6:08pm: Break!
Players are on a 15-minute break to celebrate the conclusion of Level 29. When we return, we'll be in a new post reflecting the level change. Find us on the main page!

6:03pm: Well, he's gotta lose this one!
Sam Stein just managed to get it all-in with David Paredes on a [8s][2h][[7c] board. Paredes held [ts][tc] to Stein's [8c][th]. Of course, there was very little way Stein could get out of losing the pot. And, of course, the turn and river came [jd] and [9c] for the chopped pot.

5:54pm: Yunus says "Yeah!"
Daniel Clemente opened with a raise on the button, and it folded to Yunus Jamal in the big blind who quickly announced he was all in for his stack of 2,120,000. Clemente sat for a minute looking in Jamal's direction, then went to work examining his stack as he contemplated what to do.

Finally after two more minutes passed, Clemente made the call. Cards on their backs...

Jamal [Ah][10d]
Clemente [Kc][Qs]

The flop came [6d][Qc][Js], putting Clemente in front with queens. The turn was the [5c], and Jamal was in dire straits. Then came the river card, to which Jamal and his fans responded "Yeah!" It was the [As], worth a shout of joy, for sure. Jamal survives with the double up.

It's one of those moments that deserves contemplation...

Reaping the rewards of a double-up can be sweet.

5:49pm: Sam Stein will not lose
When you're running this good, you have to start thinking about destiny, fate, and whether you left the coffee pot on at home. It's become so rote for Stein, that the following hand was only mildly shocking.

On a flop of [2c][Ks][Kc], Daniel Clemente bet 250,000 and Sam Stein called. On the turn [8h], Clemente made it 475,000 and Stein called again. The river was a spooky [kd]. Clemente checked this time and Stein bet 750,000. Clemente made the crying call, showing pocket deuces for the flopped set and rivered boat. Stein, meanwhile, showed [jd][js], good for the better boat and another big pot.

Clemente, for his part, stood up and knocked his chair over. We're not saying he's the type of guy to kick a cat, but it's probably for the best that we left Mittens in the hotel room.

5:41pm: $25K Bounty Shootout final table 2 pm tomorrow
We just had an announcement that tomorrow's final table of the $25,000 Bounty Shootout, originally scheduled for 12 noon, has been rescheduled for 2:00pm (Pacific time).

Scott Seiver, Faraz Jaka, Hoyt Corkins, Joe Cassidy, Ashton Griffin, Peter Eastgate, and Brett Richey all won their tables yesterday, earning $75,000 for doing so as well as a number of $5,000 bounties along the way. Seiver was the biggest bounty hunter -- he eliminated all six of his opponents for an extra $30,000 payday.

5:33pm: Thomas Fuller eliminated in 6th ($144,639)
Daniel Clemente opened with a raise to 240,000, and all folded.

The next hand, Clemente was at it again, raising to 250,000 from UTG. This time Thomas Fuller responded by reraising all-in and the table folded back around to Clemente who instantly called.

Clemente showed [Qh][Qs] and Fuller [Jc][Js]. The board ran out [3h][Ac][7h][7d][6d], disappointing Fuller's fans and sending him to the rail in sixth place.

5:02pm: "Miami" John Cernuto eliminated in 7th ($104,461)
Sam Stein opened with a raise to 220,000 from the button. Thomas Fuller folded quickly from the button, but John Cernuto in the small blind didn't look like he was in such a hurry. Peering out from underneath his orange hoodie in Stein's direction, he pushed out a reraise of 620,000 -- a little under half his remaining stack. Yunus Jamal folded the BB, and the action was back on Sam Stein.

Stein thought about a minute, then reraised enough to put Cernuto all in, and "Miami" John quickly called.

Cernuto [Ac][5c]
Stein [Jh][Td]

Cernuto removed his hood and sat upright while Stein stood up to see what the community cards would be. The flop came [9c][4h][Ah], putting Cernuto in good shape. The turn was the [Ts], pairing Stein. "Fifty bucks for a ten!" cried a Stein fan from the crowd. "We have a bidding war now for the river card," said the announcer.

As the laughter died down, the river card fell -- [Jd]! "That's sick," said an amiable Cernuto with a wide grin. He shook hands with the remaining six players and exited the stage, $104,461 richer, but with dashed hopes of earning more.

Patience does pay off! The flop was good...

Only needing to fade two cards...

Noooo! That river card ended the drama with a 7th place finish.

4:48pm: Level 29 begins
And we're back! Players returned to the table for the beginning of Level 29 with blinds at 50,000/100,000 and a 10,000 ante.

4:33pm: Level ends, chip counts to come
We've reached the end of a what was a fairly yawn-able Level 28. We're going to get a full chip count while the players are on break. We'll be back in about 15 minutes.

4:20pm: Marchese calls cautious Clemente
The table folded around to Tom Marchese in the small blind who took a look past the dealer to Dan Clemente in Seat 1. Clemente has been mostly folding today, having opened with a raise just once thus far and (unsurprisingly) getting no action. Marchese decided to raise to 195,000, and Clemente made the call.

The flop came [7d][10d][2s]. Marchese continued for 215,000 and after pausing a beat Clemente called. The turn was the [Kd], and both checked. The river brought the [Ks]. Marchese checked, and this time Clemente bet 300,000. Marchese thought a moment, then made the call, showing just queen-high. Clemente had paired the seven with his hand, and so claimed the pot.

4:18pm: Faces in the crowd
Because the players apparently chose this level to sit out, let's take a look around the room. Among the people in the audience today:

4:06pm: The power of the all-in raise Players have not been afraid to use the move today. Cernuto took down a pot with an all-in raise from under the gun. Marchese did the same a few hands later when he made an initial raise, then responded to Stein's reraise with an all-in move for his last 2,445,000 chips. Stein didn't take long to fold, and Marchese added to his stack.

The action is slow at this final table, with many moves being carefully considered. But with the frequency of all-in plays, odds are that a few of them will be called.

