Fee was among 219 players who traveled from across the street and around the world to the Ramada Herradura here in Costa Rica and put up their cash for a $1 million guaranteed prize pool. The three day event startled everyone with a Day 1 that eliminated 83% of the field in 12 hours. Day 2 took substantially longer. It was anybody's guess how long the final table of the first stop of Season 2 would take.

The final table was a fun mix of younger internet pros, a dignified Costa Rican lady with a World Series bracelet, and a several journeymen from around the world. Here's a look at the start of the day from the video blogging team.

Watch LAPT San Jose 08: Final Day Intro on PokerStars.tv

The crowd favorite was easy to spot. Maria Stern is one of the most well-known poker players in this country. She and her husband Max both went deep in this event. Max was eliminated just short of the money and stood by to watch his wife battle all the way to the final table. A short-stack for two days, Maria Stern put on a clinic on how to make a short stack last. It could only last so long.

After growing so short she couldn't rightfully put in a standard raise without committing herself, Stern put all of her chips in the middle with a 116,000 open-shove. She ran right into Jeff Petronack's pocket queens. The board ran out 4h-5c-3d-Td-6c and Stern, who cashed here in Season 1 as well, finished in 8th place for $24,425.

Though Claus Rasmussen is as likable a Dane as you'd ever want to meet,he developed a reputation yesterday for taking longer than average to make a decison. His final decision today was rather easy. With blinds at 6,000/12,000/1,000, a single orbit was costing him 25,000. Under 100,000 in chips, he put his money in with Qd-7d and ran smack dab into Joel Micka's pocket kings. Though Rasmussen flopped a queen, he coudn't improve any further and exited in seventh place.

Watch LAPT San Jose 08: Claus Busts on PokerStars.tv

It was then eventual champion Ryan Fee went on a tear of good fortune that even a leprechaun would envy. Fee got it all in As-Ks against Jeff Petronack's Ah-Kh. You think you know what's about to happen don't you? Well, you don't know the half of it. First, Fee flopped the nut flush. Then he turned the Royal Flush. Then, just to rub the salt in Petronack's wounds, the board put out a straight flush. So Petronack's staight eight to queen straight flush on board fell to Fee's Royal Flush. Petronack won more than $43,000 for his sixth place finish.

Fee was feeling it. It was obvious. So, it really didn't come as much of a surprise when he got pocket eights all-in versus Andre Chen's queens. And frankly, it didn't come as much of a surprise when he board ran out 6c-4h-5s-7d-x to give Fee the straight. Chen won $61,000 but looked as if he'd just accidentnally taken a shot of antifreeze.

The hand moved Fee up over the 1 million chip mark "I'm really good at sucking out," he said sheepishly.

Not one to rest on his lucky laurels, Fee almost looked excited to call Jesus Bertoli's short-stack all-in. This time, Fee held Ks-Qs, up against Bertoli's Ad-3s. Again, it felt pretty natural by this point to see Fee flop top two pair and go on to send the man from Venezuela to the pay-out line. Bertoli collected $80,603 for his fourth place finish.

Finally, Fee took a break and let fellow 20-year-old American Joel Micka do some of the work. When Brett Sheribon pushed his short stack into the middle from the button with Qd-Td. Micka called in the big blind with a pair of deuces. Sheirbon couldn't find a pair and left in third place for $109,913.

Joel Micka and Ryan Fee took a short break to cut a deal. Though the exact terms of the agreement were not publicly disclosed, the players did a chip-chop deal and left a big chunk of money on the table for which to play. It didn't take long at all. On the final hand, the players got in a raising and re-raising war that ended with all the chips in the midddle. It was 4s-4c for Micka and As-Th for Fee.

If you've been paying attention this far, you should know that it didn't matter that Fee missed the first four cards on board. He still had the river to spike his ace, in this case, the ace of hearts. With a quick pump of his fist, Fee had done it. He had won the first event of the LAPT's second season.

Watch LAPT San Jose 08: Ryan Fee Wins LAPT San Jose 08 on PokerStars.tv

Official payouts can be found on the Prizes page.

The next stop on the LAPT is in Mexico next month. Satellites are running now at PokerStars,com.

For a look back at our final table coverage in San Jose, visit any of the links below. See you in Mexico!

LAPT San Jose Final Table Profiles
LAPT San Jose: Level 18 updates (cotinued)
LAPT San Jose: Level 19 updates
LAPT San Jose: Level 20 updates
LAPT San Jose: Level 21 updates

All photography by Joe Giron/IMPDI

LAST UPDATED: 4:25pm

4:13pm--Ryan Fee eliminates Joel Micka in 2nd place

It was a button raise from Joel Micka, a re-raise from Ryan Fee, another re-raise from Micka,, a push from Fee and a call from Micka.

Micka held 4s-4c to Fee's As-Th.

Fee ran exceptionally well today, so despite the fact he bricked on the first four cards on board, there was little doubt he would spike his ace on the river.

The final board read: Ks-7c-Qc-8h-Ah

Official payouts can be found on the Prizes page. We will h ave a full wrap-up in a little while.

4:07pm--Micka chipping up

Well, we're still in search of a flop, but Joel Micka just proved that he doesn't need flops to narrow the gap between his stack and Ryan Fee's chip stack. He raised to 43,000, then reraised to 305,000 after Ryan Fee made it 105,000 to go. Fee wanted no part of that bet. He quickly folded.

4:00pm--Heads-up slow down

Now that we are heads up, we've returned to the game where we don't see any flops. While we wait for the action to heat back up, take a look at this video blog from the beginning of play today.

