Nick Ceci - Winner!

Three hands later: Nick completed the small and TK moved all in. Nick called, showing J7 suited. TK held Q4 for the lead. Then the board came J 9 7 A J giving Nick the over-kill full-house for the WIN!

Nick Ceci finished in first place, earning $382,928 (which includes $11,000 for the WSOP main event seat & travel) and the WSOP Circuit Championship ring.

Timothy 'TK' Miles finished in 2nd place, earning $210,610.

Final table money results:

	Timothy 'TK' Miles - 2nd place

Heads-up hand ~78: Nick completed the small and TK raised from the big. Nick called to see the flop of Q 4 4. TK bet 80k, Nick raised another 180k, TK moved all-in and Nick called. TK held AQ for Queens-up; Nick held 43 off for trip 4s and the lead. TK had him covered, barely. Last two were 7 T and Nick doubled up, leaving TK with less than 200k.

Next hand: TK moved in and Nick called. TK held 9 suited and Nick's A6 offsuit was ahead. Then the board came 7 3 2 T 8 and TK doubled up to ~300k.

About 5 hands later: TK completed the small and Nick checked. Flop was Q 8 4 rainbow -- both checked. Turn was the J . Nick bet 43k and TK called. River was the 3 and Nick checked. TK bet 80k and Nick made the call, showing pocket Kings. TK showed J3 for two pair to take the pot.

Somewhere around the 60th hand of heads-up play: Nick completed the small and TK checked his option. Flop was T 9 6 . TK bet 30k and Nick called. Turn was the J . TK fired 70k and Nick called. River was the T and TK fired 120k, whick Nick called. TK turned over pocket Aces for two pair; Nick turned over K 2 for the runner-runner flush to take the pot.

Level 17: Blinds 10k/20k with 3k ante. Play has resumed.

Nick has about 1.16 million to TK's 1.34 million.

End of level 16 and time for a break. They've played about 40 hands heads-up and TK is still holding a slight lead over Nick. It seems that both players are trying to keep the pots small.

About 20 hands into heads-up: TK completed the small and Nick checked. Flop was 8 3 2 . Nick checked, TK bet 22k, and Nick called. Turn was the 8 and again Nick checked. TK fired 60k and Nick called. River was the J and Nick lead out for 350k. TK took about a minute, then called, showing Q8 for trip 8s. Nick rolled over 5 2 for the runner-runner flush to take the pot.

With that hand, the stacks are almost even. TK has ~1.3 million and Nick has ~1.2 million.

About 16 hands into heads-up: Nick raised 42k from the button and TK called. Flop was J 6 2 and TK checked, Nick bet 120k, TK raised to 300k, Nick moved all-in, and TK called all-in (714k total). Nick's pocket Kings were ahead of TK's A 9 , but TK could take the lead with any Ace or diamond. The turn was a most interesting card: K . TK completed his flush, but Nick could bust him with any card that paired the board (10 outs). River was the 9 , however, and TK doubled up and took the chip lead.

Chip counts at the start of heads-up play:

	Floyd Vanderford - 3rd place

Hand 51: Floyd moved all in from the button for 130k. TK took about a minute, then made the call from the small blind. Floyd held Q8 suited and was trailing TK's KJ offsuit. Board came A 9 2 K 5 and TK took the pot with a pair of Kings.

Floyd Vanderford finished in 3rd place, earning $107,699.

	Gabe Costner - 4th place

Hand 49: Gabe raised to 42k from the button and Nick made the call from the small blind. Flop was J 4 4 and Nick checked, Gabe fired 70k, Nick raised 140k on top, then Gabe announced all-in. Nick made the call and Gabe showed 74 off for trip 4s. Nick then showed A 4 for trip 4s with the boss kicker. Gabe needed to see a 7 or his day would be done. Last two were 6 8 and Nick takes another pot.

Gabe Costner finished in 4th place, earning $83,766.

Level 16: Blinds 8k/16k with 2k ante. Play has resumed. Here are the current chip counts:

	Jeff Tims - 5th place

Hand 41: Jeff opened for 42k and Gabe called from the button. The flop came Q 9 4 and Jeff announced all-in. Gabe tanked for a few minutes, then made the call showing pocket 7s. He was ahead of Jeff's KJ offsuit. The last two cards were 8 3 and Jeff was busted.

Jeff Tims finished in 5th place, earning $71,799.

That was the last hand of the level and the final four are taking a 15 minute break.

