If you don't know the story of LAPT Mexico by now, it's hardly worth re-telling in its entirety. Suffice to say, this is almost certainly the first time we have ever arrived at a champion in such a fashion.

And what fashion would that be?

Well, Day 1 of the LAPT Mexico event was played live in Mexico. It was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. So, what was essentially Day 2 of the event played out online at PokerStars. Once play reached a final table, the final nine players traveled more than 5,000 miles south of where they started the event to play down to a champion. In short, we'll likely never see anything like this again.

To say there was a disparity in chip counts would be a bit of an understatement. At the end of the online portion of this event, American Rory Cox went on an amazing tear and somehow managed to pick up nearly half the chips in play.

Seat 1: Rory Cox (USA) 1,074,500
Seat 2: Victor Ramdin (USA) 104,000
Seat 3: Pavel Naydenov (USA) 80,000
Seat 4: Helen Prager (USA) 326,500
Seat 5: Leonardo Emperador (Venezuela) 284,000
Seat 6: Steven Thompson (Costa Rica) 135,500
Seat 7: Bolivar Palacios (Panama) 128,500
Seat 8: Martha Herrera (Mexico) 88,000
Seat 9: Alex Brenes (Costa Rica) 154,500

While Cox's chip lead was frightening, he still had eight other people who weren't just going to roll over for him. In the early going, Cox used his stack to push people around. Eventually, Steven Thompson flopped a set against Cox' overpair for the first level double-up. Cox rolled with the minor loss and moved on.

Before the event began, Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin figured he had a couple of rounds in him before he started pushing with any two cards. He made it through the first hour before doing just that.

Victor Ramdin moved all in from the cutoff and Helen Prager quickly made the call from the small blind.

"Do I get a lifeline?" Ramdin laughed as he turned up his hole cards. He held [JD]-[6D] to Prager's [AS]-[7S].

As Ramdin revealed his hand, several players on the other side of the table confessed to folding a jack.

"Thanks for the information, guys," quipped Ramdin dryly.

The flop was [10D]-[7H]-[4H]. As the [KC] landed on the turn, the good-natured Ramdin stood up from his chair, resigned to his fate. The river was the [KD], eliminating him in 9th place. After shaking hands around the table, the Team PokerStars Pro took a seat in the audience to watch the rest of the action play out.

With Ramdin gone, play went on for another full hour before the blinds started eating deeply into the stacks.

Running low, Alex Brenes open-shoved from under the gun for his remaining 100,000, Pavel Naydenov moved all in behind him from middle position, and the rest of the table folded. Naydenov had Brenes slightly covered as the cards went on their backs. Naydenov held [AS]-[QH] to Brenes' [9S]-[9D]

The flop ended the drama fairly quickly, [AD]-[KC]-[2C], pairing Naydenov's ace.

"Nueve, Alex, nueve!" called Brenes' brother, Humberto, begging for a nine.

The turn, though, came the [7H], and the river the [4S], sending Brenes to the rail in 8th place.

Despite the increasing blinds, the players held firm to their seats.It would take nearly an hour before we saw the next elimination. That's when Steven Thompson open-raised on the button, Bolivar Palacios moved all in from the small blind for 60,500, Martha Herrera folded the big blind and Thompson made the call. Thompson held [AD]-[5D] to Palacios' [KH]-[QS]

The flop favored Thompson, coming down [9H-[6S]-[3C], and the [AC] on the turn left Palacios drawing dead.

The now-meaningless [KS] hit the river and Palacios hit the rail in 7th place, collecting $2,000.

Martha Herrera had a harder time getting here than the other players. After Day 1 in Mexico, Herrera managed to break her leg. She arrived here in a leg cast and with her eye set on the title. It was not to be.

Rory Cox raised to 36,000 and got calls from Pavel Naydenov and Steven Thompson. Herrera was in the big blind and moved all in for an additional 29,000. She got called in all three places.

All the players checked the [10S]-[AD]-[4D] flop and [10H] turn. On the [KS] river, Naydenov bet out 50,000 and got a call from Thompson. Naydenov turned up Q-T for the turned trips. That was good enough to beat Thompson, not to mention Herrera who held [AC]-[KH].

Thompson was crippled as the players went on a 15-minute break. On the first hand back from the break, Thompson got his remaining 22,000 in the middle and got three callers in Rory Cox, Pavel Naydenov, and Helen Prager.

The flop came down [KD]-[7H]-[6H]. Naydenov and Prager checked, while Cox put out a bet. A few groans came out of the audience as Naydenov and Prager gave up their hands. Cox held [6D]-[8D] to Thompson's [9H]-[10D]

Cox had paired his six, but Thompson could double up with an eight, a nine or a ten. The turn fell the [7C], pairing the board and giving him even more outs with the three remaining kings, but the river was a blank, the [2H], and Cox raked in the pot, sending Thompson to the rail in 5th place.

With the action folded to him in the small blind, Leonardo Emperador moved all in for 149,500 and Rory Cox snap-called from the big blind. Emperador knew he was in trouble with his [KS]-[8C]. Cox held [QS]-[QH].

