Brett Faustman - 1st place

Here are the final table results:

	Hoyt Corkins - 2nd place

43 hands into heads-up play: Hoyt limped on the button and Brett hit it for another 170k. Hoyt made the call and the flop came 9 9 3. Brett bet 280k and after about half a minute, Hoyt announced "all-in". Brett stood up, said "You got a 9, Hoyt?". Seemed torn about the decision, then finally, "I call". He rolled over pocket Queens and was way ahead of Hoyt's pocket deuces. Hoyt was drawing slim to two deuces or two runners, but the last two cards were 6 J and it is OVER!!!

Brett Faustman finished in 1st place, earning $892,413, a $25k seat in the WPT Championship, and the WPO bracelet.

Hoyt Corkins finished in 2nd place, earning $458,267.

After Hoyt won several small pots, this happened...

Both limped to the flop of Q 8 6 and then both checked. Turn was the 2 and Brett fired 180k. Hoyt tanked for a bit, then raised it up to 800k. Brett folded and Hoyt took the pot and the chip lead.

Hoyt took the next pot too, then...

Another limped pot. Flop was A 9 2 rainbow and Hoyt bet the minimum (80k) which Brett called. Turn was a 3 and Brett bet 140k, Hoyt raised to 600k, and Brett announced 'all-in'. Hoyt folded and Brett took the pot and the chip lead.

These two have been jousting, playing small pots and pushing chips back and forth. After about 20 hands of heads-up play, here are the chip counts:

Another level has ended and play continues...

Level 21: Blinds 40k/80k with 10k antes.

On the second hand of heads-up play, Brett limped on the button and Hoyt hit it for another 200k from the big blind. Brett made the call and the flop came 9 5 2 . Hoyt slowly moved out 400k and Brett announced all-in. Hoyt surrendered, passing 670k of his chips to Brett on that hand.

On the next hand, Brett check-raised Hoyt's flop bet and again forced Hoyt to fold, taking two in a row.

The fourth had actually reached showdown with a board of J 8 6 J 9. Brett held QT for the straight to take yet another pot.

	Men 'the Master' Nguyen - 3rd place

Hoyt raised to 220k and Men announced "All you can eat, Baby!". Hoyt insta-called, showing pocket Jacks. Men held K T and would need help. The stacks were close, but when counted down, it was Men who was at risk. The board came 9 8 3 7 Q and Men could not come up with the goods.

Men "The Master" Nguyen finished in 3rd place, earning $241,193.

There will be a delay as the prepare and film the money presentation, then heads-up play will get underway.

Chip counts:

	Freddy Deeb - 4th place

Freddy moved all in and was insta-called by Brett. Hoyt took pause, but folded, saying he was giving up pocket 7s. That was bad news for Freddy has he held 8 7 . Brett held A K and was out front. Board came 6 6 4 6 9 and Brett took the pot. (Hoyt would have, had he gotten involved.)

Freddy Deeb finished in 4th place, earning $168,835.

Rough chip counts:

Freddy raised to 120k from the small and Brett called from the big. Both checked the flop of Q 7 7 . Turn was the 4 and Freddy lead with 120k. Brett jacked him up to 300k and Freddy took some time to consider. He finally folded in frustration and Brett showed him K9 for nothing but King-high.

Level 21: Blinds 30k/60k with 10k antes. Play continues. Here are some rough chip counts:

After a button raise from Hoyt, Brett moved all in from the big blind. Hoyt insta-called, showing AK. He had Brett covered and in bad shape, holding A 4 . Then the flop came 3 2 2, giving Brett more outs to a win and a chop. The turn was a 5, which completed the wheel straight for Brett and left Hoyt looking for a 4 to chop the pot. River was a 6, though, and Brett took the huge pot and the chip lead.

Short break now.

Freddy was only 400k behind the chip leader at the previous report and since then he has been chipping away, winning seven of nine hands to inch his way back into the chip lead.

	Gabe Costner - 5th place

in a battle of the blinds, Gabe (big) got all in for 310k against Men (small). Gabe's A3 off was ahead of Men's JT off. Board came 9 7 3 A 4 and Gabe doubled up.

Then a short while later...

Gabe raised from the cutoff to 100k and Hoyt raised another 200k from the button. Gabe moved all in for another 390k and Hoyt made the call.  Gabe showed pocket 5s and he was racing against Hoyt's AJ. Board came A 8 6 6 7 and Hoyt's pair of Aces took the pot and the chip lead.

Gabe Costner finished in 5th place, earning $123,008.