Rough chip counts:

	Lou Esposito - 6th place

Hand 28: Lou moved all in for 68k from the button and Jeff called all-in for 54k from the big blind. Jeff's K8 offsuit had Lou's K7 offsuit in bad shape. Board came Q 8 6 T J and Jeff doubled up, leaving Lou with only 14k.

Hand 29: Nick opened for 36k utg, then Lou tossed his last few chips in from the cutoff, then TK raised to 120k from the button. Back to Nick, who moved in over the top for 568k. Back to TK, who tanked for a few minutes, then made the call. Nick held pocket Aces and the lead. TK held pocket Queens, and Lou held T 9 . The board came A 9 5 9 5 and although he made a full house, defending champ Lou was busted. Nick took both pots with Aces-full and took the chip lead away from TK.

Defending champ Lou 'the Big Easy' Esposito finished in 6th place, earning $59,833.

	Charles (Chuck) Kelley - 7th place

Hand 22: Jeff raised to 33k from the small blind and Gabe moved all in for 121k from the big. Jeff called, showing KT off. Gabe had him dominated with AT off. The board came 8 5 2 8 6 and Gabe doubled up.

Hand 23: Floyd raised utg and Jeff called from the button. On the T 9 2 rainbow flop, Floyd moved all in and Jeff called, showing pocket Kings. Floyd held AJ offsuit and it looked like he was headed for the door, but then the turn was an Ace and Floyd took the lead. River was a Ten and Floyd doubled up.

Hand 25: Nick raised to 54k from the button and Chuck moved in for 77k from the big blind. Nick made the call, showing 87 off. Chuck had him dominated wiht A8 off. Then the board ran out K 7 6 Q 2 giving Nick the pot with a pair of 7s.

Charles (Chuck) Kelley finished in 7th place, earning $47,866.

Things calmed down a bit after that initial flurry of action. Defending champ Lou has been all-in twice, but gotten no takers.

Hand 17: TK raised to 30k and Gabe moved all-in for 114k from the button. TK made the call, showing K6 off. Gabe's pocket 6s were ahead, but the board came Q 5 4 2 3 giving both a 6-high straight and a chopped pot.

Hand18: TK raised to 30k (again) and Nick raised to 100k from the button. Back to TK, who made the call. Flop was Q 8 6 and TK announced all-in, exposing his hand before Nick called, which was AT off. Nick called, showing AJ for the lead. Last two were 7 7 and Nick doubled up.

On the 4th hand, TK min-raised to 16k utg and all folded to Floyd on the button, who raised to 50k straight. The blinds got out of the way and chip leader TK announced all-in. Floyd called all-in for 123k, showing pocket Kings. TK held pocket Jacks. Board came T 7 4 2 Q and Floyd doubled up again.

Level 15: Blinds 6k/12k with 2k ante. Play continues. Levels are now 90 minutes long.

	Ed Jatho (8th) and Marc Fratter (9th)

On the very first hand of the day: TK raised to 22k from the middle. Ed hit it again to 45k straight from the cutoff. Marc smooth-called from the button and it was back to TK, who kicked it on up to 120k. When the action got back to Ed, he moved all in. Marc, who was covered by both the other players, called all-in. Tk obliged them both by calling and showing his two red Aces. Ed was trailing with pocket Jacks. Marc held pocket Queens. What an incredible first hand! The board cards came 6 6 2 5 6 and TK's Aces held up to bust two players!

Ed Jatho finished in 8th place, earning $35,900.

Marc Fratter finished in 9th place, earning $23,933.

On the second hand, Nick raised to 32k from the small blind and Floyd moved his short-stack all-in from the big. It was only 31k more to Nick, so he made the call. Floyd held A 6 and was crushing Nick's 54 offsuit. Board came 7 7 2 K 6 and Floyd doubled up.

Level 14: Blinds 4k/8k with 1k ante. A bit over 19 minutes remain in this level. Now, finally, cards are in the air!

Still waiting for the player intros...since Bluff media is taping the final table to stream on the internet (with one hour delay) there are some delays in getting underway.

Player Profiles

SEAT 1: Floyd Vanderford
HOMETOWN: New Orleans, LA
CHIP COUNT: 65,000
Floyd Vanderford is a 39-year-old general contractor from right here in New Orleans. This is his first-ever in-the-money finish in a major poker tournament. In fact, this is the first major tournament Floyd has ever entered. He qualified to play in this championship event at a cost of just $50, which bought him into a satellite tournament held inside the Harrah's Poker Room last month. That won him a seat into another satellite tournament, which he won – and now here he is at the final table playing for nearly $400,000. Floyd has a big challenge ahead today as the shortest stack, but, he would probably agree that he is already a winner no matter what happens.

