Gavin Griffin - 1st place

Here are the final table results:

	David Tran - 2nd place

On the last hand before the blinds increased, David Tran moved in. After Gavin asked for a count (1.24 million) he called David's all-in, showing QJ off. David was ahead, slightly, with K 8 , but the board came A 9 8 Q T and Gavin paired his Queen to take it down!

Gavin Griffin finished in 1st place, earning $1,375,609, a $25,500 seat in the WPT Championship, and a 2008 Harley-Davidson Street Glide.

David Tran finished in 2nd place, earning $737,685.

Level 30: Blinds 50k/100k with 10k antes. Play continued, then they too a break. When they returned from break, Gavin had a 12 million to 3 million chip lead over David.

David took several pots and re-claimed the chip lead, then they got it all-in pre-flop. David's pocket 9s were ahead of Gavin's AQ offsuit, but the board came Q 8 8 7 5 and Gavin doubled up, taking a commanding chip lead over David. Gavin held 13.34 million to David's 1.875 million.

A few hands later, Gavin moved in and David called all-in on a flop J 8 7. Gavin held 64 offsuit (gutshot) and David held pocket Aces. Last two cards were Q 7 and David doubled up to about 3.9 million.

Gavin took the first three pots of heads-up play, including this one:

Gavin completed the small blind, then David raised 200k on top. Gavin called and the flop came 6 3 3 . David fired 425k and Gavin called. Turn was the T and David checked. Gavin bet 550k, David raised to 1.45 million, and Gavin announced "all-in". After a short time in the tank, David mucked and Gavin pulled the big pot, taking the chip lead.

Level 29: Blinds 40k/80k with 5k antes. Play continued...

	Thomas Hare - 3rd place

On a flop of A 9 7 , Gavin moved in and Thomas spent some time in the tank, but finally made the call. Gavin held Q T for the flopped flush. Thomas held A7 offsuit for two pair. He would need an Ace or 7 or Gavin would double-up. Last two cards were 6 K and Gavin doubled up, leaving Thomas the short-stack.

Thomas got all in on the next hand. Unfortunately, his K3 off was dominated by Gavin's KQ off. Board came Q J 9 7 8 and Thomas was done.

Thomas Hare finished in 3rd place, earning $381,137.

There will be a delay as the prepare and film the money presentation. Here are the chip counts:

In case you were wondering about the frequency of posts, I am only allowed to post once each half-hour. This is due to the agreement signed between CardPlayer and the WPT. So each half-hour I'll have to summarize what happened over the last 30 minutes.

David raised to 225k from the button and Gavin called from the small blind. Both checked the flop of T 8 3 . The turn was the 7 . Gavin bet 350k and David called. River was the A . David bet half a million after Gavin checked. Gavin thought briefly, then called. David showed AQ off for the pair of Aces. Gavin showed an Ace and mucked his hand, obviously out-kicked. After losing that monster pot, Gavin was the short stack.

They are now on a short break. Here are the chip counts:

	Noah Schwartz - 4th place

Level 28: Blinds 30k/60k with 5k antes. Play continues...

Noah moved in for a bit under 1 million and after a bit of contemplation, David Tran made the call. Noah's pocket 9s were leading David's KQ off, but the board came K J 2 J 8 and Noah was done.

Noah Schwartz finished in 4th place, earning $331,958.

Chip approximations:

Noah raised to 175k, Gavin called from the button and David called from the big blind. All three checked the flop of A J 2 . Turn is the J and it is checked to Gavin, who fired 275k. David called and Noah got out of the way. River was the 5 . David checked, Gavin fired 525k, and David made the call, showing an Ace for Aces-up. Gavin held pocket 6s for an inferior two-pair and David pulled the massive pot.

After Gavin opened for 125k. Thomas moved in for 650k. Gavin made the call, showing pocket 9s. Thomas held pocket Jacks and was way ahead. His lead got bigger when a third Jack flopped. Gavin couldn't catch up and Thomas tripled up.

Here are some rough chip counts:

	Lee Watkinson - 5th place

Lee moved all in from the small blind and after getting a count, Noah made the call. Lee's J 9 was trailing Noah's K6 off. Board came A T 4 J 7 and Lee paired his Jack on the turn to double up.

A short while later, Lee moved in again and Noah called again, showing pocket 8s.  Lee was in bad shape with pocket 7s.  Board came A J T 9 2 and Noah took the pot.

Lee Watkinson finished in 5th place, earning $282,779.

Level 27: Blinds 25k/50k with 4k antes. Play continues.

	Ervin Prifti - 6th place

On the fifth hand of play, David raised to 120k utg and Ervin moved in from the button. David called, showing AK off. Ervin's KQ off was in bad shape. Board came J 7 6 9 5 and Ervin was felted.

Ervin Prifti finished in 6th place, earning $233,600.

Level 26: Blinds 20k/40k with 4k antes. Cards are in the air. About 25 minutes remain in this level.

Action should be underway shortly...they are introducing the players now.

Lee Watkinson; 387,000 in chips
Lee Watkinson is perhaps best known for being the sole professional player at the final table of the 2007 WSOP Main Event, where he finished eighth. Before that, he made a name for himself by making two Season III WPT final tables in 2004, finishing second both times. Today, he'd like to finish just a little higher than that, and pick up his first WPT title.