"Ocho, ocho, ka!" cried LAPT Vina del Mar runner-up Vincenzo Gianelli from the audience, calling for an 8-8-K flop for his friend.

Unfortunately for Emperador, it came down [10D]-[5H]-[3S], leaving him drawing to the three remaining kings in the deck.

"Ka! Ka!" called Gianelli as the dealer burned and turned... the [AD].

"KA! KA!" he shouted again to the poker gods, or anyone who would listen.

The river, though, was the [AH], and Emperador hit the rail, collecting $5,000 for his efforts today. It's also worth noting that he arrived at this final table with only ten big blinds and was able to parlay that short stack into a 4th place finish.

Minutes later, on a flop of [5S]-[8S]-[4D], Rory Cox bet out and Pavel Naydenov raised to 75,000. Cox almost immediately raised all-in. Naydenov called after a moment and showed [KS]-[3S]. Cox held [4H]-[5H]. Naydenov picked up some more outs with the [3H] on the turn. He missed all the kings, threes, and spades left in the deck on the [2C] river. He finished in 3rd place.

And so we were left with two. Rory Cox had come into the day with such a large chip lead, it didn't seem like he could be beaten. Helen Prager came in with a reasonable stack, but what seemed to insurmountable odds. By the time they got heads up, Cox had Prager by 5 to 1.

It seemed like it would be all over in a matter of minutes. Instead, Prager managed two double-ups within just a few minutes. Her first came courtesy of getting in with second pair, an overcard to the board and a gutshot straight draw against Cox's top pair. She made her gutshot. Moments later, she turned the nuts against Cox's top pair. He got it in with a flush draw against her nut straight. Cox missed on the river and suddenly, the opponents were nearly even in chips.

After the dinner break, the pair settled in for two more full hours of heads-up play. At one point, Cox got it all in with pocket sevens versus Prager's K-T. Prager flopped her ten and Cox fell way behind in chips.

But he battled back and back and back. Ultimately, he regained the chip lead.

Rory Cox opened from the button for 72,000, Helen Prager moved all in for 972,000 from the big blind and Cox made the call.

Prager: [KH]-[7D]

Cox: [AS]-[10S]

Cox let out a whoop and pumped his fist as the flop came down [AC]-[JH]-[8C], leaving Prager drawing only to running cards.

With her husband's arm around her, she watched the [5S] land on the turn, a resigned look on her face as she realized she was drawing dead.

The river was the [JS] and Cox extended his hand to Prager for a sportsman-like shake, congratulating her on a good game.

When it was over, Cox looked at Prager and said, "You made me go bald!"

Later he admitted Prager had him on his heels for a bit. "She played the perfect style against me--very aggressive."

At 26 years old, Cox plays professionally from his home base in San Francisco, California. Before going pro, Cox worked as a counselor for special needs children. While much of his money comes from playing online, he says he has played some big live events.

"But not with much success," he said.

Now, he can add a major title to his resume. It may have taken three months and thousands of miles of travel but Rory Cox is now the LAPT Mexico champion.

For a complete look back at all the action from the day, check out any of the links below.

4,000/8,000 Level
5,000/10,000 Level
6,000/12,000 Level
8,000/16,000 Level
10,000/20,000 Level
12,000/24,000 Level
15,000/30,000 Level

Here's a rundown of the LAPT Mexico final table prizes.

Thanks for joining us today. Join us here Wedneday at noon for Day 1 of the LAPT Punta del Este event

All photography © Joe Giron/IMPDI

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 11:35pm

11:35pm - Rory Cox wins the LAPT Mexico ($15,000), Helen Prager eliminated in 2nd place ($11,000)

Rory Cox opened from the button for 72,000, Helen Prager moved all in for 972,000 from the big blind and Cox made the call.

Prager: [KH}-[7D]

Cox: [AS]-[10S]

Cox let out a whoop and pumped his fist as the flop came down [AC]-[JH]-[8C], leaving Prager drawing only to running cards.

With her husband's arm around her, she watched the [5S] land on the turn, a resigned look on her face as she realized she was drawing dead.

The river was the [JS] and Cox extended his hand to Prager for a sportsman-like shake, congratulating her on a good game.

For her runner-up finish, Prager earns $11,000 while Cox takes home $15,000 and the prestige of an LAPT title.

Stay tuned for a full wrap-up.

11:28pm--Happy birthday to Mike Ward

We're pretty familiar with Tournament Director Mike Ward, but it wasn't until just a few minutes ago that we learned that today is his birthday. It appears we won't be able to buy him a drink until his day is over. So, we'll take this opportunity to wish our favorite TD a happy....32 minutes.

11:15pm--Cox charges ahead

With both players in for the 30,000 minimum, the flop came down [KS]-[9S]-[4D]. Prager checked, Cox bet 47,000, and Prager called. The [6C] hit the turn and Prager check-called a 79,000 bet from Cox. The river was the [KC] and Prager checked a third time, leaving Cox to fire a third barrel for 137,000. Prager, though gave up her hand and conceded the pot to Cox, who has now taken a slight chip lead.