3:55pm: Analyzing the slow-down
It's been half an hour after Eric Blair's departure and we haven't seen much big action since. If you're just tuning in, here's how we rate the players' aggression, with the number one spot being the most aggressive.

1) Sam Stein
2) Thomas Fuller
3) Tom Marchese
4) David Paredes
5) Yunus Jamal
6) Miami John Cernuto
7) Daniel Clemente

The prize money now is up to $104,461. The next spot is $144,639.

3:34pm: Something to cheer about
Thomas Fuller opened with a raise to 200,000 from middle position and claimed the blinds and antes, prompting a loud cheer from his boisterous cheering section. It has been a mostly sedate scene here thus far, aside from the applause to acknowledge the efforts of our eighth-place finisher, Eric Blair.

There's a sizable crowd in attendance here in the Bellini Room, with more than a hundred sitting four deep around the stage on which sits the feature table. On the subsequent hands, Yunus Jamal and then Tom Marchese won the blinds and antes with preflop raises, and they, too, enjoyed relatively smaller rounds of applause as if to compete with Fuller's supporters. Expect the cheers to get louder as we trip up that payout schedule.

3:33pm: Eric Blair - 8th place ($60,266.00)
On the second hand after the first break of the afternoon, Marchese started the hand with a 175K raise. But Blair reraised all-in. Stein asked for a count and then went over the top all-in to isolate. Everyone else, included Marchese, folded out of the way.

Blair's tournament life was on the line.
Blair: [7h][7d]
Stein: [Ac][Kd]

The board hit Stein right away with a [2h][6s][Kc] flop, leaving Blair with few outs. And the [Th] turn and [4d] were not what he needed. Stein raked another pot, and Eric Blair was the first to leave the table, taking with him $60,266.00 for the 8th place finish.

3:19pm: Back in action
The players are back and playing 40,000-80,000-10,000.

3:04pm: Break time
That brings us to the end of Level 27 and our first 15-minute break of the day.

3:00pm: Just assume Stein won
By now, we've discovered there is no need to really cover the details of a hand anymore. Just assume, Sam Stein opened a pot and then won it. However, if you are into this sort of thing, here's yet another hand in which Stein raked in chips. After opening to 140,000 and getting a call from Thomas Fuller, Stein checked a flop of [kd][as][ac]. Fuller checked behind and they saw the [6d] on the turn. Now Stein bet 180,000. Once again, Fuller called. On the [qc] river, Stein brought the wrecking ball...a 430,000 bet. This time Fuller quickly mucked.

See, just assume Stein won.

2:51pm: Clemente doubles through Paredes
Again, we started with three players going to the flop. Marchese started the action by opening for 140,000, Clemente called, and Paredes called from the big blind. The flop came [5h][8h][4s], and Marchese led the betting with 195,000. Clemente raised it up to 550,000, and Paredes decided to check-reraise all-in. Marchese got out of the way, but Clemente called all-in for his last 1.08 million chips.

Paredes: [8c][7c] - top pair and straight draw
Clemente [Ad][As] - over pair

The [2s] on the turn and [5s] on the river ended the hand, and Clemente doubled up to stay alive.

2:42pm: Stein, still a wrecking ball
Yunus Jamal came in for a raise to 140,000 and got calls from David Paredes and Sam Stein. On a flop of [qh][7c][8d], Stein checked, Jamal bet 280,000, Paredes folded, and Stein called in the small blind. Both players checked the [5c] on the turn. When the river came the [qc], Stein thought a bit before betting 360,000. Jamal thought longer, but eventually made the call. Stein's [qs][9s] was good enough for the win.

2:37pm: Marchese all-in induces much thought... and two folds
It started with Stein, Paredes, and Marchese taking a look at a flop of [Ts][3c][3d], and they all checked it. But when the [4d] came on the turn, Stein bet 220,000, and both players called.

The [2h] on the river prompted a 430,000 bet from Stein, a raise to 1.3 million from Paredes, and an all-in move from Marchese for his total stack of 1.97 million. Stein folded, and Paredes finally did the same, but not without much thought and folding what he said was a 6-high straight.

Marchese chipped up quite significantly early in the action.

2:27pm: First pot to Cernuto
The first hand of the day started with a preflop raise from Thomas Fuller to 140,000, but "Miami" John Cernuto popped it to 300,000. Everyone folded around, including Fuller, and short-stacked Cernuto took the first chips of the afternoon.

2:23pm: Cards are in the air!
The first hand of today's final table is being dealt. There are 39 minutes left in Level 27, where the blinds are 30,000-60,000 and the antes 5,000.

They have all found their seats and are now stacking their chips. Here's where they are and what they've got:

Seat 1: Dan Clemente - 1,345,000
Seat 2: Sam Stein - 6,145,000
Seat 3: Thomas Fuller - 4,735,000
Seat 4: "Miami" John Cernuto - 1,310,000
Seat 5: Yunus Jamal - 3,940,000
Seat 6: David Paredes - 4,700,000
Seat 7: Tom Marchese - 2,370,000
Seat 8: Eric Blair - 1,690,000

2:02pm: Final table awaits
Looks as though we are still a while from starting today's final table of the NAPT Venetian Main Event. A sizable crowd has gathered here in the Bellini Room, and camera crews are readying to shoot all of the action. We'll be here chronicling it all, too -- back in a few!

NAPT Venetian reporting comes courtesy of bloggers Brad Willis, Jennifer Newell, Martin Harris, and photographer 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.

Hot on Fuentes' heels is Ernesto Panno, who wasn't disappointed in the least about finishing the day in second position.

"I don't care. I'm going to win anyway!" he quipped as he bagged and tagged his 110,000 in chips.

The biggest names in Latin American poker were in the field today along with a few surprises. Team PokerStars Pros Alex Gomes, Andre Akkari, Nacho Barbero, Veronica Dabul, Leo Fernandez, Maria "Maridu" Mayrinck, Gualter Salles, and virtually the entire Brenes family were on hand along with Neil "Bad Beat" Channing and Keith "The Camel" Hawkins, who traveled to Punta del Este all the way from the U.K.

