Here are the final table money results:

	Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier - Winner!

	Hafiz Khan - 2nd place

Somewhere around hand 7: ElkY made it 400k and Hafiz moved all in. ElkY called quickly, showing pocket 8s. Hafiz showed 93 offsuit (I kid you not). [Apparently they made a deal.] The board came 7 5 2 4 4 and it is OVER!

Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier finished in 1st place, earning $2 million and a seat in the EPT Grand Final (worth 13,000 euros).

Hafiz Khan finished in 2nd place, earning $1,094,976.

On the third hand, ElkY made it 300k from the button and Hafiz called (sound familiar?). Flop was A A J and both checked. Turn was the 3 and Hafiz bet 300k. Elky raised another 550k and Hafiz called. River was the 9 and Hafiz checked. ElkY bet 1.1 million. After about half a minute, Hafiz called. ElkY showed A 7 for trip Aces and Hafiz mucked.

On the first hand, ElkY made it 400k from the button and Hafiz called. Flop was J 8 5 and Hafiz checked, ElkY bet 550k, Hafiz raised another 2 million on top and ElkY let it go.

Heads-up play is underway. Here are the chip counts:

Now that they are down to two, there is a pause as they prepare for heads-up play. And you know what that means! Time to draw a name to win the souvenier soccer ball!

And the winner is......(drum rolllllllllllllllllll)....

Kent McGovern of Barrie Ontario, Canada!

The final two players, Bertrand 'ElkY Grospellier and Hafiz Khan have added their autographs to the ball.

	Kris Kuykendall - 3rd place

Hafiz moved in from the small blind and Kris called all-in from the big. Hafiz was ahead with A 7 . Kris held K Q and needed help to survive. Board came 6 4 4 J 3 and Kris was busted.

Kris Kuykendall finished in 3rd place, earning $800,000.

Hafiz made it 400k to go and Kris moved all in for about 1.2 million more. After getting a count Hafiz made the call, showing A5 off. Kris was ahead with AK suited, but the board came A Q Q A T and they split the pot with Aces-full.

Rough chip counts:

	David 'the Dragon' Pham - 4th place

On a flop of K Q 5 , both players checked. Turn was the J and David checked, ElkY bet 700K and after a couple of beats, David moved in. After a couple of minutes, ElkY made the call showing A 2 for the flush draw with guthsot. David held Q5 off for two pair and was ahead, but had to fade 11 outs on the river. Unfortunately for David, the river was the 7 to complete ElkY's flush.

David 'the Dragon' Pham finished in 4th place, earning $600,000.

On the next hand, Hafiz raised, Kris popped it again, and Hafiz moved in. After a bit of thought, Kris made the call showing A Q . Hafiz held pocket Kings and the lead. Board came 9 9 4 2 5 and Hafiz doubled up, leaving Kris with only about 1.5 million.

Level 28: Blinds 80k/160k with 20k antes. Play has resumed. Here are the chip counts from the break:

After the Dragon opened for 360k, Hafiz moved all-in. David folded and Hafiz pulled the pot, moving out of the chip count basement.

Hafiz raised to 325K and all three players called. Flop came J 5 2 and all four checked. Turn was the Q and all four checked. River was the 2 and David (sb) lead out for 600k. All folded to Kris (button) who said "I played this hand badly", then made the call. David showed Q9 for Queens-up. Kris showed AQ for Queens-up with Ace kicker to take the pot.

That was the last hand of the level and players are on break.

On a flop of T T 8 , Hafiz bet 120k and Kris called. The turn was the Q and Hafiz lead with 300k. Kris stalled a bit, then announced "raise" and pushed out an additional 550K. Hafiz called and the river was the A . Both checked and Kris showed A 3 for a pair of Aces (and busted flush draw). Hafiz mucked his hand in disgust, claiming he had a Queen. With that pot, Kris moved up to 3rd in chips and Hafiz dropped to 4th.

They are doing a good bit of jousting, trading smallish pots back and forth. Hafiz and David have traded back and David is again 2nd in chips, but they are both in the 4 million range. Meanwhile ElkY has extened his lead past the 10 million chip mark. Kris seems to be stalled in the 3 million chip range.

David raised and Hafiz called from the big. Flop came K Q 6 and both checked. Turn was the 7 and Hafiz lead out for 420k. David made the call to see the river -- another 7. Hafiz checked, David took a few beats, then bet 750k. Hafiz seemed frustrated but then announced "call". David showed K4 off for Kings and 7s. Hafiz showed KQ for Kings and Queens to take the pot and a solid second place in the chip counts.

The Dragon returned from break with a new resolve. He has pulled three pots without showdown and has edged out Hafiz to moved back into second in chips.

And they're back. Level 27: Blinds 60k/120k with 15k antes.

End of level 26 and the final 4 are on a 30-minute break. Play should resume at about 2:30pm.

Here are the chip counts:

	Craig Hopkins - 5th place

Craig moved in again and this time the Dragon looked him up. Craig's K 8 would need help to overcome David's pocket Tens. It was over almost before it started as the flop came T 9 7 giving the Dragon a set and Craig an open-ended straight-draw. The turn was a King, giving Craig a pair, but it was too little, too late. He needed a Jack or 6 on the river, but it was the 2 and David pulled the pot.