11:10pm--Cox uses his PokerStars Blog One Time Chip

On a flop of [4C]-[8H]-[JS], Rory Cox moved all-in and Helen Prager called with [8S]-[3H].

"Hold just one time," Cox begged as he turned over his [KC]-[8C].

After thinking for a moment, Cox felt sure Prager would suck out. "Just give her the three of clubs," he said. At least then he would have the redraw to the flush.

The turn was the [9C].

"That's a good card for me," Cox said with a sigh.

The river was the [10S]. Cox let out a l little "Whoop!"

With that, the stacks are nearly dead even again.

10:58pm-- Helen Prager seizes the chip lead with coinflip gone good

Rory Cox opened for 72,000, Helen Prager reraised all in for 959,000, and looking a bit exasperated, Cox made the call.

Prager: [KH]-[10C]

Cox: [7C]-[7D]

"I'd rather play it out but she moves all in so much!" said Cox as the dealer counted down their stacks and pulled in the amount of his call.

Again, Prager's husband Josh ran to her side from his seat in the audience. She folded her hands, covering her face as she waited for the board to reveal her fate.

The flop came down [10S]-[5C]-[2D], pairing Prager's ten. Still looking concerned, she leaned back against her husband, who now wore a mile-wide smile.

There would be no two outer for Cox, as the turn fell the [AD] and the river the [6C]. Prager doubled her stack to 1.9 million, while Cox was left with approximately 700,000.

10:42pm--Level up, blinds up

We've now moved up to 15,000/30,000/3,000 blinds.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 10:40pm

10:40pm-- Prager regains some ground

After Rory Cox picked up a few small pots off her, Helen Prager's chip count dipped below the the 1 million mark, but she was able to reclaim some of those lost checks on this most recent hand.

Cox opened for 53,000 on the button and Prager called. The flop came down [KC]-[5H]-[3S] and both players checked. The turn was the [3D] and Prager led out for 80,000. After quite a long think, Cox decided to raise to 176,000, prompting a three-bet shove from Prager. Cox quickly mucked and Prager raked in the pot.

10:28pm - Tick and tock like peanut butter and chocolate

As Rory Cox slowly picks away at Helen Prager's stack, we're left with little to report but the weather, which, by the way, is quite nice.

10:24pm - Updated chip counts

Rory Cox 1,600,000
Helen Prager 940,000

10:04pm--And now, for a showdown

Both players limped in and saw a flop of [8H]-[7D]-[2S]. Prager led out for 25,000 and Cox called. The turn came the [9C] and Prager bet another 80,000, Cox coming along with a call. The river paired the board with the [9H] and Prager fired a third barrel for 120,000 and Cox made the call.

Prager turned up [2H]-[7S] for a flopped two pair, but Cox caught up on the turn with his [8C]-[10S] for the better two pair with nines and eights to win the pot.

9:59pm-- Prager playing pre-flop poker

Thus far in our heads-up match we've seen about ten hands, only one resulting in a flop. Most pots have been taken down with a single pre-flop raise while Prager has already moved all in three times over the top of Cox's opening bet. Cox folded each time. Both players are still nearly dead even in chip count.

9:44pm--Play begins

Rory Cox and Helen Prager are now playing heads up for the championship. On the very first hand, Cox picked up pocket eights, but couldn't get any action.

9:30pm--Heads up play about to begin

The players are making their way back from dinner. After starting the heads-up match with a 5-1 advantage, Cox now finds himself nearly dead even with Helen Prager. He has her outchipped by 3,000 chips. Keep in mind, there are about 2.6 million chips in play.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 8:18pm

8:18--Prager does it again

Helen Prager is not going to be content to just let Rory Cox take this one. She has just doubled through Cox again.

On a flop of [6S]-[KH]-[4C], Prager bet out 50,000 and got a call from Cox. The turn was the [7C]. This time, Prager bet 80,000. Cox moved all-in and Prager snap-called with the nuts--[5H]-[8H]. Cox had [KC]-[2C] for top pair with the flush draw. The river was the [JD] and Prager doubled up again.

The players are now on a break until 9:30pm.

8:10pm-- Helen Prager doubles through Rory Cox

With a 5-1 chip lead on Helen Prager to start their heads-up match, Rory Cox's victory here today seemed all but sealed up.

Not so fast, amigo.

Both Cox and Prager limped in and saw a [6D]-[5C]-[4D] flop. Cox checked, and Prager moved in for 312,000. Cox made the call and Prager folded her hands and bowed her head in prayer to the poker gods as the hands were turned up.

Prager: [5D]-[8C]

Cox: [QC]-[6S]

Prager's husband Josh popped out of his seat in the audience and stood behind her, massaging her shoulders as she awaited her fate.

"You have so many outs, honey!" he said.

And... boom! The [7H] on the turn made Prager an eight-high straight. She gasped in joy and perhaps disbelief, her husband beaming with pride behind her. The [AH] landed on the river and Prager scored a much-needed double-up as the clock ticked down toward the dinner break.