Akkari met his tournament end when his kings were cracked by aces. Gomes ran top pair into a set, and Salles endured a serious cooler when he flopped a straight, only to run into his opponent's higher straight. Five Team Pros were left with chips in front of them at the end of the day: Dabul, Fernandez, Barbero, Mayrinck, and the Costa Rican "Chark," Humberto Brenes.

48 players will walk away from this tournament with a payday. Join us again tomorrow at noon local time (EST+3) for continuing coverage of the LAPT Punta del Este. For now, a "muy, muy rojo" steak and a cold cerveza are calling.

Broad-shouldered and burly, Stein has approached the last two days of this tournament with a grim-faced determination that makes it look like he's been told he has to mow the lawn or clean out the garage. No matter whether he's flopping sets against overpairs or making a gutshot Broadway on the river, Stein's eyes don't sparkle so much as they relax into resignation. That is, he seems resigned to the fact that he is going to win this tournament, even if it kills him and everybody else at the table.

He singularly destroyed one-time chip leader Andrew Lichtenberger. Regarded as much for his luck as his obvious skill, Lichtenberger played this tournament like it was a game of Candyland for the first few days. He constantly carried the wry smile of a kid who has just realized his eighth grade science project accidentally proved the existence of cold fusion. Yesterday, Stein's Broadway straight (good for more than half of Lichtenberger's stack) made Lichtenberger buckle down and play poker like a guy who doesn't pick up aces every other hand. Today, while Stein was on another table, Lichtenberger managed to build his stack back up near two million. Then, when the tables condensed to one, Stein and Mr. Cold Fusion himself came face-to-face again.

It was a Lichteberger three-barrel bluff with king-high and Stein's call with tens on a jack-high board that sent Lichtenberger out for good and catapulted Stein into this event's troposhere. Stein finished today with 6,145,000 chips and will bring them all back on Wednesday to play the final table.

Stein will be joined by eight other players who have proven themselves capable of wading through an 872-player field in leather-tough Las Vegas. Here's how they stack up going into the final table.

Sam Stein -- 6,145,000
Thomas Fuller -- 4,735,000
David Paredes -- 4,700,000
Yunus Jamal -- 3,940,000
Tom Marchese -- 2,370,000
Eric Blair -- 1,690,000
Daniel Clemente -- 1,345,000
John Cernuto -- 1,300,000

While Stein is the hero of the day, it's not like this is his first rodeo. He has more than $400,000 in live cashes to his name, plus an untold number of big finishes online. Moreover, he is not infallible. Coloradan Tom Fuller won a huge confrontation with Stein late in the day that propelled the man from the Rockies to second place in chips.

Now we wait to see the first NAPT final table on American soil. It's going to be a fun one--a combination of young guns from the internet (that's like coming from the future), old school pros (that's like coming from Miami, especially if your name is John Cernuto), and some Vegas locals done good (that's like not really coming from anywhere, because, well, were already here).

It begins Wednesday at 2pm PST. You can follow all the action live here or on NAPT TV.

Thanks for joining us here today. We'll see you back here tomorrow afternoon to find out if Sam Stein's wrecking ball can swing until the end.

All photography © Joe Giron

8:15pm: And that's a wrap for Day 4
With eight players, we have our NAPT Venetian final table with Sam Stein as its chip leader. A full wrap of today's events will be posted in short order.

Join us tomorrow at 2pm for live coverage of all the action at the NAPT Venetian!

8:05pm: Zartman crippled and out in 9th
Kyle Zartman came in for a raise to 165 and got calls from David Paredes and Eric Blair. On the [3d][3h][2s] flop, Zartman bet 315 and got the call. He then checked the [qs] on the turn, and moved all-in after Paredes bet. Paredes snap-called with [2c][2d]. Zartman held [ah][qd]. He didn't catch and was down to around 200,000 in chips. A few hands later, Miami John Cernuto pushed all-in from the small blind with [as][kc]. Zartman called with [qs][3h] and missed. He finished in ninth for $44,195.

7:46pm: Players coming back...
One more player to go and we're done for the night.

7:23pm: Break it up...or down
Players are now enjoying a 15-minute break.

7:09pm: Fuller doubles through Stein, takes lead
It was dramatic as all of the cameras closed in, fans perked up, and some player not in the hand got up from the table. Tom Marchese started the hand by raising it up to 110K, but Stein raised it all-in with [Kh][Qh]. Thomas Fuller called all-in for his tournament life with [As][Kd], and his 2.75 million chips were at risk.

The board came [9s][3d][6s][3s][Jh], and the pair on the board with Fuller's ace kicker was good for the double...and the chip lead. Fuller had 5.25 million going into the next hand.

6:40pm: Marchese doubles
Tom Marchese just scored a timely double-up. When Eric Blair raised from the button, Marchese shoved for 1.1 million. Blair didn't think long before calling with [as][tc]. Marchese he'd [ac][qs]. Marchese's hand wasn't improved but didn't need to be. He's now up to near 2.5 million.

6:27pm: Cernuto doubles on the final table bubble
The hand started with a raise to 110K from Tom Marchese, and call from Sam Stein on the button. But John Cernuto looked down at [Ah][Jh] in the big blind and pushed all-in for his last 650K. Marchese got out of the way, but Stein called with [4h][4s]. The flop was a solid one for Cernuto as it came [Jc][Ks][9c] to give him the pair of jacks. The dealer finished the board with [6d] and [3d], and Cernuto doubled up.

6:15pm: Andrew Lichtenberger -- 10th place
Sam Stein came in for an early position raise to 115,000 and Andrew Lichtenberger called. On a flop of [js][3h][[7d], Stein check-called Lichtenberger's 150,000 bet. Stein did the same for 315,000 on the [7h] turn, and then again for the rest of Lichtenberger's stack (975,000) on the [3d] river. Lichtenberger showed [ks][qs] for the three-barrel bluff. Stein had [td][ts] for the win. Lichtenberger finished in tenth for $44,195.

