Lou Esposito - Winner!

Final results for the event:

	Clint Schafer - 2nd place

Hand 150: Clint called and Lou raised another 200k. Clint called and Flop was 4 6 8 . Lou bet 280k and Clint moved all in. Lou called, showing K6 offsuit for middle pair. Clint held 76 offsuit for middle pair with a kicker problem. Last two cards were J 4 and it is OVER!

Lou Esposito finished in 1st place, earning $516,801, a $10,000 seat in the 2007 WSOP Main Event, (with $1,000 travel expense money) and the gold and diamond WSOP Circuit Championship ring.

Clint Schafer finished in 2nd place, earning $26,736.

Hand 145: Lou raised to 200k and Clint called. Flop was A A 7 . Clint checked and Lou fired 220k. Clint folded and was left with about 1.1 million.

Hand 142: Clint raised to 200k and Lou moved all in. After about a minute, Clint folded. With that pot, Lou was up to about 2.3 million and Clint was left with about 1.2 million.

Hand 137: On a flop of 4 6 5, they get all the chips in the middle. Lou held 8 6 offsuit for top pair; Clint held J4 suited for bottom pair. Last two cards came 9 5 and Lou doubled up...again.

Hand 136: Clint moved all in and Lou called. Clint held pocket 8s and Lou was trailing with A 4 . Board came 5 J A 3 4 and Lou doubled up.

Hand 133: Clint called and Lou raised another 110K. Clint called and the flop was 9 5 4 . Lou checked, Clint moved all in and Lou folded.

End of level 19 and players are taking 15.

Clint has about 2.8 million and Lou has about 700k.

Hand 129: Clint completed and Lou cheked. Flop was Q 9 4 . Lou checked, Clint bet 120K and Lou called. Turn was 6 and again Lou checked, Clint fired 200k and Lou called. River was the 7 and Lou lead with 220k. Clint called and showed K T for the second nut flush. Lou mucked and Clint took the pot.

Hand 125: Clint raised to 110k and Lou called. Flop was T 6 2 rainbow and Lou checked, Clint bet 140k, Lou raised another 240k, and Clint jacked it up another 600k. Lou folded.

Hand 121: Clint called and Lou checked. Flop was J 8 2. Lou fired 90k and Clint called. Turn was another Jack and again Lou fired and Clint called. River was a 9 and Lou checked. Clint bet 500k and Lou insta-called, showing J4 offsuit for trip Jacks, taking the pot and the chip lead. Lou had about 2.5 million to Clint's 1 million.

Hand 118: Lou raised to 110k and Clint called. Flop was J T 4 and both checked. Turn was 6 and Clint checked to Lou, who fired 160K. Clint folded.

Hand 119: Clint completed and Lou checked. Flop was A 7 7 and both checked. Turn was Q and Lou bet 80k which Clint called. River was Q and Lou fired again and was called. Lou showed A5 offsuit for Aces-up and took the pot.

Clint has about 2 million to Lou's 1.5 million.

Hand 109: Clint completed and Lou checked. Flop was 6 8 J and both checked. Turn was a 7 and Lou bet 70k, which Clint called. River was an Ace and Lou bet 150k which Clint called, showing T7 for a pair of 7s and Lou mucked.

Hand 103: Clint called and Lou checked. Flop ws K 5 T. Lou bet 90k and Clint called. Turn was a Ten and both checked. River was a 5 and Lou checked, Clint bet 200k and Lou folded.

Hand 104: Lou opened for 110k, then Clint raised another 220k. After some thought, Lou moved all in for another 895k and after more thought, Clint called, showing KQ offsuit. Lou held A9 offsuit. Board came 9 5 5 J 3 and Lou doubled up to about 2.5 million, leaving Clint with just under 1 million.

Hand 101: Clint completed the small and Lou raised to 110k. Flop was Q Q 7; Lou bet 120k and Clint called. Turn was 3 and both checked. River was 6 and Lou checked. Clint bet 370k and Lou folded.