7:51pm-- Heads-up chip counts

As we begin heads-up play, here's how our final two stand:

Rory Cox 1,969,000
Helen Prager 405,000

7:47pm--Pavel Naydenov eliminated 3rd place ($7,500)

Now they're going like flies.

On a flop of [5S]-[8S]-[4D], Rory Cox bet out and Pavel Naydenov raised to 75,000. Cox almost immediately raised all-in. Naydenov called after a moment and showed [KS]-[3S]. Cox held [4H]-[5H]. Naydenov picked up some more outs with the [3H] on the turn. He missed all the kings, threes, and spades left in the deck on the [2C] turn. We're now heads-up between Helen Prager and Rory Cox.

7:34pm-- Leonardo Emperador eliminated in 4th place ($5,000)

With the action folded to him in the small blind, Leonardo Emperador moved all in for 149,500 and Rory Cox snap-called from the big blind.

Emperador: [KS]-[8C]

Cox: [QS]-[QH]

"Ocho, ocho, ka!" cried LAPT Vina del Mar runner-up Vincenzo Gianelli from the audience, calling for an 8-8-K flop for his friend.

Unfortunately for Emperador, it came down [10D]-[5H]-[3S], leaving him drawing to the three remaining kings in the deck.

"Ka! Ka!" called Gianelli as the dealer burned and turned... the [AD].

"KA! KA!" he shouted again to the poker gods, or anyone who would listen.

The river, though, was the [AH], and Emperador hit the rail, collecting $5,000 for his efforts today. It's also worth noting that he arrived at this final table with only ten big blinds and was able to parlay that short stack into a 4th place finish.

7:25pm--Updated chip counts

Seat 1: Rory Cox (USA) 1,300,000
Seat 3: Pavel Naydenov (USA) 600,000
Seat 4: Helen Prager (USA) 250,000
Seat 5: Leonardo Emperador (Venezuela) 120,000

7:19pm - Steven Thompson eliminated in 5th place ($3,000)

On the first hand back from the break, Steven Thompson got his remaining 22,000 in the middle and got three callers in Rory Cox, Pavel Naydenov, and Helen Prager.

The flop came down [KD]-[7H]-[6H]. Naydenov and Prager checked, while Rory put out a bet. A few groans came out of the audience as Naydenov and Prager gave up their hands.

Cox: [6D]-[8D]

Thompson: [9H]-[10D]

Cox had paired his six, but Thompson could double up with an eight, a nine or a ten. The turn fell the [7C], pairing the board and giving him even more outs with the three remaining kings, but the river was a blank, the [2H], and Cox raked in the pot, sending Thompson to the rail in 5th place.

7:15pm--Players back from break

With five players remaining, we're back in action.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 6:35pm

6:53pm--Herrera limps out with head high ($3,000)

A four-way pot has just sent Mexico's Martha Herrera out on her crutches.

It began when Rory Cox raised to 36,000 and got calls from Pavel Naydenov and Steven Thompson. Herrera, from the big blind, moved all in for an additional 29,000. She got called in all three places.

All the players checked the [10S]-[AD]-[4D] flop and [10H] turn. On the [KS] river, Naydenov bet out 50,000 and got a call from Thompson. Naydenov turned up Q-T for the turned trips. That was good enough to beat Thompson, not to mention Herrera who held [AC]-[KH].

Players are now on a 15-minute break.

6:35pm-- Pavel Naydenov doubles through Rory Cox

In the first few levels of this final table, Rory Cox seemed unstoppable, rolling over his short-stacked opponents with pressure poker and all-in moves. He may still be our dominant chip leader, but Pavel Naydenov just gained some significant ground on Cox via this double-up hand.

Naydenov opened for 41,000 from UTG, Steven Thompson flat-called from middle position and with the action folded to Cox in the big blind, he put the squeeze on and moved all in. Pavel called all in 210,500 and Thompson gave up his hand.

Naydenov: [6H]-[6D]

Thompson: [5S]-[5C]

The board ran out [AS]-[10H]-[3S]-[9H]-[8C], Naydenov doubling up to over 400,000 and for the first time at this final table, Cox found himself below a million in chips.

Just over ten minutes remain in this level.

6:21pm-- Largest pot of the day ends in a chop

Pavel Naydenov moved all in for 138,500 from the button and Helen Prager quietly declared "call" from the small blind. Prager's husband Josh looked on with rapt interest from the front row of the audience as their cards were turned over.

Prager: [AD]-[4D]

Naydenov: [AC]-[6C]

Though Naydenov had Prager's hand dominated, the [KH]-[10C]-[3H] flop left them with a good shot at a chopped pot. The [8S] fell on the turn, upping that percentage even more.

Josh Prager cried for a chop as the dealer burned and turned and got his wish when the [7S] hit the river. Prager and Naydenov split the pot, easily the largest of the final table thus far.

6:16pm--An autograph upon leaving

Here's a fine photo from our man Joe Giron.

Upon leaving in eighth place, Alex Brenes signed Martha Herrera's cast.