6:10pm: Redraw to one table
With only ten players remaining in the tournament, the floor staff reseated them at one table as follows:

1. Daniel Clemente
2. David Paredes
3. Eric Blair
4. Tom Marchese
5. Sam Stein
6. Thomas Fuller
7. John Cernuto
8. Kyle Zartman
9. Yunus Jamal
10. Andrew Lichtenberger

6:07pm: Zinger for Zartman
Kyle Zartman was able to get his chips into the middle of the table with A-J against the A-10 of Sam Stein, and the board ran out [9c][Jc][Ad][Qc][Ah] to give Zartman a double-up to more than 1.4 million.

6:04pm: John Franciosi - 11th place
He had only 480K upon returning from break, and he shipped it preflop with [Ah][8s]. Eric Blair called with [As][Kd], and the board came [Jd][6h][Ad][4h][2c] to eliminate John Franciosi in 11th place. He received $34,151.00 for the finish.

6:00pm: Read to roll
With eleven players remaining, we're back in action. Sam Stein is sitting with nearly six million in chips and the lead on the field.

5:45pm: Good 'ol break time
Players (and fans) are taking a 15-minute break to rest their poker-filled heads.

5:39pm: Paredes doubles
The hand started with a raise to 85K from John Cernuto, on the button, and Sam Stein moved all-in from the small blind. David Paredes immediately called from the big blind and showed [As] [Kc], which was ready to race against the [9c] [9s] of Stein. And the race was won on the flop when it came [Ks] [4c] [Jh], and the [8h] turn and [2d] river wrapped the hand and gave Paredes the double back into the safety zone.

5:28pm: Steve Billirakis -- 12th place
Looking at a flop of [jc][6h][4c], Sam Stein checked and Billirakis put out a bet of a little more than 200,000. Stein thought for a moment before making it 530,000. Billirakis looked pained, and took to counting his chips. He turned a stack of 30 yellow 1,000 chips into a stack of 20, moved his 5,000 stack around for a bit, and then announced he was all-in. Stein snap-called and showed [4s][4h] for the flopped set. Billirakis was in trouble and very unlucky to have [qs][qh]. The turn and river went [7c][8c] and Billirakis is out in 12th for $34,151.

5:20pm: Lichtenberger lives
Andrew Lichtenberger put his last 560K at risk with pocket sixes and found them up against the [As] [Js] of Tom Marchese. The board of [Tc] [7c] [2h] [Kd] [2d] gave Lichtenberger the double-up.

5:15pm: Living the dream
We've had a few minutes to chat with chip leader Yunus Jamal. He's a Vegas local who plays quite a bit here at The Venetian. Instead of dropping the $5,000 to get in, he won a live $550 satellite and won his seat. Today, he's been on fire and seems legitimately thrilled to be in such a good spot. "This is like a dream come true," he said.

4:48pm: Andrew Chen -- 13th place
Yunas Jamal came in for a raise to 87,000 and Andrew Chen shoved for a total of 449,000. Jamal almost looked like he was going to fold, then made the call with [kh][jh]. He was up against Chen's [9c][9d]. The drama ended quikcly with the [kd] on the lop. The turn and river didn't save Chen and he's out in 13th for $28,526.Jamal, meanwhile, is right around the five million mark and the clear chip leader.

4:30pm: New level, new blinds
Players are coming back to 20,000-40,000-4,000 blinds. We have fourteen fighters remaining. We'll be going down to eight players before the night.

Sam Stein and Yunus Jamal both have more than four million chips and are jocking for the chip lead.

NAPT Venetian reporting comes courtesy of bloggers Jennifer Newell and Brad Willis, and photographer Joe Giron.

Joseph Cutler - 14th place
Thomas Fuller got involved with a raise from under the gun, and Cutler came along from the big blind. The flop came [Ts] [7c] [2d], and Cutler raised to 150K. But Fuller came back with a raise all-in, and Cutler called all-in, as he was covered by his opponent.

Cutler: [Qd] [Td]
Fuller: [Jd] [Jh]

The [7h] came on the turn, and the [8s] became the river card, and the jacks remained the best hand. Joseph Cutler in 14th place with $28,526.00.

3:14pm: David Miscikowski - 15th place
It was a whirlwind of a few minutes for Miscikowski. The first hand started with a raise from Yunus Jamal, reraise from Miscikowski to 158K, and call from Steve Billirakis. But Yuval responded with a reraise to 477K, and Miscikowski came over the top all-in. Billirakis got out of the way, and Jamal snap-called.

Jamal: [Ks] [Kc]
Miscikowski: [Ts] [Th]

Board: [Kd] [Jd] [Qs] [Qh] [6h]

The full house pushed Jamal up to nearly 4 million chips, while Miscikowski was left with only 11K.

The next hand saw Miscikowski push all-in with [Ts] [3h], but Kyle Zartman just happened to have [9s] [9h] with which to make the call. And just for kicks, Zartman turned a set. That left David Miscikowski out of the tournament in 15th place with $23,303.00.

3:03pm: Lichtenberg doubles through Blair
After Blair started the action with a raise to 70K, Andrew Lichtenberger reraised all-in from the small blind for his last 441K with [Ah] [Td]. Blair mumbled under his breath before calling with [Kc] [Tc]. The board came [6d] [4s] [7h] [Ts] [6s], and Lichtenberger doubled up and stayed in the game.

2:55pm: Annnnd, we're back
The 15 remaining players are back in their seats and now playing at 15,000-30,000-3,000

2:40pm: Players on break
Back in action in a few minutes.

2:35pm: Daniel Cossette -- 16th place
Yunus Jamal came in for a raise to 54,000 and got calls from both Daniel Cossette and Sam Stein. That's when David Miscikowski re-raised from the small blind to 183,000. Jamal folded, but Cossette pushed all-in. Stein folded, and Miscikowski snap-called with [td][th]. Cossette only head [7d][7d]. He didn't catch up and is gone in 16th.

2:29pm: 16 players and 2 tables
One of the three tables that started the day was finally broken, and the remaining 16 players were situated on two tables. The clock was stopped during the process but resumed after a very short break.

