Just moments ago, the LAPT announced it will hold its Season 4 Grand Final in Sao Paulo, Brazil...during Carnival.

Now, maybe you don't know about Carnival. If not, you should know that it's the most famous holiday in Brazil, a time full of parades and parties that rival the biggest in the world. It's a sight to behold at least once in your life. Now you have the chance to see it, and you can play the LAPT Grand Final in the process.

February 17-20 of next year, the R$3,700 + 300 LAPT Grand Final will coincide with the Brasil Poker Tour final at the World Trade Center Sheraton in Sao Paulo.

So far this season, the LAPT has already visited Sao Paulo once. That's when Alex Manzano took the first championship of Season 4. Since then, the tour has gone to Chile, Peru, Uruguay, and Colombia where records have been broken and broken again.

Now it's time to return to where the season began. Satellites to the event will be running on PokerStars, so you can take this once-in-a-lifetime trip for pennies on the dollar.

For more information and to plan your Carnival trip, visit the LAPT Grand Final page.

After five LAPT events across the region, Gonzalez is one of two Colombians among the top ten players vying for the LAPT Player of the Year award. He currently holds a slim 25-point lead over LAPT Sao Paulo winner Alex Manzano. Just behind Manzano is another Colombia, Daniel Ospina.

Here are the top ten players at the moment.

LAPT Player of the Year standings

1. Pablo Gonzalez (Colombia) 1125
2. Alex Manzano (Chile) 1100
3. Daniel Ospina (Colombia) 990
4. Leandro Csome (Argentina) 975
5. Engelbert Varela (Venezuela) 970
6. Amos Ben Haim (Chile) 895
7. Raul Pino (Panama) 880
8. Luis Alexander Yepez (Venezuela) 870
9. Joao Neto (Brazil) 850
10. Miguel Alvarez de Lugo (Venezuela) 830

Gonzalez has been picking up points in both main and side events so far this year. He placed third in the LAPT Lima main event. He followed that up with a first place finish in a LAPT Punta del Este side event. He may not have won the most money on the LAPT so far this year, but he's leading in points, and that's all that matters in this particular race. He'll just have to hold on through the Season 4 grand final (details still to come).

For more details on the LAPT and its Player of the Year Awards, visit LAPT.com.

A photo of the rail in Hour 14 of the marathon Day 3 should answer that question:

That's getting ahead of things though. Day 3 -- the final day of the event -- started with 28 players in the field, a result of the tournament selling out both of its 330-player Day 1 flights. With alternates there were squeezed in on Day 1b, the total size of the field grew to 681 players. It was the largest field in LAPT history.

Big stacks were curiously absent to start Day 3. The largest stack in the room had roughly 70 big blinds to start, and the average stack was about 30. That number continued to shrink as the day went on, even as the field consolidated. The absence of big stacks meant that nobody was really driving the action. The short stacks were content to sit back as long as they could.

But blinds do go up every hour here on the LAPT, and so players busted. It took four levels -- and two simultaneous eliminations on the final table bubble -- to go from 28 Day 3 starters down to a final table off five Colombians, two Ecuadorians, an Argentian and an Australian:

Seat 1: John Jairo (415,000)
Seat 2: Stuart McDonald (1,235,000)
Seat 3: Jonathan Monsalves (2,495,000)
Seat 4: Julian Menendez (735,000)
Seat 5: Victor Forero (2,045,000)
Seat 6: Rafael Pardo (660,000)
Seat 7: Jessica Bedoya (290,000)
Seat 8: Alexis Gomez (910,000)
Seat 9: Jonathan Markovitz (1,150,000)

Play was very, very cautious at the final table, so much so that, with six players left, the average stack was only 16 big blinds and the biggest stack, Stuart McDonald, had just 26 big blinds. The final six players started talking about a deal. It took them 45 minutes to hammer it out, but in the end they were all reasonably happy with what they would receive.

However, 28 million pesos were set aside for the winner. The tournament still had to be played out. So, armed with as much coffee as we've consumed in the last three days, the tournament marched on.

At the end, it was Julian Menendez heads up against Jonathan Monsalves. Menendez had been in this position recently. During the 2011 WCOOP, he final tabled Event #21, $215 No-Limit Hold'em. Despite coming into the final table second in chips, he finished in 8th place, earning $20,361 -- his biggest online payday ever. Now he can add a live tournament title to his poker resume.

Hometown pride being what it is, it's probably safe to say that most of the gallery was there to cheer on the five Colombians who made the final table -- and were rotting against Menendez in favor of Jonathan Monsalves. But at the end of a 14-hour day, it was Menendez who cradled the winner's trophy. Despite being Argentinian, you can be sure that the rail applauded his accomplishment all the same.

I said it on Day 1 and I'll repeat it now. In the weeks leading up to this event, almost every friend who I told that I was going to Colombia made some kind of quip about cocaine. In four days here, I learned that the country is about a lot more than cocaine. And even if it were only about coffee and poker, that'd be more than enough for me.

At long last, it came down to another flip for Julian Menendez and Jonathan Monsalves. Menendez limped the button for 150,000; Monsalves shoved all in with [as][5d] and Menendez called with [4s][4h]. This time around Monsalves missed the board completely, [6c][8h][2s][jc][10d]. Menendez stood up from the table, pumped both arms high in the air, and then reached over to shake hands with the vanquished Colombian. Colombia will have to try again next year to produce its first hometown champion in thiis event. After the record turnout here, the LAPT will most definitely be back.

For 2nd place, Monsalves (pictured below left) receives 105,490,000 pesos. Menendez (below right), who was the short stack when the six-handed deal was reached, earns 123,340,000.

We'll have an abbreviated recap of the long day on the blog shortly.

Level 31 begins (blinds 75000-150000, ante 20000, 2 players remain)

Jonathan Monsalves and Julian Menendez have opted to skip the scheduled break.

1:36am: Monsalves doubles up

Down to just 1.35 million, Jonathan Monsalves looked down at [qc][10h] in the big blind. His opponent, Julian Menendez, opened all in from the button. Menendez quickly called all in and found himself flipping against the [5d][5h] of Menendez. Monsalves didn't hit the flop, but he got the best flop he could have hoped for despite not hitting it: [jh][2h][9h]. He had the best flush draw, an open-ended straight draw, two overcards and the equity lead in the hand. He caught one of his 20 outs with the [qd] turn, then doubled up after the river fell the [ac].

1:18am: Jessica Bedoya eliminated in 3rd place

Julian Menendez has all the momentum now. He raised the small blind, then quickly called after big blind Jessica Bedoya moved all in for 1.1 million. Menendez tabled the best hand, [ac][10h]. Bedoya was drawing with [qs][9c]. She's had a charmed Day 3, so when she paired nines on the turn of an [ad][5h][jc][9d] board, the rail rose in anticipation, expecting her to spike the winning card on the river. It didn't happen. The river fell [2s], knocking Bedoya out in 3rd place. She received thunderous applause from the rail.

The tournament is now heads up. Menendez has approximately 8 million chips; Colombian hope Jonathan Monsalves has about 2 million.

1:08am: Victor Forero eliminated in 4th place

Colombia's hopes now rest on the slim shoulders of Jonathan Monsalves after the elimination of Victor Forero in 4th place. Forero, sitting in the small blind, called a pre-flop raise to 275,000 by button player Julian Menendez. Forero check-called another 200,000 on a flop of [ks][6s][6h], then check-raised all in for 1.3 million after Menendez bet 300,000 on the [tc] turn. Menendez snap called with trip sixes, [6c][4s], leaving Forero and his [th][7d] drawing at two outs. The river [ad] was not one of them, knocking Forero out in 4th place. He earns 136,025,000.

12:58am: Alexis Gomez eliminated in 5th place

Down to 785,000, Alexis Gomez open-shoved his button with [ad][9h]. Jonathan Monsalves woked up with [as][qd] and made an easy call. The [3d][3h][5d] flop put the spectre of a chop out there, but Monsalves prevailed after a turn [6c] and river [qc].

Per the details of the deal, Gomez earns 102,314,000 pesos for his performance in this event.

12:51am: Level 30 begins (blinds 60000-120000, ante 15000, 5 players remain)

12:47am: Surprising lack of action

Yes, 28 million pesos is still a decent chunk of change. But with all the rest of the prize money locked up you'd think the remaining 5 players would loosen up. That hasn't been the case at all. Victor Forero opened a recent pot to 210,000 pre-flop and was called by Julian Menendez out of the big blind. Both players checked a flop of [5s][6s][7s]. On the turn [10h] Menendez led for 150,000 and Forero called. The river was the [ah] and brought a bet of 350,000 from Menendez. Forero called with [as][kh], a pair of aces, but was second best to Menendez's two pair, [ac][7h].

12:31am: Monsalves doubles with kings

Jonathan Monsalves threw himself into his adoring rail after doubling up with pocket kings, courtesy of Julian Menendez. Menendez opened to 200,000, then shoved after Monsalves three-bet to 450,000.Monsalves snap-called and showed [kd][kh]; he was up against [qh][10h]. Menendez flopped a ten but didn't improve from there.

The search for a winner goes on.

12:18am: Stuart McDonald eliminated in 6th place

The very next hand, Stuart McDonald shoved for 900,000. Julian Menendez re-shoved to isolate McDonald with [ad][8h]. McDonald showed [as][6s] and completely whiffed on a board of [qh][jd][4d][7h][ks]. His day is finally over, although he walks away with the lion's share of the six-way chop -- 166,341,000 pesos.

12:15am: Forero's turn

Stuart McDonald seems to be the only player who's happy to shove, shove, shove now that the deal is done. He opened from late position to 280,000 and was called by Victor Forero out of the blinds. Forero checked the king-high flop, [5c][ks][7d], then called all in for 1,305,000 after McDonald shoved. McDonald showed down lots of creativity but not much else with [3h][6s]. Forero had top pair, [kc][9h], which held up.

Forero now has 3.33 million. McDonald is down to about 900,000.