6:09pm-- Palacios' reprieve is all-too temporary as he exits in 7th place ($2,000)

Steven Thompson open-raised on the button, Bolivar Palacios moved all in from the small blind for 60,500, Martha Herrera folded the big blind and Thompson made the call.

Thompson: [AD]-[5D]

Palacios: [KH]-[QS]

The flop favored Thompson (as you can see in the photo below), coming down [9H]-[6S]-[3C], and the [AC] on the turn left Palacios drawing dead.

The now-meaningless [KS] hit the river and Palacios hit the rail in 7th place, collecting $2,000.

6:03pm--Cox saves Bolivar Palacios

With only 22,500 in his stack, Palacios moved all-in under the gun. Rory Cox isolated with a big raise from middle position and everybody else folded. Palacios held [KH]-[9C]. Cox held a curious [QH]-[10C]. The board ran out [4D]-[6D]-[4C]-[AD]-[3D] and Palacios doubled up. Steven Thompson remarked, "You should't have raised. I could've called the extra 6,000." Thompson left us with the impression that if Cox hadn't isolated, we would be down to six players. Instead, seven players are still in action.

5:58pm-- Herrera victorious in battle of the sixes, triples up

Martha Herrera moved all in for 46,000, Helen Prager made the call from the small blind, and Leonardo Emperador came along as well from the big blind. The flop was [8C]-[5S]-[3C] and both Prager and Emperador checked. The [4C] landed on the turn and was met with checks from our two remaining active players, as was the [5C] on the river. Prager and Herrera turned over their hands revealing...

Herrera: [6C]-[6S]

Prager: [6H]-[6D]

Despite having the same hand, Herrera had rivered a flush with her sixes. Emperador mucked.

"So sick!" cried an audience member as Herrera raked in the pot, tripling her stack to over 150,000.

5:52pm-- New level, new blinds, same players

We're going into our fourth level of the day. Seven players remain.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 5:47pm

5:47pm-- Steven Thompson doubles through Bolivar Palacios

Steven Thompson opened for 39,000, Bolivar Palacios moved all in behind him and Thompson made the call. Palacios had him covered, but just barely.

Thompson: [QD]-[JD]

Palacios: [JS]-[JC]

Palacios had his back to the table and his head bowed as the flop came down [QH]-[7S]-[2S], Thompson seizing the lead with a pair of queens. The [QS] on the turn made Thompson trips, but gave Palacios a sweat as he picked up a flush draw. However, the [9C] on the river gave the hand to Thompson, leaving Palacios with only 23,000 (less than two big blinds) remaining in his stack.

5:23pm-- Emperador chipping up

Leonardo Emperador raised to 29,000 from the cut-off and Martha Herrera called from the big blind. The flop came down [JH]-[10H]-[10S]. Herrera led out for 35,000, and after a bit of a think, Emperador moved all in for 87,000 total. Now it was Herrera's turn to tank, and she ultimately mucked her hand, declining to call the additional 52,000 and leaving Emperador to pick up the pot.

5:02pm-- Alex Brenes eliminated in 8th place ($1,500)

Alex Brenes open-shoved from UTG for his remaining 100,000, Pavel Naydenov moved all in behind him from middle position, and the rest of the table folded. Naydenov had Brenes slightly covered as the cards went on their backs...

Naydenov: [AS]-[QH]

Brenes: [9S]-[9D]

It was a classic race situation as we went to the flop, which came down [AD]-[KC]-[2C], pairing Naydenov's ace.

"Nueve, Alex, nueve!" called Brenes' brother, Humberto, begging for a nine.

The turn, though, came the [7H], and the river the [4S], sending Brenes to the rail in 8th place.

4:51pm--Updated chip counts

Seat 1: Rory Cox (USA) 1,200,000
Seat 3: Pavel Naydenov (USA) 110,000
Seat 4: Helen Prager (USA) 410,000
Seat 5: Leonardo Emperador (Venezuela) 200,000
Seat 6: Steven Thompson (Costa Rica) 127,000
Seat 7: Bolivar Palacios (Panama) 120,000
Seat 8: Martha Herrera (Mexico) 130,000
Seat 9: Alex Brenes (Costa Rica) 145,000

4:50pm--Players returning from break

With eight players remaining, we're coming back to 6,000/12,000/1,000 blinds.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 4:30pm

4:30pm--Level ends with eight players remaining

After two hours of play, only Victor Ramdin has found the rail. Everyone else is still in action. We're on a 15-minute break.

4:24pm-- Martha Herrera doubles through Bolivar Palacios

With the action folded to Bolivar Palacios in the small blind, he put in a raise to 32,000, only to be met with an all-in reraise for an additional 82,000 from Martha Herrera. Palacios made the call, Herrera's tournament life on the line.

Palacios: [5S]-[6C]

Herrera: [AC]-[3C]

The board ran out [KS]-[JH]-[3H]-[KH]-[8D] and Herrera survived, making two pair kings and threes.

4:10pm--Thompson may be crippled, but he's still breathing

Crippled, Stephen Thompson moved all-in for 30,000 and got a call from Leonardo Emperador. Emperador called to see Thompson's [AH]-[6H]. Emperador held [JH]-[10C].