2:25pm: Stein and Miscikowski tangle again
We caught up to the action on the [Qs] [3h] [Td] [8c] [Js] board, at which point David Miscikowski bet out 216K. Sam Stein thought...and thought...and tried to get information from his opponent. He didn't want to be bluffed again.

Finally, Stein called and showed [Jd] [Ts] for two pair, and Miscikowski mucked his hand. But he did let Stein know that he only had ace-high. Stein won this round.

2:19pm: Mark Ketteringham - 17th place
The serious hit to his stack came courtesy of John Franciosi. Ketteringham moved all-in on that hand with [Ah] [Kd], but Franciosi called with pocket nines that held up on the [5d] [Tc] [3h] [Ts] [6c] board. Ketteringham was left with about 135K.

He sat on that stack for a few hands but finally pushed all-in with [Kc] [Qs]. "Miami" John Cernuto called quickly with [Ah] [5c], and that hand improved significantly on the [4d] [3c] [2c] flop. The [5c] turn card and [Qd] river allowed Cernuto's straight to hold up, which sent Mark Ketteringham packing in 17th place.

2:13pm: Steve Stolzmann -- 18th place
Sam Stein, wrecking ball, came in for a raise to 55,000 from the button and FPP-qualifier Steve Stolzmann pushed all in for 386,000 from the small blind. Stein took his time but called with [Kd][Jh]. Stolzmann held [7s][7d]. Stein flopped the [jd], Stolzmann never caught up and exited in 18th place for $20,089.

1:48pm: Miscikowski pulls massive bluff on Stein
The hand started with David Miscikowski raising from the button, Stein coming along from the small blind, and Stolzmann calling from the big blind. The flop came [5c] [Kc] [9d], and a 62K bet from Stein prompted Stolzmann to get out of the way, but Miscikowski called.

The [Ks] on the turn brought a 142K bet from Stein and call from Miskikowski.

The [2s] on the river seemed harmless enough, but Stein bet out 211K. Fireworks. Miscikowski raised all-in for 433K more, which sent Stein deep into the tank. More than a few minutes passed before Stein finally folded.

And Miscikowski showed Q-J offsuit for the bluff. A collective "oof" came from everyone who saw it. And Miscikowski collected a much-needed pot to push him into more comfortable chip territory.

1:25pm: Daniele Nestola - 19th place
Nestola was possibly looking to pick up the blinds and antes by pushing his 300K stack all-in preflop from the small blind. But "Miami" John Cernuto quickly called from the big blind with [Ah] [Tc]. Nestola could only turn over [5d] [2s]. The board came [Qd] [4d] [Qs] [Jd] [Js], and Daniele Nestola departed in 19th place.

1:20pm: Blair Hinkle - 20th place
It happened just after the break was over, and Hinkle chose to tangle with Steve Billirakis. The latter raised it up to 55K preflop, and Hinkle responded with an all-in reraise with [2s] [2h]. Billirakis called and showed [Ah] [5d], and the ace came out on the [As] [Tc] [7c] flop. The [Kc] and [6h] finished the hand, and Blair Hinkle headed to the cashier cage to collect $20,089.00 for the deep run.

12:56pm: Break time
Players are on their first 15-minute break of the day. They're doing...well...that's not anyone's business, really. But they'll be back in their seats shortly.

12:42pm: Michael De Gilio - 21st place
De Gilio put his tournament life at risk with A-10 on a board that gave him a pair of tens, but the A-K of Billirakis paired his king. Michael De Gilio was gone in 21st place.

12:38pm: Clemente doubles through Nestola
On a [5d] [7c] [6s] board, Clemente's bet was met by an all-in raise from Nestola. Clemente called for his tournament life with [9c] [9s], and Nestola showed [Qd] [8d]. The [Ad] on the turn and [8s] on the river allowed the nines to stand and give Clemente the double-up.

12:30pm: Jonathan Aguiar -- 22nd place
Shortly after losing most of his stack to Mark Ketteringham, Jonathan Aguiar moved all-in pre-flop with [qh][7d]. John Franciosi called from the blind with [ad][8c]. Neither hand improved and Aguiar finished in 22nd for $20,089.

12:20pm: Couple of doubles
In the last few minutes we've had some timely double ups. Mark Ketteringham doubled through Jonathan Aguiar with [As][Qd] all in pre-flop aganst Aguiar's [ah][9c]. Shortly thereafter Mike De Gilio pushed all in from the button. Steve Billisrakis isolated from the small blind with [ac][5c]. It was a good move. De Gilio only held [jd][9d]. Billirakis even flopped his ace, but De Gilio ran out the diamond flush for the win.

12:16pm: Jason Dewitt - 23rd place
While the other table was in action with Lindley and Nestola, Sam Stein and Jason Dewitt were tangling. The flop came [6d] [8c] [Td], and Dewitt checked. Stein put him all-in, and Dewitt went into the tank before finally calling with pocket aces. Stein turned over Q-9 for the draw, and though the 5 on the turn was harmless, the jack on the river made that straight.

Jason Dewitt was eliminated in 23rd place.

12:14pm: Christina Lindley - 24th place
She started strong. As soon as action got underway today, Lindley pushed all-in with her ultra-short stack with pocket sixes, and Daniel Clemente called with [Qs] [Tc]. The board ran out [Jd] [Jd] [8d] [Ah] [3d], giving Lindley the flush and the much-needed double-up.

Still short, Lindley moved again a short time after with pocket sixes, hoping they would be lucky again. But Daniele Nestola called with A-K, and the board brought an ace on the flop. With no sixes (or a flush or straight), Lindley exited the tournament in 24th place.

12:10pm: Day 4 underway
The cards are in the air. We have about 45 minutes level in Level 22 before moving up in blinds.

12:00pm: Day 4 about to begin
The final 24 players are taking their seats. Today we will play down to the final table of eight.

How long will this take? It's anyone's guess, but after last night's late finish, expect the players to be hopped up on Red Bull and ready to play.