12:05am: Gomez doubles through McDonald

With a deal in place, we're hoping the players see fit to start getting the chips in a little lighter. But they would have been in regardless in a hand between Alexis Gomez and Stuart McDonald. Gomez open-shoved the small blind for 855,000. McDonald snap-called with [ad][qh] and found himself dominated against [as][ks]. Both players missed the board, [8h][2d][3c][6d][5h]. Gomez's unimproved ace-king took down the double-up.

11:58pm: Modified payouts

As you might have guessed, the extended break occurred because the players were discussing a chop. With the big stack having only 26 big blinds, and the average stack having 16.7, a chop seemed like a good idea. The negotiations weren't easy, but in the end this is how the final six players modified the payouts:

Stuart McDonald: 166,341,000 pesos
Victor Forero: 136,025,000
Jessica Bedoya: 129,040,000
Jonathan Monsalves: 105,490,000
Alexis Gomez: 102,314,000
Julian Menendez: 95,540,000

The winner will receive an additional 28,000,000 pesos.

11:51pm: Level 29 begins (blinds 50000-100000, ante 10000)

After a very long break, play has finally resumed. 6 players remain.

The remaining six players are on a fifteen-minute break. When they return, updates will be in a new post.

10:49pm: Rafael Pardo eliminated in 7th place

It was inevitable that some of these flips were going to start going the bigger stack's way. Alexis Gomez (pictured below) opened pre-flop to 190,000. Action passed to Rafael Pardo in the big blind, who shoved for 435,000 total. Gomez called with [ad][9h], Pardo showed [5s][5c], and the race was on. An ace on the flop was all Gomez needed, [ac][6s][10s][6h][8c]. He collected the scalp and sent Pardo to the rail in 7th place.

10:31pm: Forero out-kicks McDonald

In the time since the internet came back, it went out again. We also had yet another double-up, as Stuart McDonald opened pre-flop to 160,000, then called the shove of Victor Forero for 965,000. McDonald's [ad][qh] was dominated by Forero's [ac][kh] and did not improve to the winner on a board of [10h][9s][3s][10s][8c].

That hit drops McDonald back to about 1.3 million.

10:14pm: And we're back!

After an outage of 75 minutes, the internet is back in the tournament room. Catch up with what you missed by reading below.

10:04pm: Jonathan Markovitz eliminated in 8th place

Finally! If we had internet right now we'd go back and find out how many hours ago John Joira busted out in 9th place. But we don't, so instead we'll tell you that Jonathan Markovitz shoved his button for 610,000 and was met with a re-shove by small blind Stuart McDonald. McDonald tabled the best hand with [kd][kc] against Markovitz's [jh][8h]. No luck for Markovitz this time around as he was drawing dead by the turn, [qs][6h][6c][6d][7c].

Seven players remain. McDonald is up to about 2.1 million in chips.

9:59pm: Level 28 begins (blinds 40000-80000, ante 10000, 8 players remain)

This is the level.

9:48pm: Raise it, re-raise it and take it

We've gone 20 minutes without a flop now. One raise, or a raise and a re-raise, is enough to take the pot. The average stack is currently 1.26 million, which is 21 big blinds. It will be going down to about 16 big blinds with the next blind increase in ten minutes. Something is going to have to give at some point.

9:29pm: Menendez doubles with aces

We may never see another bustout at this final table again. After Rafael Pardo opened in early position to 155,000, Stuart McDonald put in a three-bet to 365,000. Julian Menendez, sitting in the small blind, shoved for 760,000 total, eliciting a quick fold from Pardo.

McDonald wasted no time in calling, even though he was certain he had to be behind in the hand. He was; his [ks][jc] was up against Menendez's pocket aces, [ah][as]. Menendez flopped a set, [as][7d][10c], then filled up with the [10h] turn to cinch the hand. He increased his count to 1,815,000. McDOnald is back down to 1,210,000.

9:22pm: Queens work out this time for Markovitz

For the second time in five minutes, Jonathan Markovitz moved all in with pocket queens. His all in this time, for 235,000 chips, was called by Victor Forero, who had opened from middle position for 130,000. Forero showed [kd][qh], but missed the board completely, [jc][4h][js][9h][9c]. He slipped to 875,000, while Markovitz improved to about 640,000.

9:17pm: Jessica Bedoya is blessed

Sometimes some people are just destined to win certain poker tournaments, no matter what their opponents do. Jessica Bedoya might be so blessed today. She opened her button to 175,000, then was faced with a decision when big blind Jonathan Markovitz moved all in for about 800,000. With 325,000 left behind, Bedoya made her stand and showed down [ad][7c]. Markowitz tabled [qh][qc]. But Bedoya could be blessed, as the flop came in her favor once again, [ah][7h][7s], giving her a full house. The [7d] on the turn improved Bedoya to quads and gave her a lock.

Markovitz is down to 300,000, while Bedoya is up to 1.1 million.

9:00pm: Level 27 begins (blinds 30000-60000, ante 10000, 8 players remain

7:42pm: Dinner time

We've reached the end of Level 26. The remaining 8 players are on a 75-minute break for dinner.

The chip counts when we come back will be:

Seat 2: Stuart McDonald (1,075,000)
Seat 3: Jonathan Monsalves (1,100,000)
Seat 4: Julian Menendez (705,000)
Seat 5: Victor Ferero (1,720,000)
Seat 6: Rafael Pardo (2,185,000)
Seat 7: Jessica Bedoya (655,000)
Seat 8: Alexis Gomez (1,745,000)
Seat 9: Jonathan Markovitz (845,000)

7:30pm: McDonald's turn to double

The double-ups are being passed around and around this final table here in Medellin, Colombia. Stuart McDonald (victim of doubling up several opponents earlier) moved all in from late position for 375,000 with [kh][9d]. Victor Forero called from the small blind with [ah][jd]. It was a complete turnabout for McDonald, as this time he was the player behind -- and the one who paired on the river, [5h][4d][3h][6d][9h]. He's bac up to about 800,000.

7:10pm: Bedoya on the rise

Jessica Bedoya -- who was down to four big blinds moments ago -- has the tiniest bit of momentum after doubling up a second time. She open-shoved [kc][qd] from early position for 405,000. Action passed to Julian Menendez in the big blind. He squeezed out [jc][jd] and quickly called as the slight favorite in the hand. Bedoya smashed the flop, [qs][10s][qc]. Her trip queens held through the river, giving her 875,000 in chips and dropping Menendez to 390,000.

7:05pm: McDonald doubles up another opponent

Poor Stuart McDonald can't catch a break. He keeps trying to take out opponents and keeps on doubling them up. The latest beneficiary of McDonald's bad luck is Rafael Pardo, who open-shoved [kh][qd] for 445,000. McDonald was in the big blind with [ah][jd] and called. McDonald's edge held on the [7h][8d][10c] and [10d]. "Come on!" he pleaded. "One ****ing time!" But McDonald's one time wasn't this time; the river came [qh] to pair Pardo and give him a million-chip pot.

6:56pm: Bedoya hanging on

Jessica Bedoya does not want to "go gently into that good night". SItting in the big blind, she moved all in for 195,000 total after Julian Menendez opened to 130,000. Menendez quickly called with [as][10h]; Bedoya was drawing live with [qh][7c]. Bedoya paired 7s on the flop, [7s][3c][9h], then closed her eyes the dealer burned and turn two blanks, [kd] and [5c]. With the 455,000-chip pot securely in hand, Bedoya ran over to her rail to be congratulated.

Get your introduction to the final table from PokerStars.tv, with Aussie Stuart McDonald:

6:48pm: Menendez doubles through McDonald

Stuart McDonald saw an opportunity to take out an opponent and he went for it. When action passed to McDonald on the button, he raised to 100,000. Big blind Julian Menendez responded with a three-bet shove to 355,000. McDonald quickly called with [kh][4c], a hand slightly behind Menendez's [ad][7h]. Neither player connected with a board that rolled out [2s][jh][10s][8c][jc], allowing Menendez to claim the pot with ace-high.

6:43pm: Level 26 begins (blinds 25000-50000, ante 5000, 8 players remain)

Players will go on dinner break at the end of this level.

6:42pm: Ferero's turn bet does the job

Victor Ferero started the action with a raise to 80,000 pre-flop that was called by Rafael Pardo (in position) and Stuart McDonald (big blind). McDonald and Ferero both checked the king-high flop, [10h][8s][ks]. Pardo took a stab with a bet of 155,000 that folded McDonald. Ferero, however called to the [10c] turn and then led into Pardo for 200,000. Pardo quickly surrendered.

6:24pm: Monsalves getting greedy?

From late position, Alexis Gomez opened to 100,000. Action passed to chip leader Jonathan Monsalves in the big blind. He called to an all-club flop, [2c][9c][ac]. Both players checked. The turn brought a fourth club, [4c]. Monsalves tried a bet of 150,000 but snap-mucked after Gomez raised to 400,000.

6:17pm: No call for Bedoya

If Jessica Bedoya wants to stay long at this final table, she's going to need a double up soon. She tried shoving her 355,000 chips in from the big blind against Julian Menendez's late-position open-raise to 90,000. Menendez declined the invitation.

6:06pm: John Jairo eliminated in 9th place (COP 23,186,000)

John Jairo came into the final table in 8th chip position. After Alexis Gomez opened from middle position for 100,000, Jairo squeezed out his two cards in the cutoff: [ad][jc]. He moved all in, folding everyone back to Gomez. Gomez snap-called with [ac][ah] and never had to sweat it -- [4d][kc][6h][8d][5c]. Bad luck for Jairo; he's out in 9th place but will walk with more than 23 million pesos.

5:55pm: Play resumes

After some very theatrical introductions of the final table players (flashing lights! dramatic music!), cards are back in the air. There are 50 minutes left in the level.

