Van Nguyen - 1st place

Here are the final money results for this event:

	Ethan Ruby - 2nd place

Hand 21: Van raised to 580k from the small and Ethan called all-in from the big. Van's K4 offsuit was ahead of Ethan's Q J . The board came A 9 2 3 A and Van Nguyen becomes the first woman to ever win a mixed WPT event!

Van Nguyen finished in 1st place, earning $100,000 plus the $25,500 seat in the WPT Championship.

Ethan Ruby finished in 2nd place, earning $50,000.

Play has resumed. Chip counts:

Hand 19: Van raised enough to put Ethan all in and he called, showing AT off. Van held AK off and had him dominated. It looked like this match was over...then the board came 7 4 2 3 5 and they both made a wheel to split the pot.

Time for another tape change break. Chip counts on the way...

Hand 10: Limped and checked all the way down - split pot.

Hand 12: Limped to the flop of 9 7 3 . Van moved all in and Ethan folded.

Blinds are now 80k/160k with 20k antes.  Play continues.

Hand 16: Ethan moved in for ~130 and Van called the extra 10k, showing 97 off. She was actually ahead of Ethan's 76 off. Then the flop came 8 5 4 and Ethan flopped a straight. Last two cards were 2 8 and Ethan doubled up.

Hand 17: Van moved in and Ethan called all-in, showing T9 off. Van held 84 off. Board came K 9 5 6 A and Ethan doubled up again with a pair of 9s.

Hand 4 (of heads-up play): Ethan called and Van checked. Flop was 8 7 7 and both checked. Turn was another 7 and both checked. River was a Ten and Van reached for a stack of chips like she was going to bet, but then checked. Ethan checked behind and Van showed J9 for the straight to take the pot.

Heads-up play is underway. Van begins with an almost 5-to-1 chip lead over Ethan.

There will be a short delay as they prepare for heads-up play and film the money presentation. Here are the chip counts:

	Billy Baxter - 3rd place

Hand 91: Billy moved all-in for 450k from the small blind and after a few seconds of consideration, Van called from the big. Billy rolled over 94 offsuit and Van showed J7 offsuit. Van was ahead and had Billy on the ropes. Board came Q 6 2 A J and Van took the pot, ending Billy's run.

Billy Baxter finished in 3rd place, earning $20,000.

Hand 87: Van raised to 525k from the button. Ethan folded and Billy called from the big. On the flop of 9 5 5, Billy checked and Van moved all-in. Billy folded, surrendering another half-million chips to Van.

Hand 88: Billy moved in for 460k from the small blind and Van folded the big. Billy added 180k to his stack.

Hand 83: Billy raised to 510k from the button and Van announced "all-in" from the small bind. Ethan got out of the way and after a coupled of seconds, Billy surrendered more than half a million chips to Van.

Hand 84: Ethan moved all-in from the small blind and Billy folded, so Ethan picked up 160k.

Hand81: Ethan called and Billy checked his option. On the flop of K Q 9 rainbow, Ethan checked, Billy moved all-in, and Ethan insta-called, showing K3 off. Billy rolled over K2 off and it looked like they were heading for a split pot. Then a 2 hit the turn to give Billy two pair and the lead. Ethan needed a 3 to win or a Q or 9 to chop, but the river was a 5 and Billy doubled up to ~1.8 million.

Blinds are now 60k/120k with 20k antes. Play continues.

Play has resumed.  Current chip counts:

Hand 74: Billy raised to 350k from the button and Ethan moved all-in from the big. After about two beats, Billy let it go.

They've not seen a flop since hand #60.

Another tape-change-break is in progress. Chip counts coming soon...

Hand 65: Billy opened for 300k on the button and Ethan moved all in from the big blind for another 610k. Billy let it go and Ethan's stack gets bigger.

Hand 60: Van made it 300k from the button and Ethan moved all in from the small blind for 490k. Van called, showing A4 offsuit. Ethan was ahead with pocket 8s. Board came 9 7 5 K J and Ethan doubled up. That is the first pot that Van has voluntarily put chips into and then lost. She has won every hand she played until this one.

	Justin Marchand - 4th place

Hand 51: Van raised to 250k from the button and Justin called from the small blind. On the flop of A 8 2 Van lead for 500k. Justin moved all-in and Van called quickly. Justin showed A T for top pair. Van rolled over A 8 for top TWO pair and the lead. Justin was headed for the rail unless he could catch a Ten. Turn was a Queen, giving Justin three more outs (the remaining Queens). River was the 9 however, and Justin was done. Van was up to over 3 million in chips (only 4.45 million in play).

Justin Marchand finished in 4th place, earning $15,000.

Hand 46: Billy made it 240k to go first to act (his standard action). Van then moved all in for ~780k on the button. The blinds got out of the way and Billy made the call, showing A T . Van was ahead with A K . Then the flop came T 4 3 giving Billy the lead with a pair of tens. Van was headed for the chip lead and now she was headed for 4th place. Turn was a useless 9 . Then the K landed on the river giving Van the better pair, the double up, and the chip lead. Billy was left with about 650k. Van was up to ~1.7 million.

Blinds are now up to 50k/100k with 10k antes.  Play continues.

