberger couldn't fold quick enough. -- HS

7.55pm: Keating over Junglen in battle of the blinds
With the action folded around to him in the small blind, Alex Keating opened for a raise and Adam Junglen looked him up from the big blind. The flop came down a rather dangerous [Jd][Jh][Th]. Keating led out for 8,000 and Junglen called. Keating slowed down and checked when the board double-paired on the turn with the [Td]. Junglen fired out 10,500 and Keating called. The river was a complete blank with the [2s] and Keating checked again. This time, Junglen checked behind.

Junglen had only king-high with [Kc][9s], Keating's pocket aces good to take it down. --KB

7.45pm: Schroer finds new seat, finds good call
Some players take a long time over their decisions for seemingly no reason at all, dwelling for camera time or just to be a nuisance, then emerging with a bad fold or a worse call.

No one is ever going to describe Jonathan Schroer as the quickest player in the world, but here's the thing we've learnt from watching him at a few tournaments now: when he's pondering something, he really does have a tough decision to make. What's more, he usually emerges with the right answer.

He has now moved to the table featuring Eric Froehlich, Alex Wice and Kevin Eyster and was put to the test almost immediately. Folded to Schroer on the button, he peered over to the tournament board to ascertain the new blind level, peeked at his cards, then back to the tournament board. Then he raised to 7,000.

Froehlich, in the small blind, pretty much instantly moved all in, covering Schroer, onto whom the decision quickly returned. Schroer now really went into the tank, peering again at the tournament board, making calculations on his fingers, looking at his cards again.

When he finally said: "Call" (for all his 70,000 chips) the intonation suggested that having done all the maths this was the decision he had to make, whether or not he really wanted to.

He turned over [6s][6c] and Froehlich showed [ah][5c]. At least three voices at the table said the same thing: "Good call."

The board ran out [qs][8h][6c][jc][7h] and Schroer doubled to about 140,000. He is an unconventional presence at the table, but there's a lot to this guy's game.

Froehlich, meanwhile, is now a short stack. -- HS

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 1,500-3,000-300 IN LEVEL 14

7:11pm: Binger folds to the five-bet
Nick Binger opened for a raise to 6,000, Aaron Overton flat-called on the button and Adam Geyer put the squeeze on, three-betting to 21,200. Binger responded with a four-bet to 45,500 that folded out Overton. Geyer, however, moved all-in, putting Binger to the test for the 175,000 he had behind.

After several minutes in the tank, BInger gave up his hand and Geyer took down the pot. He's up to 340,000.--KB

7.05pm: Schroer survives once more
Jonathan Schoer's tournament continues, although he's just needed to outdraw Joseph Gibbons to stay alive. After Gibbons limped from early position, Schroer bent down and peeked at his cards, determining that they were good enough to wager his last 30,000 behind. Gibbons called.

When they went on their back, Gibbons was leading with [10d][10h] against Schroer's [ac][9c]. And even the flop of [6h][9s][8d] didn't change that. However the [ah] on the turn proved to be decisive and the [kh] river irrelevant.

The table broke immediately after, and Schroer had to cart about 60,000-odd to his new assignment. -- HS

6:52pm: Ramdin falls off O'Dwyer's Christmas card list
Victor Ramdin is on a late-day heater that has his stack over the 300,000 mark. The latest victim is Steve O'Dwyer. Ramdin came in for a raise, then called O'Dwyer's three-bet to 15,000. Ramdin checked dark to the [9c][qd][kd] flop, and O'Dwyer checked behind. On the [th] turn, Ramdin bet 20,000 and O'Dwyer called. The river was the [ah]. Ramdin put out 35,000 and O'Dwyer grudgingly called to see Ramdin's [jc][jh]. --BW

6.50pm: Beasley clings on
Mike Beasley has just hit a two-outer to stay in the hunt for a back-to-back Mohegan Sun final table - although he is still on the shorter side of healthy.

Beasley seemed to be heading home when Alan Sternberg's [qs][10s] had hit a queen on the [7h][qh][7d] board. They were all in at that point, with Beasley showing [10d][10h]. The [10c] turn was therefore very good news indeed for last year's runner up.

He doubled his short stack to about 30,000. -- HS

6.40pm: Rousso roasted by Overton
Vanessa Rousso is out, having had a torrid time of the past few levels, she just ran into Aaron Overton's monster and was sent to the rail.