Watch LAPT San Jose 08: Final Day Intro on PokerStars.tv

3:50pm--Deal struck

You might have noticed a slight slowdown here. That's because Joel Micka and Ryan Fee took a short break to cut a deal. Though the exact terms of the agreement were not publicly disclosed, the players did a chip-chop deal and left a big chunk of money on the table for which to play.

3:35pm--Brent Sheirbon eliminated in 3rd ($109,913)

Short-stacked and in need of a double up, Brent Sheirbon pushed all-in for 140,000 from the button with Qd-Td. Ryan Fee folded in the small blind, but Joel Micka ade the call with a pair of deuces. Sheirbon couldn't make a pair or catch a miracle and he was eliminated in 3rd place for $109,913.

3:29pm--Three-handed play resumes

The players have returned and are now dealing with 8,000/16,000/2,000 blinds. You can find the updated standings at the LAPT Chip Counts page.

LAST UPDATED: 3:19pm

3:19pm--Break

Level 20 is now complete. Players are taking a ten minute break. The LAPT Chip Counts page has been updated with the latest counts.

3:11pm--Jesus Bertoli eliminated in 4th place ($80,603)

The greatest benefactor of all the recent action was Jesus Bertoli. He had been rocking the shortest stack at the table for well over an hour, treading water against the ever-increasing blinds. He finally found himself allin with Ad-3s against -- who else? -- Ryan Fee and his Ks-Qs.

If you've read the last few posts, you know that Fee has been running pretty good. It therefore should come as no surprise that Fee flopped two pair, Qh-Kd-8d. Bertoli reported to the rail shortly thereafter, earning $80,603 for his excellent short-stack play.

2:52pm--Andrew Chen eliminated in 5th place ($61,063)

Speaking of one of *those* hands, we just hand another just minutes after the first. It started when Ryan Fee came in for a raise and got re-popped by Andre Chen from the blinds. Fee, holding 8h-8s put Chen all-in for a grand total of 350,000. Bad timing on Fee's part, as Chen held Qs-Qh.

Of course, if it's going to be one of *those* hands, it's got to be one of *those* hands. The flop came down 6c-4h-5s, opening up four more outs for Fee. Suddenly, he seemed a lot more interested in the turn. It did not disappoint. The 7d fell, swiping the win away from Chen. He had two outs to a chop on the river, neither of which came. He was eliminated in 5th place for $61,063.

Fee now has more than 1 million chips.

"I'm really good at sucking out," he said sheepishly.

2:44pm--Jeff Petronack eliminated in 6th place ($43,960)

It was one of *those* hands -- the type of hand where all of the chips are in the middle before anyone in the gallery or in the media has even realized that there was an opening raise. Yet that's where we were. Jeff Petronack was all in for 297,000 against Ryan Fee. There was a mad scramble as photographers and bloggers leapt over the media table to get a better view of the action, but it seemed all for naught. Both players held ace-king. Petronack had the ace of diamonds and king of hearts; Fee had two spades.

"If ever there were a time to win one of these hands..." Fee pleaded with the poker gods. (At least he didn't say "One time!") Humberto Brenes, once again on announcing duty, set the stage for everyone in the room. Once we all knew what was at stake, the dealer burned and turned a flop.

Injury was the flop coming three spades. Jack of spades, eight of spades, ten of spades. Insult was the turn coming queen of spades to make a royal flush for Fee. The giant rock of salt in the gaping wound was the river falling nine of spades to make a board straight flush.

Petronack goes home with $43,960 and a hell of a story. "How'd you go out of the tournament?" friends might ask him. Petronack can say "I lost with a straight flush."

2:34pm--Chip counts updated

The latest chip counts have been posted at the LAPT Chip Counts page.

2:26pm--Claus Rasmussen eliminated in 7th place ($34,195)

Claus Rasmussen saw his chip stack dwindling away. With blinds at 6,000 / 12,000 / 1,000, a single orbit costs 25,000. When you're under 100,000 chips as Rasmussen was, pushing with two random cards from late position hoping to pick up the blinds isn't a bad play. Unfortunately for Rasmussen, he pushed with Qd-7d into Joel Micka's pocket kings. A queen on the flop gave Rasmussen the briefest flicker of hope for survival, but it was extinguished when the turn and river didn't help him. Rasmussen shook the hands of everyone at the table and left the final table area to the applause of those assembled in the gallery.

2:20pm--Tight is right

There are eight of us sitting in media row. By looking at any of us, you might not realize that a poker tournament is reaching its conclusion just ten feet away. The remaining players continue to play extremely tight, conservative poker. Very few hands are going to the flop; most aren't going past one raise. Joel Micka did manage to extract 80,000 chips from Jeff Petronack by pushing all in after Petronack raised Micka from 29,000. Ryan Fee (fresh off a wardrobe change about an hour ago) begged Petronack to "Please call!" but Petronack and Micka both have average stacks. It would have been surprising to see both players get those stacks in the middle without a flop.

2:15pm--Blinds up!

The price of playing a round at this table just went up. We're now playing at 6,000/12,000/1,000.

While we're waiting for the next big thing to happen here, check out this piece written by PokerStars Blog assistant Alex Villegas.

Poker hearts

Poker tables are usually a place for opposing emotions. The joy of hitting a two-outer is met by someone else's frustration, the fear of pushing all in on the bubble is countered by another player's relief in making money. But every so often, when the mood is just right, there is a feeling that transcends the felt and connects two players, that feeling is love.

There are many significant others at the LAPT, cheering on their better half, but among these, there are two couples who can only cheer in between their own hands. Jonathon “Apestyles” Van Fleet and Maria Mayrnick's have been together since the first day of the 2008 WSOP and Max and Maria Stern share more than just matching wedding bands, they are the only couple to each win a WSOP bracelet.