With four players remaining, here are the chip estimates:

Freddy Deeb's wife has just arrived and joined the audience. Freddy had to get up and go over to give her a kiss, then this happened:

Freddy raised to 80k and Gabe moved all in from the big blind. Freddy went into the tank. A call would put him at risk, since Gabe has him covered. After a couple of minutes of thought, Freddy made the call, showing pocket 7s. He was thrilled when he saw Gabe held A 5 . Plus Men kept saying over and over how he just folded A8, meaning one less out for Gabe. The board came Q 9 8 6 2 and Freddy doubled up. (If Men had gotten involved in that hand, he would have busted both of them with his A8.)

After that hand, there was a short break. Here are the chip counts:

When play resumes, they will be on Level 20 with blinds of 20k/40k with 5k antes.

Freddy made it 80k to play and Men called from the button, then Gabe moved in from the small blind for 584k. Freddy got out of the way quickly, but Men took several minutes, counting out the chips needed to call, which was about a third of his stack. Finally someone called for the clock and Men eventually mucked his hand.

On a flop of Q T 3 , Gabe moved all in for 436k. This time it was Hoyt who went into the tank for a couple of minutes before finally folding.

Men completed the small blind and Gabe checked. Flop was K 9 3 and both checked. Turn was the 8 and again both checked. River was the A and Gabe bet 50k, then Men check-raised him to 200k. Gabe took about a minute, then made the call. Men showed A Q for the flush and the nuts and Gabe mucked his hand.

Brett raised to 90k and Freddy made the call from the big blind. Flop was Q J 4 and Freddy checked. Brett fired 100k and Freddy called. Turn was the 5 and both checked. River was the 3 and Freddy fired 400k. Brett chatted him up a bit, then announced all-in. Freddy considered it for a couple of minutes, then folded, claiming he folded pocket 4s which would have given him a set. Brett added almost 600k of Freddy's chips to his stack.

Level 19: Blinds 15k/30k with 4k antes. (Apparently they have skipped level 18 with 12k/24k blinds.)  The players have returned from their break and are getting back to business. Here are the chip counts from the break:

Freddy raised to 60k and Men called from the button. On the flop of T 9 5 Freddy lead out for 150k and Men moved all in for 641k.  After a bit of thought, Freddy made the call. Men's pocket Queens were ahead of Freddy's A 7 , but Freddy had a lot of outs (any heart or Ace). Turn was the 7 which added any 7 to the list of Freddy's outs. River was the 6 , however, missing all of them, and giving Men the massive double-up to over 1.4 million.

Men 'the Master' has locked up the World Poker Open Best All-Around Player award with his 5th place or better finish here today. For this honor he will receive a $10k buy-in to the Golf Coast Poker Championship in Biloxi later this year.

Freddy raised it to 80k from the small and Brett called from the big. Flop was Q 3 2 . Freddy lead for 120k and again Brett called. Turn was the 5 and Freddy checked, Brett fired 150k and Freddy called. The river was the A and both players checked. Freddy held AK with the K for the nut flush. Brett showed 9 8 as Freddy pulled the pot, re-taking the chip lead.

Here are some rough counts:

	John Spadavecchia - 6th place

Hoyt raised to 54k up front and John moved his last 206k all in.  After taking a couple of minutes, Hoyt made the call. Everyone else bowed out and John showed pocket 6s. Hoyt was looking at a coin flip with Q J . Board came K 9 5 Q 5 and Hoyt caught his pair on the turn to bust John.

John Spadavecchia finished in 6th place, earning $96,477.

Hoyt raised the first two hands, taking the blinds and antes without a fight. Then on the third hand, Gabe raised it to 60k and both Freddy (small blind) and Brett (big blind) made the call. flop was J 8 7 . All three checked and the turn was the K . Gabe bet 150k and Freddy got out of the pot. Brett took a short pause, then announced 'raise', adding 250k on top. Gabe took some time to consider his action, then decided to call. River was the 7 and Brett announced 'all-in'. Gabe surrendered and Brett pulled the huge pot, showing KJ for two pair. With that pot, Brett became the new chip leader.

Level 17 (continued): Blinds 10k/20k with 3k antes. Cards are in the air!

Here are some deets on the final six:

Seat 1: Freddy Deeb; 1,345,000 in chips
Kassem "Freddy" Deeb is one of the superstar poker players, beloved by fans and respected by his peers. His long career includes more than $5.6 million in career earnings, including 2 WSOP bracelets and a WPT title in the 2005 Aruba Poker Classic.

His biggest victory came in the 2007 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, where he showcased his skills in all aspects of poker to pick up the $2.2 million first prize.