I only arrived on the turn to find this board [7c][4c][2h][9h] and about 40,000 in the middle. Both players checked. Overton bet 37,700 on the [7s] river and after a moment's hesitation, Rousso shoved all in for about 95,000 total.

Overton couldn't call quick enough, and Rousso instantly said: "You got it." Overton didn't need to be told that. He tabled [9c][9d] for the turned set and rivered boat. Rousso hit the rail.

There's still one other Team Pro Vanessa in the field. Ms Selbst is still comfortable at around 200,000. Aaron Overton is now leading this tournament on his own, however, with in the region of 430,000.-- HS

6.25pm: Geyer gets Trelski, moves beyond 300,000
Adam Geyer is now one of the very big stacks here having dispatched Mike Trelski. It was pair versus pair but Geyer's was bigger. Kings, if you really want to know.

Trelski flat called from early position and Vanessa Rousso also called. Geyer, however, raised to 9,000 from late and only Trelski called. They went to a flop of [6d][7h][4d] and then it all went nuts.

Trelski checked, Geyer bet 15,000, Trelski raised to 43,000, Geyer shoved and Trelski called. Their stacks were very similar - about 140,000-ish each. But there was a disparity in the hands: Geyer had [kh][kd] and Trelski had [8d][8s].

The bigger overpair stayed good on a [9c][9h] river and Geyer is now a force. --HS

6:14pm: Ramdin's playground
Victor Ramdin's chip stack--no matter the tournament--is like a carnival ride. Sit on its top and you might get motion sickness by the end of the day. Today has been no different. Each time we've walked up today, he's had big bets in front of him, bets he was eventually forced to give up after four-bet shoves. Just now, he won a battle of the blinds with [ac][ts] on a [2s][tc][7h][9h][th] board. He got paid on every street for his [ac][ts] and is now on 175,000. "I'm on the seesaw today," he confessed. --BW

6:12pm: Nick Binger and the not-quite-all-in
This was an interesting one, and the final ruling required a consultation with at least three floor supervisors, with a little help from Vanessa Rousso.

With the board reading [Ac][Ad][Ks][Ts], Nick Binger bet out and Mike Trelski slid in a tall stack of blue 5,000-denomination chips totaling 75,000. Binger, believing the raise had set him all-in, quickly called and both players turned up their hands, Binger's [As][Td] for aces full up against [Qh][Js] for the turned straight. The dealer burned and turned the [7s] on the river, but after counting down the stacks, she discovered that Binger actually had Trelski's raise covered by 10,000.

"Floor!"

After much discussion (Is it a dead hand? Does Binger get a one-round penalty for prematurely exposing his hole cards?) it was Vanessa Rousso (along with the lead supervisor) that figured out the correct ruling. The 75,000 bet stood, and the river card was pulled back into the deck, which was re-shuffled.

Binger was then given the opportunity to bet, which of course, he did.

"Oh I don't know, I think I have to lay this one down, I've got that full house read on you," his opponent quipped.

Since there was no malicious intent when it came to exposing their hands, neither player was penalized and Binger took down the pot. He's up to 167,000. Trelski is still in it as well, with 81,000. --KB

6.10pm: Level 13
Of we go again for level 13. We have 108 players left and two more levels in the day, including this one. It seems likely we'll get down to about 80 at the close, leaving us with a race to 24 on Sunday.

The leaders right now are similar to the leaders at the start of the last level: Aaron Overton and Jerry Wong. We began the last post with a picture of Overton, so here is Wong. -- HS

Reporting team: Kristin Bihr, Howard Swains and Brad Willis. Photography: Joe Giron

"I'm not number one in this field, no way." So said Scott Seiver early on as the NAPT Venetian $25,000 Bounty Shootout got underway. He and his tablemates spent some time trying to handicap the field, which included many of the most highly regarded players in the game today. The entire table seemed readily to echo Seiver's modesty -- no one was going to make any claims about running over a table coming from this lot.

Then Seiver did just that, knocking out all six of his opponents to win all of their bounties (worth $5,000 each) as well as the $75,000 for moving on to Thursday's final table. Perhaps that modesty put him in the right frame of mind today.

Following Seiver to Thursday's final table were Faraz Jaka and Hoyt Corkins. Then in the evening, four more winners emerged: Joe Cassidy, Ashton Griffin, Peter Eastgate, and Brett Richey.

Seiver has the inside track on that $100,000 prize reserved for the players with the most bounties by tourney's end, although close behind will be Hoyt Corkins with five, and Joe Cassidy and Faraz Jaka with four each.