While they may be kind and compassionate outside the poker room; both these couples have shown their opponents they are a force to be reckoned with at the table. Mayrnick made her presence known with an early Royal Flush “and [she] got action!”, the royal flush seemed to consume all of her tournament luck, as she was eliminated later on with a bad run of cards. But her tournament wasn't over yet, he took roots next to Jon and watched his every play. She followed down to the final three tables, where his pocket sixes ran into cowboys for a 17th place finish.

The Sterns also managed a cash, but it was Max who took a seat behind the rail and cheered his wife on all the way to the final table. The Sterns both made it deep, with Max finishing only 2 off the bubble, when his AK suited was the wrong color and he lost to a flush. He followed Maria with the trademark cheer “Duro mi Mama!” until her KJ wasn't able to outdraw a pair of queens.

It's debatable whether what's harder to find, love or a good poker player. Somehow these two couples seem to have found both, and don't mind sharing their stories with us.

They say you can find love anywhere, and sometimes that anywhere is the Nightly Hundred Grand at PokerStars. Both frequenting the tournament they were often seated at the same table, maybe too often. As most players, they couldn't resist using the chat-box to both laugh and express their interests. Their connection grew faster than blind structures ever could (well, except for maybe turbos) and they ended up meeting on the first day of the 2008 WSOP. There, they found each other and a hefty number of cashes, they've been inseparable ever since.

“It's perfect” said Mayrnick, talking about their relationship. “We completely understand each other. We never bother each other to get off the computer, we don't even talk when we're both playing, and we get it.” But there are hard times, “It's really hard when we're both on a downswing. It's hard to motivate each other when neither of us is running good. And I also tilt, A LOT!” Stated Mayrnick, talking about her anger issues. “But I'm really grateful I have Jon, he's a real pro and no matter how bad he runs he never looses his cool. He's teaching me how to control my tilt, he locks me out of the poker room until I cool down and he refuses to talk to me about poker unless I stop tilting, Jon is great.” Aside from being on-line sharks, they enjoy traveling to live events. But sometimes there no place like home, “I love Austin, we have a great time and we live with Stevie “Stevie444” Chidwick, we're hoping to adopt him one day.” said Mayrnick right before she ran off because Jon was in a hand.

The Sterns on the other hand were married and playing poker before most of us had even heard about the game. Max started playing when he was seven, consistently beating kids up to twice his age. He knew he had it in him, “Some people have a skill for art or music, I knew my gift was cards” and he has a couple of WSOP bracelets that agree with him.

When asked about how she got started in poker, Maria said, “The earthquake was what got me into poker”, referring to the 1987 LA earthquake. “Max always went to the casinos, and after the earthquake I didn't feel safe staying home alone so I asked him to take me. I started getting bored of just watching him, so I decided to play one day, and I won! I didn't know I had it in me” and the rest was history.

With their children all grown up, poker did more than just provide a hobby. “After your kids grow up, a lot of couples lose communication and a connection, that comes with raising children. But poker has filled that role, it's helped us create an even deeper connection and made our marriage that much stronger”

Playing as a couple has also helped their game. In 1997, 2 years after his first bracelet, Max came in third at a WSOP RAZZ event for $50,000. He used that money to put Maria in the 7 Card Stud Event, and she ended up winning it. “After that, everyone in Vegas started making fun of me, saying that I didn't win my event and Maria was the main breadwinner now. It got to me, so I had to go back to the tables” said Max. And hit the tables he did, he won two events and added some bracelets to the family collection.

They say there's no hard times in their relationship, but they do have a favorite moment. “Our goal is always to make the final table together, and we have, three times” Two of the times Max won the event, but Maria took the honor of winning the third. “We were three handed. I pushed from the button, the small blind came over the top and Maria called. She had us both covered and turned over aces, the small blind had Kings and that was it” said Max, remembering how he got knocked out by his wife for a third place finish.

With so much success behind their belts these two couples gave us some much needed advice on the subject. Van Fleet and Mayrnick say that understanding and respecting each other's schedule is vital, they also recommend taking a day to rest and a day to go out. “We go out on Fridays, sometimes to a movie or whatever, we just go out. We take Saturdays off, just resting” advised Mayrnick.

Max directed his advice to the guys with girlfriends who don't approve of their poker hobby “Teach them how to play! By teaching, you practice your own game and get to share something important to you with your partner. And who knows, she might even start making money.” And Maria is definitely making some money today with an eighth place finish.

With the tournament over both couples now take time to themselves. Discussing their hands, enjoying Costa Rica and preparing to make the final table together at their next event.

LAST UPDATED: 2:04pm

2:04pm--Maria Stern eliminated in 8th place ($24,425)

Maria Stern put on a clinic for the last two days on how to make a short stack last. It could only last so long.

Moving all-in pre-flop for her final 116,000, she ran right into Jeff Petronack's pocket queens. The board ran out 4h-5-c-3d-Td-6c and Stern, who cashed here last year as well, finished in 8th place for $24,425

1:52pm--Hammer time

One player, at least, has decided to mix up his play. Brent Sheirbon opened the pot with a raise to 25,000. Action folded to Jesus Bertoli in late position, who reraised to 57,000. Sheirbon eyed Bertoli's stack before announcing he was all in for a total of 245,000. We could see Jesus talking to himself as he counted out his cihps and realized that Sheirbon had him covered. At the other end of the table, Sheirbon sat with his hands in front of his mouth, looking anywhere but directly at Bertoli. He let out a huge sigh of relief when Bertoli folded. Why was Bertoli's fold such a big deal? Sheirbon turned over 7d-2d, to the shock and mirth of all assembled. Sheirbon let loose a cheshire grin as he collected the pot.

1:40pm--Another day in the life

When we heard Ryan Fee remark on Day 1, "Just another day in the life," we thought it a good way to describe his tough but relaxed style of play. We didn't realize it would become his catch phrase.