5:20pm: Final table seat draw and chip counts

Our nine final table players consist of five Colombians, two Ecuadorians, an Argentian and an Australian:

Seat 1: John Jairo (415,000)
Seat 2: Stuart McDonald (1,235,000)
Seat 3: Jonathan Monsalves (2,495,000)
Seat 4: Julian Menendez (735,000)
Seat 5: Victor Forero (2,045,000)
Seat 6: Rafael Pardo (660,000)
Seat 7: Jessica Bedoya (290,000)
Seat 8: Alexis Gomez (910,000)
Seat 9: Jonathan Markovitz (1,150,000)

Play has not yet resumed. We'll let you know when it does.

5:05pm: Final table is reached!

Simultaneous eliminations on each of the remaining two tables means we're down to our final table of nine players. First, on Table 1, Gilberto Castillo opened pre-flop to 100,000. VIctor Forero called on the button to a flop of [as][9h][6d]. Castillo checked, then called a bet of 125,000 from Forero. When the turn came [5d], Castillo moved all in for his last 350,000. Forero quickly said, "I call," and tabled [ac][qh], a pair of aces. He was the dominant favorite over Castillo's [7d][7c]. WIth only six outs in the deck, Castillo was already standing up and collecting his belongings as the river fell an unhelpful [10c]. He finished in 11th place.

Just moments later, Julian Menendez opened a pot to 80,000 on Table 2. Carlos Ponce, sitting with the button, shoved all in for 650,000. Action passed to Jonathan Monsalves, who re-shoved his whole stack of 1.6 million. Menendez quickly folded, allowing everyone in the room to see what a cooler had developed -- Ponce had [kc][kh], but Monsalves had [as][ah]! Aces held this time, [4h][5s][10h][4d][8c], knocking Ponce out in 10th and allowing the tournament to (at long last) collapse to its final table.

Monsalves will bring the big stack to the final table. Updated counts, and the draw, will be coming shortly.

4:54pm: Level 25 begins (blinds 20000-40000, ante 5000, 11 players remain)

Cards are back in the air. Victor Forero is the current leader with 1,625,000, trailed closely by Jonathan Monsalves (1,570,000).

A rare three-way pot developed on Table 1. Victor Forero started things with a raise to 60,000 under the gun. Jonathan Markovitz (cutoff) and David Garcia (big blind) both called. Garcia checked a flop of [jd][jc][6d] and Forero made his continuation bet of 75,000. Markovitz called, prompting Garcia to check-raise all in for about 630,000. Forero called that check-raise, creating a big showdown after Markovitz folded.

Forero tabled the [js][10s] for trip jacks; Garcia's [kd][9d] draw was not as big as he had hoped. The turn came a diamond, but it was the [10d] , giving Forero a full house and leaving Garcia with one out to a straight flush. The river [3d] was not the straight flush card. Garcia is out in 12th place.

The players are on their next scheduled break. When play resumes, updates will be in a new post.

4:25pm: Marta Ramirez eliminated in 13th place

Stuart McDonald was in a tough spot. After Julian Menendez opened to 75,000 pre-flop, McDonald three-bet his button to 165,000. The small blind folded, but big blind Marta Ramirez then shoved for 400,000 total. Menendez quickly folded, but McDonald was clearly unhappy about his spot.

After two minutes Jonathan Monsalvez called for a clock. McDonald was annoyed and asked TD Mike Ward whether people could call a clock whenever they wanted.

"Within reason," Ward replied.

McDonald turned to Monsalves and said "I'm going to call a clock on you every time." But before much more time could expire, he did call -- with [10s][6s]. It turned out he was flipping against Ramirez's [4s][4d]. McDonald flexed when he paired tens on the flop, [kh][10h][7c]. Those tens held through the river, [jh] and [kc], to send Ramirez to the rail. She did not seem amused.

4:12pm: River salvation for Bedoya

My word. We seemed destined to lose one of our last two women after a spot developed between Marta Ramirez and Jessica Bedoya. Stuart McDonald opened the pot to 60,000 pre-flop before Ramirez three-bet the button to 120,000. Bedoya, sitting in the big blind, looked pained, as if she couldn't decide whether to shove or not. She finally shoved for about 225,000. McDonald quickly folded and Ramirez quickly called.

Bedoya was in the lead with [9d][9h] as her contingent of supporters began shouting for a nine. McDonald tried to ease Bedoya's nerves by telling her that he folded one of the aces. So of course the board came [ac][qh][kc], giving Ramirez two pair and the lead. Bedoya's rail was vociferously pleading for a nine that didn't fall on the [5c] turn... but did spike on the [9s] river. Bedoya's rail erupted, and even she gave a shout of joy as she jumped up and down in delight. Ramirez was stone faced and gave only a slight shake of her head before counting out the double-up.

3:54pm: Luis Vayas eliminated in 14th place

It's a sad state of affairs when you move in with [10h][4s] and get called by [kd][kh]. That's exactly what happened to Luis Vayas, who found himself drawing thin against Jonathan Monsalves. Vayas refused to be grim about the situation, whistling the whole time as the dealer burned and turned each street. Vayas improved a pair of tens on the [8c][6h][10d], but that's where it ended for him. The [6d] turn and [qh] river ensured that Monsalves would collect the pot and Vayas (pictured below) would become the 14th-place finisher.

3:50pm: Joira's rail ecstatic

John Joira's rail is almost certainly the loudest rail in the room. They were whooping, hollering and mobbing their boy after he doubled up on a flip with [ks][qs] against David Garcia's pocket nines. A flop of [10s][6c][ad] gave Joira any face card in the deck to win the pot and double up to 600,000. He made the stone cold nuts on the turn with the [jh].

3:42pm: Francisco Corvalan eliminated in 15th place

Well that didn't take long. Almost as soon as the players were back in their seats, Francisco Corvalan and Rafael Pardo were dusting it up. Corvalan was trying to extend his tournament by doubling up with [jd][jh]; Pardo was trying to end Corvalan with [as][qh]. Corvalan's knees buckled with a queen in the window, [3d][10h][qs]. He hit the rail shortly after the [6d] turn and [kd] river.

3:38pm: Level 24 begins (blinds 15000-30000, ante 5000, 15 players remain)

And we're back.

3:18pm: Short break

The players are on a short break so that the yellow (T1,000) chips can be colored up.

3:11pm: Corvalan getting short

Francisco Corvalan and Jonathan Markovitz both checked a flop of [8s][kc][6s]. When the turn came the [ah], Corvalan checked again. Markovitz, still the big stack in the room, bet 75,000 and was called.

The river fell the [2s], completing a potential spade flush. Corvalan checked one more time, then called a small-ish bet of 90,000 from Markovitz. Markovitz showed a turned two pair with [as][6h]. Corvalan threw his head back to stare at the ceiling in disbelief before open-mucking [ac][9d], a pair of aces.

3:02pm: Ponce pumped to win with top pair

Carlos Ponce has had a relatively quiet day so far today, but he betrayed a tiny bit of emotion after a recent hand against Julian Menendez. Menendez opened pre-flop to 60,000, with Ponce calling in position. Menendez check-called bets of 120,000 on the [6d][qd][8c] and [2h] turn. Both players checked the [4s] river. Ponce showed [kh][qc] at showdown, top pair, then smacked the table, pumped a fist and shouted, "Yes!" after Menendez mucked.

2:50pm: Sudol the next to go

American Jason Sudol -- who by the way, has an identical twin on the rail dressed exactly as he is dressed -- open-shoved for 312,000 from early position with [ad][jh]. Stuart McDonald was next to act and re-shoved behind him for 370,000 with [qs][qc]. Marta Rodriguez considered, just for a moment, getting in there with the boys but decided to fold instead. McDonald's queens held up, [5c][10d][6h][7h][js], retiring Jason to the rail where his twin brother and his Colombian girlfriend consoled him.

2:37pm: Cesar Mejia eliminated

With fifteen big blinds in his stack, Cesar Mejia was willing to take his chances with [6s][6h]. Unfortunately for Mejia, David Garcia had been dealt [10s][10d] and had a few chips to burn to try to take Mejia out. It was all over by the turn, [qd][3d][2d][ad], as Garcia made a diamond flush. With the [ah] river completing the board, Mejia left to some scattered applause as the 17th-place finisher.

David Garcia now has about 1.1 million chips, still short of the 1.6 million chips held by Jonathan Markovitz (pictured below).

2:28pm: Level 23 begins (blinds 12000-24000, ante 4000, 17 players remain)

The chip counts have all been updated and play has resumed. We're aiming to reach the final table before the dinner break.

2:13pm: Break

The remaining 17 players are on a 15-minute break. Fresh counts will be updated on the chip counts page during the break.

2:08pm: Solano off to the rail

Miguel Solano, hurting after his recent confrontation with Julian Menendez, moved all in pre-flop for his last 50,000 with [qs][10d]. Jhon Jairo called with [ad][10c], putting Solano in a very difficult position. He didn't escape that position, as the board rolled out [7s][7c][4d][6c][as]. Solano is the 18th place finisher.

1:56pm: Campo's draw doesn't come in

Julian Menendez (pictured below), so close to elimination a few moments ago, may now be the chip leader. He played a pot out of position against Simon Campo. The two got all the chips into the middle on a flop of [4h][2s][as]. Campo was drawing with [qs][7s], while Menendez showed down two pair, [ac][2d], aces and deuces. Campo watched with dismay as no third spade hit the board, [5d] and [2c], to send him to the rail in 19th place.

We're consolidating to two tables now.

1:50pm: Recent eliminations

It's been a flurry of activity here in the second half of Level 22. Immediately following the elimination of Andres Felipe Corrales Giraldo, three more people busted. Norberto Iglesias, Francisco Cortaza, and Carlos Augusto Perez Herrera all met their demises. Miguel Solano is also dangerously short, down to 50,000 after losing with [as][kh] all in pre-flop to Julian Menendez's [ks][js]. Menendez flopped two jacks to double up his stack to about 650,000.

Tables are currently being balanced.

