John 'the Razor' Phan - 1st place

Blinds increased to 150k/300k with 40k antes.

About 64 hands into heads-up play: It all came down to this: Amit shoved and John called. Amit held K7 suited. John held pocket 3s and was ahead. The board came Q 5 5 A T and John's little pair held up to win him his first WPT title!

John 'the Razor' Phan finished in 1st place, earning $1,091,428 plus a $25,000 seat in the Season 7 WPT Championship.

Amit Makhija finished in 2nd place, earning $563,320.

John Phan is the most experienced player at the table, with more than $4 million in career earnings.  He's also running well right now, with a WPT final table in March at Bay 101, two WSOP bracelets in June, and the WPT Bellagio Cup IV final table in July.   John is currently the leader in the Player of the Year race and this win might give him enough of a lead that he cannot be caught.

Amit Makhija is yet another 23-year-old online player.  He's from Wisconsin and has been playing poker professionally for the past three years.  He's already had quite a bit of success, with $340,000 in live tournament earnings.   His biggest score came this past summer, when he finished fifth in the first event of the 2008 WSOP, $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em, earning nearly $200,000.

	Amit Makhija

46 hands of heads-up: Amit completed the small; John checked. Flop was A 4 3 . John bet 270k and Amit called. Turn was the K. John bet 500k and Amit called. River was the A putting four hearts on the board. After a bit of thought, John bet 950k. Amit called. John showed J 9 for the flush. Amit mucked and John picked up the pot, taking a solid chip lead, 6.7 million to Amit's 4.5 million.

Two hands later: Amit limped, John checked. Flop was J 3 2. John checked, Amit bet 250k and John called. Turn was a 5 and John lead out for 500k. Amit called. River was another Jack. John bet 1.5 million. Amit called, showing 85 for a pair of 5s to go with the Jacks on board. John showed QJ for trip Jacks to pull another big pot. John - 9.6 million; Amit - 1.5 million.

Two hands later: Amit open-shoved and John called. Amit's A8 off was leading John's A 2. The board came K K T 8 4 and Amit took the pot, doubling up to ~2.7 million.

Blinds are now100k/200k with 30 antes. Play continues. These two guys are pushing blinds and antes back and forth across the table.

28 hands into heads-up: Amit opened for 400k; John called. Flop was 9 8 5. John checked, Amit bet 600k, and John called after a bit of think-time. Turn was the 2 . Both checked. River was the 6. Amit bet 1.5 million. John took a few moments, then called. Amit said 'good call' and showed T 2 . John showed J 9 for the flush to take the pot. Amit fell back to ~2.6 million. John chipped up to ~8.6 million.

Ten hands later: On a flop of K 7 4, Amit bet 380k. John raised , Amit moved all-in and John called. Amit held 9 6 for the flush draw. John held K7 off for top two pair. Turn was the T , which gave Amit a gutshot to go with his flush draw. River was the 8, completing Amit's straight and double-up.

With that pot, Amit resumed the chip lead with ~6.5 million to John's 4.6 million.

Time for another TV-time-out.

Heads-up hand 17: John opened for 305k and Amit called. Flop was A K K and Amit checked to John, who bet 200k. Amit called, then both checked the turn which was another King. River was a Ten. Amit bet 350k. John let it go, and asked Amit to "show the bluff". Amit showed 98, which was definitely a bluff -- he was playing the board.

Two hands later, John opened for 300k and Amit called. Both checked the A 9 2 flop. Turn was a 5. Amit bet 400k and John called. River was a 6. Amit bet 1 million and John called. Amit showed A6 for two pair. John flashed an Ace, then mucked his hand in disgust. Amit picked up another nice pot, pulling almost even with John in chips.

Level 27: Blinds 60k/120k with 20 antes. Play continued.

About 24 hands into heads-up: Amit completed the small and John checked. Flop was A 4 3 and both checked. Turn was a 5 and John bet 175k. Amit called. River was a King. John bet 1.3 million and Amit let it go.