Here is how the seven tables finished up:

Table 1

1st - Joe Cassidy 

2nd - Justin Bonomo (bounty to Cassidy)

3rd - Yvgeniy Timoshenko (Cassidy)

4th - Joe Sebok (Bonomo)

5th - David Williams (Cassidy)

6th - Tommy Vedes (Williams)

7th - Phil Laak (Cassidy)

Table 2

1st - Peter Eastgate

2nd - Isaac Haxton (Eastgate) 

3rd - Alec Torelli (Haxton)

4th - Tony G (Haxton)

5th - James Calderaro (Eastgate)

6th - Dario Minieri (Tony G)

7th - Daniel Alaei (Torelli)

Table 3

1st - Ashton Griffin
2nd - Chris Moneymaker (Griffin)
3rd - Hasan Habib (Moneymaker)

4th - Jason Mercier (Moneymaker)

5th - Matt Glantz (Griffin)

6th - Keith Gibson (Mercier)

7th - Joe Cada (Moneymaker)

Table 4

1st - Brett Richey 

2nd - Lee Markholt (Richey)

3rd - Phil Galfond (Richey)

4th - Robl (Richey)

5th - Alex Kamberis (Markholt)

6th - John Hennigan (Markholt)

7th - Daniel Negreanu (Galfond)

Table 5

1st - Faraz Jaka

2nd - Annie Duke (Jaka)

3rd - Jennifer Tilly (Jaka)

4th - Joe Hachem (Tilly)

5th - Vanessa Rousso (Jaka)

6th - J.C. Tran (Jaka)

7th - Di Dang (Tilly)

Table 6

1st - Scott Seiver

2nd - Sorel Mizzi (Seiver)

3rd - Bertrand Grospellier (Seiver)

4th - Brian Rast (Seiver)

5th - Chau Giang (Siever)

6th - Antonio Esfandiari (Seiver)

7th - Barry Greenstein (Seiver)

Table 7

1st - Hoyt Corkins

2nd - John Duthie (Corkins)

3rd - Adam Richardson (Corkins)

4th - Hevad Khan (Corkins)

5th - Phil Hellmuth (Duthie)

6th - Greg Raymer (Corkins)

7th - Steven Paul (Corkins)

Cassidy, Eastgate, Griffin, Cassidy, Jaka, Seiver, and Corkins all took $75,000 for winning their tables today, plus whatever bounties they claimed along the way. That magnificent seven will be getting back together at noon on Thursday for the final table.

Still to be determined -- $30,000 worth of bounties, that $100,000 prize for the most bounties, and $460,000 more for the winner. Sort of thing should permit the ultimate victor some bragging rights, wouldn't you say?

All photography © Joe Giron.

When we started at noon on Saturday, there were nearly 90 tables filled with 872 players, filling the entire poker room and curling all around the immediate environs, zig-zagging every which way. Sort of like those famous canals of the Italian city from which the Venetian gets its name.

Like so many gondoliers, players have been navigating their way in and out of trouble for three days. Now just 24 have found their way safely to our final three tables.

Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger began Day 3 atop the leaderboard. He'd spend much of the day adding to that big stack, at times living up to that nickname as he frequently was fortunate enough to catch big pairs to take large bites of his opponents' stacks. He'd lose that chip lead early on, though, when David Miscikowski ended up claiming a big pot from Kevin Eyring. A preflop battle culminated in Eyring shoving all in with J-2, and Miscikowski hanging in by calling with A-Q. The hand held, and the Californian pro was all smiles behind his new pile of chips.

It took about 90 minutes for our first 19 eliminations today and the bursting of the cash bubble, with Daniel Schreiber the unfortunate player to go out penniless in 129th. Soon followed folks like Jon "PearlJammer" Turner (126th), Ryan O'Connor (119th), Andrew Robl (113th), James Mackey (111st),

Also among the first wave of casualties who did take home some of the cabbage were Team PokerStars Pros Greg Raymer and Tom McEvoy. McEvoy got bragging rights between those two, finishing 101st -- one spot ahead of the Fossilman.

Following those to the rail were Jimmy Fricke (97th), Daniel Makowsky (88th), and Friend of PokerStars.net Bill Chen (81st). Meanwhile, Eric Blair rose up the leaderboard, passing Miscikowski and the one million-chip mark. Steve "MrSmokey1" Billirakis soon challenged Blair, as did David Paredes. But then Lichtenberger -- hitting quad sevens and getting paid by Karga Holt -- retook the advantage, moving up toward the 1.5 million mark.