1:39pm: Giraldo flips out to Rodriguez

Marta Rodriguez is flirting with a million in chips after taking out Andres Felipe Corrales Giraldo. Rodriguez was the first mover pre-flop, raising to 60,000. Giraldo, in the small blind, three-bet to 250,000 all in. Rodriguez gave it a few moments of thought before calling with [ac][ks]. Girlado showed [qd][qh], about as "classic" a flip as there is in hold'em.

Queens were boss through the turn, [qs][5s][9c][jc]. Stuart McDonald called for a ten as the dealer burned and turned... the [10h], to give Rodriguez a Broadway straight. Giraldo is out in 24th place.

1:22pm: Barros taken out by Ferero

Slowly but surely we're making progress towards the final table. In middle position, Ernesto Barros was dealt pocket 8s and shipped his last 10 big blinds into the middle. Victor Ferero found [jc][jh] in his pocket and made an easy call, then flopped a set [kc][5s][jd] to leave Barros practically dead. The [4c] on the turn sealed Barros' fate. He's out in 25th place.

Lynn Gilmartin pulled aside the lone American left in the field, Jason Sudol, just before play started about 90 minutes ago. Check out Sudol's thoughts on Day 3:

1:13pm: Velandia's bluff ends his day

On Table 1, the "tv table", four board cards were already out when Rafael Velandia (pictured below) moved all in for 238,000. Jonathan Markovitz stared at the [6h][4h][qs][3h] board, then made a thin call with [ac][jh], ace-high with a flush draw. He turned out to be in the lead, as Velandia showed down king-high with no draw, [kd][jd]. The river [6d] couldn't save Velandia. He's out in 26th place.

1:06pm: Level 22 begins (blinds 10000-20000, ante 3000, 26 players remain)

1:03pm: Rodriguez takes bite out of McDonald; Pardo triples

Marta Rodriguez is one of the few players who has been very active to start Day 3. On Table 2, we found her involved in a sizable pot with the start-of-day chip leader, Stuart McDonald. With well more than 300,000 already in the pot, Rodriguez bet 145,000 on a board of [6c][qd][5c][7h][2c]. McDonald tanked long enough for a clock to be called, then folded. Rodriguez showed [qc][8c] for a flush as she climbed to about 800,000.

On Table 3, Rafael Pardo open-shoved pre-flop for 106,000 and was called by Francisco Corvalan and Julian Menendez. They both checked all the way down on a board of [3s][5h][ah][6h][4d]. Menendez took the empty side pot with [10s][10c], but Corvalan took the main pot, and a triple up, with [as][9c], a pair of aces.

12:54pm: Players continue to avoid clashes

In three separate hands across five minutes, players avoided clashing for stacks. First, Gilberto Castillo opened pre-flop to 35,000, then folded to a three-bet shove from big blind Rafael Velandia. At Table 2, Marta Rodriguez opened for 50,000, then shoved over the top of a three-bet from Stuart McDonald, who snap-folded. And at Table 3, Simon Campo once again folded to a check-raise after betting 44,000 on a flop of [5d][4s][js].

Grab some coffee, folks.

12:42pm: Bertoli can't win second race against Jairo

Tullio Bertoli has been eliminated in 27th place. For the second time in 15 minutes, he found himself in a race against Jhon Jairo with a pair against Jairo's overcards. This time around Bertoli had the black sixes and Jairo had [ah][qs]. Bertoli got a great flop for his hand, [4c][5c][7s], but the turn [qc] paired Jairo and left Bertoli drawing on the river. The [4d] was not one of his outs. He is retired to the rail.

Now that the dam has burst with the eliminations of Azer and Bertoli, while the rest of the field start flinging the chips around more aggressively?

12:31pm: Azer finally shows, doubles, then busts

Roxana Azer was the last of our 28 players to take her seat -- a full thirty minutes late. She wasted no time getting her tiny stack of 33,000 into the middle. Action passed to Gilberto Castillo in the big blind, who called without looking. Azer tabled [ad][qh], a two-to-one favorite over Castillo's [8d][6s]. Castillo failed to connect with a [js][2c][10h][qs][4d] board, allowing Azer's pair of queens to collect the pot for a double-up to about 80,000.

While we were writing up the double-up, Azer stood up and walked away from Table 4. A pot was being pushed in Castillo's direction, so we assume that he took her out.

12:21pm: Parade of double-ups

Tournament staff thought that it would be fewer than 4 hands to find the first elimination of the day. Here we are 20 minutes later and we're still playing with 28 players. Tullio Bertoli just doubled up on a flip, all in for 125,000 pre-flop with pocket nines. Jhon Jairo tried to take him out with [as][kd], but Bertoli's nines held as his rail shouted for a nine on every street of [8c][2s][7s][8d][5c].

On Table 3, Miguel Solano led a [2s][9h][10d] flop. Simon Campo raised him to 100,000, which drew a three-bet shove for 193,000 total from Solano. With almost 400,000 in the pot, and needing to call only 93,000 more, Campo mucked his hand after about a minute of thought.

12:05pm Level 21 begins (blinds 8000-16000, ante 2000, 28 players remain)

Cards are in the air for the third and final day of the 2011 LAPT Colombian National Poker Championship.

And so, in their infinite wisdom, the tournament staff called a halt to the proceedings with 28 very tired players left in the field. They bagged up their chips and were sent back to their homes and hotels to rest up for the final push on Day 3. Aussie Stuart McDonald bagged up the most chips. His total of 754,000, however, is double the average stack of 360,000 and represents only 47 big blinds.

We're not sure how things are going to play out today. Normal tournament math and logic would dictate that we should make the final table in about 4 hours of play. But normal tournament math and logic have been thrown on their heads in this tournament. We never expected to see a big buy-in tournament with as forgiving a structure as this one that resulted in an average stack of 23 big blinds with three tables left. The players have been playing very, very tightly.

Regardless, we're here for the duration. As is one of the returning 28 players. Given the shallowness of the stacks, it could be any one of them. Time well tell.

Long days can create strange happenings in poker tournaments. If you set a line of 2.5 this morning for "number of top 5 chip stacks to start the day to make the money", we'd have happily booked a bet for the over -- and lost. Team Online player Freddy Torres, LAPT Sao Paulo final table player Leandro Csome and Chile's Osvaldo Colombo all failed to get any return on their tournament investment.

It was a mixed bag of a day for the Team PokerStars Pros also. Andre Akkari was stuck all day at about 35,000. That was workable when blinds were small to start the day, but less workable as time went on. He failed to cash.

Humberto Brenes, on the other hand, was cruising after turning a set of 9s against pocket kings (and then getting all the chips in the middle) but a badly timed bluff on the bubble of the tournament found Brenes hanging on to make it to the bottom rung of the pay ladder.

Overall Day 2 was a day without a chip leader. That's not to say that there was never one "biggest stack in the room", but rather that the biggest stack in the room never seemed to be more than about 60 big blinds. Typically in tournament poker the big stack is three times that size. Players that traded turns as "big stack" included Julian Menendez, Martin Romero, Nicolas Cottin, David Garcia, Alejandro Araya, Cesar Mejia, Jonathan Markovitz, Gilbert Castillo, and American Jason Sudol (pictured below). That's quite a few different chip leaders, even for a 10-level day.

Although the original plan was to play until only two tables remained, an extended bubble (well over an hour) forced tournament staff to improvise. With 28 players remaining at the end of Level 20, and the clock already showing 1:30am, they mercifully brought out the chip bags and called an end to Day 2. With so many shallow stacks, it took some time to sort out who had the honor of bagging the most chips. It went to Stuart McDonald of Australia (754,000, pictured below). He's followed by Alex Gomez (713,000) and local hope David Garcia (701,000).

Tomorrow the 28 survivors will return at noon local to play out the rest of the tournament. It promises to be an even longer day than today was. The stacks will be shallow to start -- an average of 365,000 won't go very far at blinds of 8,000 and 16,000 -- but that may only serve to encourage players to tighten up, thereby extending the tournament just a little longer.

We're not complaining though. As we explained this morning, tournament poker is an odd beast full of improbabilities. But there's always one certainty: at some point, someone will collect all of the chips.

Martin Romero put in a strong showing on Day 2, but as the stacks became shallower and shallower he lost most of his leverage. He eventually moved all in with pocket kings but was outdrawn by ace-queen.

And on the very last hand of the night, Stuart McDonald's [10h][6s] took care of short-stacked Alejandro Araya's [ah][7s] by rivering a straight, [2c][qh][kd][9s][jd].

WIth 28 players left, the chip bags are out. Players are done for Day 2. We'll figure out the overnight leader and summarize the day's events in a separate post shortly.

1:22am: Castillo doesn't call McDonald's shove

We joined a hand in progress between Gilbert Castillo and Stuart McDonald. Castillo checked the turn, [3d][js][6h][5h], then raised to 136,000 after McDonald bet 36,000. McDonald called to the river, which was the [qh]. Castillo checked again, inducing McDonald to move all in for 251,000. Castillo seemed pained, and leaned forward in his seat several times to eyeball McDonald's chips. He finally folded.

McDonald is up to about 600,000.

1:07am: Updated chip counts

David Garcia (pictured below) continues to lead the field, but his lead could hardly be called overwhelming.

David Garcia: 730,000
Gilbert Castillo: 600,000
Jonathan Markovits: 575,000
Julian Menendez: 535,000
Cesar Mejia: 450,000
Stuart McDonald: 445,000

12:57am: Markowits keeps pot small with top pair

The [6s][10d][4c] flop was already on board when we walked up to Jonathan Markowits' table. He was sitting in position and called a bet of 31,000. Markowits called another 41,000 on the [qs] turn and 60,000 on the [4h] river. As soon as he called the river bet, Markowits' opponent grimaced and shook his head. Markowits tabled a pair of tens, [ah][10s], to collect the pot and climb to 600,000.