Craig Hopkins finished in 5th place, earning $450,000.

On an flop of J 6 2 , Hafiz checked, David bet 340k, and Hafiz called. Turn was the 9 and both checked. River was the K and Hafiz lead out for 900k. After a bit of study, David made the call. Hafiz showed 6 4 for the back-door flush. With that pot, Hafiz has moved ahead of Pham on the leader-board:

	Joseph Elpayaa - 6th place

In a battle of the blinds, ElkY raised from the small and Joseph shoved in from the big. ElkY made the call, showing AQ. Joseph's KJ would need help to survive. Unfortunately, Joseph could not catch a break and was busted. ElkY's big stack gets bigger -- approaching 10 million now.

Joseph Elpayaa finished in 6th place, earning $300,000.

On the next hand, Craig moved in, but again did not get a caller.

Kris and ElkY took a flop of 8 4 4 and both checked. turn was the 3 and again both checked. River was the 3 , double-pairing the board. Kris bet 200k and ElkY jacked it up to 550k. Kris went into the tank for a while, studying, then finally made the call. ElkY insta-mucked and Kris showed A8 for 8s-up to take the pot.

Four players took the flop for the minimum: J 7 2 . Joseph bet, Hafiz called, David called, and ElkY folded. Turn was the Q . Joseph passed to Hafiz who bet 350k. David called and Joe got out of the way. River was the J and David checked. Hafiz fired 800k and David surrendered.

Things have been fairly quiet since the final 6 returned from the break. They seem to be going through another 'sorting out' period. Craig has moved in once, but did not get called. As the short stack with only about 10 times the big blind, he's going to have to make another move soon.

Level 26: Blinds 40k/80k with 10k antes. Play has resumed.

Chips counts as of the break:

David raised up front to 180k and was called by Hafiz (small blind) and Kris (big blind). On the flop of Q J T , all three checked. Turn was the 2 and Hafiz checked, Kris fired 225k, and David folded. Hafiz made the call to see the 7 on the river, and checked again. Kris announced "all-in" and after about a minute, Hafiz folded.

That's the end of the level and time for a break.

At the river with the board showing 9 6 3 8 3, David bet and Elky insta-called, showing T7 for the Ten-high straight (made on the turn). David flashed a 9 before mucking his hand. That pot put ElkY up to about 7.8 million, good for the chip lead. David dropped down to about 6 million.

On the next hand, Christian moved in and ElkY called. Christian held pocket 7s and ElkY woke up with pocket Jacks. No miracle for Christian and he was busted.

Christian Harder finished in 7th place, earning $200,000.

Richard (Ricky) moved in again and this time ElkY made the call, showing A K . Ricky held the same pocket Jacks ( ). Unfortunately he did not get the same result. This time the board came K T 4 9 6 and ElkY took the pot bringing him up to 6.1 million.

Richard Fohrenbach finished in 8th place, earning $150,000.

Richard moved all in and was quickly called by Joseph. Ricky held pocket Jacks ( ) and Joe was trailing with pocket Tens ( ). Board came K 5 3 2 A giving Richard the double-up to about 2.5 million. Joe was left with about 1.6 million.

Kris brought it in for a raise and Hafiz made the call from the big blind. On the flop of K 6 4 , Hafiz checked, Kris bet 210k, and Hafiz called. Turn was the K and this time Hafiz lead out for 450k (about half pot). Kris let it go. They still haven't seen a river card...

Until the next hand, between the same two players. They checked the flop and turn and with the board showing Q 9 5 A 4 Hafiz bets and Kris lets it go, again.

Most pots are being taken uncontested with a raise or re-raise pre-flop. A couple of flops have been seen, but they've not yet seen a turn card. Christian has moved all in, but not gotten a call (yet). They seem to be getting a feel for the table at this point and playing somewhat cautiously.

Level 24 has ended without much ado. Just before the level ended, the Dragon was in the blinds and came over the top of raises, forcing the raisers to fold. David has laid down the law with respect to raising his blinds.

Level 25: Blinds 30k/60k with 5k antes. Play continues.

Cards are now finally in the air.

Level 24: Binds 25k/50k with 5k antes. About 15 minutes remain in this level.

Here's a reminder of what they are playing for:

This final table is being webcast live and filmed for later broadcast so there are some technical delays as the players arrive and get their microphones placed. Play should get underway shortly.

Remeber that the drawing for the autographed soccer ball will be held when play reaches heads-up. I've already received lots of emails, but you still have time to drop me a line (use the contact Kaelaine link at the start of the blog). The winner's name will be posted in the blog and I will contact them by email for shipping information.)

If you follow poker at all, then you know who David 'the Dragon' Pham is, but you may not have heard of these other final table players. Time to meet them now.