About 15 hands into heads-up: John opened for 300k and Amit moved all-in for ~1.9 million. After a minute or so, John said "call". Amit held A6 off and was ahead of John's A9 off. The board came K Q J 2 A and this time it was Amit who caught his pair on the river to double up to about 3.9 million.

Hand 105 (12th had heads-up): Amit opened for 320 on the button. John re-raised to 1.2 million. Amit then went all-in. John took a minute or so before calling all-in. Amit held pocket 2s. John held AK and it was race time. The board came J 4 3 J K and John caught lightening on the river to take the pot and double up to almost 9 million. Amit was left with ~2.2 million.

Then they had to take another TV-time-out.

Level 26: Blinds 60/120 with 20 antes. Play has begun heads-up.

Hand 95: On the second hand heads-up, Amit raised to 320k from the button and John called. The flop was J 5 3. John lead for 270k and Amit moved all-in. After some thought, John let it go.

Hand 97:  Amit opened for 320k again and John kicked it up to 1 million.  This time Amit let it go.

	Zachary Clark - 3rd place

Finally, some fireworks!

Hand 92: Amit raised to 300k from the small and John thought for a bit, then moved all-in from the big. Amit called, showing pocket Tens. John held pocket Aces and was looking for a double-up. The board came Q 9 7 5 5 and John has taken the chip lead!

Hand 93: Amit called from the button, John completed the small, then Zachary announced all-in from the big. Amit called and John got out of the way. Amit held A6 suited and was ahead of Zachary's K2 off. The board came T 7 5 A J and just like that, they are down to two. Amit has also retaken the chip lead

Zachary Clark finished in 3rd place, earning $281,645.

Zachary Clark is yet another 23-year-old online player, but he comes from stronger lineage than most -- his uncle is the legendary Chip Reese. This is his first WPT final table but he does have six WSOP cashes over the past two years. While this is already guaranteed to be his biggest live cash, he has won nearly $400,000 in a single online tournament.

Down to two means it is time to film the money presentation, so there will be a bit of a delay before heads-up play begins.

Things have been very quiet for a while. Lots of raise/fold poker going on.

Hand 81: John called from the small and Zachary checked his option. Flop was T T 8. John fired 120 and Zach called. Turn was a 5. Both checked. River was a 4 and John checked. Zachary fired 390k and John let it go.

Hand 76: John opened for 235k from the button and Amit called from the big blind. Flop was K T 2. Amit checked, John fired 200k, and Amit called. Turn was a 5 and again Amit checked. John bet 345k and Amit called. River was a 4 and Amit checked. John bet 455k and Amit called. John was reluctant to turn over his hand. Amit showed K9 suited for top pair and John mucked. Amit picked up the pot.

After that hand it was time for another TV-time-out. Latest chip counts:

After hand 63, the blinds increased.

Level 25: Blinds 50k/100k with 15k antes. Play continued. Chip counts:

Hand 65: Zachary opened for 250k from the button and John called from the big blind. Flop was T 7 4. John bet 170k and Zachary raised another 340k on top. John let it go.

Hand 68: Amit called from the small and John checked his option. The flop was A 7 7 and both checked. Turn was a 2 and Amit bet 150k. John min-raised to 300k, then Amit hit it again to 600k smooth. John let it go.

Hand 52: All three saw the flop for the minimum: K Q 2. Amit (button) bet 120k. John called and Zachary folded. Turn was an Ace. Amit fired 300k and John let it go.

Hand 54: John called (sb) and Zachary checked. Flop was Q 7 6. John checked, Zach bet 115k, and John called. Turn was a Jack. John lead for 155k and Zachary raised to a million smooth. John let it go.

Hand 49: John opened for 185 from the small blind and Zachary re-popped it to 375 from the big. John called and the flop came J 3 2. John checked, Zachary bet 150k, and John called. Turn was an Ace. Both checked. River was a 9 and John lead out for 500k. Zachary called and John showed pocket 2s for the set. Zachary mucked and John picked up another pot.

