Steve Frederick - 1st place

	TD Michael Cravatt and the winner!

And finally, this marathon final table is over. James moved in from the button and Steve called immediately with pocket Jacks. James had T7 of hearts and although two hearts flopped, he got no further help on the board of 6 2 A 6 4 and it was over.

	James Droke - 2nd place

Steve Frederick finished in 1st place, earning $60,178 and a gold WSOP Circuit Championship ring.

James Droke finished in 2nd place, earning $33,190.

Here are the payouts for the final table:

James had 12K of his last 25K in the big blind. Steve raised from the button and James called all in, showing pocket Jacks. He had Steve's J7 of spades dominated. The board came 4 9 9 Q 5 with one spade and James doubled up.

There have been no big showdowns, but Steve has been whittling away at James' stack, which is now down to only about 40K.

Play has resumed in Level 17 with 2K ante, 6K/12K blinds.

End of level and break time. Not much change: Steve has 219K and James has 159K.

Play has resumed, but these two are not going to make this quick or easy.

Players are taking a short break before beginning heads-up play. Steve has 212K and James has 166K.

	Brian Taylor - 3rd place

Brian moved in from the button and James called from the big blind. James' pocket 8s were ahead of Brian's A4 offsuit, and that lead increased when an 8 flopped: 8 7 K Q 4.

Brian Taylor finished in 3rd place, earning $18,236.

Close, but no elimination. Brian raised from the button and James moved all in from the big blind. Brian called and showed A9 of spades; James had 98 offsuit. The board came 3 6 7 T 4 with one spade and James made a straight to survive and double up.

Brian may have just dodged a bullet, or he may have folded a winner. On a flop with 3 diamonds, Brian bet and Steve moved all in. After some thought, Brian folded, showing the Ace of diamonds. Steve showed 97 of diamonds for the made flush. Too bad there's no rabbit cam or wonder cam here so we could see if Brian would have made a higher flush.

These three guys are determined. None of them is showing any signs of tiring or getting sloppy with their play. They are still playing solid poker, even after playing for 8 hours today. We haven't seen a river card in a while, unless it was between the blinds and checked down.

Level 16, 1K ante, 4K/8K blinds.

Enf of level. Players are on break.  Here are the chip counts:

	Chris Zurawski - 4th place

Steve raised to 20K on the button, then Chris moved all in from the small blind. Steve called and showed KJ of spades. Chris had pocket 8s and the lead, until a Jack flopped: J A 6 5 K and it was over for Chris.

Chris Zurawski finished in 4th place, earning $14,589.

James moved all in with KQ offsuit and was called by Chris with AT offsuit. Board came J 4 Q 4 7 giving James the double-through.

It seems like on every hand someone goes all in, either before the flop or on the flop. So far, no one has been called.

	Abraham Tannous - 5th place

Abe moved in under the gun and got called by James in the big blind. James' pocket tens were ahead of Abe's A7 offsuit and it stayed that way when the board came Q 4 3 Q 4.

Abraham Tannous finished in 5th place, earning $10,942.

Play has resumed. Level 15, Blinds are 3K/6K with 1K ante.

During this lull in the action, I've got to take a minute to say Hi to all the gang back home:

To all the folks I play poker with regularly: Larry, Don, Pete, Brenda, Jesse, Brandt, Jamey, Van, Thad, all 4 Daves, Carey, Rick aka JailBird, Paul, Ricky, Darrell, Cheesey, Darren, Charles, Aubrey, BC, Enid, Derek, Faisal, Donna, Tania, and any others I missed -- I'm sure you miss my money. I'll try to bring back some extra.

To Auntie Janet and Uncle Chester: I couldn't do this without you looking after my 4-legged and furry kids, Scarlett and Bandit. Can't thank you enough!

To my folks, Jo and Harley: Thanks for being who you are and letting me be who I am.

At the end of the level, the players opted for a 30 minute psuedo-dinner break, so play will resume about 8:30pm.

Here are the chip counts:

They have been playing 5 handed for over 4 hours.

Brian raised on the button and Steve moved all in from the small blind. Brian called and showed AQ off, which was in bad shape against Steve's pocket Aces. Board was Q 9 8 J 6 and Steve doubled up (56,000 was his all in amount).

James moved in under the gun and then Abe moved all in. Chris in the big blind lamented folding his AJ. James held A2 off and was trailing Abe's pocket Queens, until the board came A A K 4 8. James doubled up and Abe is left with about 33K. Chris had both players covered and would have eliminated both if he had called.

James raised and Brian moved all in, and James called, showing AQ offsuit. He was ahead of Brian's AJ offsuit, until a J hit the flop. No help for James and Brian doubles up (another 42,500). I have to admit I'm rooting for Brian since he's also from Georgia.

Chris raised to 12K under the gun, then Abe moved all in for another 12K. Chris called and showed QJ offsuit. Abe's AT of hearts was in the lead and that lead got bigger on the flop of 7 T A. An Ace on the turn gave him the lock with the full house and he doubles up.

There have been several all-ins since the resumption of play, but no calls yet, so they're still pushing chips around the table.

OK, we're back in business, even though I've got the laptop parked on a chair up against the wall. At least I have another chair for my derriere.

The clock has been paused to move our final table to make way for the 7pm tourney. The HOSE tournament took over the high limit area, so we've been on the main tournament floor today. Once we get moved and settled, play will resume.

