Jean 'Prince' Gaspard - 1st place

Negotiations are over and so is the tournament:

Prince will also get the WSOP main event seat and circuit championship ring. Payouts shown here are 'official' and not indicative of any deal made.

Play has not yet resumed. Apparently the final three are involved in some heated negotiations. Here are the chip counts:

	Steven McKoy - 4th place

Just as the clock ran out on level 22:

Steve open-shoved utg and Ken made the call from the small blind. Steve held 9 8. Ken's AJ offsuit was in the lead. That lead got massive when the flop came A A T with no clubs. The last two came 3 Q and Ken took the pot with trip Aces.

Steven McKoy finished in 4th place, earning $63,916.

Steven is a student of molecular biology at the University of Alabama. This is his second final table in a circuit event (he finished 4th in a prelim event at Caesar's LV last month). This is his largest poker payday to date.

The final three players are taking a break away from the felt.

In a battle of the blinds, Steven raised to 55k from the small and Prince called from the big. The flop came 8 7 7 and both players checked. Turn was another 8. Steven led for 70k and Prince announced raise, added 100k on top. Steven took a few seconds, then surrendered. Prince showed 52 offsuit.

Steven then raised to 65k from the button and Prince called from the small blind. The flop came K Q 5 -- all hearts. Both checked. Turn was an offsuit 9 and both checked. River was another offsuit 9 and both checked. Prince showed Q 6 for Queens-up to take another pot.

After Steven completed the small blind, Prince raised 75k on top from the big. Steven moved all-in and Prince called, showing KQ off. Steven was ahead with AT off. Then the flop came K J T giving both players a pair, but giving Prince the lead with top pair. The lead changed again when a Queen hit the turn, giving Steven the Broadway straight. Prince needed an Ace on the river just to chop the pot, but it was a 9. Steven doubled up.

Jean opened for 86k and Billy called from the small blind. Flop came J J 6 and Billy checked. Jean/Prince bet 90k. Billy called. Turn was a Queen. Both checked. River was another Queen. Both checked. Billy showed pocket Aces and Jean mucked. Billy took a bite out of the chip leader.

	Billy Kopp

There was a brief moment of excitement when Steven opened for 45k utg, Jean called from the button, then Billy moved all-in from the big blind. Steven tanked for a bit, then folded, as did Jean/Prince.

Steven opened for 51k on the button and Jean called.  Flop came 7 4 3 and both checked.  Turn was another 3 and Prince bet 50k.  Steven folded.  Prince showed pocket 4s for the full house as he collected another smallish pot.

End of level 21.

Level 22:  Blinds 10k/20k with 2k antes.  Play continues.

This slug-fest has devolved into a snooze-fest here in New Orleans. There have been a couple of pots checked all the way to the river. Ken took one when his pocket deuces made a flush when four clubs hit the board. Steven picked up one when his single pocket duck paired with a duck on the board.

A third hand between Steven and Jean just got checked all the way down. Jean showed pocket 4s to take the tiny pot.

	Ken 'Bama' Christopher

On a flop of A J 9 Ken fired 35k and Billy called. Turn was the K and Ken fired 44k. Billy called. River was the 5. Ken fired 54k and again Billy flat-called, showing KJ for two pair. Ken mucked and Billy picked up a nice pot.

The final four have apparently hunkered down for some serious poker. The final table has been exceedingly quiet for the last 20 minutes or so, with no big action.

Level 21: Blinds 8k/16k with 1k antes. Play has resumed. Here are the rough chip counts as of the break:

End of level 20 and players are taking 15.

	Dan Walsh - 5th place

Steven moved all in for 116k and got the look-see from Ken. Steven held pocket Kings and was way out in front of Ken's A K. The board came T 6 4 9 8 and Steven's pair again held up, collecting another double-up.

Dan got his last chips in with pocket Tens, only to run into Ken's pocket Aces.  The bullets held up and Dan was done.

Dan Walsh finished in 5th place, earning $49,934.

Dan is a professional poker player who resides in Powder Springs, GA. He has a couple of final tables on his resume already, but this is his biggest reported cash to date.

	Anita Vasquez - 6th place

Steven moved his short stack all-in and got the call from Jean in the small blind. Steven's pocket Jacks were crushing Jean's 96 off, but the way he's been running, Steven had to be concerned. Then the board came Q 3 2 Q K and Steven's pair held up. He doubled up.

