The final table of eight is set. Action is set to begin at 4 p.m. PDT Friday. Here are the players with their seat assignments and chip counts:

Playing Stud/8: Tom Dwan check-raised David Oppenheim, who bet 5th street showing K A 9. Tom was showing 5 K K and after David tanked for several minutes and folded, Tom showed the other 5 for two pair. David was left with only 45k after surrending that pot.

Soon after David was all in on 3rd street against Jeff Madsen. By the river, David had made Kings-up, but Jeff had Aces-up to take the pot.

David Oppenheim finished in 9th place, earning $45,120.

Now, finally, it is over. The final table of eight is set.

Playing Limit Hold'em: Gus Hansen called Eli Elezra's all-in bet on the flop of J J 8. Eli held A9 off and was, surprisingly, ahead of Gus' KQ off. The last two cards were 6 7 and Eli doubled up, leaving Gus circling the drain.

Gus got his last chips in and called by Sam Farha. Gus held Q8 off and needed help to survive against Sam's K9 off. The board came 7 3 3 7 9 and Sam's King kicked Gus to the curb.

Gus Hansen finished in 10th place, earning $45,120.

Michael DeMichele took a big pot from Sam Farha when his pocket Tens morphed into a full house on the river. Michael check-called Sammy all the way down the board of 8 8 6 Q T, then check-raised the river, squeezing an extra bet out of Sammy, who mucked his hand upon seeing the bad news.

Eli Elezra has been working his short stack very hard and it finally paid off. He was in 3-way action with Sam Farha and Michael DeMichele. Eli got his last chips in on the river with the board showing Q 7 6 7 5 at which point Michael dropped out, but Sammy made the call. Eli showed A J for the nut flush. Sammy mucked and Eli is up to ~360k with some breathing room.

Playing 2-7 Triple-Draw: Tom Schneider tangled with Tom Dwan and at the river Schneider's 96 was not good enough to beat Dwan's 87. Schneider was all-in on the blind in the next hand and was felted.

Tom 'Donkey Bomber' Schneider finished in 12th place, earning $36,096.

Playing PLO: Michael DeMichele surrendered a huge pot on the river to a bet from Matt Glantz, pushing Matt's chip count over 750k.

Playing Limit Hold'em: Ali Eslami got all-in against James Mackey and Jeff Madsen. Ali flopped a set with his pocket 5s and tripled up.

Playing Omaha/8: Ali was all in again, this time against Tom Dwan. Ali held A A 7 2 against Durrr's Q 6 4 4 . The flop came T 7 5 -- all hearts -- giving Tom the flush and leaving Ali needing two runners for a high but with some options for the low half of the pot. Unfortunately for him, the last two were 3 2 giving Tom the 6-low to beat his 7-low.

Ali Eslami finished in 11th place, earning $36,096.

Time for a 20 minute break.

Playing Stud/8: Tom 'durrr' Dwan took a big pot from Tom Schneider. Durrr was leading the whole way, then suddenly switched gears and checked on 7th street with 5 K T J showing. Schneider was showing J 6 9 3 and fired on the river, only to get check-raised by Dwan. Schneider made the call and Dwan showed QQ7. Schneider mucked and Dwan's pair of Queens pulled the 200k pot.

Matt Glantz made two pair to scoop a huge multi-way pot, putting him in the chip lead with 750k.

Chris Gentile got all-in on 4th street showing 88 while Matt Glantz and Michael DeMichele continued to build a side-pot. At the river, Michael showed a 6-high straight to scoop and send Chris home and chip up to ~300k.

Chris Gentile finished in 15th place, earning $18,048.

Johnny Chan tangled with Michael DeMichele in a hand and slowed down on 6th street when Michael kept calling. They both checked the river and Michael showed a pair of Queens in the hole to scoop, leaving the Orient Express running out of steam.

Lee Watkinson got wrapped up in a hand with Gus Hansen and surrendered to a bet on the river, leaving himself with only 5k in chips.

Playing NLHE: James Mackey was all-in against Tom Dwan. James held pocket Tens and was in good shape against durrr's KT off. No King appeared on the board and James got a huge double-up, taking a massive bite out of the former chip leader. With that pot, James was over 500k while Tom dropped to under 200k.