Hand 102: Lou raised to 110k and Clint called. Flop was K A 6 . Clint checked, Lou bet 120k, and Clint called. Turn was 4 and again Clint checked, Lou fired 190k and Clint called. River was 8 and again Clint checked. Lou checked behind and Clint showed K9 for a pair of Kings and took the pot -- and took the chip lead.

Hand 98: David moved all in and took the pot.
Hand 99: Lou raised to 110k from the small blind and took the pot.
Hand 100: Lou raised to 110k from the button and Clint called from the small blind. Then David moved all in from the big blind. After about a minute, Lou moved all in over the top and Clint folded. David's pocket 7s were in bad shape against Lou's pocket Aces. Board came 6 2 4 5 4 and Lou's Aces did the trick.

David Fox finished in 3rd place, earning $133,736.

Clock is paused as they get set up for heads-up play.

Level 19: Blinds 20k/40k with 5k antes. Play has resumed. Here are the current chip counts:

	Phil Gordon - 4th place

Hand 96: Phil moved all in from the small blind. Clint called from the big. Phil held AT offsuit and Clint had him dominated with AQ offsuit. Board came K 7 6 5 6 and Clint took the pot.

Phil Gordon finished in 4th place, earning $116,697.

End of level 18 and players are on dinner break until 9pm.

Hand 95: David called from the button, Lou completed the small, and Phil checked. Flop was 5 9 7 . Lou lead with 60k, Phil folded, and David moved all in for another 256k. Lou mucked.

Hand 88: Phil called from the small blind, then Clint raised from the big. Phil moved all in and after some thought, Clint called, showing pocket 7s. Phil held 98 offsuit. Board came 5 A Q J K and Clint doubled up to about 1 million chips.

Hand 85: Phil raised to 90k from the button and Clint moved in for another 293k. Back to Phil, who went into the tank. He cut out the chips it would take to call, then finally mucked.

Rough chip counts:

	Anthony Longoria - 5th place

Hand 76: Phil raised to 80k and Anthony moved all in for another 207k from the big blind. After getting the count, Phil decided to call, showing A7 offsuit. Anthony was trailing with A 5 . Board came 2 T 3 8 A and Phil took it down with his 7 kicker.

Anthony Longoria finished in 5th place, earning $100,026.

Hand 66: Phil raised to 80k from the button and Anthony moved in for another 96k from the big blind. Phil called, showing K4 offsuit. Anthony held AQ suited. Board came A A 8 9 Q and Anthony doubled up with Aces full.

Hand 62: Anthony moved all in for about 100k from the small blind and David called from the big. Anthony's KQ was ahead of David's 65 and it stayed that way as the board came A J K 2 7 and Anthony doubled up.

Level 18: Blinds 15k/30k with 4k antes. Play has resumed. Current chip counts:

End of level 17 and players are on a 15 minute break.

	JD Estilette - 6th place

Hand 58: JD moved in for 109k from the button and Lou re-raised to 240 from the small blind. Phil got out of the way and JD showed pocket 8s. Lou held pocket Kings and the lead. Board came 6 9 T 6 3 and Lou adds more chips to his lead.

JD Estilette finished in 6th place, earning $83,355.

Hand 56: Lou opened for 60K and Clint called. David raised all in for another 269k from the small blind and the others folded.

[Video showed David had K 4 , Lou held K T  and Clint held T 9  so Lou laid down the best hand.]

Hand 53: JD limped from the cutoff, Phil completed the small, and Clint popped it to 90k from the big. JD called and Phil opted out. Flop was 4 3 2 . Clint lead with 100k and JD raised to 300k. Clint moved all-in for another 163k on top. After a couple of moments, JD folded.

[According to the video, Clint had pocket Aces and JD had Q J , so it was a good laydown for JD.]

Rough chip counts:

Anthony Longoria sends a shout-out to his friends and family in McAllen, Texas.

