Rajendra (Raj) Patel - Winner!

Here are the complete resuts for this event:

	Paul Matteo - 2nd place

HUH12: Raj raised to 240K and Paul called. Flop was 3 K 5 . Paul bet 400K and Raj called. Turn was K and Paul again fired 400K, which Raj called. River was 7 . Paul checked, Raj moved all in, and Paul called, showing K 2 for trip Kings. Raj rolled over 6 4 for the straight on the river and it is OVER!

Rajendra (Raj) Patel finished in 1st place, earning $1,272,905 plus the $25,500 entry to the WPT Season 5 Championship later this month at Bellagio.

Paul Mattteo finished in 2nd place, earning $643,275.

Blinds are now 60K/120K with 15K antes.

Heads-Up Hand 4 (HUH4): Raj completed the small, then Paul raised 200K on top from the big. Raj called and the flop was 7 6 8 . Raj fired 400K and Paul folded.

As they begin heads-up play, here are the chip counts:

	Tony 'Bagels' Cavezza - 3rd place

Hand 65: Raj raised to 200K, then Tony kicked it to 1.5 million. Raj moved all in and Tony called immediately, showing pocket Aces. Raj was behind with A 8 , but the flop came 7 8 8 giving Raj trips. Tony was drawing to the case Ace, but it did not materialize. Last two cards were 6 3 .

Antonio (Tony) ‘Bagels’ Cavezza finished in 3rd place, earning $370,370.

There will be a short pause as they prepare and film the money presentation.

Chip counts:

	Fred Goldberg - 4th place

Hand 64: Raj called from the button, Paul completed the small, then Fred popped it to 330K from the big. Raj folded and Paul thought for about a minute, then called. Flop was 6 4 2 and Paul moved in immediately. Fred called quickly, showing two black Jacks. Paul held A 5 for the flush draw and gutshot. It was over quickly, as the turn was the T completing the flush. Fred was drawing dead (river was 6 ).

Fred Goldberg finished in 4th place, earning $223,918.

Hand 63: Fred raised to 220K and Tony called from the button. Flop was 9 4 6 and Fred checked. Tony said 'all-in' and Fred folded.

Hand 55: Fred called, Raj called,and Paul checked. Flop was 9 K 4. Raj checked, Paul fired 200K. Fred thought for about a minute, then folded, as did Raj.

There was a short pause for the cause and now they're back. Updated chip counts:

Hand 54: Fred raised to 220K from the button and Raj called from the big blind. Flop was 4 Q 5 rainbow. Raj checked, Fred bet 200K and Raj folded.

Latest chip counts:

Blinds are now 40K/80K with 10K antes.

Hand 47: Fred raised to 125K, Raj and Paul called from the blinds. Flop was K A 5 . Raj bet 250K and then Paul moved all in. Fred got out of the way and Raj called, showing J 7 for the flush-draw. Paul showed A J for top pair. Last two cards were 7 8 and Paul's pair held up, doubling him up.

	Seth Berger - 5th place

Hand 44: Raj limped, Fred raised to 225K from the small, and then Seth moved all in from the big. Raj came over the top all-in and Fred folded. Seth's A5 offsuit was in bad shape against Raj's pocket Aces, but the flop came 6 4 3 giving Seth the open-ended straight-draw, needing a 7 or 2. But the last 2 cards were 8 A and Seth was done.

Seth Berger finished in 5th place, earning $175,439.

Hand 42: Seth bumped it to 155K and Raj called from the small blind. Flop was K T J rainbow and both checked. Turn was another Ten and both checked. River was another Jack; Raj checked, Seth bet 300K, and Raj called, showing AJ for Jacks-full and Seth mucked his hand.

	Allen Kessler - 6th place

Hand 36: Paul and Seth limped, then Allen moved all in for 265 from the small blind. Paul called, Seth folded. Allen's AT off was ahead of Paul's A8 off. Board came 6 3 7 5 4 and Paul makes the straight to the 8 and sends Allen home.

Allen Kessler finished in 6th place, earning $136,452.

Hand 33: Tony raised to 150K and Paul moved in from the small blind for 125K. Fred folded the big blind. Paul held K3 off and Tony was ahead with AJ suited. Board came 4 2 7 T 3 and Paul caught the miracle river card to make a pair and double up to about 330K.