12:42am: Carlos Borda eliminated

It came down to a flip for Carlos Borda. He moved all in for 36,000 with [9s][9d] and was called by Alejandro Araya, who tabled [ad][kd]. The dealer very slowly and deliberately spread the flop and found an ace hiding at the bottom of it, [10s][10h][ah]. Borda was gone after the [7s] turn and [6c] river.

We're down to 31 players, and rumor has it that we'll be ending Day 2 at the conclusion of this level, whether the tournament reaches two tables or not.

12:31am: Level 20 begins (blinds 6000-12000, ante 2000, 33 players remain)

12:23am: Triple up for Hermosilla

Most of the action is pre-flop at this point. After a raise to 25,000 that Alejandro Araya called, new chip leader David Garcia three-bet to 63,000. Marta Rodriguez Hermosilla (pictured below)had the button and moved all in for 123,000. The action passed back to the original raiser, who also moved all, for 178,000. Araya and Garcia both folded, taking the hand to showdown. Hermosilla's [10d][10s] was a dog to her opponent's [ad][ah], but four spades on a board of [as][2s][9s][7d][3s] bailed her out and gave her a triple up to 357,000.

12:13am: New chip leader

750,000 sounds like a lot of chips. Of course, for this stage of the tournament -- blinds of 5,000 and 10,000 with a 1,000-chip ante -- it's only 75 big blinds. But that's what qualifies for the chip lead here in Level 19 of the LAPT Colombian National Poker Championship. The man behind the stack is Colombian David Garcia.

12:02am: Forero doubles through Romero

Martin Romero saw the chance to finally create that big stack that this tournament has been lacking. After Victor Forero opened for 27,000, Romero three-bet to 87,000. Action passed back to Forero, who moved all in. Romero asked for a count (207,000), then called with [jd][js]. Forero showed [ac][kd] and the race was on. This round went to Forero, [5c][ad][10h][8h][4h]. Forero increased his count to 437,000, while Romero dropped back to 193,000.

On a different table, Juan Carlos Valencia moved his last 70,000 into the pot with [as][7h]. He was called by [ad][kh] and did not improve.

11:45pm: Recent eliminations

They're starting to fly out the door now. The follow players all received 3,567,000 Colombian Pesos:

46th: Andres Castro
47th: Luiz Andrade
48th: Juan Espana
49th: Christian Caldas
50th: Paul De Leon
51st: Andres Pinzon
52nd: Juan Botero
53rd: Humberto Brenes
54th: Ezio Fenocchio

11:30pm: Level 19 begins (blinds 5000-10000, ante 1000)

Play has resumed. We're trying to shrink the field to two tables before the night ends. While that happens, review the notable stories of the day with Lynn Gilmartin and PokerStars blogger Reinaldo Venegas.

There was one hand that played deep into the break. Gilberto Castillo of Colombia opened pre-flop for 22,000. The player two to Castillo's left three-bet to 70,000 before Nicolas Cottin moved all in on the button for more than 300,000. Castillo called all in and, after the third player folded, said to Cottin, "You know what I'm getting in this tournament -- only aces." He opened [ad][as] against Cottin's [ac][kc]. Cottin flopped a king but didn't further improve.

Cottin isn't out though. He still has about 100,000. Castillo (pictured below) is the new leader with roughly 575,000.

11:13pm: Break

It took a long time, but we finally reached the next break. Play will resume in 15 minutes and updates will be in a new post.

10:59pm: Two for the price of one

Jonathan Markowitz (pictured below) is contending for the chip lead again after knocking out two players in a three-way pre-flop all in. Markowitz had the best hand on the button, [10d][10h], and had to be pleased to see his opponents turn up the same hand -- ace-queen. The board ran out 8-J-J-K-6 to give Markowitz the double knockout. He's up to 520,000 in chips and is contending with American Jason Sudol for the chip lead.

10:41pm: Recent eliminations

The follower players have all been eliminated. Each received 3,567,000 Colombian Pesos:

55th: Sonia Bohorquez
56th: Antonio Salazar
57th: Andres Marquez
58th: Rafael Rodriguez
59th: Alex Puntoja
60th: Adolfo Plaza
61st: Maurizio Braga
62nd: Mauricio Cottin
63rd: Omar Rodriguez

10:27pm: Tonight's plan

With 51 players still left, it's probably worth going over the plan for the remainder of the night. Tournament Director Mike Ward has expressed a strong preference to play down to two tables, however long that takes. With the biggest stack in the room having only 63 big blinds, and the average stack sitting behind 25 big blinds, you might not think it would take that long. The problem is that, as a whole, the chips are evenly distributed (that's part of the reason the bubble took so long). Most players seem content to "sit back and wait" at this point, rather than drive the action. And since none of them is deep stacked, who can blame them?

Two more large stacks to add to the list at the top: Nicolas Cottin of Chile (400,000) and Gilbert Castillo of Colombia (380,000).

10:15pm: Level 18 begins (blinds 4000-8000, ante 1000, 54 players remain)

10:13pm: Hasta luego a Humberto Brenes

The last remaining Team PokerStars Pro, Humberto Brenes, is out of the tournament. Down to just 40,000 in chips, he moved all in from the small blind after action folded to him. The big blind called with [ah][4s], a slight favorite over Brenes' [10d][9c]. Brenes didn't collect with board and left the tournament area to some scattered applause.

10:05pm: Big stacks

The chip counts page is a bit of a mess right now, so while we try to clean it up take a look at some of the big stacks in the room:

Julian Menendez - 460,000
Jason Sudol - 440,000
Alejandro Araya - 400,000
Jonathan Markovits - 350,000
Stuart McDonald - 300,000
Martin Romero - 300,000

9:49pm: Added time

If it seems like we've been in Level 17 for a long time, it's because we have been. The clock was paused several times during the extended hand-for-hand bubble, and once the bubble burst the tournament staff added some time to the level. There are currently about 25 minutes left before the blinds go up and we begin Level 18.

59 players remain.

9:33pm: Finally! In the money!

The interminable bubble finally... terminated. In the center of the room, Cesar Quengua moved all with [qd][qh] and was called by a medium stack who turned up the dreaded [ad][3d]. Our unfortunate bubble boy, Mr. Quengua, was pleased with the [js][7d][6h] flop and the [8d] turn. When the [ah] ace from space hit the river, however, he reacted as if he'd been shot. Which, in some ways, he had been.

Quengua might have waited if he had known about Table 18, where three players sitting side by side had 8,000, 9,000 and 10,000 chips, respectively. They are all hugging each other as if they just got home from a war. Which, in some ways, they have.

Expect the players to start firing the chips into the middle with abandon now.

9:07pm: Brenes bluffs off half his stack

While we continue to wait for the bubble to burst, Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes decided to get frisky. In a battle of the blinds, he raised to 23,000 after the small blind limped in. That player called to an all-club flop, [6c][4c][10c], then led out for 18,000. Brenes called to see the [7d] hit the turn. The small blind bet the minimum, 6,000, and again Brenes called.

The river was the [10d]. The small blind checked, then snap-called a bet of 80,000. Brenes grinned a mischievous grin, as if to say, "Oops!", and showed a busted flush draw with [kd][qc]. His opponent tabled three tens, [qs][10s], to collect the pot.

Brenes now has only 80,000.

8:43pm: One step closer

We're on the stone bubble now after a player with 16,000 shoved from the cutoff with [ad][6s] and was called by the button's pocket 9s. It was a good sweat through the turn, [qs][10c][10h][js], but the river bricked out the [6c] to send the short stack packing.

64 players remain. The next player eliminated will burst the money bubble. The rail is packed three people deep. There are roughly 100 people sweating this bubble.

8:29pm: Hand for hand

Another elimination has pushed the field into hand-for-hand play. With 65 players left, things are going to slow down just a bit more. The short stacks will really be "turtling" now.

8:16pm: Andrade notches the first post-dinner elimination

From early position a short stack opened for 15,000. Luis Filipe Andrade moved all in for about 100,000, folding the action back around to the initial raiser. He called all in for 72,000 with the pre-flop nuts, [ac][ad]. Andrade showed down pocket jacks and took the lead in the hand by flopping a set, [6c][kd][jc]. The turn and river came [4d] and [5d], causing Andrade's opponent to pick up his cards, hold them up to the ceiling as if to say, "Why God?" and then fling them into the muck. He's out.

66 players remain.

8:10pm: Level 17 begins (blinds 3000-6000, ante 1000, 67 players remain)

And we're back. It's bubble time, with 67 players remaining and 63 being paid.

6:55pm: Dinner time

As expected, we did not get any eliminations in the last 15 minutes of the level. 67 players are going on a 75-minute dinner break. When we return, 4 of them will wind up very unhappy inside of an hour. See you then.

6:39pm: Dead stop

With very few short stacks (fewer than 10 big blinds) left in the field, play has come to a virtual halt with 67 players left in the field. It's a race against the dinner clock at this point, but it looks like we're not going to find four more eliminations before the end of the level in approximately 15 minutes.

6:18pm: A sampling of some of the big stacks

Jonathan Markovits - 380,000
Martin Romero - 300,000
Jason Sudol - 300,000
Humberto Brenes - 280,000
Stuart McDonald - 260,000
Cesar Mejia - 260,000
Angel Diaz - 250,000

With blinds at 2500 and 5000, nobody is truly out of the danger zone.

6:02pm: DA CHAAAARK! IT'S DA CHAAAAAAAAARK!

Look out, LAPT Colombia field. The lone remaining Team PokerStars Pro got his hands on some chips. Humberto Brenes raised pre-flop, then called a three-bet out of position. Brenes and his opponent were heads up to a flop of 4-8-10. Brenes checked and then called a small bet from his opponent. Brenes also checked the turn, which was a 9. His opponent responded by moving all in, a bet that Brenes snap called. He showed down pocket 9s for a turned set, the leading hand against his opponent's pocket kings. No king on the river. Brenes collected a scalp and increased his count to 270,000.