Hand 42: Billy raised to 240k first to act and it was folded to Ethan, who already had 80k in the big blind but didn't quite have 240k total. He decided to toss his fate to the winds and called all-in showing K 4 . Billy held A T and was ahead. The flop came J 9 3 and maintained Billy's lead. Ethan was looking for a King or a 4. Then the turn brought the 7 giving Ethan a flush draw to go with his outs. River was the A completing Ethan's flush and giving him the double-up to about 450.

	Elias Madias - 5th place

Hand 35: After folding his big blind to a raise on the previous hand, Elias moved all in for 120k from the small blind. Billy called the extra 40k and showed 64 offsuite. Elias held 74 offsuit and surprisingly had Billy dominated. Board came 9 5 4 7 2 and Elias doubled up with two pair.

Hand 38: After moving in on the previous hand and not getting called, Elias moved all in again, this time for 425k. Justin made the call from the small blind showing pocket 8s. Elias held A5 off and would need to improve to survive. The board came 9 3 2 7 3 and Justin's pair held up.

Ellias Madias finished in 5th place, earning $10,000.

Play has resumed. Blinds are still 40k/80k with 10k antes.

Current chip counts:

Hand 33: Elias raised to 300k utg and Justin moved all-in for 450k from the small blind. Elias made the call, showing pocket Jacks (both red). Justin rolled over pocket Queens (both black). The board rolled out K Q 5 J K and Justin doubled up with full-house over full-house.  Elias was left with only 220k.

There will be a short break as they change the tape in the cameras.

Hand 30: Justin hasn't played a hand since hand 15 (he got a walk in his big blind on hand 17). This time, Justin moved in for 225k. All folded to Billy, who called from the big blind. Justin showed A4 off and was ahead of Billy's Q6 off. Board came A 7 4 J J and Justin doubled up with Aces-up.

Hand 32: Ethan moved in utg for 200k. All folded and Ethan picked up 160k in blinds and antes.

Hand 26: Ethan raised to 250k and Billy called from the small blind. Both checked the flop of A 9 3 . Turn was the 5 and Billy announced "all-in". Ethan thought for a bit, then mucked his pocket Queens face up! A gasp went up from the crowd (but I think it was a good laydown). We'll have to wait until this is shown on TV to see what Billy had.

Hand 24: In another battle of the blinds, Ethan called and Elias checked. Both checked the flop of A A 4 . Turn was the Q and Ethan fired 200k. Elias folded.

Hand 15: Justin opened for 200k and Billy called from the big blind. Both checked the flop of A Q 2 and the turn, which was the J . River was the 4 and Billy fired 200k. Justin let it go.

Blinds are now 40k/80k with 10k antes. Play continues.

Hand 16: Billy completed the small and Van checked her option. Flop was K 8 4 . Billy bet 150k and Van released her hand.

Hand 11: Justin raised to 190k utg and Elias called from the button. After Billy folded in the small blind, Van moved all-in for 730k from the big. Justin released pretty quickly and Elias thought about it a bit longer, but finally let it go and Van picked up the big pot.

We've still only seen one flop and haven't gotten to a turn card yet.

The first four hands were flop-free (taken with a raise).

Hand 5: Battle of the blinds. Elias completed the small and Billy raised 165k from the big. Elias called and the flop was J 7 3 . Elias lead for 300k and Billy surrendered.

Blinds are still at the 30k/60k with 10k ante level. Cards are in the air!

Final table blind levels will last one hour, until they get heads-up, when rounds will go back to 30 minutes.

Seat 1: Billy Baxter, 1,250,000 in chips

Billy Baxter is the clear favorite at this final table, a member of the Poker Hall of Fame with 50 years of poker experience, 7 WSOP bracelets (mostly in deuce-to-seven draw) and a solid chip lead. Yet with all of his experience, this is his first televised WPT final table. In fact, Baxter appears to have little to no experience in front of the cameras.

	Van and Men Nguyen

Seat 2: Van Nguyen, 760,000 in chips

Van Nguyen is the sole surviving female of the four who finished in the top eight. While she is not famous, her husband certainly is -- Men "The Master" Nguyen is one of the most recognized players in the game. Van Nguyen has been playing poker for five years, and she's obviously received some good guidance from her husband.

Seat 3: Justin Marchand, 815,000 in chips

Justin Marchand is the only final tablist to earn his seat in the WPT Invitational -- he won the L.A. Poker Classic media event more than a week ago. Marchand is the Chief Media Officer for Card Player Media, and he also serves as Associate Publisher for their flagship magazine. Three years ago, Marchand filled in with temporary duty as Card Player's live tournament reporter for this very event -- and now he's at the final table being reported on by others. Marchand rarely plays tournaments, usually building his bankroll in low-stakes online heads-up matches.

Seat 4: Ethan Ruby, 910,000 in chips

Ethan Ruby is a 32-year-old former equities trader turned entrepreneur. He is here as part of the Poker4Life charity organization, which works towards charity poker events.

Seat 5: Elias Madias, 710,000 in chips

Eilas Madias is a writer who entered the WPT Invitational as a guest of actress Sara Rue, and he never expected to get this far.

	Billy Baxter - chip leader

The final five players will return at 5pm PST Monday. Here they are with their chip counts and seat assignments:

Here's what they're playing for:

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