"Steven's tournament life is on the line," tournament director Mike Ward announced.

"Once again!" Thompson exclaimed. "I'm the only one putting action the table!"

The flop came [AC]-[9C]-[2H].

"There's the ace," Thomson exhaled.

The [2D] on the turn gave Thompson the hand. Then ten on the river meant nothing except a bullet Thompson never had to dodge.

3:55pm-- Bolivar Palacios cripples Steven Thompson

Stephen Thompson made it 35,000 to go and Bolivar Palacios made the call. The flop came down [QC]-[9C]-[4C]. Palacios moved all in for 92,000 and got a quick call from Thompson.

Thompson: [AC]-[JH]
Palacios: [AS]-[AD]

It was Thompson with the nut flush draw and Palacios with the made pair of aces as the dealer burned and turned the [8D], giving Thompson even more outs with a straight draw. He now needed a ten or a club, but the [QS] landed on the river, Bolivar's aces holding up to double his stack. Thompson was left crippled, with less than 40,000.

3:48pm - Martha Herrera doubles through Leonardo Emperador

Martha Herrera was handicapped in more ways than one coming into this final table, not only with the second-shortest stack, but with a broken right leg, which sits propped up on a white upholstered cube next to her chair in the eight seat.

Leonardo Emperador made it 21,000 to go pre-flop and Herrera moved all in for 50,500. Alex Brenes went into the tank for a bit before deciding to fold, and Emperador made the call.

Emperador: [AH]-[8D]

Herrera: [AC]-[KS]

Herrera kept her significant lead on the [10D]-[4C]-[2H] flop. The [4H] on the turn paired the board and the river was the [5D], Herrera doubling up to over 100,000 on the hand.

3:32pm-- Victor Ramdin eliminated in 9th place ($1,000)

Victor Ramidin moved all in from the cut-off and Helen Prager quickly made the call from the small blind.

"Do I get a lifeline?" he laughed as he turned up his hole cards.

Ramdin: [JD]-[6D]

Prager: [AS]-[7S]

As Ramdin revealed his hand, several players on the other side of the table confessed to folding a jack.

"Thanks for the information, guys," Ramdin quipped dryly.

The flop was [10D]-[7H]-[4H]. As the [KC] landed on the turn, the good-natured Ramdin stood up from his chair, resigned to his fate. The river was the [KD], eliminating him in 9th place. After shaking hands around the table, the Team PokerStars Pro took a seat in the audience to watch the rest of the action play out.

3:30pm--Blinds up

We're now up to 5,000/10,000/1,000.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 3:23pm

3:23pm--Chip count update

Seat 1: Rory Cox (USA) 1,100,000
Seat 2: Victor Ramdin (USA) 70,000
Seat 3: Pavel Naydenov (USA) 120,000
Seat 4: Helen Prager (USA) 350,000
Seat 5: Leonardo Emperador (Venezuela) 160,000
Seat 6: Steven Thompson (Costa Rica) 190,000
Seat 7: Bolivar Palacios (Panama) 160,000
Seat 8: Martha Herrera (Mexico) 60,000
Seat 9: Alex Brenes (Costa Rica) 110,000

3:18pm-- But what was the other card?

Victor Ramdin moved all in for 44,000 and the action was folded to Alex Brenes in the big blind.

"I don't mind a call. I like the action!" laughed Ramdin as Brenes mulled his decision.

Brenes ultimately folded and Ramdin flashed a six as he raked in the pot.

3:15pm--Clean up on aisle 8!

We're not going to call any names, but somebody spilled a bottle of Coke that say between Alex Brenes and Martha Herrera. The folks from the Mantra Hotel and Casino were Johnny-on-the-spot with a mop. The ESPN crew is finishing up with some paper towels. If that's the worse mess of the week, we'll all do just fine.

3:08pm-- Steven Thompson doubles through Rory Cox

Steven Thompson raised to 25,000 from under-the-gun, Rory Cox reraised to 75,000 and Thompson made the call. The flop came down [8H]-[5C]-[4C]. Thompson immediately moved all in for his remaining 57,000 and Cox just as quickly called.

Thompson [5H]-[5S]
Cox [9H]-[9S]

The turn fell the [JH] and the river the [6H], Thompson earning a double-up to 264,000 with his set of fives.

2:58pm-- More for Rory

In this latest episode of the Rory Cox Show, Alex Brenes put in an opening raise to 22,000 from the cutoff, only to have Cox, sitting on the button, ask him for a count. Brenes let him know he had about 100,000 behind, prompting Cox to move all in. Both blinds folded and after a long think, Brenes also elected to fold. Score another one for Rory!

2:49pm -- Cox, Cox, Cox

In a continuation of the last update, the name Cox keeps coming up. In the latest hand, Rory Cox raised to 19,000, Leonardo Emperador called, and Alex Brenes called from big blind. The flop came [4D]-[JC]-[2D]. Brenes checked, Cox continued for 38,000 and Emperador called. Both players checked the deuce on the turn. When another deuce fell on the river, Cox bet 40,000 and got a fold from Emperador.