Just now, in a battle of the blinds, Brent Sheirbon raised to 30,000 and Fee called from the big blind. The flop came down 2d-6c-9h. Brent checked, Ryan bet 25,000, and Brent called. The turn came the 5s and both players checked. On the river, the 8h, Sheirbon woke up and led for 60,000. Fee raised an additional 100,000 and Sheirbon eventually foldded.

"Just another day in the life," Fee said, revealing pocket fours.

Indeed.

1:33pm--Jeff Petronack goes runner-runner

Twelve minutes in, we had our first flop of Level 19. It was between two of the Americans, Joel Micka in the small blind and Jeff Petronack in the big blind. After both checked the Qh-5d-Js flop, Petronack wound up going runner-runner with 9c-7s for trip nines on the 9d turn and 9h river. He collected a pot worth 148,000 chips. Micka wasn't pleased to see Petronack's hand, but did offer him a sincere, "Good hand." Maybe Micka has been swept up in the new spirit of unity and optimism that's been embraced by Americans the world over in light of Barack Obama's election victory last night.

1:30pm--Updated chip counts

We've updated the LAPT Chip Counts page with the latest count at the start of level 19.

1:20pm--New level, new action?

Players are back from break to play level 19. THey are running with 5,000/10,000/1,000 blinds. We'll see if that jump-starts the action

LAST UPDATED: 1:03pm

1:03pm--My kingdom for a flop

Action is still hard to come by at the final table so far. If the chips haven't been in pre-flop, then flops have been almost non-existent. There have been two flops; one that was checked all the way to showdown between Joel Micka and Jesus Bertoli, and a second between Brent Sheirbon and Claus Rasmussen that was one by Sheirbon with a bet on the flop. We played the last forty two minutes of Level 18 with three total flops. It would seem that nobody is in a hurry to be the first one out.

12:52pm--Tankers always fold

It's a poorly kept secret here that Dane Claus Rasmussen does not make hasty decisions. When he's raising, calling, and folding, the time it takes him to consider his move nearly gives us time to run to the bathroom and back. If we needed any further evidence, we just got it. Brent Sheirbon came in for a raise from the button and Rasmussen re-popped it from the big blind, making it an additional 65,000. Sheirbon wasted little time before announcing all in. Then came Rasmussen's time in the tank. It wasn't as long as we've seen in the past, but a tried and true axiom from this event held firm. Tankers always fold. A few minutes later, Rasmussen's cards were in the much and Sheirbon picked up some much-needed chips.

12:42pm--Substitution!

Tournament Director Mike Ward has been calling all of the action at the final table so far (for which the media would like to extend our heartfelt thanks for making our jobs a thousand times easier). He's just been spelled by Humberto "The Shark" Brenes, who is calling all of the action in Spanish for the non-English speakers in the gallery and in media row. My high school Spanish teacher, Mrs. Riley, would be pleased to know that I remember enough Spanish to be able to follow along. Mostly.

12:35pm--Petronack doubles on the river

Short-stacked with a little more than 100,000, Jeff Petronack faced a raise to 18,500 from Ryan Fee.

"Okay, let's do it," he said, and moved his chips in the middle. Fee's call came quickly. Petronack held Ah-Kh to Fee's pocket queens. Petronack stared disaster in the face as the board came 5-7-5-3. And then, the ace of spade on the river. Why? Well, because as was noted here on media row, it's always the ace of spades on the river.

Patronack now sits with more than 200,000 and a much more playable stack than that with which he started.

12:30pm--Cautious play to start the day

We're five hands into the final table and yet to see a flop. The players don't look nervous but they do appear to be feeling each other out and trying to establish their sea legs. Three hands were won by a single raise; Joel Micka won a fourth hand with a reraise from the small blind. That was after he got a walk in the big blind, something that was unheard of yesterday. Tournament Director Mike Ward, perhaps seeking to encourage some action, joked, "I just want to remind you all that this game is played with community cards."

12:25pm--Mocking for a Fee

It's no secret here Ryan Fee is the most talkative player at the table. If he stops talking, it's clear there is a problem. In fact, if he stops talking, someone should call the paramedics, because he is likely unconscious or dead. As final table play began, Fee broke into his trademark table chatter. After a pre-flop pick-up of the blinds and antes, Fee joked, "I"m going to take all your money." Without missing a beat, Maria Stern, 47 years Fee's senior, repeated the phrase with as much dripping sarcasm as she could muster. We would pay to see the two players heads-up. The good thing is, we may not have to.

12:22pm--Play begins

With 42 minutes in this level, play is now underway.

12:14pm--Introductions underway

Tournament director Mike Ward is introducing the players. Cards will be in the air in just a couple of minutes. Here's a look at the pre-game news conference.

12:08pm--Final table play about to begin

Players are unbagging their chips and getting ready to play. We'll resume in Level 18 at the 4,000/8,000/500 level. For a look at what they are playing for, visit the LAPT San Jose Prizes page. To see a full look at the final table players, see the LAPT San Jose final table players profile page.

Seat 1: Jeff Petronack
Hometown: Hugo, MN (USA)
Chip Count: 122,500

Jeff Petronack is a 37-year-old mortgage banker from the United States. This is his first time to make it to the final table of a major poker tournament. He qualified to enter online at PokerStars. He has a wife named Tiffany, and two children, named Cody and Brooklynn. Upon learning that the next stop of the LAPT is in Puerto Vallarta, he said he'll probably be encouraged by his wife to attend, since it's where they spent their honeymoon.