The march to the cashier's cage continued, among those Phil Collins (80th), Chris Bell (76th), Dan Shak (65th), Ludovic Schlama (63rd), and Nam Le (55th). All were glad to cash, but the large portion of that $4 million-plus prizepool has been reserved for those who could survive through to tomorrow and beyond.

By the time the dinner break came, just 47 players were left, with Lichtenberger, Blair, Steve O'Dwyer, and Thomas Fuller leading the way. Men "the Master" Nyugen was the first to go following the break, followed shortly thereafter by Dwyte Pilgrim (43rd) and Helen Martynov (42th). Martynov's elimination left just two women in the field -- Christina Lindley, nursing a short stack, and the ever-active Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso.

Once Al Rogers went out in 37th, players reconvened around four tables, and after a slow period with no eliminations, the players started to fall at a rapid clip. Also of note, a big hand in which Sam Stein took a huge chunk out of Lichtenberger's stack. Finally three players were knocked out within a couple of minutes of each other -- Blake Buffington (27th), Andy Seth (26th), and Rousso (25th) -- and the final three tables were set.

When the dust cleared Eric Blair ended the day toting the biggest stack with 3.7 million, followed by Sam Stein with 3.409 million and Steve Billirakis with 2.372 million.

Should be an exciting day on Tuesday as players play down to the final eight-handed table and a shot at that $827,648 first prize.

All photography © Joe Giron.

Sure, we know we tend to get hyperbolic around these parts, but we feel comfortable in suggesting that what we'll witness this week will be the stuff poker people will talk about for ages.

When the NAPT announced it was hosting a first-of-its-kind $25,000 Bounty Shootout at The Venetian, we knew it was going to be cool. We had no idea, however, the kinds of players it would draw. Moments ago, many of the titans of live and online poker gathered for the Bounty Shootout draw party.

It was there we learned who will battle whom in the big event tomorrow. The 49 players drew for one of seven seats at seven tables, and the match-ups are just silly-good.

Here are the table draws:

Table 1

1. Joe Sebok
2. Phil Laak
3. Justin Bonomo
4. David Williams
5. Joe Cassidy
6. Yevgeniy Timoshenko
7. Tommy Vedes

Table 2

1. (Satellite winner)
2. Dario Minieri
3. Tony G.
4. Alec Torelli
5. Isaac Haxton
6. Daniel Alaei
7. Peter Eastgate

Table 3

1. Chris Moneymaker
2. Keith Gibson
3. Joe Cada
4. Jason Mercier
5. Hasan Habib
6. Matt Glantz
7. Ashton Griffin

Table 4

1. Andrew Robl
2. Lee Markholt
3. John Hennigan
4. Phil Galfond
5. Alex Kamberis
6. Brett Richey
7. Daniel Negreanu

Table 5

1. J.C Tran
2. Joe Hachem
3. Annie Duke
4. Jennifer Tilly
5. Vanessa Rousso
6. Di Dang
7. Faraz Jaka

Table 6

1. Scott Sevier
2. Brian Rast
3. Chau Giang
4. ElkY
5. Antonio Esfandiari
6. Sorel Mizzi
7. Barry Greenstein

Table 7

1. Phil Hellmuth
2. Adam Richardson
3. Hoyt Corkins
4. Greg Raymer
5. John Duthie
6. Hevad Khan
7. Steve Paul-Ambrose

This event is being taped for broadcast on ESPN2, but you can watch it live on Tuesday on NAPT TV. We will also have live cover on the PokerStars Blog beginning at 11am PST.

Outside the Venetian Hotel & Casino, the day began with rain and cloudy skies. But as the hours passed, the sun emerged and blue skies now reign, despite some rather brisk desert winds. All in all, a beautiful day is in the making.

Inside the Venetian Poker Room, the tables are being readied for 149 players to return for Day 3 of the North American Poker Tour's Las Vegas tournament. It started with 872 players only two days ago, and swift action on Day 2 brought the field ever so close to the money bubble.

Players will come back to the felt today to try to turn all of their efforts thus far into a payoff for their $5,000 investment, as the last 128 players standing will receive a minimum of $7,232. But they all have one bigger prize in mind - the whopping $827,648 first place prize that also comes with the prestigious title of NAPT champion.

They start the day with final results unknown. It remains to be seen which of them will even walk away with any cash for their three days of poker. But it won't be long - possibly an hour or so - after play begins today that we have some answers.