Seat 1: Kris Kuykendall, 25, USA - PokerStars qualifier - 2,150,000 chips
Kris, who turned 25 yesterday (January 9), graduated with a business degree from the University of Cincinnati and coaches wrestling in his spare time. He has only been playing poker for two years and turned pro after six months. He specializes in online cash games – 2/4 and 5/10 No Limit – and when he won his seat to the PCA, it was the first satellite he had ever played. The PCA is also his first ever live tournament but he says he found the transition from online to live pretty easy. This is his biggest result to date. He added: “I’ve had an up and down tournament so far. “

Seat 2: Christian Harder, 20, USA – PokerStars qualifier - 905,000 chips
Christian Harder, a student from Annapolis, Maryland, is playing in his first live big buy-in event. After studying business last semester at Salisbury University, he decided to take this semester off to play poker. He’s getting off to a pretty good start after qualifying on PokerStars in a $650 multi-table satellite. Known as “charder30” online, Harder is no stranger to tournament poker. He spends most of his time playing the biggest buy-in tournaments online with $80k in a $1k event his biggest win to date. Although the shortest stack at the table, Harder still feels confident going into final table play.

Seat 3: David Pham, 41, USA - PokerStars qualifier - 7,390,000 chips
David 'The Dragon' Pham enjoyed having odds on his side at an early age, when the 17-year-old was one of only 46 (out of 145) people to survive a boat journey fleeing his native Vietnam for the United States. He joined the cleaning business of his cousin Men 'The Master' Nguyen, who had registered some success at the Las Vegas poker tables. He studied the game under his cousin and learned well from the master, as he was soon wiping the floor with his opponents at the table. His breakthrough year was 2000, when his consistent performances saw him named CardPlayer's Player of the Year. The following year saw him claim his first WSOP bracelet on the $2,000 SHOE event, and he would add his second in a NL Hold'Em shootout event in 2006. He’s had five WPT final tables in all and two WSOP bracelets. Pham is considered one of the most aggressive pros in the game and lies 23rd on the all-time money list - with over $6.6 million in career earnings.  He just concluded 2007, again earling CardPlayer's Player of the Year -- and he shows no signs of slowing down.

Seat 4: Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, 26, France- Team PokerStars Pro - 3,060,000 chips
ElkY was a famous professional gamer until a friend suggested he try his luck at poker seven years ago. He quickly proved his skills by qualifying for the WSOP two years running. He joined Team PokerStars in 2006. Rarely without his trademark sunglasses, poker has proved a profitable career switch for the young Frenchman. In EPT Season 3, he cashed three times including his second-place finish in Copenhagen for €309,000. ElkY is a prolific online player and said: "With gaming, I could practice 12 hours a day, but if I lost the game, the value would be zero. However, in poker every hour has some benefit”.

Seat 5: Joseph Elpayaa, 19, USA – PokerStars qualifier - 2,755,000 chips
Joseph “bigegypt” Elpayaa, 19, from Chicago, has played a few big live events in Europe - including last year’s EPT Grand Final and the Irish Open - but this is his first big cash. Online, he has had a lot of success and says he has won several $100k prizes in various events. Joseph was in the top 1% of those who took the ACT college exams last year but he only attended for a week before deciding to focus on poker. He learned poker in home games with his brother Adam and friends. His preference is cash games but he says “being deep in a tournament beats anything else.”

Seat 6: Craig Hopkins, 33, UK – PokerStars qualifier - 1,770,000 chips
Craig, a professional sports bettor from Chesterfield in the UK, has been playing poker for years with friends but only four years online. He played in last season’s EPT Grand Final but didn’t cash. He also qualified with PokerStars for last summer’s WSOP but couldn’t go because it clashed with his honeymoon. He said: “My wife Lindsey is here supporting me. She’s been brilliant. I got made redundant from work two years ago and decided to take up sports betting full-time. A lot of girlfriends wouldn’t be happy about that but she has been really supportive.” Craig has also had tons of support from friends and family back home – some friends even had champagne delivered to him at the Atlantis. His friends now call him “The Apple” after a picture of him eating fruit appeared on blondepoker on the first day of the PCA.

Seat 7: Richard Fohrenbach, 20, USA – PokerStars qualifier - 1,855,000 chips
College student Richard, from Milford, Connecticut, says he played around 20 Double Shoot Out satellites for the PCA before finally winning a seat in October. “I came second in one, and then won one later the same day.” He said he doesn’t consider himself a pro but is taking some time off from studying at Boston College to focus on the game. “This is by far my biggest win to date. I’ve only ever cashed once in a live tournament before this, and that was for £2,000.” Richard has already bought in to EPT Dortmund at the end of January, as well as the Season 4 EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo.

Seat 8: Hafiz Khan, 33, USA – PokerStars qualifier - 2,560,000 chips
Former software analyst Hafiz Khan, from Stockton, Northern California, has been playing poker for four years and turned pro two years ago. Hafiz normally plays online. He said: “I’ve been enjoying the PCA. It’s been long and gruelling, but fun. I expected to do well. This is my best result so far.”

	David 'the Dragon' Pham - chip leader

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!   Her motto is "will do anything poker-related for money".

Contact Kaelaine