Seat 2: Andrew Chen
Hometown: Mississauga, ON (Canada)
Chip Count: 313,000

Andrew Chen is a 20-year-old professional poker player from Canada. He says he finished just one spot out of the money four times in the big Sunday tournament at PokerStars. He qualified to play in this event by paying just $215 and winning his LAPT tournament entry. Chen admits that he had only 20 minutes of sleep after Day One, but he still manages to come into this final table ranked third in chips. He wants to thank Maria from PokerStars for calling him and waking him up just in time to get to Day Two thirty-five minutes late and immediately knock a player out.

Seat 3: Brent Sheirbon
Hometown: The Dalles, OR (USA)
Chip Count: 186,500

Brent Sheirbon is a 33-year-old poker pro from the United States. Prior to playing poker, he was an Information Technology Consultant. Sheirbon finished in the money the last two years in the World Series of Poker Main Event, finishing 134th and 392nd, out of thousands of players. He is also a world traveler, having lived in Costa Rica, Panama, India, and Spain.

Seat 4: Ryan Fee
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA (USA)
Chip Count: 481,500

The chip leader is Ryan Fee, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a 20-year-old professional poker player, who concentrates mostly on cash games. He is just beginning to focus on live tournaments and appears to have a very bright future ahead. Should Fee win today’s finale, this would be his first major tournament victory. Expect to see him at many more LAPT stops either way -- in Fee's words, "It's cold in Philly in the winter."

Seat 5: Claus Rasmussen
Hometown: Roskilde (Denmark)
Chip Count: 254,000

Claus Rasmussen is a 22-year-old gamesman from Denmark. He started out playing table tennis professionally, but has shifted his focus to poker. Rasmussen qualified to play in this tournament by playing in several step tournaments at PokerStars, and now he has a chance to win his biggest prize ever.

Seat 6: Maria Stern
Hometown: San Jose (Costa Rica)
Chip Count:151,500

Maria Stern has been playing tournament poker for many years. She is one of the most famous Costa Rican poker players and is universally loved and admired by everyone, especially by her devoted husband, Max Stern. In fact, the Sterns are one of only two married couples who have won gold bracelets at the World Series of Poker. Maria Stern won he gold bracelet in 1997. Now eleven year’s later she made history again by becoming the first lady ever to make it to an LAPT final table. She feels a great responsibility to represent Latin American poker players everywhere by winning this tournament, and is confident that she will do so.

Seat 7: Jesus Bertoli
Hometown: Margarita (Venezuela)
Chip Count: 265,500

Jesus Bertoli Juarez is a 25-year-old lawyer from Venezuela. He has already become one of Latin America’s most successful poker players. He took 24th place in LAPT Season 1, at the Rio de Janiero championship. He also finished in the money three other times in tournaments held in South America. Juarez spent just $17 to qualify for his entry online at PokerStars. He is ecstatic that the LAPT has brought deep-stacked, large buy-in tournament to Latin America, since it allows him more opportunities to play live without having to travel far from home.

Seat 8: Joel Micka
Hometown: Mill Creek, WA (USA)
Chip Count: 336,500

Joel Micka is a 20-year-old professional poker player from the United States. He prefers playing heads-up online at PokerStars and also plays Sit n’ goes. He likes high-stakes games. Yet, this is Micka’s first live major poker tournament. He arrives at the final table ranked second in chips. Micka admits that he never held a real job before. And should he win today, he won’t need one – since first place pays over a quarter of a million dollars. That would be quite an achievement for someone who didn't even know where San Jose was located when he qualified for this tournament.

Anyone who's ever played a no-limit hold'em multi-table tournament will tell you that the truth is that making the money is a Herculean task. It takes unrelenting focus, an unending stream of excellent play and the ability to avoid (or at least minimize) the effects of bad luck. Beyond that, merely making the money was not the goal of any of the remaining thirty eight. They all wanted to win.

Yet math is math. The numbers are unbendable in multi-table tournaments. Only eight of the thirty eight remaining players would see the end of the day. Fourteen of them would never even taste the money. Still in the hunt were a husband-and-wife team of WSOP gold bracelet winners, a player who qualified for this $3,700 tournament with an investment of only $7 and some time, representatives of ten different countries and almost a score of online qualifiers.

The first two players eliminated for the day were out before the last player showed up to unbag his chips. Andrew Chen showed up thirty five minutes late for the start of play. By the time he finally arrived, Jose Contreras had already been busted by Jesse Macleod and Chase Chenoweth's top pair had run into Mark Hirleman's top pair, bigger kicker . So for Chen, at least, the math was different -- only twelve eliminations separated him from the money.

The big story of the early part of the day was the elimination of Abraham Rosenkrantz near the end of Level 11, the first level of play. Rosenkrantz was one of the overnight chip leaders, coming into Day 2 fourth in chips with 114,000. Yet when he ran his pocket kings into Brent Sheirbon's pocket aces, Rosenkrantz was out of the tournament and Sheirbon took over the chip lead from Robert Woodcock.

Woodcock wasn't slouching. He was using his stack as a weapon to bludgeon his opponents and send people to the rail. One-by-one players like Mark Ioli, William Valladeres and Jesse Macleod were eliminated. Tournament poker stops for no one; either get on the chip truck or hit the rail.

With twenty seven players remaining, two special stories were brewing. The first involved one of only two husband-and-wife teams to ever both win a WSOP gold bracelet: Max and Maria Stern. Both remained alive in the tournament as the money bubble approached. Maria had a healthy stack, but Max was very short. Everyone in the room that wasn't sitting at a poker table was pulling for Max to find a way to double up; everyone sitting at a poker table was rooting for him to bust. Max did finally get his chips into the middle holding ace-king against Carter Gill's pocket fives. An ace flopped, but Gill four-flushed Max in diamonds to eliminate the three-time WSOP champion.