Hand 44: The biggest pot of the day. Lou raised to 55k under the gun and Phil jacked it up another 150k. Back to Lou, he thought for about a minute, then moved all in. Phil called immediately, showing pocket Kings. Lou rolled over his pocket Aces and Phil was in trouble. The flop was 5 9 A giving Lou a set of Aces, but also giving Phil a flush draw as he held the K . Unfortunately for Phil, the last two cards were 8 7 . With that pot, Phil lost the chip lead for the first time since day 1. Lou is up to about 1.1 million.

Hand 43: Phil made it 60k from the cutoff and Clint moved all-in for about 350k from the button. All folded, including Phil. For those of you who missed it yesterday, Phil made everyone aware that he has 25% of Clint due to a deal made earlier in the week when they were playing in a satellite.

Hand 40: Battle of the blinds. Lou completed and Phil checked. Flop was 5 J T . Lou checked, Phil bet 20k and Lou called. Turn was 5 and both checked. River was A and Lou bet 30k. Phil raised another 90k and after about a minute, Lou let it go. With that pot, Phil has increased his stack over 1.2 million.

[According to the video, Lou held A 6  for Aces up and Phil held T 4  for Tens-up, so he bluffed Lou off the best hand.]

Hand 34: Clint raised to 60k under-the-gun and Anthony moved all in for 97k. Phil called from the big blind and Clint also called. They checked down the board of A 8 5 K 9 . Clint held AJ for top pair; Phil showed pocket Tens; and Anthony turned over J T for the flush and he tripled up.

	David McLeroy - 7th place

Hand 33: David McLeroy moved all in from the button and after getting a count (163k) Lou called from the big blind, showing A6 offsuit. David's KQ off needed help for him to survive. Board came 4 7 T 8 9 and Lou's Ace-high was good.

David McLeroy finished in 7th place, earning $66,684.

	Bobby 'Wiz' Wisiak - 8th place

Hand 29: JD limped, Clint completed and Anthony checked. Flop was 8 T 3 . Clint lead out with 100k and the other folded.

Hand 30: Bobby moved all in for 107k and Phil raised to 210k. All the rest got out of the way. Bobby had A 7 and was trailing Phil's K K . Board came 5 9 J 4 Q and Phil's Kings held up.

(Robert) Bobby 'Wiz' Wisiak finished in 8th place, earning $50,013.

Level 17: Blinds 10k/20k with 3k antes. Play has resumed.

Hand 25: Phil made it 44k and then David Fox moved all in from the cutoff. All folded and David took it down.

[According to the streaming video, Phil folded AQ to David's AK, so it was a good laydown.]

End of level 16 and players are taking a 15 minute break.

Hand 22: David Fox gets it back. Phil opened for 44k from the cutoff and David raised another 110k from the big blind. Phil folded.

Hand 21: David Fox raised to 52k under the gun and Phil called from the button. Flop was T 8 7 rainbow. David checked and Phil fired 82k. David mucked his AK face up.

Hand 20: Lou brought it in for 45k from the button and Phil made it 200k to play from the small blind. All surrendered and Phil dragged the pot.

Hand 18: Bobby limped on the button JD completed the small and Lou checked his option. Flop was 7 K 4 . The blinds checked to Lou, who bet 36k. JD then jacked it up to 100k -- Lou and Bobby surrendered.

Hand 17: David Fox made it 46k from the cutoff and David McLeroy called from the button. Flop was T 4 2 and Fox bet 80k (leaving himself with only 70k). McLeroy moved in and Fox called, showing K T for top pair. McLeroy held A J for two overcards. Last two cards were 8 Q and David Fox doubled up.

Hand 10: Bobby raised to 46k from the button and took it down.

Hand 11: Clint raised to 45k up front and all folded to Scott in the big blind, who moved all in. Clint insta-called, showing pocket Kings. Scott held Q 3 . Board came A 9 5 J 3 and Clint's Kings held up to take the pot.