Lee Watkinson lost his last chip to Gus Hansen when his AJ fell to Gus' 97, which went runner-runner to make a straight.

Lee Watkinson finished in 14th place, earning $27,072.

Johnny Chan got his last chips in against Gus Hansen, only to find his A5 suited dominated by Gus' A8 offsuit. The better kicker ruled and the Orient Express has left the building.

Johnny Chan finished in 13th place, earning $27,072.

Playing PLO: Tom Schneider doubled up his short stack via James Mackey. Tom Dwan made the nut flush and got some chips back from Jeff Madsen.

Latest chip counts:

Playing Razz: William McMahan got his last chips in and lost them to Lee Watkinson.

William McMahan finished in 17th place, earning $16,243.

With 16 players remaining, they are redrawing seats at the final two tables. Here they are with their seats and counts:

Then they took a 20 minute break.

After the break, they got right down to business. 

Amnon ran afoul of Tom 'durrr' Dwan while playing 7-card stud and was busted.

Amnon Filippi finished in 16th place, earning $18,048.

Playing PLO: Doyle got his last chips in against William McMahan. Doyle held A762 (ss) and William held KQJ7 (ss). The board came Q 9 4 9 K and William took the pot with two pair.

Doyle Brunson finished in 21st place, earning $16,243.

Playing 2-7 Triple Draw: Adam Friedman was all-in after the second draw. Matt Glantz made the call and showed down and 8-perfect. Adam mucked.

Adam Friedman finished in 20th place, earning $16,243.

Playing Limit Hold'em: Greg 'FBT' Mueller managed to get his chips in pre-flop against Tom Dwan. FBT held KT off and was actually ahead of Tom's 84 off. Then the board came T 6 5 J 7 giving Tom the straight.

Greg 'FBT' Mueller finished in 19th place, earning $16,243.

Brandon Adams got his last chips in pre-flop against Matt Glantz. Brandon held QJ; Matt held A8 suited. The board came 5 4 3 3 6 and Matt's Ace-high was good.

Brandon Adams finished in 18th place, earning $16,243.

The money bubble finally burst! Playing Stud/8: a multi-way pot saw Minh Ly all-in on 5th street against his buddies from the 'Big Game', Eli Elezra and Doyle Brunson. Their cards
Eli: 55K3
Doyle: 7A9T
Minh: A6QK
At the river, Minh showed A53 for a pair of Aces, but Eli showed Q52 for trips to take the pot and send Minh home in 25th place, $0.

The final 24 drew seats and moved to the final three tables. Play will continue until they reach the final table of eight. Here are the new seating assignments and chip count estimates:

Once the bubble burst, these guys couldn't wait to get their chips in the middle, playing NLHE:

On a J 9 6 flop Nikolay Evdakov got all in against Johnny Chan. Nikolay's JT (top pair) was ahead of Johnny's AK, but a King landed on the turn and the river was a brick. The Orient Express took the pot.

Nikolay Evdakov finished in 24th place, earning $16,243.

Chad Brown got in pre-flop against Scott Seiver and Matt Glantz, who checked down the board. In the end, Scott took the main pot, Matt took the side pot, and Chad took 23rd.

Chad Brown finished in 23rd place, earning $16,243.

Playing PLO: On a board of K 8 5 K A, Scott Seiver got all in and called by Johnny Chan. Johnny showed KT86 for Kings-full and Scott mucked.

Scott Seiver finished in 22nd place, earning $16,243.

27th place: Vanessa Rousso. After hanging tough to two days, she finally succumbed while playing Limit Hold'em. Her last chips went in on the flop of A J 6. She held J8 for middle pair, but Tom Dwan held pocket Kings. No help for Miss R and she's history. No more women, so you guys feel free to burp and scratch.

26th place: Eric Froehlich. Playing Razz, E-fro showed 8457 against Michael DeMichele's 2J46. At showtime, Michael tabled 53x for a 65-low and E-fro mucked, leaving himself short. He surrendered the rest of his chips to Jeff Madsen soon after.

With 25 players left, it is time for the bubble, which means hand-for-hand play.