It was towards the end of Level 12 when the money bubble finally burst. Someone always goes home the unhappiest of all the players who entered the tournament, having labored through all those hours of play to be the last one to go home empty-handed. Today that distinction belonged to Guillaume Noël, whose K-Q couldn't outrun Ryan Fee's A-2. Noël took his departure as good-naturedly as any bubble boy I've ever seen, smiling and shaking Fee's hand before retiring to the rail to wach the rest of the tournament unfold.

Noël's elimination meant the second of the two special stories that were on our radar came to fruition. It involved Aaron Kielesinski, a player who qualified for this tournament by playing qualifier satellites on PokerStars. Kielesinski's total monetary outlay for this $3,700 tournament was $7. When Noël busted, Kielesinski was guaranteed $9,770. We're no good with math, but we can guarantee that rate of return is unmatchable in the financial world, even before the markets all started to tank. PokerStars.tv caught up with Kielesinski earlier in the day, before he busted out of the tournament:

As things tend to go in multi-table tournaments, the short stacks kept busting. Jason Frazee, Maurice Millares Molina, Aaron Kielesinski, Mike Gorodinsky, Mark Hirleman and Martin Clemmensen all made their exits. Some took brutal beats (Frazee in particular, who flopped trips but lost when Brent Sheirbon rivered a two-outer for a full house), but most got their short stacks in and just couldn't get there. Then came the first defining hand of the afternoon. Robert Woodcock and Brent Sheirbon somehow managed to put 110,000 chips into the pot before a flop came down. Sheirbon made a small 12,000-chip bet on an all-club flop that Woodcock raised to 37,000. The hand seemed destined to eliminate or cripple someone when Sheirbon shoved all in, but Woodcock folded. Even so, with that win Sheirbon eclipsed the 400,000-chip mark.

After that hand, normal order was restored and the short stacks went back to busting. Jon Van Fleet, Michael DeGilio, and Tark Abboud all slipped into the inky blackness of tournament elimination. Play consolidated to two short-handed tables. And that's when the tale of the day returned to late-comer Andrew Chen, the man who was thirty-five minutes late for the start of play. It might have been a sign of things to come that, as soon as he showed up, he eliminated Kevin MacPhee. Likely nobody would have predicted that Chen would even still be in the tournament with only two tables remaining. Yet there he was, tripling up with pocket queens against the ace-king of Joel Micka and the ace-king of Carter Gill. That hand knocked Gill out of the tournament in 14th place and sent Chen's chip count to more than 250,000. Michael Collins, Shawn Patrick Ryan, and Alan Milesky soon followed.

Ten players remained. The next elimination would result in another redraw to a single nine-handed table. Earl Burkland put his stack in the middle early in Level 16 with pocket sixes and knew he was in trouble when Robert Woodcock snap-called. It was aces for Woodcock, with a matching ace on the flop. Burkland's tenth place departure set us up for the final nine. One elimination remained before calling it a night.

If fourteen eliminations seemed like a simple order at the beginning of the day, then one last elimination seemed as easy as reciting the alphabet. Yet all of the chips were relatively evenly disbursed, and nobody wanted to be the person to bubble off of Day 3. Hand after hand went by with little change in the counts. Level 16 became Level 17; Level 17 became Level 18. Andrew Chen took a hit at the end of Level 17 when he called a river bet from Ryan Fee and couldn't beat pocket jacks, but it wasn't enough to knock Chen out of the tournament.

Robert Woodcock, the chip leader eight hours earlier at the start of Day 2, may have wished it was. A few hands later, Chen opened for 20,000 and Woodcock shoved all in over the top of him. When Chen called, the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived. It was Chen's pocket jacks against Woodcock's ace-king, and jacks were best on a Qd-7c-4s-Qs-7s board. Woodcock was unable to make it wire to wire. Andrew Chen showed up thirty five minutes late, but he personally made sure that he would make it to Day 3. We'll see if he shows up late again.

The remaining eight players will come back at noon tomorrow to battle it out and see who will walk away with the first place prize of more than $285,000. It appears that the overnight chip leader is Ryan Fee. Chip counts for tomorrow's final table will be available shortly on our LAPT Chip Counts page. The payouts for the final eight players are listed in the payout structure on our LAPT Prizes page. If you speak Spanish or Portuguese, have a gander at the PokerStars Spanish blog and the PokerStars Brazilian blog. Don't forget that video clips of all the action here in San Jose are available at PokerStars.tv.

For a more comprehensive review of the Day 2 events, feel free to browse any of the posts linked below:

LAPT San Jose: Level 11 Updates
LAPT San Jose: Level 12 Updates
LAPT San Jose: Level 13 Updates
LAPT San Jose: Level 14 Updates
LAPT San Jose: Level 15 Updates
LAPT San Jose: Level 16 Updates
LAPT San Jose: Level 17 Updates
LAPT San Jose: Level 18 Updates

Photography by Joe Giron/IMPDI

LAST UPDATED: 10:09pm

10:09pm--Rob Woodcock eliminated, final table set

It was a pre-flop raise to 20,000 from Andrew Chen and a shove from Rob Woodock that saw us to the final hand of the night. Chen held jacks to Woodcock's A-K. The board ran out Qd-7-c-4s-Qs-7s and that was all she wrote. A full wrap-up and official chip counts will be available here soon.

9:56pm--New level

We're up to a new level with nine players still remaining. They are now playing with 4,000/8,000/500 blinds.

LAST UPDATED: 9:55pm

9:55pm--A showdown?