SEAT 2: Charles Kelley
HOMETOWN: Staunton, VA
CHIP COUNT: 142,000
Charles (Chuck) Kelley is a 47-year-old real estate manager from Staunton, VA and an alumnus of Clemson University. With his cash in this tournament, Chuck is guaranteed to pass a personal poker milestone. He will now have over $1 million in career poker tournament winnings. His best finish so far was second place at the Borgata Poker Classic in Atlantic City last year. Today, he hopes to achieve his first major victory.

SEAT 3: Lou “The Big Easy” Esposito
HOMETOWN: Howard Beach, NY
CHIP COUNT: 116,000
Lou Esposito is a 32-year-old professional poker player from Howard Beach, NY. If his name sounds familiar here at Harrahs, it’s because Esposito is the defending champion of this tournament, which he won last year. Esposito won the 2007 Bayou Poker Challenge championship, which earned him more than $516,000. If you wonder why Esposito is called “The Big Easy,” it’s because New Orleans has been very good to him. He not only won in 2007, he also made it to the final table of the Bayou Winter Challenge, held right here last December. This makes three straight final table appearances for Esposito here in New Orleans. He also has over $1 million in career tournament cashes. Here’s a scary fact – he only started playing poker in 2006.

SEAT 4: Timothy “TK” Miles
HOMETOWN: Tallahassee, FL
CHIP COUNT: 687,000
TK Miles is a 29-year-old professional gambler from Tallahassee, FL. He says he was “born a gambler, and will die a gambler.” Well, so far so good. TK currently holds the chip lead at this final table. He has three major tournament victories, including winning a gold ring at the 2007 Bayou Winter Challenge. He was also named “Rounder of the Year” by a leading poker magazine last year.

SEAT 5: Jeff Tims
HOMETOWN: Houston, TX
CHIP COUNT: 345,000
Jeff Tims is a 25-year-old poker pro from Houston, TX. He won Event #12 at this year’s Bayou Poker Challenge, good for nearly $60,000 in prize money. Prior to turning pro, Jeff was a small business owner. This is his fifth major poker tournament final table appearance. When he is not playing poker, he enjoys golfing, watching movies, and reading.

SEAT 6: Ed Jatho
HOMETOWN: Abita Springs, LA
CHIP COUNT: 406,000
Ed Jatho is a financial consultant from Abita Springs, LA. He says he is 59 years old, and counting. He is a former U.S. Marine helicopter pilot. In fact, his father, brother, son, and nephew are all former Marines – and he has a son on active duty as a Navy Lieutenant. He wants to say hello to his wife Sharon, and five sons and two daughters. This is Ed’s first final table appearance at a major poker tournament.

SEAT 7: Marc Fratter
HOMETOWN: Murphy, TX
CHIP COUNT: 311,000
Marc Fratter is a 36-year-old attorney from Murphy, TX. He has a three-year-old daughter named Kate who loves to play poker with her dad. Marc i s co-champion of the 2007 Caesars Indiana Poker Championship. He won $117,000 in that tournament. He also cashed in the 2007 Red River Roundup. This is his third time to cash in a major tournament.

SEAT 8: Gabe Costner
HOMETOWN: Originally Albertville, AL and now Long Beach, MS
CHIP COUNT: 166,000
Gabe Costner is a 31-year-old professional poker player and was a stock broker before turning pro. He has over $178,000 in career tournament winnings, but still is primarily known as a cash-game player. An interesting side note about Costner is that once when he was asked what he would like to see change in poker, he answered: “ I would take the emphasis off tournament poker and give more credit to the cash players that play everyday and make up the group that consist of the best poker players.” If he wins this tournament today, we’ll be sure to ask him again what he thinks about tournament winners getting all the glory.

SEAT 9: Nick Ceci
HOMETOWN: Peachtree, GA
CHIP COUNT: 256,000
Nick Ceci is a 38-year-old demo contractor from Peachtree, GA. He has been happily married 12 years. He has three children – ages 13, 10, and 5. Nick says he took a few years off from playing poker because his wife was seriously ill. But things are better now and he is back to playing poker. He has already made one final table at this year’s Bayou Poker Challenge -- he took eighth place in the $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event.

	Tim 'TK' Miles - chip leader

Final table action is scheduled to begin at 2pm central time Wednesday. Here are the players who will be returning with their chip counts and seat assignments:

and here's a reminder of 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