After that hand there was another TV-time-out. Here are the chip counts:

	Paul Smith - 4th place

Hand 42: Paul moved all-in for 1.245 million from the small blind. John went into the tank for a while and was up from the table walking around. Paul eventually called for the clock and with 20 seconds remaining, John said "call". Paul held A7 suited and John held pocket 8s and the lead. Then the flop came 7 7 9, giving Paul trips and the lead. It looked like he was headed for the double-up. Turn was a Ten, giving John an open-ended draw. He needed an Jack, 8, or 6 to bust Paul. The river was a 6, completing John's straight and sending Paul home.

Paul Smith finished in 4th place, earning $246,450.

Paul Smith is 38, from Chicago, married with one child, and plays online under the name "uclabruinz." He was a lawyer (graduate of UCLA, of course) before recently becoming a professional poker player, and he's already showing some strong results, with two WSOP cashes and a victory in a $2,000 no-limit hold'em prelim event at Bellagio, earning more than $200,000. This is his first final table in a major high-stakes tournament.

	Trong 'Mike' Nguyen - 5th place

Hand 34: Mike moved all-in for 595k utg and Amit made the call. Everyone else folded and Mike showed pocket 6s. Amit held AK offsuit. The board came J T 2 T 6 and Mike dodged all of Amit's out to make a full house and double up.

Hand 35: Amit opened for 150k and Mike called from the big blind. Flop was 7 7 2. Mike shoved for 850k and Amit called, showing pocket 6s. This time Mike held the two overcards, KQ suited, and was all-in for his tournament life. The last two cards came 4 5 and Mike was busted.

Trong 'Mike' Nguyen finished in 5th place, earning $21,245.

Trong Nguyen is 23 years old an was born in Vietnam. He's been playing poker professionally for the past three years since finishing school, and his biggest prior cash was for $35,000. This is his first final table in a major live tournament.

Hand 21: John raised to 145k and Amit called from the big blind. The flop was K T 2 and both checked. Turn was a 4 and Amit bet 230k. John called. River was a 6 and Amit bet 500k. John called quickly and showed pocket Jacks. Amit held pocket Aces to take the pot.

After hand 24, they took a tape change break. Here are the chip counts:

	Kyle Wilson - 6th place

Hand 19: John raised to 160k from the button. Zachary raised to 560k from the small blind, then Kyle moved all in for 995k total from the big blind. After a countdown, John took another minute, then folded. Zachary made the call, showing AJ. Kyle held pocket Kings and needed to dodge three Aces. It was not to be, as the board came A 7 5 5 3 and Zachary took the pot with Aces-up.

Kyle Wilson finished in 6th place, earning $176,035.

Kyle Wilson is 25 years old, born and raised in Calgary, Canada, and is married with four kids.  He's self-employed and has been playing poker for five years. This is his first final table in a major live tournament,(and is his biggest live cash) but he does have a PokerStars bracelet that he won online.  He's also no stranger to the high pressure of top-level competition, as he attended the University of Massachusetts on a basketball scholarship.

	Amit Makhija

Half an hour and 17 hands into this final table, we have not seen a flop. Every hand has ended with a raise, raise and re-raise, or raise and all-in. Amit Makhija has taken five pots, John Phan has taken four, Trong 'Mike' Nguyen and Paul Smith have taken three each, and Kyle Wilson has taken two. Zachary Clark has yet to put any chips in a pot other than blinds and antes.

Hand 18: It folded to John in the small blind, who raised to 150. Zachary Clark finally got involved from the big blind, raising to 450k. John took about half a minute, then let it go. Zachary picked up his first pot of the day.

Still no flops...

Level 23: Blinds 30k/60k with 5k antes. Cards are in the air. One hour, 25 minutes remain in this level.

Final table action begins at 4pm PDT Thursday. Here are the players with their chip counts and seat assignments:

	Kaelaine in the 2006 WSOP Main Event

Kaelaine Minton Reporting

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