Lynn Gilmartin spoke with Brenes for her mid-day update about an hour ago:

5:55pm: Level 16 begins (blinds 2500-5000, ante 500, 75 players remain)

5:47pm: Closing in on the bubble

As of this writing, 77 players remain in the Main Event (and as we left the tournament floor, Angel Diaz was standing up and shouting again on the far wall). With 63 getting paid, and the stacks leveling out with no monster stacks beating the rest of the field into submission, players are starting to tighten up in preparation for the bubble. It'll be close to see if the bubble bursts before the dinner break or if a few unlucky players have to come back from dinner just to bust out empty-handed.

5:33pm: Disaster for Torres

We walked up to Freddy Torres' table just as the flop was coming down [3h][10h][3s]. There was about 80,000 in the pot; it was contested between Freddy Torres and Jonathan Markovits. Both players checked to the [9d] turn, where Torres bet 35,000. Markovits called, leaving himself 70,500 behind.

On the river [2h], Torres moved all in. Markovits quickly called all in himself, tabling [qs][qd]. Torres was on an ace-high bluff with [ad][jc] and rapped the felt, "good hand". He's down to about 55,000, while Markovits (below) is closing in on 300,000.

5:20pm: Gonzalez eliminated; Castro cleans up

Within moments of each other, Pablo Gonzalez was eliminated and Andres Castro took out a short stack on an adjoining table. Gonzalez made his stand all in pre-flop for about 40,000 with [ac][jd]. His opponent tabled [ah][qd] and won the battle of the kickers, [kh][kc][6c][8d][10d]. On Castro's table, the short stack's all in was for even less -- about 20,000 -- with [ad][7h]. Castro showed down [2d][2h] and flopped a set, [qh][2s][10d]. The turn and river bricked out.

5:06pm: Setup!

Within the first ten minutes of the new level, short-stacked Pablo Gonzalez moved all in. A player in the blinds called. Gonzalez turned up his hand, thinking he had [7c][7s]. Instead he realized he had been dealt [7s][7s]! A floor was called, who quickly ruled the entire hand a mis-deal. A new setup was brought to the table, and when we left the dealer was very carefully fanning the deck and checking each card.

4:55pm: Level 15 begins (blinds 2000-4000, ante 500, 96 players remain)

After an extended break to color up the black (T100) chips, play has resumed.

The extended break gave us a chance to get a good sweep of the room without any counts changing. It appears that Martin Romero continues to lead with 285,000. He's followed by five or six players with about 250,000, including Cesar Mejia and Angel Diaz. Amazingly, not a single player in the field has crested the 300,000-chip mark yet.

Players are on their second break of the day.

4:17pm: Sudol knocks out a shorty

There is one lone American remaining in the field -- Jason Sudol, an American currently living in Colombia. He's up to 150,000 after racing a short stack pre-flop with his pocket 7s against the short stack's [as][qh]. No luck for ace-queen this time around as the board stayed low, [2h][4d][9d][10s][9h].

4:01pm: Tight at the top

Add Angel Diaz to the ever-lengthening list of players competing for the title of chip leader. He took out a short stack who was all in pre-flop with [ac][jh]. Diaz tabled [ad][kh] and then, as he has done for two straight days, proceeded to shout up a storm as the board rolled out A-K-Q-8-9. Diaz is, without a doubt, the most exuberant player still in the field when he's involved in an all-in pot.

Adding those chips to his stack put Diaz at about 250,000. He's part of a logjam of roughly 10 of the remaining 106 players who are within spitting distance of chip leader Freddy Torres (260,000; pictured below).

3:47pm: Alvarado waves the white flag

George Alvarado is down to 130,000 after losing 50,000 chips in a hand that didn't go to showdown. On the turn of a [qh][10d][4c][10s] board, Alvarado bet 33,700 after his lone opponent checked. That player check-raised to about 90,000. We say "about" because before we could even count the raise, Alvarado snap-mucked.

That's been the story of the day for many in the field. As it went yesterday, it seems that nobody has been able to build a monster stack here today.

3:34pm: Gonzalez hanging on; Akkari falls

So far Pablo Gonzalez has avoided the fate that has befallen other Player of the Year contenders today. He's hanging on at about 65,000 in chips after recently taking down a heads-up pot. Gonzalez had the button and called a raise to 8,600. On a flop of [5h][4s][3s], Gonazlez' opponent check-folded to a bet of 8,000. Gonazlez showed [8h][8c].

On the Team Pro front, Andre Akkari seemed perpetually stuck at about 30,000 to 35,000 in chips for the last six hours of play. He finally got it in pre-flop with ace-jack and ran right into pocket queens. Akkari's opponent found a matching queen on the flop, leaving Akkari drawing dead after the turn fell.

Humberto Brenes is now the only remaining Team PokerStars Pro in the field.

3:21pm: Level 14 begins (blinds 1500-3000, ante 500)

3:14pm: Mejia tries to bluff the wrong guy

A three-way pot made it to the river, [4s][5d][10c][qc][6c]. Cesar Mejia was in position against both players in the blinds, who checked the action to him. With approximately 25,000 already in the pot, Mejia made a small bet of 8,500. The small blind tanked for more than a minute, then called. The big blind folded.

Mejia pointed to the small blind. The small blind pointed back. Neither player seemed to want to open his hand. Mejia must have finally indicated he had nothing, because the small blind showed down [6h][7s], a pair of 6s. "Do I win?" he asked. Mejia nodded and mucked, slipping to about 187,000 in chips.

2:59pm: Torres, Romero continue to lead

With blinds at 1200 and 2400, the average stack is about 35 big blinds -- and the biggest stacks in the room have only 100 big blinds. Freddy Torres (251,000) and Martin Romero (240,000, pictured below) continue to set the pace for the field, but it's certainly not a blazing pace. In a typical tournament we would definitely expect a few stacks to have more than 300,000 chips by this point of the tournament.

2:47pm: Csome busto

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, Leandro Csome ended Day 1b as the overnight chip leader with 149,000 chips, 93 big blinds to start Day 2. Today he didn't even make it out of the third level of the day. His stack started to nosedive almost from the beginning of play. The last we saw, he was down to 30,000, almost exclusively in black (T100) chips. We went in to the media room to write up a hand, and when we came back out Csome's seat was empty.

The Player of the Year contenders are not having a very good Day 2.

2:38pm: Valencia gets back to where he started

Juan Carlos Valencia was one of the few people position to make a good move at the start of Day 2. Unfortunately he spun his wheels backwards and entering Level 3 was below his starting count. That's all changed as he took out a short stack. On a queen-high flop, Valencia's opponent pushed with pocket 7s and Valencia called with pocket aces. Aces held up through the river to increase Valencia's count to about 140,000.

2:20pm: Level 13 begins (blinds 1200-2400, ante 400, 140 players remain)

2:05pm: Break time

Players are on their first 15-minut break of the day.

1:55pm: Ospina gets unlucky

Add Player of the Year contender Daniel Ospina to the ranks of the busto. After doubling up early, he lost a pot and was back down to roughly what he started with, 45,000. He opened pre-flop for 4,500. A player behind Ospina three-bet to 13,600, prompting Ospina to shove his whole stack in with [ad][ks]. Ospina's opponent called with [ac][qc]. The flop gave both players a sweat, [8c][4s][jc]. As soon as the third club hit the turn, [10c], and gave Ospina's opponent an unbeatable nut flush, Ospina spun on his heel and quickly strode away from the table.

1:45pm: Winners and losers

Current winners: Martin Romero. Romero started the day in third chip position with 143,800 and has done an excellent job adding to that total in the first two levels. He's currently rocking a stack of about 225,000 and seems in control of his table.

Current losers: Engelberth Varela. It took his table three hands to do it, but they finally knocked Varela out of the tournament. He was crippled by an all-in confrontation against an almost identical-sized stack, Varela's [ks][10s] failing to improve against his opponent's [as][qd]. The next hand, Varela moved all in from early position for 3,000 chips with [6c][7s] and was called by two players, both of whom showed down ace-king. Varela spiked a seven on the river to quadruple up to 12,000, but the following hand his [qh][10c] failed to improve against the small blinds pocket treys.

1:28pm: Colombo gets short end of three-way all in

Osvaldo Colombo started the day with 138,600 chips, then quickly moved up to contest for the chip lead. He started a recent hand with 225,000 and pocket jacks. He opened pre-flop from middle position. Jose Carlos Rodriguez then shoved his button for 9,700 and was met with a four-bet re-shove by the big blind for 54,700. Colombo got in there as well for a big pot. Rodriguez showed down [as][9s]; the big blind had [ac][ad]. But two spades on the flop and a third on the turn gave the main pot to Rodriguez. He moved to about 35,000. The big blind collected the side pot of 90,000 as his aces held against Colombo's jacks. And Colombo (pictured below) came back down to 170,000.

1:18pm: Bertoli doubles through Csome

A slow start to the day gets worse for Leandro Csome. He just doubled up Tullio Bertoli in a limped pot after Bertoli flopped trip sixes from the big blind with 10-6. Bertoli is up to about 67,000, while Csome falls back to about 120,000.

Team Online player, and start-of-the-day chip leader Freddy Torres spoke with PokerStars.tv just before play began. Take a look!

1:14pm: Kings not kind to Castro

A large part of tournament poker is getting your big hands to hold up at the right times. Andres Castro opened pre-flop with a standard raise from late position, then snap-called when the small blind moved all in for 22,700. Castro's red kings were trying to dodge a bullet, as the small blind showed down [ad][kc]. All clear on the [2d][3d][2h] flop. All clear on the [jc] turn. And then, of course, the ace from space with the [ah] river, much to the delight of the small blind and the disgust of Castro.

Castro is down to 85,000.

1:05pm: Level 12 begins (blinds 1000-2000, ante 300, 178 players remain)

12:56pm: Team Pro update

There are two Team PokerStars Pros that made it through to Day 2: Andre Akkari and Humberto Brenes. Akkari, after a crazy Day 1, is currently grinding a stack of about 35,000. With blinds soon up to 1,000 and 2,000, he's starting to get short.