Scott Mitchell finished in 9th place, earning $33,342.

Hand 9: Lou made it 45k under the gun and all folded to JD in the big blind, who called. Flop was 4 2 3 . JD bet 52k and Lou called. Turn was the 5 . JD bet 160k and Lou asked how much he has left - about 94k. Lou called and the river was Q . JD moved in and Lou called JD showed T 6 for the 6-high straight and Lou mucked his hand, so JD doubled up.

Hand 8: Anthony moved all in for 78k from the cutoff and David Fox called from the button. Anthony held A5 offsuit and was trailing David's pocket 7s, but the board came K 8 8 J J putting two overpair on the board and counterfeiting David's pair. Anthony's Ace kicker played and he doubled up.

Hand 7: Phil raised to 40k from the hijack (two off the button) and all folded, so Phil's finally notched one in the win column.

Hand 6: Now Clint makes it two in a row when he raised to 50k from the button and both blinds let it go.

Hand 5: Lou folded! As did everyone else, to Clint in the small blind. Clint moved all in and Anthony surrendered his big blind.

Hand 4: Lou raised to 45k from the cutoff and everyone folded. That's 4 in a row.

In an attempt to change the way things are going, Phil stood up and turned his chair around backwards.

Hand 3: Lou made it 47k from the button and both blinds folded. That's a hat trick for Lou -- apparently he can win 'em all.

Hand 2: David Fox raised to 42k and Lou popped it another 110k from the small blind. All folded back to David, who also chucked his hand. That's two in a row for Lou.

On the first hand, Phil raised to 60k and Lou called from the big blind. Flop was K J 4 and after a flurry of betting, they were all in. Phil held AK offsuit for top pair, but Lou rolled out the pocket Aces and had Phil in bad shape. Last two cards were 7 6 and Lou doubled up through the chip leader to over 650k.

Level 16: Blinds 8k/16k with 2k antes. Cards are finally in the air!

1:09:34 remains in this level.  Levels will be 90 minutes long.

SEAT 1: Anthony Longoria        HOMETOWN: McAllen, TX         CHIP COUNT: 118,000

Anthony Longoria is a 34-year-old trial attorney. He is making a motion to win today’s event – which would be his biggest final settlement ever. Anthony is no stranger to playing in big-time poker tournaments. He cashed in the main event at the 2005 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. When it comes to giving out poker advice, Anthony says that whenever he faces a tough decision, he tries to think about what poker legend Chip Reese would do. That is very good advice indeed.

SEAT 2: David Fox      HOMETOWN: Coram, NY      CHIP COUNT: 400,000

David Fox is a 30-year-old professional poker player from Coram, NY. He has been a pro for about three years. Fox has numerous cashes and high finishes in his tournament resume, including 7^th place in the main event at Caesars Atlantic City. He also won the East Coast Poker Championship at Turning Stone Casino in upstate New York last year. This is his first time to play in New Orleans. Fox hopes to use his poker winnings to eventually write and direct feature films. Look out Stephen Spielberg – your days are numbered.

SEAT 3: David McLeroy      HOMETOWN: Raleigh, NC      CHIP COUNT: 384,000

David Longoria is a 34-year-old self-described “Poker Wannabe.” He is certainly pursuing a well-thought out game plan for his new career. David sold off his business a little over a year ago, which was a company that made and installed electronic doors at supermarkets and shopping malls. He is opening his own new door today with this final table appearance. This is his third time to cash at a WSOP Circuit event. He is married to Sondra and has six children – Joshua, Jonathan, Brent, Jordon, Kristin, and Lacy.

SEAT 4: Bobby “Wiz” Wisiak      HOMETOWN: Queens, NY      CHIP COUNT: 206,000

Bobby “Wiz” Wisiak is a 40-year-old commodity trader. He has played in over 50 major events and has won poker tournaments at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and Borgata in Atlantic. “Wiz” has also been active on the New York City underground poker circuit for over 20 years. Most interesting of all however is that “Wiz” says he is engaged to the same woman for 15 years. Her name is Sherry. Should he win this tournament today with a top prize of over half a million, poor “Wiz” will no longer be able to give the excuse that he can’t afford the wedding.