One player with dollar signs in his eyes and chips to back up that vision is Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger. He will remove 618,700 chips from the casino-protected plastic bag at noon today and look to take that chip leader status all the way through Day 3. But directly behind him is Andy "BKiCe" Seth with his 602,600 chips, and the aggressive player who started the tournament as Day 1 chip leader will be seeking to regain his position at the top of the leaderboard.

Andrew Lichtenberger

And no one can discount the Team PokerStars Pros, all of whom are looking to make a splash here at the NAPT. At the top of the charts for the team is Vanessa Rousso, with her chips counted to be 313,600 going into Day 3. But also in the running are Greg Raymer, Tom McEvoy, and Bill Chen. They've got the PokerStars logo in place on the gear they'll be wearing today, and they look to do the team proud.

All photography (c) Joe Giron

This is only the first American stop of the inaugural season of the North American Poker Tour, a series of live poker tournaments that has already proven itself a serious contender in the poker world.

And there were 872 players in the $5,000 buy-in tournament, which puts more than $4 million on the line for the last of the field to survive.

The winner will receive potentially life-changing money in the amount of $827,648.

Poker fans the world over are tracking the progress of the event as the field boasts some of the best players in the game.

On second hand, maybe stardom isn't too strong a word after all.

What is certain is that the players who made it through a grueling Day 2 are looking at the bigger picture. There is an NAPT title at stake and that $827,648, along with a performance documented by 411 Productions for broadcast on ESPN2.

That's an attractive picture.

One player with eyes on the prize is the Day 2 chip leader, Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger with 618,200 chips. He soared over the 700K mark during the last level of the day but finally settled on a nice even number that will send him comfortably into the evening.

Andrew Lichtenberger

And there are others, notably a name familiar to those following from Day 1, as last night's chip leader Andy "BKiCe" Seth still remains near the top of the leaderboard. He looks to be in second, actually, with 602,600.

Andy Seth

We would be remiss not to mention that there are several members of the Team PokerStars family of players still in the running as well. Vanessa Rousso leads the pack with 313,600 chips, and those with enough chips to come back tomorrow include Greg Raymer, Tom McEvoy, and Bill Chen. And we could be wrong, but there is something about that logo that provides an added boost to their already sincere and strong hopes of becoming the NAPT Venetian champion.

Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso

For now, players will leave the Venetian Poker Room and go their own ways, some to celebrate a job well done, others to relax and be mentally and physically prepared for the challenges ahead. Some might even entertain dreams of that final table, even the final hand, that will be played on Wednesday, just before the newest poker champion poses for photos with piles of money and the coveted PokerStars.net NAPT trophy.

Sweet dreams, indeed.

All will resume at 12:00 noon tomorrow, when the chip bags will be unsealed, those various denominations will be stacked, and cards will fly.

All photography (c) Joe Giron

It's a quiet Sunday morning here at the Venetian. Well, relatively speaking. "Quiet" has a slightly different significance inside a Vegas casino than it might there on your front porch perusing the latest news on your laptop. But let's appreciate together the contrast of the present calm with the high, constant buzz we encountered yesterday, the exciting first day of play at the North American Poker Tour Venetian Main Event.

A huge turnout it was. 872 players in all turned out, creating a total prize pool of $4,017,740. A little under half were originally situated at tables in the Poker Room proper, with the rest comfortably arranged in the near vicinity at tables curling around the Race & Sportsbook, Noodle Asia, and the nearby Casino. More than half of those will be returning today, as 477 made it through the first eight levels of play with chips.

Andy "BKiCe" Seth will be returning to the largest stack in the room after spending the night as our chip leader with 245,600. He's followed by Phil Collins -- again, not the fellow who followed Peter Gabriel in Genesis, but the poker pro known online as "USCPhildo" -- who will have 227,900 to start the day. Mark Ketteringham is next with 211,000, with Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker right near the top as well with 207,300.

Moneymaker was one of several Team PokerStars Pros enjoying solid Day Ones, in particular Vanessa Rousso (in 13th with 144,900) and Greg Raymer (14th, 144,100). Daniel Negreanu has an above average stack of 76,500, putting him just inside the top 100 starting play today. 2009 WSOP champ Joe Cada returns to a healthy stack, too, although his fellow Main Event-winning teammates Tom McEvoy (1983) and Joe Hachem (2005) will have some work to do, as will Jason Mercier, Barry Greenstein, Victor Ramdin, and Dennis Phillips.

We'll see you back here in a little while for the start of Day 2.