Brenes started the day with about 50,000 and has worked that up to 65,000. His chips are joined on the table by a bottle of Coke Zero, a shark toy, and four packs of Extra brand gum.

Although he's not a Team Pro, the chip leader for Day 2, Freddy Torres, is a member of Team Online and deserves a mention too. His count hasn't changed much yet. He did just take down a small pot from Julian Menendez. Menendez bet 7,000 on a flop of [4h][3h][qs] and was called in position by Torres. Torres took the pot down with a bet of 11.000 on the [8h] turn as Menendez checked and then folded.

12:46pm: Csome slow out of the gate also

Leandro Csome has been carefully building an impressive chip tower to start the day. Unfortunately for him it's mostly built of black (T100) chips. Csome tried a three-bet ot 8,300 from the button in a recent hand, after the cutoff player opened to 3,500. That player called, then shoved a flop of [6c][5d][8c] for 36,000. Csome frowned, sighed, peeked at his cards and then helicoptered them into the muck. His opponent showed pocket 7s.

12:35pm: Setback for Ponce

Carlos Ponce started the day as one of a handful of players that could claim a six-figure stack. He can't make that claim any longer. He min-raised the small blind player from 12,000 to 24,000 on a board of [ac][7s][qd][3d]. The small blind called, then shoved the [4c] river for his last 11,800. Ponce called, then mucked when the small blind showed [ah][qh] for top two pair.

One other player at the table requested a ruling from the floor regarding whether or not Ponce should be forced to table his hand, given it was an all-in situation. The floor replied that Ponce was within his rights to muck without showing.

12:25pm: No action for Menendez

With an average stack to start the day of approximately 30 big blinds, it should not be surprising that tables are breaking quickly. Julian Menendez put himself at risk on a three-way flop of [9d][6c][10c]. Playing from the small blind, he checked to the big blind, who bet 12,000. Luis Yepez called in early position before Menendez moved all in for about 80,000. The big blind passed, putting the decision back to Yepez. He tanked for roughly a minute before folding.

Menendez and Yepez are both in the minority today, as neither is from the host country Colombia. 122 of the 205 Day 2 starters call Colombia their home.

12:16pm: The slaughter begins

"How many players did you tell me we started with?" a media colleague asked ten minutes into the level.

"205," I replied. "Doscientos cinco."

"So we've lost three already?"

At least that many. One of the fallen was at Daniel Ospina's table. On the very first hand of the day, they got 40,000 chips each into the middle pre-flop on a flip, Ospina's ace-jack against his opponent's pocket tens. An ace fell on the river to give Ospina the best hand and increase his count to about 95,000.

12:05pm: Level 11 begins (blinds 800-1600, ante 200, 205 players remain)

The 205 combined Day 1 survivors are in their seats and ready to go. Live updates will be brought to you today by Dave "F-Train" Behr (a writer of no renown), Carlos Monti (an extraordinary photographer), and Juan Valdez (a man with a donkey and a bag of coffee beans).

But the sun broke through the clouds this morning as we prepare for Day 2 of the 2011 PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour Colombian National Poker Championship. It no doubt matches the mood of the 205 players that advanced from the starting field of 681, hoping to be one of 63 players that will be paid at this event. First place is north of 288 million Colombian pesos. That may seem like more than it is, but it's still a very healthy USD 160,000, give or take a few thousand depending on the day and the value of a dollar against a peso.

The Day 1a and Day 1b overnight chip leaders - PokerStars Team Online player Fredy Torres (207,000, pictured below) and LAPT Sao Paulo final table player Leandro Csome (149,000) - will start the day first and second in the counts, respectively. But it promises to be a long Day 2. The field of 205 needs to collapse to at least 18 players by the end of the night in order to stay on pace and conclude tomorrow.

We also have an interesting Player of the Year showdown potentially taking shape. All of the top five players in the Player of the Year race have advanced to Day 2 with average or above average stacks. With less than 300 points separating 1st place from 5th place, and only one more event on the Season 4 calendar, picking up points here in Medellin could be decisive in the race.

Of course, we won't find out how that story plays out until tomorrow. For now, we're downing double shots of espresso and trying to remember the subjunctive tense.

At the top: how improbable was it that the LAPT's first-ever foray into Colombia should produce the largest field in the LAPT's four-season history? Usually new tournament stops take time to grow into their potential. In Colombia, it seems, there was so much pent-up interest in and passion for poker that the country instantly became the LAPT's biggest success story. 330 players on Day 1a. 351 players on Day 1b. Each day completely sold out (21 alternates were squeezed in today). It was a great welcome for the LAPT in Colombia, and the return welcome for the players is a top prize worth 288,329,000 Colombian pesos.

The second improbability of Day 1b: there was never a truly big stack in the room until the very end of the day. The top stack of the Day 1b field hovered at about 100 big blinds from the middle stages of the day right up until the chip bags came out. In a field of 30 players, that wouldn't be surprising. In a field of 351 players, that's darn peculiar. The chip lead passed from player to player like a bad cold: David Posada, Julian Menendez, Pablo Martin Romo, Engelberth Varela, Polo Sisniega, Jorge Alvarado, Tony Ovalles and Cesar Mejia Medina all had the chip lead at one time or another. But none of those men were able to use their big stack to exert pressure on the rest of the table and thereby accumulate chips. The stacks were never big enough to do so.

That brought us to the third improbability (and one of the deepest buried ledes you'll ever see on this blog): Leandro "Peluca" Csome. Csome started the day strong and was steadily rising through the middle stages of the day. But a series of pots that slid the wrong way as we were getting close to the end of the day left Csome with just 10,000 chips. In the course of two levels, however, he went from one foot on the rail to the overnight chip lead.

Csome started by tripling up to 30,000 with a wheel against a set. He continued to accumulate from there until the killer blow -- he was dealt pocket aces against a medium stack's pocket kings. They got all the chips in on a queen-high flop, with Csome's aces holding up through the river. As the rest of the table tightened up with the end of the day in sight, Csome ramped up the pressure and bagged 149,000. He's followed by three Colombians: Cesar Mejia Medina (126,200); Juan Carlos Valencia (124,700); and Jorge Alvarado (113,500).

Peluca will be part of a combined field of roughly 200 players who will return tomorrow for what promises to be an incredibly long Day 2 of this event. The improbabilities will no doubt continue to pile up as this event moves closer to its conclusion and its champion.

Until then, you can find me at the bar.

What a comeback for Leandro Csome! Down to just 10,000 chips at one point, he came roaring back to claim the overnight chip lead with 149,000. We'll have a full recap of the day's events up on the blog soon.

11:44pm: The field sits back

With about 20 minutes to go in the night, it's clear that players are starting to sit on their chip stacks, content to bag up whatever they have and try again tomorrow. There is probably some room for the leaders to pile on some chips before we wrap things up here. Currently it appears that Leandro Csome continues to be the leader.

12 tables remain.

11:27pm: Who will bag the lead?

With 13 tables remaining in the field, we just completed a sweep, looking for big stacks. They're just not out there. Whereas yesterday, several people were competing for the title of overnight chip leader with 150,000, today the leaders are all in the 100,000 to 120,000 range -- barely 100 big blinds. Some of the contenders include:

Leandro Csome - 120,000
Cesar Mejia Medina - 115,000
Jorge ALvarado - 110,000
Julian Menendez - 102,000
Tony Ovalles - 100,000

Csome's comeback is perhaps the most remarkable. He was down to just 10,000 in chips a short while ago. But in a pot that he called a four-bet against a late-position player, they got it all in on a queen-high flop. Csome had pocket aces; his opponent had pocket kings. It was a total cooler of a hand, but that didn't stop Csome from collecting the chips and taking over the chip lead with 120,000.

11:19pm: Akkari down again

Poor Andre Akkari. His day has been rife with big wins and big losses. He found himself involved in another sizable pot playing out of the big blind against an under-the-gun raise to 3,100. ON a flop of [qd][jd][9s], Akkari check-raised a bet of 5,000 to 25,000. The raise covered Akkari's opponent, who called all in for 17,700 total. It was basically a flip, with Akkari showing down a pair and a straight draw, [jh][10d], against his opponent's pocket aces, [as][ad]. The turn and river were running nines, dropping Akkari to 23,000 once again.

11:14pm: Nightly Notables with Lynn Gilmartin

Lynn Gilmartin interviews yours truly about the notable stories of Day 1b:

11:05pm: Level 10 begins (blinds 600-1200, ante 200, 125 players remain)

Last night, there were 123 of 330 players left at the start of Level 10. Today, 125 of 351 players remain and the start of Level 10. This is the last level of the night.

10:59pm: Menendez cautious with Big Slick

Julian Menendez is flying high again after a rough few levels. He's back up to 110,000 after playing it safe with ace-king. He opened pre-flop to 3,500 over one limper, who called to a flop of [9d][10h][qc]. Both players checked there, checked the turn [kh] and checked the river [7d]. Menendez collected the pot by tabling [as][kd].

10:50pm: Peluca's stack turns into a yo-yo

Up, down. Up, down. Leandro "Peluca" Csome's stack is all over the map the last two levels. He was down as short as 10,000 before tripling back up to 30,000 in a hand in which he made a wheel against a set. More recently, he opened pre-flop from under the gun to 2,300 and was called by a player in middle position and the big blind. Csome's continuation bet of 3,100 on the [7c][qs][5d] flop was called by the player behind him. That prompted Csome (below, right) to check-fold to the same bet on the [2h] turn.

10:43pm: Colombian National Poker Championship -- biggest LAPT stop ever

It's official now. Tournament staff have confirmed the total size of the field in the LAPT Colombian National Poker Championship as 681 players. That means 21 alternates were squeezed into play today, creating a total Day 1b field of 351.

10:32pm: Alvarado blasts through 100k; Gonzalez takes out a short stack

All day we've been waiting for somebody to make a strong climb to the top of the counts. It's now Jorge Alvarado's turn to make us wonder if he's the one. Alvarado has quietly climbed to 120,000, the first player to clearly break through the 100k psychological barrier. His table is soon to break, however, so we'll see how that impacts him.