That includes our chip leader, Eric Blair who starts the day with 3.7 million in chips.

NAPT Venetian reporting comes courtesy of bloggers Jennifer Newell and Brad Willis, and photographer Joe Giron.

Today's first round the NAPT Venetian $25,000 High Roller Bounty event brings together a collection of the poker world's most famous, most decorated players in a high stakes hold'em battle with a novel format. 49 players are here today, ready to play what are essentially seven seven-handed sit-n-gos, with the winners advancing to Thursday's final.

Adding to the fun, $5,000 bounties will be awarded for each knockout, with an additional $100,000 (thrown in by PokerStars.net) going to the player claiming the most bounties. All of today's winners will earn $75,000 for their efforts. And the winner of Thursday's final will take home all of the remaining prize pool (minus the bounties).

Here is the line-up for today's first round:

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 Seiver
2. Brian Rast
3. Chau Giang
4. Bertrand Grospellier
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. Steven Paul (a.k.a. Steve Paul-Ambrose)

So, do you happen to recognize any names there?

Our seven tables will be played in two separate flights, the first scheduled to kick off at 11:00am Vegas time. That's when Tables 5-7 will be playing, then later, starting at 7:00pm, we'll see Tables 1-4 battle it out.

Come back to the PokerStars blog where we'll be chronicling all of the action. You can also follow along live on NAPT TV, where you might just see a familiar face or forty.

All photography © Joe Giron.

Inside, the poker room is buzzing with excitement already. Players will trickle in shortly. Fans will gather outside the ropes.

We have some important poker to play today.

The 24 players that start Day 4 have proven themselves to be quite the skilled poker players. They started in a field of 872 and worked their way through three days of grueling, intense play to take their seats on the fourth day of the NAPT Venetian. That, most certainly, was no easy feat.

Luck can only take a player so far, but to accumulate hundreds of thousands of chips over the course of several days, never once losing a do-or-die race or succumbing to the pressure of putting chips at risk carelessly. Skill and discipline must come into play there, along with mental and physical strength and stamina.

So to say that Day 4 will result in determining the best players in the field is a bit of a narrow statement. All 24 players that take their seats today are names to be noted.

The noted player to keep an eye on going into today's action will be Eric Blair, who sits atop the leaderboard with 3,700,000 chips. He was a consistent climber on Day 3 and will be a force on Day 4.

Eric Blair contemplating Day 3 chip leader status

Not to be discounted are others who made their mark at the end of Day 3, including Sam Stein with 3,409,000 chips and Steve Billirakis who survived a roller coaster of a day to end with 2,372,000.

And of course, it is necessary to note the obvious, that any of the players in the field are a double-up or two away from joining the ranks of the chip-millionaires. One player who will need to do that but returns proudly to the Venetian Poker Room as the last woman standing is Christina Lindley, who looks to make the most of her 130,000 chips.

Christina Lindley

We will be heading to the tournament area shortly so as not to miss the excitement. There will be double-ups. There will be eliminations and disappointment. But we look to end the day with eight very excited players who will have secured their spots at the NAPT Venetian final table.

All photography (c) 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.

1:12am: Day 3 concludes
With that last flurry of eliminations, Day 3 swiftly comes to a close. The remaining 24 players are starting to bag up their earnings thus far, but all well know there's still a long way to go to that $827,648 first prize.

1:06am: Rousso hits rail in 25th
Down to 205,000, the table folded around to Vanessa Rousso who shoved all in, and Tom Marchese called from the big blind. Rousso showed K-6, which Marchese had pocket sevens. The board went [10s][3h][Jd][Ac][Jc], and Rousso -- the last Team PokerStars Pro alive -- has been eliminated in 25th place.

12:55am: Buffington bounced in 27th; Seth served in 26th
Blake Buffington was just all in with [Qd][Qh] and up against Jonathan Aguiar's [Ks][9h]. The flop came [7c][Kd][2c], putting Aguiar ahead. The turn was the [Js] and the river the [8h], and Buffington hit the rail. That hand put Aguiar up around 610,000.

Andy Seth followed Buffington shortly thereafter, having fallen victim to the chip-accumulator Eric Blair. Blair is up to about 3.5 million at present.

12:45am: O'Dwyer o-out in 28th place
It happened on the first hand of the return from break, as Steve O'Dwyer pushed all-in with [Js] [Jd], but Eric Blair couldn't help but call with [Ah] [Ac]. The board delivered [Td] [Kc] [9c] [Th] [2h], and O'Dwyer took his leave of the tournament.

From chip leader at dinner to cashier cage before 1am

12:44am: Binger busto in 29th place
A person can only be in one place at a time...so we just missed the quiet bustout of Michael Binger, who was eliminated by Daniel Cossette in 28th place.

Binger not having a good day

12:28am: Smoke 'em if you got 'em
It's been a long day. What say we take ourselves one more break? 29 players will return either to play one more level or until the field reaches 24.

12:25am: Sinistaj out in 30th, Clemente climbs
Tom Sinistaj was all in for almost 350,000 with [10c][10d] and was racing against Daniel Clemente's [Ah][Jd]. Clemente -- who had Sinistaj covered by just 50,000 -- liked the flop [5s][Js][Ac]. And his hand held through the [5c] turn and [Qs] river. Sinistaj is out in 30th place, while Clemente moves up to about 800,000.

12:20am: Sam Stein, the new NAPT Venetian chip leader
Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger isn't always lucky. He just sent a substantial portion of his substantial stack two seats to his right and into the possession of one Sam Stein. While we're unsure of what Lichtenberger held, we know it was no good against the rivered Broadway straight on the [8s][jd][7c][ts][kd] board. After betting 335,000 on the river, Lichtenberger called 1,136,000 more from Stein to see Stein's ace-queen. Lichtenberger is now down to half a million chips, while Stein is up over the three million mark.

