Men 'the Master' Nguyen -Winner! - Photo credit IMPDI for the 2006 WSOP

Complete results for this event:

	Young Phan - 2nd place - Photo credit IMPDI for the 2006 WSOP

They got all the chips in pre-flop. Men held pocket 6s and Young held AT offsuit. Board came 3 J J 2 4 and that's it. Men wins!

Men 'the Master' Nguyen finished in 1st place, earning (officially) $238,756, the $10,000 seat to the 2007 WSOP Main Event with $1,000 travel money, and the gold and diamond WSOP Circuit Championship ring.

Young Phan finished in 2nd place, earning (officially) $125,273.

Young is a poker pro from Irvine, CA, with numerous cashes to his name, but no major titles.  Men truly is the master, with 6 WSOP bracelets and lifetime tournament earnings over $7 million.

On the turn with the board showing T 4 3 4, Young bet 200K and Men came over the top all-in for 240K. Young called the extra 40K showing pocket Jacks. Men rolled over 43 for the full house. River was a brick and Men doubled up to about a million chips.

Level 16: Blinds 8K/16K with 2K antes. Heads-up play has begun.

	Bryan Sapp - 3rd place - Photo credit IMPDI for the 2006 WSOP

Young called from the small blind and Bryan checked. On the flop of A J A , Young checked, Bryan bet 15K, and Young called. Turn was K and both checked. River was another King and Young bet 50K. Bryan moved all in for 109K on top. Young thought about it, asked the dealer to spread the pot so he could estimate the pot size, then finally decided to call, showing K6 for Kings full. Bryan said 'good call' and showed J5 (playing the board).

Bryan Sapp finished in 3rd place, earning (officially) $73,690.

Bryan is 25 years old, a college student and poker player from Louisville, Kentucky. He plays online as 'Squirrely1' and has quite impressive earnings of over $230K.

That's the end of level 15 and they're taking a break.

Bryan called from the small blind and Men raised 25K on top from the big. Bryan asked how much Men had left (about 250K) and moved all in. Men called almost immediately, showing K Q . Bryan was ahead with A 8 , but the flop was 3 7 T giving Men the flush draw. Turn was the Q , giving Men a pair and the lead, and leaving Bryan drawing slim to one of two non-heart Aces. River was 4 and Men doubled up to about 530K. After that pot, Bryan was left with about 245K.

Young limped and Bryan checked. Flop was 8 6 3. Young checked, Bryan bet 12K, Young raised to 36K, then Bryan made it 100K straight, which Young called. Turn was a Jack and both checked. River was a Queen and both checked. Young showed pocket 7s, but Bryan held 84 off for a pair of 8s and he took a big pot, challenging Young for the chip lead.

Bryan (big blind) and Men (button) each get 100K in pre-flop: Q K 6 rainbow. Bryan moved in immediately for 259K. Men went into the tank for a few minutes, then folded. With that pot, Bryan was up to about 470K.

Ok, cards are again flying. It looks like these guys have agreed to this: Young will get $182K, Men will get $125K, and Bryan will get $113K. They will play on for the remainder of the prize money, ($17,719: $10K to winner, $7K to 2nd) the WSOP seat, and the ring.  They also agreed to let Bryan sign for 3rd place money, no matter where he finishes (tax implications).

The clock has been paused for about 10 minutes now as the final three players are discussing a deal.

Here are the current chip counts:

	Tim McCarthy - 4th place - Photo credit IMPDI for the 2006 WSOP

On a flop of 7 Q J , Tim McCarthy got all the chips in against Young Phan. Young had the lead with pocket 5s, but Tim's A 6 had a lot of outs. The board paired with the Q on the turn, giving Tim even more outs, but the river was the T , a total brick, and Tim was busted.

Tim McCarthy finished in 4th place, earning $58,952.

Tim is an airline pilot who hails from the Chicago area.

	Dennis Anness - 5th place - Photo credit IMPDI for the 2006 WSOP

After Young opened for a raise, Dennis moved all in from the button and then Bryan moved in over the top from the big blind. Young folded and Dennis showed AK off. Bryan was in the lead with pocket Queens. Board came 9 Q A T A and Bryan's full boat took it down.

Dennis Anness finished in 5th place, earning $44,214.

Dennis is a 49-year-old father of three from Indianapolis. 

Level 15: Blinds 6K/12K with 2K antes. Play has resumed.

End of level 14 and they're taking 10. Here are the current chip counts:

Greg Raymer, 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion, has arrived an is watching the final table action. He is one of the poker pros that will be teaching the WSOP Academy here tomorrow. He offered to coach the players, but wanted a piece of their action. I don't think he got any takers.

Dennis raised to 23K and both blinds called. Flop was 3 2 7 and both blinds checked, then Dennis bet 30K. Men said 'All you can eat, Baby' from the small blind and moved his chips forward. Young and Dennis folded. Men showed pocket Queens.

Tim raised to 26K from the button and Men moved all in from the big blind. He had 177K on top of the raise and Tim had only 174K more. After a couple of minutes think-time, Tim said "you can have it this time, but next time I call". Men said "you show, I show" and Tim agreed, showing KJ offsuit. Men showed KQ off.

Men (big blind) and Dennis take a flop of 7 2 3 rainbow and both check. Turn was another 3 and Men bet 20K, Dennis raised to 40K, then Men raised to 80K. Dennis moved all in for another 31K on top. After a couple of seconds, Men mucked his hand.