At the end of level 14, players took a 20 minute break and returned to ...the same level.  The TD is keeping the blinds the same as long as they are playing hand-for-hand.  Once the bubble bursts, they will move into Level 15.

Play is still hand-for-hand until one more player goes...Matt Glantz has moved into the chip lead with ~400k.

Tom Dwan and Sam Farha tangled again playing PLO. Sam called Tom's river bet and Tom showed him a King-high straight, which was good as Sam mucked his hand. Tom has extended his chip lead.

Playing NLHE: Matt Glantz was firing the whole way and Chad Brown was calling the whole way as the board came A 8 5 6 6. Matt showed AQ to take the pot and chip up to ~250k.

Playing 2-7 Triple Draw: Russell 'the Muscle' Salzer got involved in 3-way action with Doyle Brunson and Eli Elezra. At showdown, Eli tabled an 87532 and the other two mucked. Russell was left short-stacked and was all-in on the next hand against Ming Ly. Russell ended up with a 98 which was no good against Minh's 86 and Russell hit the rail.

Play continued into level 14 with Blinds of 2,500/5k and Limits of 5k-10k for Limit games; antes of 1k, bring-ins of 2k and limits of 5k/10k for Stud and 600 antes, 1,200/2,400 blinds for NLHE & PLO.

Playing PLO: Mike Sexton and Marcel Luske got all in pre-flop against Sam Farha.
Mike held 6 5 4 3 ;
Marcel held A K J T ; and
Sam held A Q Q T .
The board came K 6 2 9 5 to give Sammy the flush and pot and give the other two the rest of the night off. Sammy chipped up to over 200k with that hand.

27 players remain...just three more must go to reach the money.

About 8:30pm Players returned from dinner to Level 13 with Limits of 2k/4k and Blinds of 4k/8k in the Limit games; 1k antes, 1k bring-ins, and 4k/8k limits in the Stud games; and 500 antes, Blinds of 1k/2k in the NLHE and PLO games.

Soon after play resumed, Ralph Perry got his last chips in playing Stud against Matt Glantz. Matt made a full house to give Ralph the boot.

Playing NLHE: Sam Farha checked dark before the flop came 9 9 7. Chip leader Tom Dwan fired at it and Sam moved all-in. Tom made the call, showing KQ suited for two overs. Sam held T9 suited for trips. The last two were bricks and Sammy doubled up.

A bit later, Sammy was all-in pre-flop against Vanessa Rousso. Sammy's KQ was badly dominated by Vanessa's AK, but amidst a board of bricks, a Queen hit the turn and Sammy doubled up again.

Loi Tran got all in with pocket 4s against David Oppenheim's pocket 9s. A 9 hit the flop giving David a massive lead. The 4 on the turn was too little, too late for Loi. No one-outer on the river and Loi was felted.

Playing PLO: Four players took the flop for the minimum. Upon seeing Q 3 3 it was checked to David Oppenheim who fired 4k. Doyle Brunson raised to 10k. The others got out of the way and David called. Turn was the 9 and Doyle got his last ~31k in. David made the call, showing 5 4 3 2 for trip 3s. Doyle held AKQQ for Queens-full. David was drawing dead and Texas Dolly doubled up.

Playing Stud: Sam Farha, Tom Schneider, and Marcel Luske were in 3-way action. Sammy bet his T5A5, Marcel folded his JKQ4, and Tom called with his 5839. On the river, Sammy checked, Tom fired, and Sammy called. Tom showed 996 for a set of 9s and Sammy mucked his hand.

Bill Chen, Bruce Yamron, and John Hennigan have all been busted.

35 players remain and at the end of level 12, they were sent on a one-hour dinner break. Play should resume about 8:30pm.

Playing Limit Hold'em: Tom McCormick was all-in on the turn with the board showing 8 5 5 3 . Lee Watkinson made the call, showing Q 6 for a flush draw. Tom held A9 off and was actually ahead with Ace-high, but the river was the 7 completing Lee's flush and ending Tom's run in event 8.

Playing NLHE: James Mackey and Mark Vos got all the chips in pre-flop. Mark's pocket Kings were in trouble against James' pocket Aces. No help for Mark and he was tossed.