For the first time in what seems like almost two full levels, a hand went to showdown. Andrew Chen raised to 15,000 from early position and was called by Ryan Fee. The flop was all babies, 2c-4s-3s. Chen checked it to Fee, who bet 17,000. Chen called to a turn of 2d that both players checked. When the river fell Qc, Chen checked again to Fee, who bet 50,000. That bet seemed to torture Chen, as several times he reached for chips and then thought better of it, and several times he looked like he might muck his cards and thought better of it. After about a minute and a half of this, he reluctantly called. Fee showed Jd-Js, which was a winner.

That showdown took a chunk out of Chen's stack, but he remains in the hunt.

9:33pm--Nothing outlasts the Energizer

Okay, the action hasn't slowed down to the point that we can make Energizer battery comparisons with a straight face, but we've definitely hit a lull. Nobody is having any luck taking control of the table, and fatigue has set in after two long days of poker. Jeffrey Petronack is hunkered down in his seat; Andrewn Chen hasn't said a word in over an hour; and Joel Micka has stopped trying to suppress his yawns. Even Ryan Fee, who has been by far the most vocal and animated of the nine remaining players, seems to have toned it down a bit. Having a few preflop steal-raises snapped off can't have improved his mood.

As you can see from the Chip Counts page, no player is dangerously short. All seemed to have tightened to the point that it's going to take dueling big hands to draw the curtain on Day 2. That might happen two minutes from now or two hours from now. We'll just have to wait and see.

One player who seems unaffected by fatigue is Maria Stern. PokerStars.tv chatted with her husband Max about Maria while she continued to play on in the tournament:

9:22pm--What they are playing for

In case you haven't looked yet, we have all the prizes and winners for this event listed on the LAPT Prizes page. Have a look while the paint dries.

9:07pm--A look at the final table

Photographer Joe Giron has been working hard here today. Here's what the final table looks like right now.

9:05pm--Official chip counts

We have updated the LAPT Chip Counts page with official counts from the last break

8:50pm--Play resumes

Players are back from break.

8:45pm--Break time

Players on are break before coming back to the 3,000/6,000/500 level

LAST UPDATED: 8:19pm

8:42pm--Break time

Players are on a ten-minute break for the end of the level.

8:19pm--Steady as she goes

After a day full of insane action, it's slowed down ever so slightly here. While that could change at any time, we are quickly approaching the longest period of time we've had without a bust-out today.

8:02pm--Fee runs a successful bluff

Ryan Fee came into the final table as the chip leader and is using those chips to throw his weight around. Sitting in the big blind, he called a preflop raise to 15,000 from Jesus Bartoli. Fee checked the 6h-4d-Ad flop to Bartoli, who made it 21,000 to go. Bartoli quickly called when Fee check-raised to 50,000. Both players checked the 10s turn. That's when things got interesting.

With the river coming down 3d, Fee deliberated what to do. When he elected to bet 150,000 (just slightly over pot), his hands were visibly shaking as he pushed his chips across the betting line. Everyone in the room saw it, but did it mean that Fee held a monster, or was it that he was trying to get Bartoli to believe he held a monster? Bartoli clearly couldn't decide as he went into the tank.

"Why did you bet so much?" Bartoli asked.

"You have ace-king?" Fee replied.

"Ace-king no good?"

"I think you can call."

In the end, Bartoli did not call, mucking what he later said was ace-jack. Fee jubilantly turned over 5h-5d as he collected the pot.

8:00pm--New chip counts

Chip counts have been update at the start of nine-handed play. You can find them at the LAPT Chip Counts page.

7:40pm--Earl Burklund eliminated

Earl Burkland was looking for a good spot to get his short-stack in the middle. he thought he'd found it when Rob Woodcock came in for a raise and everybody folded to the Burkland big blind. Burkland held pocket sixes and stuck his stack in the middle. Woodcock's snap-call made it pretty clear, and the pocket aces in front of him made it almost certain. The ace on the flop pretty much sealed the deal. Burkland exits in tenth place earning $14,655.

We are now down to nine players. They will consolidate to one table and play until the next elimination. After that, we break for the night and come back tomorrow with a final table of eight.

7:30pm--Cards in the air

We're back at Level 16 with the blinds at 2,500/5,000/400.

LAST UPDATED: 6:00pm

7:20pm--A word with Ryan Fee

While we're waiting for players to come back from dinner, here's a word with Ryan Fee.

Watch LAPT San Jose 08: Ryan Fee on PokerStars.tv

6:20pm--Dinner break

With ten players remaining in the fight for the eight final table spots, the tournament has taken a break for dinner. Play will resume at 7:30pm.

6:00pm--Alan Milesky eliminated

Alan Milesky played his short-stack with the tenacity of a barnacle. At times he was reduced to 2.5 big blinds. He managed to double up once and survive into the bigger money. Finally, he got his remaining chips in with 4-4 on a 5d-6c-5c flop. Unlucky for him, Jesus Bertoli held pocket eights. Milesky couldn't catch a miracle and exited in 11th place for $14,655.

5:50pm--Claus Rasmussen runs good

So, how does it happen that Claus Rasmussen tries a blind steal with T-8 and catches a T-8-3 flop? Okay, it happens. But when the big-stacked big blind calls and flops top pair king kicker, it seems a little sick. When it happened two minutes ago, Claus got all his money in and got a call from Joel Micka. Micka didn't catch and Rasmussen doubled up. That's running pretty good.

5:35pm--Fresh chips added

You can now find fresh chip counts at the LAPT Chip Counts page.

5:22pm--Shawn Patrick Ryan eliminated

Bad-timing for Shawn Patrick Ryan, who raised from the button with A-3. Ryan Fee re-raised from the big blind and Ryan announced he was all-in. Fee snap-called with A-K. Ryan never caught up and is out in 12th place.

5:15pm--Break time

Players are on a short break between levels. Twelve players remain. Once play gets nine-handed, the players will sit nine-handed and play to a final table of eight.