Anita has moved all in a few times already today without getting called, but this time she got two takers, Jean and Ken, who checked down the board of Q Q T 9 Q. Anita held A4. Jean held pocket 5s. Ken held pocket Kings for the best hand to take the pot.

Anita Vasquez finished in 6th place, earning $39,948.

Anita was the lone female in this event for quite a while. Her biggest fan, her mother, was sweating her from the rail all three days. Anita is from Houston, TX where she works as a bartender. She finished 2nd in event #10 here in December 2007, earning over $43,000.

	Justin Allen - 7th place

Justin opened for 30k and Jean made the call. The flop came K T 6 and both players checked. Turn was the 6 and Justin fired 40k. Jean called. River was the A. Justin checked, Jean fired 80k, and Justin called. Jean showed QJ for the Broadway straight on the river. Justin mucked, leaving himself short with ~55k and visibly frustrated.

After a raising war, Justin was all-in against Jean, whose pocket 4s were ahead of Justin's A J. The board came K 8 6 3 9 and Jean's pocket 4s hold up. The Jamaican native contiues his incredible cool runnings.

Justin 'LockDownTex' Allen finished in 7th place, earning $31,958.

Justin is a 21-year-old rounder from Dallas, TX. He won the Winter Bayou Poker Challenge main event here in December 2008, good for $158,290.

Six players remain. Average is over 556k.

	Kenny Milam - 8th place

After Billy opened for 31k, Kenny moved his last 86k all-in.  Billy snap-called, showing pocket Kings.  Kenny held A7 off and would need help to survive.  The board came T 9 3 7 2 and it was not enough to save Kenny.

Kenny Milam finished in 8th place, earning $25,966.

Kenny is a trucking contractor and New Orleans local who plays lots of the smaller tournaments around here.  He finished 13th in this event in December 2007, earning $10,710.  This is his biggest tournament cash to date.

Down to 7 players.

	Kurt Scheer - 9th place

Three players took a flop of Q J 9 for a raise. Kenny checked, Kurt fired 50k, and Jean called. Kenny opted out. Turn was the T and Kurt moved all-in. Jean called, showing pocket Tens for the set. Kurt rolled over A K for the nut flush with royal draw. He was headed for a double-up unless the board paired on the river.  Jean 'Prince' Gaspard is running better than the Jamaican bobsled team in Cool Runnings. The river delivered the J giving Jean the full house and the pot.

Kurt Scheer finished in 9th place, earning $21,971.

Kurt is a builder and realtor who lives in Birmingham, AL, where he lives with his wife and three daughters. He says he's only been playing poker for about 6 weeks. Needless to say, this is his biggest score to date.

8 players remain. Average is 417,500.

Level 20: Blinds 6k/12k with 1k antes. Play continues.  Levels now last 75 minutes.

On a flop of 4 4 2, Anita moved all in, (standing up in her chair as she has done all tournament) putting Kenny to the test again. Frustration seemed to be written all over his face as he contemplated his action. He finally surrendered and Anita pulled the pot.

After Steven opened for 24k on the button, Kenny decided it was his turn and moved all-in from the small blind. Steven gave it a little thought, then released his hand. Kenny got some back.

	Final table with TD Steve Frezer calling the action

On the river with the board showing 7 9 4 2 J Kenny checked it over to Jean, who announced he was all in. After a little consideration, Kenny surrendered the 100k+ pot to Jean, who is now sitting behind over 1 million chips.

After Kurt completed the small blind, Justin raised to 34k from the big. Kurt called the increase and the flop came 9 4 3. Kurt checked over to Justin, who moved in. Kurt called all-in quickly, showing K 9 for a pair of 9s. Justin was caught holding A J for Ace-high with just a back-door flush-draw. The last two cards came 6 Q and Kurt's hand held up to double him up.

The first hand of heads-up play went to showdown between Dan and Jean. Dan held pocket Aces, but learned after paying off Jean's river bet that he had been cracked by KT, which had made a straight.

Level 19: Blinds 4k/8k with 1k antes. Play has resumed.

About 47 minutes remain in this level.

Introductions are in progress, so it will be a few minutes before cards fly.

Final table action gets underway at 2pm central time Wednesday. Here are the final 9 players with their chip counts and seat assignments:

	Kaelaine in the 2006 WSOP Main Event

Kaelaine Minton Reporting

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