12:05am: The pain prolonged...Sindelar out in 31st place
It started with David Paredes moving all-in with [Qc] [Js], and Daniel Sindelar coming over the top with pocket nines. John Franciosi took a long time to consider the options but eventually folded. The dealer revealed a [6d] [7d] [Jd] [Kc] [Ts] board, which gave Paredes the double-up but left Sindelar crippled.

Sindelar was ready to make his exit but had to await the deal of the next hand. With [Jc] [8c] on the button, he made the all-in push, but Mark Ketteringham woke up with pocket queens in the big blind. The board only brought another queen for Ketteringham, and Sindelar was eliminated in 31st place.

12:01am: Cody's roller coaster ride over - 32nd place
Cody Slaubaugh risked it all with [As] [9c] preflop, but Tom Marchese called relatively quickly with [Kc] [Qc]. The board produced [7d] [Td] [3c] [2h] [Qh], and Slaubaugh was sent packing in 32nd place.

11:59pm: Twice as nice
A few double-ups caused a little excitement as play resumed after the redraw. John Franciosi and his pocket fives doubled through Joseph Cutler. And Yunus Jamal took his pocket aces into battle against Daniel Clemente and won, doubling to stay alive.

11:54pm: Change of plans
The plan at the beginning of the day was to play down to 24 players tonight, quoting here, "no matter what." Normally, the 24-player mandate is a function of television production logistics. However, because the TV crews will be otherwise occupied with the $25,000 Bounty Shootout on Tuesday, cooler heads have prevailed in the Main Event. So...the tournament directors have decided the players will continue to battle until the end of the next level -or- when we hit 24 players (bet the former, even if you have to give odds). Either way, we're not getting an early night.

11:37pm: Redraw!
With only 32 players remaining, players are redrawing to be seated at the final four tables.

11:36pm: Ravi to the rail in 33rd place
The hand happened quickly, but Ravi Raghavan was eliminated in 33rd place by Steve Billirakis.

11:34pm: Chop-chop
Jonathan Aguiar decided to put his tournament at risk preflop with [As] [9h] but began to regret that decision as soon as Eric Blair called and showed [Ac] [Js]. Aguiar was preparing to leave.

But the dealer produced a board of [Ks] [Jh] [Kh] [Ad] [Td] to split the pot, and Aguiar returned to his seat, satisfied to continue play.

Aguiar awaiting his fate

11:27pm: Albourkrek all done in 35th; Klaus canned in 34th place
Jose Albourkrek was recently eliminated in 35th. And now Klaus Pautrot, the last Frenchman left in the field, has left the chalet.

Pautrot pushed all-in with [Qd] [Jh], but Kyle Zartman made the call holding [Kc] [Qs]. And Zartman solidified his lead in the hand when the flop came [Kh] [4d] [Tc], and finished the job with a [6c] turn and [4h] river. Pautrot headed to the cashier cage for his 34th place reward.

11:21pm: How many beats does she have to take?
This title is an homage to a recent quote from Vanessa Rousso in which she asked, "How many beats do I have to take?" The most recent beat nearly resulted in this blogger nearly catching a swinging fist to the jaw. Rousso got pocket queens all-in against [As][9s]. The flop? [ac][4c][9c]. Though she had the club and queen outs, she didn't catch. She is, speaking quite honestly, fairly furious, and now down below 500,000 in chips.

11:04pm: Binger in the tank
Michael Binger started the hand with a raise to 50K, and Klaus Pautrot reraised from the small blind all-in, which was about 120K more. Binger went into the tank. Seriously. He talked to himself quietly, seemingly running physics problems in his mind, until finally Joseph Cutler called the clock.

Binger joked about it, knowing that he was taking an extraordinary amount of time with the decision. "Can I phone a friend?" he asked the floor person. The answer was no, so Binger continued to think, in a somewhat animated manner, before letting the clock run out and mucking his cards.

10:59pm: Double-up central
in the first of several double-ups, David Paredes pushed all-in with pocket jacks, but Steve Billirakis called with [Qh] [Th], and the queen fell on the flop. The entire board read [Kh] [Qd] [4s] [5c] [Kc], and Billirakis scored the double.

Daniel Clemente was all-in with [Ad] [7c], but Michael De Gilio called all-in with [9d] [8d], which scored a pair of nines on the [2d] [7s] [9s] flop. The board completed with [4c] on the turn and [3s] on the river, and De Gilio doubled to stay alive.

10:57pm: Joseph Cheong eliminated
On one of the first hands back from break Andy Seth four-flushed Joseph Cheong with pocket-sevens. Cheong is out in 36th place. We're eleven eliminations from the end of the day.

10:51pm: Back in business
Players are back in their seats. 36 of them. And they'll keep fighting until they get down to 24 tonight.

NAPT Venetian reporting comes courtesy of bloggers Martin Harris, Jennifer Newell, Brad Willis and photographer Joe Giron.

10:35pm: End of level
That's 20 levels in the books. Of the 872 who began on Saturday, just 36 remain.

10:17pm: Cernuto survives
"Miami" John Cernuto left for the dinner break after a very tough laydown to an all-in from his opponent, and he was left with less chips than he hoped. His return from dinner came with a promise to be patient, but when he looked down at pocket 8's, he pushed all-in for 217K. He told us that was the first pocket pair he'd seen all day.

Naim Tahan called with A-K, and the two watched the dealer turn over a board of J-4-3-2-7. Cernuto doubled up and continues on with the evening.

10:12pm: Blair builds
Karga Holt decided to put his tournament life at risk with pocket jacks, but Eric Blair woke up with pocket aces and called. The board came [Kh] [9s] [7d] [2s] [Kc], and Blair raked more chips as Holt departed to pick up his payout.

10:08pm: Rousso rush
Vanessa Rousso continues her rapid climb back, having taken several hands over the last couple of orbits. Just now, she and Ravi Raghavan had built a smallish pot before the flop came [Js][Ad][8s]. Both checked. The turn brought the [3s]. Rousso bet 50,000, and Raghavan called. The river was the [5s]. Rousso bet 125,000 this time, and Raghavan quickly made the call.