Tim raised to 28K and Men asked how much he had left, (79K) then raised enough to put him all in. Tim called, showing A T . Men was ahead with pocket 9s, but the board came 2 T T 3 6 and Tim doubled up to over 200K with trip Tens.

Level 14: Blinds 4K/8K with 1K antes. Play has resumed.

Well, we're back and ready to go, but the players have not yet returned to the final table. So we wait.

End of level 13 and they are taking a dinner break until 7pm. Here are the current chip counts:

On the river with the board showing T 9 5 7 3, Dennis fired a third bullet at the pot. After thinking for about a minute, Young called, showing pocket deuces. Dennis showed KJ offsuit for king-high and the deuces were good!

After a button raise from Men, Young jacked it up to 50K from the small blind. Dennis called from the big blind and Men opted to get out of the way. Flop was A 6 6 and Young lead with 100K. After a little think-time, Dennis mucked his pocket Kings face up -- Young did not show his hand.

	Steve Boyle - 6th place - Photo credit IMPDI for the 2006 WSOP

Steve raised and got action from Tim.  Flop was all diamonds.  Turn was an offsuit King and the river was the fourth .  They got all the chips in the middle and Steve showed pocket 9s with the 9; Tim held the A giving Tim the nut flush and giving Steve the rest of the day off.

Steve Boyle finished in 6th place, earning $36,845.

Steve hails from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.  He won the $300 NLHE event at the Cherokee Casino Fall Poker Classic last October and finished 2nd in the $3,000 NLHE Oklahoma State Championship of Poker in February 2007.  He also cashed in the main event at last year's WSOP Main Event.

Battle of the blinds: Bryan raised to 18K from the small and Men called from the big. Flop was 4 2 J . Bryan lead with 25K and Men came over the top another 60K, leaving only 55K behind. After a couple moments thought, Bryan laid his hand down and Men scooped the pot. Men said "on the turn it was going to be All you can eat, baby!". Then the waitress brought him another Carona and he said "All you can drink, baby!" as he toasted the room.

Level 13: Blinds 3K/6K with 500 antes. Play has resumed.

Current chip counts:

On a flop of 4 9 5 with two s, Bryan Sapp got all-in for 83,500 against Young Phan. Bryan's A J was trailing Young's K 9 (top pair) but Bryan had a lot of outs. He could win with any , any Ace or any Jack. Last two cards were 4 A and Bryan caught the Ace on the river to double up to over 200K.

End of level 12 and players are taking 15.

An a board of A 4 4 T, Men 'the Master' moved in and was called by Dennis Anness, who held pocket Kings. Men showed AQ for the bigger pair. River was another Ace for the Master and he doubled up to about 175K.

Now that they are down to 6, the table seems to be playing tighter, a little more cautiously, as they get close to the big money payouts. Very few hands have gone to showdown during the last several orbits.

	George 'Joe' Lusby - 7th place - Photo credit IMPDI for the 2006 WSOP

Hand 14: Joe moved in for 27,500 from the button and Men made the call from the big blind, showing K J . Joe was ahead with A4 off, but the board came 7 7 8 K 3 and Men made a pair of Kings to bust Joe.

George 'Joe' Lusby finished in 7th place, earning $29,476.

Joe is from Georgetown, KY, where he is a firefighter by trade, but in only 3 years playing poker, has some major cashes, including a win at the Mid-West Regional Poker Championship.

On hand 6, Young and Joe got all in on a flop of A 8 4 . Young held A 9 and Joe held A Q . Last two cards were 6 9 and since neither player held a diamond, they split the pot.

	Dean Schultz - 8th place

On hand 3, Men moved in again and got no takers.

Level 12: Blinds 2K/4K with 500 antes. Play continues.

Hand 4: Dean Schultz moved in and was called by both Young Phan and Dennis Anness. Flop was 7 6 6 and both checked. Turn was a Ten and again both checked. River was another 7 and Young checked, Dennis bet 25K, and after some thought, Young called, showing AJ for an Ace-kicker to the two-pair on board. Dennis showed pocket 6s for flopped quads to drag both pots.

Dean Schultz finished in 8th place, earning $22,107.

Dean Schultz is a professional poker player from Ohio and has numerous cashes to his name, but the most notable to date was his win in the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em event at the 2004 Borgata Poker Open where he bagged more than $300,000.

Friday, 06th of April 2007 02:24 PM

	Scott Fischman - 9th place

Hand 2: Scott Fischman (big blind) and Young Phan (button) take a flop of Q J J . Scott checked, Young bet 36K, Scott raised to 76K, Young moved all-in and Scott called, showing K T for the open-ended straight-flush draw. Young held J T and was ahead with trip Jacks, but Scott could win with any diamond that didn't pair the board, a 9 or Ace. However, the last two cards were K 3 and Scott missed all those outs and was out himself.

Scott Fischman finished in 9th place, earning $14,738.

Scott is a poker pro from Las Vegas that burst onto the poker scene in 2004 when he won two WSOP events.  He is also one of the WSOP Academy instructors who will be teaching at the WSOP boot camp here tomorrow.

Friday, 06th of April 2007 02:19 PM

Men 'the Master' moved all in from the button on the first hand, but got no takers.

Friday, 06th of April 2007 02:17 PM

Level 11: Blinds 1,500/3,000 with 500 antes. About seven and a half minutes remain in this level. Cards are in the air.

Friday, 06th of April 2007 02:10 PM

Players are getting their chips unbagged now...play will get underway shortly.

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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!

Contact Kaelaine