Brian raised under the gun to 10,500. All folded to Abraham in the big blind. He decided to push all in, for another 19K. Brian called immediately and showed pocket 5s. Abe had A8 offsuit. Board came 8 6 3 A 3 giving Abe two bigger pair and the double up.

James raised to 14K and Abraham called from the button. On the flop of 4 9 2 with two diamonds, James moved all in for his last 25,500. After a few moments, Abraham called and showed pocket 8s. He was ahead of James' JT offsuit. Turn was an Ace; River was a crushing Jack, giving James the bigger pair and the suckout. Abraham is left with about 20K.

Abraham is under the gun on the next hand and moves all in, but gets no action.

Players are now resuming play after the break. Here are the chip counts:

Beginning level 14 with 500 ante, 2K/4K blinds.

On a flop of 5 6 7 rainbow, Chris checked, Brian bet 15K, and Chris moved all in. After some thought, Brian folded.

We've entered the Flop Free Zone: Raise, Fold, Fold, Fold, Fold...you get the idea. We haven't seen a flop for quite a while. 8 minutes 'til end of the level and a 20 minute break.

James just made quad Aces on the turn, but got no action.

Abe sends a shout out to Nancy and says "Love my Baby".  He just moved in again -- no call.

	James Jr. and Robin, James' wife

In another battle of the blinds, James moved all in from the small and Abraham called all in from the big. James showed T9 offsuit and was trailing Abe's AK offsuit, until the flop came: 9 6 6 . No help for Abe and James doubled up.

James' son (junior) and his wife, Robin, are the core of his rooting section on the rail.

Chris gets some of his chips back. Of a flop of 6 T 4, Steve and Chris get all in. Steve has 6 4 of clubs for two pair, but is behind Chris' pocket tens for a set. No help for Steve and Chris doubles up.

Battle of the blinds: On a board of 3 7 6 4 , Steve bet 10K and Chris moved all in. Steve called and showed J 9 for the flush; Chris had T 5 for the straight and gutshot straight-flush draw. River was 3 and Steve doubled through Chris, taking the chip lead, and leaving Chris with about 60,000.

On the next hand, Chris raised from the small blind and Jason moved all in from the big. After some consideration, Chris folded.

Early action in level 13: Steve moved in and Chris called immediately, but they both held AK offsuit and it was a split pot.

Abraham moved in again, but again got no takers.

Play has resumed in Level 13 with 500 ante, 1500/3000 blinds.

Players are still on their break - here are the chip counts:

End of level - players are on a break and they're coloring up the 100 chips, so I'll get chip counts when they are done.

	Erika Obst - 6th place

Battle of the blinds: Abraham limped, Erika completed the small blind, then Steve raised from the big blind. Abraham folded and Erika moved all in for another 25,100. Steve contemplated for a while, and eventually called. He was ahead with pocket 8s; Erika held A 4 . Board came 4 K 6 2 9 and Erika was done.

Erika Obst finished in 6th place, earning $9,118.

Pushing chips around the table...Abraham has moved in a couple of times, but got no takers.

James moved all in and after asking for a count (35,100) Erika called and showed A Q . James had pocket 6s. Board came 6 Q 7 4 3 and James' set of 6s was good for the double up.

	Stuart Hosen - 7th place

Stuart moved all in with KK only to run into the AA of Chris. No help on the board: J 8 9 3 T and Stuart was done.

Stuart Hosen finished in 7th place, earning $ 7,294.

	Jenny Kang - 8th place

Jenny moved her last chips in with K8 of hearts and was called by James with AK of clubs. The flop was a killer for her - 4 5 J, all clubs.

Jenny Kang finished in 8th place, earning $5,471.

	William Davis - 9th place

William has a good bit of his stack in for the big blind and called all in when Chris raised from the button. Chris' AK offsuit had William's AQ offsuit dominated. Then four hearts landed on the board and Chris held the Ace of hearts, so he took the pot and busted William.

William Davis finished in 9th place, earning $3,647.

Moving into level 12: ante 400, blinds 1K/2K.

There have been a couple of all-ins, but no calls - until now. James moved in and William called. James showed two red 8s and William had AK offsuit. The board came 6 T 7 T 3 and James doubled up. William was left with only about 4,000 chips.

Play has resumed at the final table. There are 21 minutes left in level 11 with 300 ante, 800/1,600 blinds.

This $1,000 NLHE event began yesterday at noon with 188 players. They played until 1:25am this morning before getting down to the final 9 players:

These folks will return at 2pm today to finish. The event paid 18 places; here are the payouts:

Meanwhile, they're still trying to get today's noon $5,000 H.O.S.E tournament started, but players keep coming in late to register and they keep adding tables and redrawing seats. It is definitely a star-studded event: Paul Darden, David Williams, Barry Greenstein, Carlos Mortensen, James Van Alstyne, Allen Kessler, Andy Bloch, Maureen and Bob Feduniak, Gavin Smith, Bill Edler, Scott Fischman, Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken, Mark Seif, Mike Matusow, Marcel Luske, Chad Brown, Kristy Gazes, Chip Jett, yesterday's Event #4 winner, Patrick Poels, Steve Zolotow, Ted Forrest, Eli Elezra, Layne Flack, David Levi, and Allen Cunningham, among others.

Of course the "Black Chip" mixed game is going again today up here in the high limit area with Eskimo Clark, Billy Baxter, and Sean Sheikhan, so I'm surrounded on all sides by the biggest names, and biggest egos, in poker today.