2:43pm - Cox puts the pressure on

Rory Cox, who has the rest of the table outchipped by nearly three to one, is already weilding his monster stack like a sledgehammer. Cox opened for 19,000 and with the action folded to the final table's second-largest stack Helen Prager, she put in a reraise to 40,000. With the action back on Cox, he moved all in for his entire million-plus stack, forcing Prager to give up her hand and wait for a better spot.

2:39pm--Hobbled

Martha Herrera only has one foot on the ground right now. The lady from Mexico who won a single table satellite among friends to get into the event in the first place managed to break her leg between the event and now. Her right leg is currently propped up on a white table. The ESPN crew is doing its best not to whack the cast with their big cameras.

2:26pm--Postponed no more

After a three month break and 5,000 trip to the south, the LAPT Mexico final table is under way.

2:18pm--Is this a misprint?!!!

Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin just stood next to the final table in disbelief. "Is this a misprint?" he asked. He was looking at Rory Cox's 1,074,500 chip count.

Nobody else has more than 330,000 chips. You might see how Ramdin would be concerned.

Ramdin was, of course, joking. When this event ended online at PokerStars, Cox had run over the final two tables and absolutely eviscerated everybody. His chip count is for real. Now it's time to see what he does with it.

2:13pm--Players taking their seats

The players are taking their seats. We expect play to begin within the next 20 minutes or so.

1:30pm--Action scheduled to begin at 2:00pm

Action for the postponed LAPT Mexico final table is scheduled to begin in just about half an hour. Click on our prizes page to see what the players will win.

Here is who will be in action.

Seat 1: Rory Cox (USA) 1,074,500
Seat 2: Victor Ramdin (USA) 104,000
Seat 3: Pavel Naydenov (USA) 80,000
Seat 4: Helen Prager (USA) 326,500
Seat 5: Leonardo Emperador (Venezuela) 284,000
Seat 6: Steven Thompson (Costa Rica) 135,500
Seat 7: Bolivar Palacios (Panama) 128,500
Seat 8: Martha Herrera (Mexico) 88,000
Seat 9: Alex Brenes (Costa Rica) 154,500

Join us here for live blog action when play begins.

A few months back you might have seen that the LAPT event in Mexico had to be postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. Now, three months later and more than 5,000 miles away, the final table will finally play out. What's more, it's going to finish up with some pretty big names, not the least of which is Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin.

Beginning tomorrow at 2pm local time (that's ET + 1 hour), the final nine players from LAPT Mexico will sit down under the television lights and play for the title.

If you follow the LAPT at all, many of these names are going to be familiar to you.

Rory Cox (USA) 1,074,464
Helen Prager (USA) 326,235
Leonardo Emperador (Venezuela) 283,309
Alex Brenes (Costa Rica) 154,465
Steven Thompson (Costa Rica) 135,006
Bolivar Palacios (Panama) 128,260
Victor Ramdin (USA) 103,576
Martha Herrera (Mexico) 87,600
Pavel Naydenov (USA) 79,585

In truth, we came all this way to watch the LAPT Punta del Este event play out starting on Wednesday, but since we're here we figured, "Hey, why not live blog the Mexico final table!" And, so we will.

As for this beautiful place in South America, we're still getting acclimated to the summer temperatures, rolling hills, and colorful gardens. We're also trying to shake off about 23 hours worth of travel. Once we get a feel for the place, we'll introduce you properly.

In the meantime, plan to join us here at 2pm Tuesday for the Mexico final table.

She was tortured as she peeled up Ah-Th. In what was clearly not an easy decision, she got her friend Alvarado talking.

"You don't have ace-king," she said. "You don't."

"I'm 80% to win by the river," Alvarado said.

Mayrinck didn't believe him. At all. Finally, after nearly five minutes of verbose contemplation, she made her decision.

"I think I'm ahead," she said, waited two beats, and declared, "I call."

Alvarado turned over 7c-8c.

"If I win, I'm sorry. You're so pretty," Mayrinck exclaimed. "Isn't he pretty?"

Alvarado's relative good looks aside, the flop made the hand interesting--5-6-K with two hearts. Mayrinck jumped from her seat and grabbed her buddy. "Let's not look together," she said pulling him in close.

"No, I want to sweat this one," Alvarado said.

He shouldn't have looked. The turn gave him a pair, but gave Mayrinck the heart she needed to make the nuts.

Up to 22,000, Mayrinck looked around for Jon "Apestyles" Van Fleet. "I need to go tell my boyfriend what happened."

A bit later, from across the room, her impossible to mistake voice came rising above the din.

"God bless the LAPT!" she called and stacked her chips.

Alvarado may be gone, but it's not entirely out of the money. Mayrinck promised him 4% of her winnings.

"And I'm going to win," she said.

In other news, Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes has found the rail. After getting seated with his frenemy Ryan Fee (LAPT San Jose champion), we expected some bad blood to creep up. Once, when Brenes came in for a raise, Fee looked at some rags and said, "If you had like ten [thousand] more, I am so in."