SEAT 5: J.D. Estilette      HOMETOWN: Lafayette, LA      CHIP COUNT: 377,000

J.D. Estilette is quite a character. The Louisiana Cajon is a 67-year-old real estate broker. He’s the babe in the woods at this final table -- since he just started playing poker 18 months ago. J.D. has three children, 7 grand children, and five great grand children. He also says no one can understand his accent when he talks. “Every time I get pulled over by the police,” he says – “they think I’m drunk when I start talking.”

SEAT 6: Lou Esposito      HOMETOWN: Howard Beach, NY      CHIP COUNT: 326,000

Lou Esposito is a 31-year-old business owner. He has owned a pizzeria, vending machines, and a cell phone store. Remarkably, Lou started playing poker only about two years ago and has already competed in over 40 events. He defeated 650 entrants in a tournament at the Borgata in Atlantic City earlier this year, and has made it to final tables at WSOP Circuit events, as well. Lou will definitely be a player to watch at this final table today.

SEAT 7: Scott Mitchell      HOMETOWN: Pensacola, FL      CHIP COUNT: 177,000

Scott Mitchell has perhaps the oddest former job of anyone to make it to a WSOP Circuit final table. He used to be a professional rodeo clown. He is now 40-years-old and books bands and entertainers. Scott finished 41^st in this event last year and has certainly improved on that performance in this tournament. You have to root for Scott – his wife is eight months pregnant with a boy on the way. He got into this tournament in the most unimaginable way possible. After busting out last Sunday’s super satellite event, he went out and played three-card poker in the casino and was dealt a straight flush – which paid $5,400. He used that money for the $5,000 buy-in, and now here he is.

SEAT 8: Phil Gordon     HOMETOWN: Las Vegas, NV      CHIP COUNT: 1,167,000

Poker pro and celebrity Phil Gordon appears well on his way to achieving his biggest cash ever in tournament poker. The popular author and television personality was the chip leader at the end of the first day. He is the chip leader at the start of the final table. Mr. Gordon appeared at the final table of the World Series of Poker championship event back in 2001 – where he finished fourth. He has also made five WSOP final tables, and is widely-considered to be one of the best poker players not to win the coveted gold bracelet – at least yet. His lifetime tournament winnings total $2.3 million. However, he is perhaps better-known for his numerous contributions as a writer, teacher, and television analyst. Gordon penned "The Little Blue Book," a best-seller and primer on poker – which is a sequel to "Phil Gordon's Little Green Book.” He is one of the founders and member of the popular site Full Tilt Poker. He was the host of the BRAVO channel's "Celebrity Poker" during its first two seasons. Aside from poker and writing, Gordon is even more committed to his tireless charity work. He co-founded "Put a Bad Beat on Cancer," a largely poker-player supported charity which raises public awareness and lots of money for cancer research.

SEAT 9: Clint Schafer      HOMETOWN: Baton Rouge, LA      CHIP COUNT: 327,000

Clint Schafer is a 37-year-old manager of a building supply company. This is his fourth consecutive year to make a final table tournament appearance in New Orleans. His best finish was sixth at the Cajon Classic back in 2004. Clint has been proudly married for 17 years. He has five daughters ranging in ages from 9 to 16. So the half million dollars for first place will certainly come in handy just in time for college, times five.

Inroductions are underway, so it should not be too much longer...

Nothing involving video cameras ever starts on time. Our start time has been revised to about 2:15pm.

Final table action will get underway at 2pm sharp -- we've been promised. Bluff Media is filming the final table, complete with hole-cards, and will be streaming on the WSOP we site, with a one-hour delay. So their streaming footage won't start until 3pm and we have to get started on time.

	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!