Jerrod Ankenman Chau Giang, Woody Deck, Pat Pezzin, Andy Bloch, Cong Do, and Tad Jurgens have also been ousted. Katja Thater has also departed, which leaves Vanessa Rousso as the last woman sitting.

They are half-way through level 12 and 39 players remain. Only 24 will get paid.

Playing Stud/8: In a multi-way pot with two players all in, Eli Elezra showed a wheel to scoop and send Christopher Niesert and Joseph Michael to the rail.

Playing Stud: Gus Hansen showed Aces-up to bust Greg Raymer, who held a pair of 7s.

Playing NLHE: On the turn with the board showing 8 7 2 2 , Chris Bell check-raised all-in and Sam Farha made the call. Chris held 8 6 for top pair with the fllush draw. Sam held pocket 9s for the overpair and the lead. The river was an offsuit Ten and Chris was busted.

After a 20-minute break, players returned to Level 11 with Blinds of 1,300/2,500 and Limits of 2,500/5k for Limit games, 500 antes, 700 bring-in, 2,500/5k limits for Stud games, and 300 antes, 600/1,200 blinds for NLHE and PLO.

Playing PLO: On a board of J 6 6 3, Steve Wolff check-raised all-in and Gus Hansen looked him up. Steve held AA82 for Aces-up. Gus held T764 for trip 6s and the lead. River was an 8 and Gus took the pot, giving Steve the boot. With that pot, Gus chipped up to 200k.

Playing NLHE: Phil Ivey (button) and Greg 'FBT' Mueller (big blind) took the flop for a raise. On the J 6 3 rainbow flop, Greg fired enough to put Phil all-in. Phil made the call, showing A7 off for, well, nothing. FBT showed A3 for bottom pair. Phil needed to catch a 7, but the last two were 8 2 and he crapped out.

The chip lead now seems to be a battle between Tom 'durrrr' Dwan and Gus Hansen, who are both over 220k.

Playing Razz: Three-way action between Johnny 'the Orient Express' Chan, Phil Ivey, and Mark Vos. Johnny was showing 4J87, Phil showed A4AQ, and Mark showed 9867. At showtime, Johnny turned up J52 for 87542 and the other two mucked. With that large pot, Johnny chipped up to about 140k.

Brett Richey, Noah Jefferson, Luke Neeley, David Gray, Erik Seidel, Todd Brunson, Matt Hawrilenko, and Alex Kravchenko have all been felted.

Johnny Chan and Marcel Luske are battling for the chip lead. Both are over 140k.

77 players remain. Only 24 get paid, so there is still a long way to go to reach the money.

The start of play was delayed a bit as players found their seats and got situated, then got special instructions for Triple-Draw, which is the first game.

Level 9 has blinds of 800/1,500 with limits of 1,500/3,000 for the Limit games, antes 300, bring-in 500 with 1,500/3,000 limits for the stud games, and 200 antes, 400/800 blinds for NLHE and PLO.

Playing 2-7 Triple-Draw: Ali Eslami and Eric Froehlich each drew 2. Ali bet and E-fro called. Ali stood pat and E-fro drew one and again Ali fired and E-fro called. On the final draw, Ali stood pat and E-fro drew one. They checked it down and Ali showed 98642. E-fro flashed the King he caught on the final draw and mucked his hand.

After the first draw, Woody Deck and Marcel Luske both checked. On the 2nd draw, they each took two. Woody check-called Marcel's bet, then drew one while Marcel stood pat. Again Woody check-called, showing 87532. Marcel mucked his hand.

Tim Phan (big blind) was all in against Tom 'durrrr' Dwan (button) and David Oppenheim (small blind). On the 1st draw, David and Tim drew one while Tom stood pat. David and Tom checked. On the second draw, David took one and the others stood pat. Again they checked down the dry side-pot. On the 3rd draw, David again took one and the others patted the table. David fired a bet and Tom called, showing 86532. David and Tim mucked and Tim hit the rail.

Quote of the day:  After showing down 87432, and having his opponent show 87432, resulting in a split pot, a player said "You play that sh*t?!?"

Bounced:  Tony 'G' Guoga, Robert Malkin, George Lind, Sigi Stockinger, David Sklansky and Barry Greenstein.

Below are the chip counts heading into Day 2 of play, which should get underway about 3pm.