Fee would not get the pleasure of booting his opponent. Brenes got his short stack in pre-flop with A-4. He got called by the big blind who held K-T. It all looked fine when an ace fell on the flop, but running Q-J gave Brenes a Broadway beat.

Finally...we're on an indefinite break here. As for exactly why we're on a break, well that's something we'll have to explain after we have a better sense for it.

Jim Collopy has a paper due on Monday.

A sophomore economics major at NYU, 19-year old Collopy plays under the screen name "Mr_BigQueso" on PokerStars and has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in earnings from playing online MTTs over the last two years. Less than three weeks ago, he final tabled the Sunday Million, finishing fifth for over $56,000, though his largest online score ever came in the quarterly $1,000 edition of the Million, where he finished third and banked $125,000. Over the last 12 months, he also won the $109 rebuy and finished second in the Sunday Second Chance.

The topic of Collopy's paper? 17th-century British politician and former Lord Protector of England Oliver Cromwell. That's some heady history zipping through his brain cells along with pot odds and percentages.

Since returning from the dinner break, Collopy's stack has taken some hits, slipping from 27,000 down to the 16,000 mark where he currently sits. For now (or at least until he doubles up) the book has been closed and the pen tucked away. His Bose headphones are on and he's dialed in on his opponents.

History will have to wait.

We happened by Tyler Netter's table and couldn't help but notice he had pocket jacks. He came in for a standard raise and got a call from the big blind. The flop came down Qc-Qh-9s. The players went check-check and saw the Qs on the turn. Now, the big blind led into Netter for about half the pot. Netter seemed conflicted, but finally tossed out his call. The river...

The queen of diamonds.

Netter must have immediately known how sick of a river it was. He seemed almost ready to muck his hand before his opponent acted. And then something funny happened.

The big blind checked.

Netter pondered this unexpected turn of events for a moment before nearly laughing and turning up his pocket jacks. And then something funny happened again.

The big blind turned over A-9 for the stone-cold, rock and roll, slap-your-mama-it-feels so-good nuts. Netter simultaneously skipped over an opportunity to make a horrible bluff and took a big detour around the Big Blind's Value Town.

With that, we head to dinner. For our most recent chip count, visit the LAPT Nuevo Vallarta Chip Count page. The most notable move just before dinner has been Team PokerStars Victor Ramdin who has moved up to the chip lead. More to come after some food. Players return at 8:30 CT.

Maria Stern unfortunately will not make her second LAPT final table here in Nuevo Vallarta, and is now sweating her husband Max from the rail. Also eliminated within the last hour was actor-singer Sergio Mayer, who, during his bust-out interview lamented the presence of "muchos coyotes" (a lot of sharks) at his table.

Faring better is LAPT Punta del Este runner-up Alex Brenes. Seated only a few tables away from his "chark"-wielding brother Humberto, the younger Brenes has built his chip stack up to 48,000 and is among the chip leaders. Most of those chips came his way when he cracked his opponent's K-K with 7-7, the money going in on a 7-3-3 flop.

Shirley Rosario's stack also continues to climb. On a flop of 8h-6d-4h, the small blind checked, Rosario bet 2,200 and her opponent called. Both players checked the 2d on the turn. When the Kd hit the river, the small blind checked again, opening the door for Rosario to fire out a 4,000 bet. Her opponent quickly mucked and Rosario took down a nice pot.

A few minutes later, I passed by Rosario's table. She motioned me over.

"That hand before... I had nothing!" she said with a wink and a smile.

Nice hand, Shirley.

The PokerStars World Cup of Poker pits national teams against each other for some nice cash and huge bragging rights. Last year, Team USA won its first World Cup title and it did so with the help of Team PokerStars Pro Greg Raymer and well-known online scrapper Tyler Netter. Both men have made the trip to Nuevo Vallarta and are going strong in level 6.

Raymer and Netter would do well to keep an eye out for another World Cup alum. At last year's World Cup, Martha Herrera led her team to the live finals in Barcelona. One-time a small-town Mexican girl, Herrera moved to Puerto Vallarta and vowed to never leave. Though exceptionally busy helping with her husband's business, Herrera still finds as much time as she can to play poker. "It's the passion in my life," she said. Herrera won a local one-table satellite she played with friends. Each one of them has a piece of her action. As we prepare to head to dinner break, Herrera is still alive.

By the way, by some quirk of coincidence, the World Cup of Poker division playoffs are this weekend. We'll have live blog coverage of the playoffs on Sunday

In other news, Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari is no longer with us. Having fallen down below 4,000 in chips, Akkari open shoved with Qs-Ts. He got a caller who held A-Q. The board gave both players a queen but offered Akkari no further hope of surviving.

Also on the rail today is 2008 PCA final table player Christian Harder. Harder was down to 7,700 and found a perfect spot for a re-steal. The button came in for a raise to 1,100 and Harder pushed all-in for 7,700 with A-6. Too bad for Harder that the big blind made the call with A-Q. The board ran out 3-4-8-2-2 and Harder will have to look elsewhere for another final table.