Even though he has a WSOP bracelet, Watkinson is still looking for his first million-dollar victory. He's come close, with four cashes between $510,000 and $660,000, and he has more than $3.45 million in lifetime winnings. Watkinson would love to have a televised million-dollar victory to cement his reputation as one of the top players in the game.

The 41-year-old player from Washington state is active in many endeavors outside of the poker world. He is one of the owners of Rebel Yell Records and the CEO of Criminal Mind clothing. He also started a jewelry company called Hardcore Elegance. With his fiancee Timmi DeRosa, Watkinson is very active with the Cortland Brandenburg Foundation, a rescue for chimpanzees who have survived Hollywood and/or scientific research projects.

Back in the poker world, Watkinson is off to a strong start in 2008. He made two final tables at the Aussie Millions earlier this month, including a victory in $3,000 pot-limit Omaha. It's going to be a tough battle for Watkinson tonight, as he starts the final table with just 2.6% of the chips in play -- two players have 12 times as many chips as he does. But if he can double up once or twice (or three times) early, he'll be very dangerous.

Seat 2: Noah Schwartz; 1,313,000 in chips
Noah Schwartz is known online as "fourUhaters," where he's had most of the success in his career so far. His biggest online score was last year, when he won the PokerStars Sunday Million, picking up $353,000. That's nearly triple the $132,000 he's picked up in various major live tournaments -- until today, where he's guaranteed at least $233,000, with a shot at $1.4 million.

Schwartz is 24 years old, and a recent graduate from Florida International University, where he studied finance and entrepreneurship. He is engaged to his girlfriend Nicole, who may already be planning a different wedding based on his finish tonight -- $1.4 million can buy a lot of wedding.

He starts the final table fourth in chips -- not strong, but not nearly as low as the two short stacks. Fortunately for Schwartz, the deep structure here at the Borgata will give him a chance to mount a comeback.

Seat 3: Ervin Prifti; 289,000 in chips
Ervin Prifti is a 34-year-old local player from Pennsylvania, but he was born and raised in the country of Albania. With just 289,000 in chips (less than 2% of the total amount in play), he's going to need all the support he can muster -- as a local player, he just might have it. He'll have plenty of friends in the stands, cheering him on to what they hope will be one of the great comebacks in WPT history.

This is Prifti's first WPT event, and his record in the various online databases is thin, with only one result -- a sixth-place finish in seven-card stud at the 1998 U.S. Poker Championship. Stud is his favorite game, but as he's already turned his $2,100 satellite entry into at least $233,000, he might try hold'em a little more often.

Seat 4: Gavin Griffin; 5,105,000 in chips
Gavin Griffin isn't usually mentioned among the biggest names of the game, but he should be. Even though he has historically underperformed in WPT events (this is just his second cash) his poker resume clearly puts him among the elite.

In 2004, Griffin (a former poker dealer) became the youngest player in history to win a WSOP bracelet at the age of 22. (Of course he was surpassed the next year by a younger Eric Froehlich, who was surpassed the next year by a younger Jeff Madsen, who was surpassed the next year by a younger Steve Billirakis, who was surpassed a few months later in Europe by Annette Obrestad.)

And you wouldn't know it to look at him (he's very down to earth), but Griffin is one of the few players to earn more than $2 million in a single tournament, cashing out $2.4 million by winning the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo last year.

Now that he's 26 years old, Griffin won't be setting any more records as the "youngest ever." Or will he? Today he has a chance to become the first player in history to win a WSOP bracelet, a WPT title, and an EPT title. If he wins today, he'll be the youngest ever to win all three. (He'll also be the oldest, the tallest, the shortest ... well, you get the idea.)

One last thing, just to illustrate that Griffin isn't all about money or poker titles. Before playing in the EPT Grand Final, Griffin died his hair pink to raises awareness for breast cancer. He's back to blond now, proving that he's not overly superstitious. With more than 33% of the chips in play, who needs superstitions anyway?

Seat 5: Tom Hare; 2,851,000 in chips
Tom Hare is a 54-year-old retired printer from Philadelphia without much high-stakes tournament experience. In fact, this is his first World Poker Tour event (he gained entry by winning a $1,000 satellite) but now that he's reached the final table, it isn't likely to be his last.

Hare's prior tournament cashes are all from Atlantic City, and his biggest win (before today) was for $32,000 at a weekly tournament here at the Borgata. His wife Sue will be rooting for him in the audience, and his three kids will probably be tracking their father's progress online.

Seat 6: David Tran; 5,271,000 in chips
Born and raised in Vietnam, the 45-year-old David Tran isn't a household name to poker fans, but he's no rookie -- search his name in an online database and you'll find dozens of final tables, mostly in the Southern California area. He's friends with David "The Dragon" Pham, and Tran has picked up the nickname, "The Big Dragon." (Tran is quite a bit taller than Pham.)

This is his first WPT final table, and just his third cash in a WPT event, but he's no stranger to bright lights and high pressure -- he finished 14th in the most recent WSOP Main Event, earning $429,114. To earn more than that today, he'll need to finish second or higher. He starts the final table with nearly 35% of all the chips in play, so he's put himself in position to do just that.

	David Tran - chip leader

The final six players will return at 5pm EST Thursday to play for the $1.4 million first prize. Here are the final 6 with their seat assignments and chip counts:

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