Hand 26: Fred raised to 150K and Raj moved all in. Fred counted out his chips (Raj had him well covered) and called. Fred's pocket Kings were way ahead of Raj's pocket 3s and he even had the same two suits as Raj. Board came 2 7 Q 4 J and Fred doubled up to about 2 million.

They took a short break to color up the orange 1,000 chips and blinds are now 25K/50K with 5K antes. Here are the current chip counts:

Hand 21: Seth, Tony, Raj and Paul called; Fred checked. Flop was 5 K J and all checked. Turn was a Queen and it was checked to Tony, who bet 130K. Fred was his only caller. River was another 5 and they checked it down. Tony showed AT for the Broadway straight and took the pot.

Hand 19: Paul, Allen, and Tony (small blind) call. Raj checked. Flop was 2 9 6 and all checked. Turn was another 2. Tony bet 90K and Raj called; the others folded. River was another 9 and both checked. Raj held T6 (sixes-up) but Tony held A2 for deuces-full and took the pot.

Hand 11: Tony called, Raj called, Seth completed the small and Allen checked. Flop was 3 A 6 rainbow and all checked. Turn was a 5 and Seth checked, Allen bet 90K, Tony folded, Raj called, and Seth folded. River was another Ace. Allen checked and Raj showed A4 offsuit for trip aces. Allen showed 54 (pair of 5s) and Raj took the pot.

Hand 12: Raj limped, Seth limped on the button, then Allen moved all in for ~260K from the big blind. All folded and Allen took the pot.

Hand 9: Seth opened for 92K and Raj called from the button. Seth checked in the dark befor the flop of T 5 2 . Raj bet 92K, Seth raised to 240K, and Raj called. Turn was the A and Seth lead with 230K. Raj made it 500K and after studying for about a minute, Seth folded. Raj showed pocket 7s.

Hand 4: Tony bumped it to 80K and Raj called from the cutoff. Flop was 3 A 9 and Tony fired 120K. Raj came over the top for 500K and after a few seconds, Tony surrendered.

On hand 3, Tony raised to 90K from the cutoff and Raj called from the button. Flop was 8 5 J and both checked. Turn was 5 . Tony checked, Raj bet 100K and Tony called. River was 4 and Tony announced "all-in". Raj asked for a count and it was 1.092 millions. After a couple of seconds, Raj folded and Tony dragged the first big pot.

Blinds 15K/30K with 3K antes. Cards are in the air.

Play will get underway shortly after 5pm today. Here's the final table lineup:

With more than a third of the total chips in play, Rajendra (Raj) Patel comes to the final table with a huge advantage.  Raj, from Rocky Hill, CT, is one of four locals that have made this final table and are hoping to bring home the championship and over $1.2 million.  Raj has some previous tournament cashes under his belt, but is still waiting for his first big win.  He showed how rocky he could be on day 4, so it will be interesting if he continues that tight play or if he loosens up now that he’s made the TV table.

Paul Mattteo, another local from Plainville, CT, will have his work cut out for him today.  He’s the senior player at this final table and he’s got a mountain of chips planted on his right.  Coming to the final table with only 570K in chips, he’s going to have to get busy early or risk losing his chips to the ever-growing blinds and antes.

Fred Goldberg of Hollywood, FL, is best known for his 10^th place finish at the 2006 WSOP Main Event, where he pocketed a cool $1.1 million, but missed that final table by just one slot.  He’s now got a shot at $1.2 million and a major title.  With just over a million chips, he’s got the ammunition he needs to challenge the chip leader.

Seth Berger of Malbern, PA, is another local looking to make a name for himself and take down that $1.2 million.  He’s second in chips coming to the final table with just over 1.5 million chips.

Allen Kessler is the last well-known pro in this tournament and he hails from Huntingdon Valley, PA, but says Las Vegas is his favorite place.  He’s got too many cashes to mention, including a final table last week here at Foxwoods.  He’s also got a World Poker Tour final table to his credit -- He finished 3^rd at the Season 4 WPT Invitational.  He’s the short-stack at today’s final table with only 444K, so he’s got a big hill to climb.

The final 6 is rounded out by Antonio (Tony) ‘Bagels’ Cavezza, another local.  He’s in the middle of the pack, chips-wise, so it will be interesting to see how he tackles this final table.

Kaelaine Minton Reporting

Kaelaine is one of the hardest working reporters on the tournament cicruit, and she can play poker, too!  She won the 2007 World Poker Open Media Tournament at the Goldstrike in Tunica, besting a field of 50 to win the event and the WPO gold bracelet!

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