Rousso flipped over [Ks][9s] for the flush, and Raghavan mucked. Rousso is up to 1.2 million now, while Raghavan has 780,000.

10:06pm: Stein full, Olivier silenced
In a back and forth that went 27,000 to 90,000 to 259,000, to all-in, Sam Stein just managed to make his pocket kings hold all-in pre-flop against Olivier Busquet's big slick. Busquet looks like he just accidentally swallowed poison. Stein looks like he just watched an episode of Three's Company in which there was a big mix-up but everything turned out cool and sort of funny in the end. Also, he has a monster stack of 1.8 million now.

10:05: Standard Chewy
"LuckyChewy alwys has aces. Or kings."

That's what somebody was saying on the rail just a moment of ago. It's funny, because it's true. Shortly after busting Dwyte Pilgrim, Andrew Lichtenberger managed to pick up aces against Helen Martynov's ace-queen all-in. Martynov is gone and Lichtenberger is...well standard Chewy.

10:04pm: Rousso rising
David Paredes isn't very happy with Vanessa Rousso right now. She just cracked his aces for a decent-sized pot. She held king-ten and made trips on the river. Lady Maverick is now up near 800,000 in chips.

9:54pm: Ducks fail Dwyte
A short-stacked Dwyte Pilgrim was all in with [2h][2c] and ran smack into Andrew Lichtenberger's [Kh][Kd]. The board went [3s][3d][6c][6h][Ac], and Pilgrim is out in 45th place.

9:46pm: After-dinner doubles
Upon the players' return from dinner break, there was a flurry of all-in moves, and some of them resulted in double-ups for players.

One of the first was Daniel Sindelar, who doubled through Michael de Gilio to near the 160K mark.

Yunus Jamal doubled through Joshua Fussner when pocket aces held up.

And some of the biggest stacks coming into today took some hits as a result of double-ups. One of them was Steve Billirakis, and it happened at the hands of Sam Stein, who made multiple all-in moves since the dinner break. This time it was with [Kc] [Qd] against the [9h] [7d] of Billirakis on a [Qh] [6d] [8d] board. The [2c] on the turn and [Jc] on the river gave Stein the double-up he sought, while Billirakis was left with little more than 100K in chips.

David Miscikowski suffered chip loss throughout the day, but he was able to get some of it back by pushing all-in with K-J against the A-10 of Jose Alboukrek. The board came Q-A-J-Q-T to give Miscikowski the Broadway straight and the double-up to stay in action.

9:42pm: Fussner out, Marchese marches ahead
Naim Tahan opened with a raise to 31,000 from early position, and Tom Marchese, sitting to his left, made the call. Then Joshua Fussner reraised his below average stack all in. Tahan folded, but Marchese called, showing [Qh][Qc] to Fussner's [Jc][Jh].

The board went [2s][9h][7h][As][10h], and Fussner is out. Marchese now is challenging the leaders with a stack of 1.35 million.

9:28pm: No win for Nguyen
Our first casualty following the dinner break was Men "the Master" Nguyen. Nguyen has his below average stack all in with [As][Qc] and was up against Kyle Zartman's [Jd][Jh]. The board came nine-high, and Nguyen hit the rail.

9:17pm: We're back
Level 20 is underway, with the blinds 6,000/12,000 and 1,000 antes.

8:06pm: Dinner break, and a fearsome foursome
As we near the one-hour dinner break, we're seeing four players all of whom appear to be right around the 1.5 million chip mark: Andrew Lichtenberger, Eric Blair, Steve O'Dwyer, and Thomas Fuller.

7:51pm: Wong moves on
Danny Wong is out, at the hands of Blair Hinkle, who's now up to 815,000.

7:39pm: 50 remain
And they are seated around seven tables.

7:32pm: I shove, you shove, we all shove
Three-way all-in, with Michael Binger raising, Corey Hochman reraising all in, Michael De Gilio shoving as well, and Binger making the call.

Binger [Kd][Kh]
Hochman [Ac][10d]
De Gilio [Qc][Qd]

The flop came [8h][Qs][2s], putting De Gilio way in front and prompting a frustrated response from Binger. The turn was the [4h] and the river the [6s], and Binger took a little walk to recompose.

Hochman is out, Binger is down to 220,000, and De Gilio trips up to about 750,000.

7:22pm: Bruno bounced
The knockouts keep coming. The latest -- Danny Wong has eliminated Bruno Martin.

7:19pm: Gone but not forgotten
Players Nam Le and Fabrice Soulier were seen in the payout line. And their spots at the tables no longer had chips. And their identification numbers were missing. We're no scholars, but we believe those two players are now gone.

7:16pm: Vu evacuated
Tommy Vu put his tournament life at risk with pocket fours, and he found himself up against the pocket jacks of Daniel Sindelar. The board came T-7-T-T-Q to give both players full houses, but only one that was the winner. Tuan Vu was eliminated.

Vu in happier times?

7:07pm: Cordova crushed
Alex Cordova raised to 35,000 from under the gun and it folded to Steve Billirakis on the button. Billirakis asked how much Cordova had left -- about 300,000 -- and decided to raise to 80,000. The blinds got out, Cordova shoved, and Billirakis thought a bit before making the call.

Cordova [Ks][Kd]
Billirakis [Ad][Qd]

Flop looked good for Cordova -- [8c][5d][5s]. But the turn and river didn't -- [10d][Jd]. All those diamonds gave Billirakis the flush, ending Cordova's tourney. "Sorry," said Billirakis while complimenting Cordova for his play today.

Any lasting regret soon dissolved as Billirakis began restacking his chips. He's up around the million-chip mark again.

6:57pm: Hinkle moving in the right direction
Blair Hinkle has had himself a fine Day 3 thus far. He started the day as one of the short stacks with just 68,000, but has steadily increased his stack all day and now sits with 665,000 as we begin Level 19.

6:54pm: We're back
There are 61 players returning. One more level and then a one-hour dinner break.

NAPT Venetian reporting comes courtesy of bloggers Martin Harris, Jennifer Newell, Brad Willis and photographer Joe Giron.