On the other side of the room, Pablo Gonzalez and one other player ganged up to send a short stack home. The short stack was all in pre-flop with [Ah][qs]; Gonzalez had [ks][qh] and the third player had pocket 10s. A king on the turn of a 3-8-7-K-8 board gave Gonzalez the pot and a boost to about 50,000 in chips.

10:16pm: Csome, given huge pot odds, folds

This is one of those hands where we wish we knew more of the story than we do. The river was already on board, [4c][2h][kd][ad][2c]. Leandro Csome was in middle position against one player, the big blind. With at least 25,000 in chips already in the middle, Csome's opponent made a suspiciously small bet of 3,000, giving Csome better than 9-to-1 to make the call. Csome tanked for about two minutes before quietly surrendering his cards.

On a different table, Engelberth Varela doubled up just before the break at the expense of Carlos Zapato. Varela has about 95,000 now, while Zapato is down to just 15,000.

10:05pm: Level 9 begins (blinds 500-1000, ante 100, 136 players remain)

There are two levels left in the night. A few players are flirting with 100,000 in chips but nobody out there has a monster stack.

Players are on their last 15-minute break of the day.

9:21pm: Table change!

The players at Table 12 have all requested a table change -- as in, they want a brand new table to play on. Their current table has developed a case of the wobbles. It shakes back and forth at the slightest movement from any of the players, as if it will collapse at any moment. With several alternate tables in the room to choose from, tournament staff have wisely decided to move Table 12 to one of those empty tables.

9:04pm: Posada the first to crack six figures

David Posada is coming on strong since the dinner break. From out of nowhere he's built his stack to more than 100,000, the first to do so. Pablo Martin Romo was flirting with 100,000 but was also playing lots of pots. That tendency caught up with him, causing him to drop back to about 80,000. He's joined there by Carlos Zapato.

8:50pm: Level 8 begins (blinds 400-800, ante 100, 165 players remain)

Yesterday we finished Day 1a with 101 players. After a busy Level 7 and with three hours still to play on Day 1b, we're already down to 165 players. "Under 100" is looking like a good bet right now.

We'll try to get some fresh counts with the start of the new level, but one name to add to the watch list is Colombian David Posada. Posada, with 78,000, is the only large stack at his table and seems to be in prime position to make a strong push through the end of the day.

8:34pm: We're down one Team Pro

Poor Leo Fernandez. He had a very, very quiet day, never really grinding his way above 20,000. Then, without any fanfare, poof! He was out. Nobody in the media saw his exit hand, but it was definitely within the last 10 minutes or so. Craps, anyone?

Fellow Team Pro Andre Akkari is still fighting, however. He's sitting behind 33,000 and enjoying a table massage from one of the local massage therapists.

8:20pm: Setback for Zapato

Before dinner we told you about Carlos Zapato, a Colombian player who grabbed the chip lead (such as it was). Since dinner his starting table broke and he now finds himself in the center of the room. He recently was part of a raised pot, out of position against one short-stacked player. Zapato checked a [jc][7h][2d] and induced a bet of 2,700 from his opponent. He then shoved all in; the opponent snap-called all in for 6,700 total. At the reveal, Zapato's [js][8s] was dominated by his opponent's [ad][jh]. Nothing changed by the river, knocking Zapato back to 63,000.

8:10pm: Romo flirting with 100k

We missed the pre-flop action, but it appeared to be raised to 1,600 and called three-ways by the big blind and the under-the-gun player, Pablo Martin Romo of Spain. They both checked to the third player in the hand, who moved all in for 6,100 on a flop of [8h][5s][10s]. The big blind folded but Romo, sitting behind a large stack, took a flyer with [3s][3c] and called. Romo's opponent shook his head grimly, tabling [kd][qh]. The [10d] on the turn gave him some more outs, but he was out after the river came a third ten, [10c].

Romo is the new chip leader, with about 95,000 in chips.

7:59pm: Gonzalez back in business

Leandro Csome, currently third in the Player of the Year race, was at the first table to break after dinner. By the luck of the draw, he was sent to the table at which sat Pablo Gonzalez -- the Player of the Year leader. The first hand that Csome was at the table, Gonzalez faced a tough decision. Sitting in the small blind, he led a [9d][4d][6s] flop. His opponent, on the button, moved all in for 17,700 more -- most of Gonzalez's stack. He tanked for a minute, then quickly threw his calling chips into the pot, almost as if they burned his hand. He was drawing with [qd][jd]; his opponent had the best hand with unimproved king-high, [ks][jh]. But Gonzalez hit his diamond flush immediately on the turn [2d].

The button player sat at the table, stunned. Then he slowly stood up, shook his head, and exited the tournament area. Gonzalez, meanwhile, now has about 42,000.

7:50pm: Level 7 begins (blinds 300-600, ante 100, 202 players remain)

6:35pm: Dinner time

The players are on a 75-minute dinner break. Play will resume at 7:50pm local time.

6:27pm: Akkari shows a meaningless card

Sitting in middle position, Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari opened the pot to 1,100. He was called only by the big blind. Both players checked the [ac][qc][as] flop. The turn fell another Broadway card, the [kh]. The big blind checked, then called a bet of 2,100 from Akkari, taking the two players to a [9h] river. The big blind checked a third street in a row. Akkari kept the pressure on with a bet of 5,100. His opponent ponder for a minute, then folded, allowing Akkari to collect the pot and increase his count to 44,000.

Akkari showed the [4h] as he stacked up his new chips.

6:12pm: Player of the Year update

The top five players in the LAPT Player of the Year race -- in order, Pablo Gonzalez, Daniel Ospina, Leandro Csome, Engelberth Varela and Luis Yepez -- are all here in Colombia for this event. Ospina played yesterday, finishing the day with a slightly below average stack of 49,000.

Of the remaining four contenders, Leandro Csome is in the pole position right now with a stack that he has built up to 50,000. Varela recently took a hit to drop to 26,000, while Yepez and Gonzalez have struggled to get out of the gate today. Each has approximately 20,000 and lots of work to do if they want to bag up any chips by the end of the day.

A final table here in Colombia from any one of the five would be enough to vault that player into the lead for Player of the Year. Gonzalez, pictured below, will not easily capture that award.

5:51pm: Where are the big stacks?

When you spend years covering poker tournaments, you see a lot of odd things. Who can forget the board straight flush at the final table of the LAPT Season 2 San Jose event -- a board straight flush that was beaten by eventual champion Ryan Fee's royal flush?

Still, in more than three years traveling all around the world covering tournament poker, I don't ever remember making it to Level 6 of a tournament without a few big stacks emerging. Here on Day 1b of the LAPT Colombian National Poker Championship, there are lots of middle to slightly-above-average stacks, but no monsters. I'm not sure if playing 10-handed slowed people down or if there's something in the water, but it's really bizarre.

Tables are starting move to 9-handed now, however, so perhaps the pace of play will pick up slightly and we'll start to see some leaders break away from the pack. If that doesn't happen, I might have to release the hounds.

5:35pm: Level 6 begins (blinds 200-400, ante 75, 250 players remain)

5:29pm: Zapato's strange call; Honeybone cruising

A three-handed flop at Carlos Zapato's table ended with a strange river call by Zapato and another pot added to his stack. Zapato led for 1,000 on the flop, [js][7c][10h], and was called by a player behind him before the small blind check-raised to 2,750. Zapato was the only caller to the [8c] turn. The small blind checked and called a bet of 2,400. On the river [2h], Zapato bet 3,150 out of turn. After getting clarification on his options from the dealer, the small blind bet the minimum 300. We're not sure if Zapato was forced to just call, but just call he did -- with the nuts, [qd][9h]. The small blind showed two pair [jd][7h], not enough to prevent Zapato from climbing to 72,000.

On the other side of the room, New Zealander James Honeybone brushed off a slow start. He's increased his count to 45,000.

5:13pm: Akkari snaps off a bluff

Deep runs in poker tournaments are also sometimes about snapping off bluffs (which, I suppose, falls under the "pots you win" category, but still). Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari opened a pot to 700 pre-flop and was called by both blinds. All three players checked an ace-high flop, [jd][ac][ks]. On the turn [3d], the big blind bet 1,200, with Akkari and the small blind both calling. The big blind fired again on the [js] river, this time for 2,500. Only Akkari called, tabling [ad][3s] for a pair of aces. The big blind flashed the [qd] and mucked.

For top pair, no kicker, it was a nice little pot for Akkari. He's up to about 49,000. His fellow Team Pro, Leo Fernandez (pictured below) continues to struggle to build any steam.

5:02pm: Menendez avoids a sticky spot

Sometimes making a deep run in poker tournaments is as much about the hands you fold as it is about the pots you win. Chip leader Julian Menendez found himself involved in a pot with heavy pre-flop action. One player limped under the gun; a middle position player raised to 950. Menendez called the 950, but was three-bet behind by the button to 3,500. Both blinds and the under-the-gun player folded.

The original raiser looked down at his stack of 11,450 total and then (with a bit of a hand shake) put it into the middle. Menendez pursed his lips. He glanced back at his cards one time, then eyeballed the button player's stack (about 20,000). He finally folded, and good thing. The button player called the all in with [10d][10h] and ran smack into [as][ah]. Aces held this time around on a board that likely missed Menendez's hand, [9d][4h][7h][2h][9c].

4:46pm: Zapato at the head of the class

We started Level 5 by getting a snapshot of the chip counts in the room. Colombian Carlos Zapato continues to lead for the home team with 65,000. He's trailed by Julian Menendez with 58,000. Andre Akkari has rebounded from his earlier brush with pocket aces to climb to 40,000.

4:35pm: Level 5 begins (blinds 150-300, ante 50, 270 players remain)

The players are back from their second 15-minute break of the day. We'll play two more levels before everyone gets 75 minutes for dinner.