Deeb is an engaging player, often talking and joking while he plays. This will be his fourth WPT final table, dating all the way back to the first episode of Season I, where Deeb finished third in the 2002 Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

With tremendous skill, experience, and the chip lead, Freddy Deeb is the clear favorite to win today, which would put him in the exclusive club of players with multiple WPT titles.

Seat 2: Brett Faustman; 1,282,000
Brett Faustman is 28 years old and married, with a career in commercial insurance sales. But he used to be a poker dealer, and now he's taking his shot at the poker big time. He entered a $1,000 satellite here at the Gold Strike to win his entry into this, his first World Poker Tour event. It's paid off so far, as he's parlayed that $1,000 all the way to the televised final table.

Faustman grew up in Michigan, where he was a top wrestler in college. But college wrestling doesn't pay the bills (NCAA rules and all that), so he made a living of sorts by winning money from the other players at poker.

Second in chips, Faustman starts the day in good position. But he'll have to navigate an extremely tough, experienced lineup at this final table.

Seat 3: Men "The Master" Nguyen, 729,000 in chips
Men "The Master" Nguyen is one of the most accomplished players in the history of poker. He has won more than $8 million in his career in live tournaments, putting him in 10th place on the all-time money list. He has six WSOP bracelets, and his 57 WSOP cashes put him in second place on the all-time list behind Phil Hellmuth. He also made the final table of the 1996 WSOP Main Event, finishing in fourth place.

Nguyen has been named Card Player's Player of the Year a record four times (1997, 2001, 2003, 2005), and this will be his fifth appearance at a World Poker Tour final table.

That's all fine and good, but what has Nguyen done lately? Well, less than two weeks ago he won Event #14 here at the Gold Strike's World Poker Open.

While Nguyen's starting chip stack is a little below average, he is still a threat to win every tournament he plays, and the other players are definitely aware of it.

Seat 4: Gabe Costner; 1,181,000 in chips
Gabe Costner is a 30-year-old southerner (born in Alabama, living in Mississippi) who started his career as a financial advisor before becoming a professional poker player. Costner is a cash game specialist who rarely plays tournaments, but he's certainly glad he signed up for this one.

Costner's home casino is the Beau Rivage down in Biloxi, home to the WPT's Gulf Coast Poker Championship. His girlfriend Claudia -- also a cash game player -- will be here in the stands today, rooting him to victory.

Seat 5: Hoyt Corkins; 395,000 in chips
"Cowboy" Hoyt Corkins is no stranger to fans of the World Poker Tour, as this will be his fifth appearance on the show. The highlight of his career was his victory at WPT Foxwoods all the way back in Season II, where he became the first player to win $1 million in a regular-season WPT tournament. Corkins would love to add his second WPT title today.

Corkins has been playing poker professionally for 29 years, picking up nearly $3.4 million in career earnings along the way. He won a WSOP bracelet back in 1992, and added another in 2007. He has made five WSOP final tables, and finished second to Mike Matusow in the 2005 WSOP Tournament of Champions -- one of the most exciting final tables of the televised era.

While he can be softspoken at the table, Corkins lets his chips do the talking. He's starting with a short stack today, but his experience makes him a big factor in this tournament.

Seat 6: John Spadavecchia; 256,000 in chips
While you might not recognize John Spadavecchia, he is an extremely accomplished poker player, with career earnings of more than $2.3 million. Born in Italy 69 years ago, he grew up in Florida, and he's married with three children. In addition to his time playing poker, he's also a distributor of ceramic tile and marble.

Spadavecchia has a WSOP bracelet in $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw (1991), and won a WSOP Circuit Championship in Las Vegas in 2006. He has made 10 WSOP final tables, including the 1994 WSOP Main Event, where he finished in third place.

This is Spadavecchia's first WPT final table, and he faces an uphill battle today as the short stack. But Spadavecchia can be patient when he needs to be, and if he gets the right cards, he has a shot at adding a WPT title to his resume.

	Freddy Deeb - chip leader

The final 6 players will return at 4pm CST Thursday for the filming of the WPT final table. This promises to be quite an exciting finish, as the final table features Freddy Deeb, who already has 2 WPT final tables, 1 WPT title and 2 WSOP bracelets. He is the chip leader coming to the final with 1.345 million chips. Men 'the Master' Nguyen is in 4th place coming to the final table with 729,000 chips. Men also has 2 prior WPT final tables along with 6 WSOP bracelets and one WSOP Circuit Event Championship. Hoyt Corkins is 5th in chips with 395,000. He has 3 prior WPT final tables with 1 win to go with his 2 WSOP bracelets. And finally John Spadavecchia, who holds 1 WSOP bracelet and 1 WSOP Circuit Event Championship.

Here's the complete final table lineup.

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