LAST UPDATED: 5:08pm

5:08pm--Break time

Players are on their second ten-minute break of the day. Level 15 will begin after the break.

5:00pm--Michael Collins runs into aces

As his stack dwindled, Michael Collins undoubtedly started looking for a good hand with which to move all in. He probably thought he found it when he looked down at two treys, perfectly willing to take a race at this point of the tournament given the size of the blinds. What he wasn't counting on was running into Shawn Patrick Ryan's aces. Ryan snap-called the raise and had the winning hand on a board of 10h-4d-8h-Qd-9h.

4:53pm--Andrew Chen has good ladies, Gill eliminated

So, it just happened that Andrew Chen got all-in with pocket queens. He was up against aces and kings. Fortunately for him, Carter Gill held one of the aces and one of the kings. Joel Micka held the other ace and king. Up against two of the same hands, Chen's ladies held up and he now has more than 250,000. Though it surprised everybody, Chen had Gill covered and Gill went out in 14th place.

4:45pm--Abboud sent packing by Micka

With only two tables remaining in action, play has predictably slowed and tightened. That may mean there are more opportunities for bluffs, but they only have a chance of success if no opponents wake up with monsters.

Tark Abboud got frisky with Joel Micka and didn't survive to see the next hand. Abboud raised preflop from late position to 6,700. Micka called from the small blind, as did Michael Collins from the big blind. Abboud may have thought that an Ac-6c-3d flop was good for him; when Micka and Collins both checked, Abboud bet 11,500 to represent the ace. Micka check-raised to 23,000, folding Collins. Abboud decided to shove all in, which brought a snap call from Micka with 3c-3s for a set of threes. Abboud had total air -- Jc-10d -- and when the turn came 9h he was drawing dead.

4:25pm--Michael DeGilio eliminated

Sometimes when you're a short stack in a multi-table tournament, all you can do is get your stack in and hope for the best. Michael DeGilio got his stack into the middle with Ad-Kh after Andrew Alan Chen tried to steal from the small blind with 8d-3d. Chen's "two live cards" (the mantra of poker players everywhere who find themselves behind in a hand) turned out to be the winners on a board of Jd-7d-4s-4h-3c. It probably stung just a little bit more that Chen caught what could be characterized as the dirtiest out in the deck. Regardless, it made Chen the winner and eliminated DeGilio in 16th place.

4:15pm--New chip counts

We've updated the LAPT Chip Counts page with a fresh look from the top of Level 14.

4:08pm--Level 14 begins

We are now playing at the 1,500/3,000/300 level.

LAST UPDATED: 3:55pm

3:55pm--Woodcock begins the long climb back up

Ever since surrendering the chip lead to Brent Sheirbon, the going has been tougher for Robert Woodcock. With a depleted stack, he has found that opponents are more willing to play back at him. But Woodcock hasn't shied away from the challenge. He recently took down a sizable pot against his nemesis, Sheirbon. The two were in the blinds and took a raised flop of 10d-7s-6c. Sheirbon bet 9,000 and Woodcock called. Both players checked the 5h turn. When the river came 5c, Woodcock made a confident bet of 30,000. Sheirbon thought it over, then threw six blue chips in for a call. His red eights were no good against Woodcock's Kh-10s.

3:45pm--Fleet-footed and gone

Jon Van Fleet is no more. His pockets sixes got in against pocket kinds pre-flop. A king on the flop didn't seal it. Van Fleet could've gone runner-runner for the straight. Instead he tried to go the perfect-perfect route, turning the six for his own set, but missing the river. He exits in 17th place, earning $9,770.

3:32pm--Say hello to your new chip leader

Robert Woodcock was the overnight chip leader and has done well today to retain that title, with players like Ryan Fee and Brent Sheirbon nipping close at his heels. It seemed inevitable that sparks were going to fly when Sheirbon and Woodcock drew the same table after the first redraw, and they finally did. The two big stacks got into a preflop raising war that ended with over 100,000 chips in the pot. Sheirbon made a relatively tiny bet of 12,000 on a flop of Kc-5c-Jc. Woodcock came over the top of that bet with a raise to 37,000; Sheirbon responded with an insta-shove. Woodcock tanked for a long time before reluctantly folding his hand.

The result? Sheirbon now has about 400,000 chips. In other developments, with 17 players remaining, we're hand-for-hand again. The second redraw will occur after the next elimination.

3:28pm--Clemmensen drowns, Gill continues breathing

It was an all-in pre-flop battle between Carter Gill's A-Q and Martin Clemmensen's A-7. Both flopped pairs for their kicker, but Clemmensen could do no better and exited in 18th place for $9,770.

PokerStars.tv caught up with Gill at the last break:

3:20pm--Mark Hirleman eliminated

Cries of "Hold one time!" brought us running over to Table 3, where Mark Hirleman was all in with ace-ten against Ryan Fee's ace-king. Hirleman had outflopped Fee with a Q-10-4 flop and needed to dodge any king and any jack. It sounds so easy -- no king, no jack. In practice, it seems not to happen as frequently as the numbers dictate. A jack promptly fell on the turn to make a Broadway straight for Fee and send Hirleman to the rail to collect his $9,770 in prize money.

3:15pm--Mike Gorodinsky on the rail

Joel Micka's button raise could've been a blind-steal. As far as Mike Gorodinksy was concerned, it should've been. So, when Gorodinsky picked up Ad-Jc in the small blind, it seemed like a good time to shovel it in. Unfortunately for him, Micka was in the middle of a back-to-back-to-back A-K pick-ups. The board bricked out for Gorodinksy and he is out in 20th place.

3:05pm--Aaron Kielesinski eliminated

PokerStars qualifier Aaron Kielesinski's inspired run has come at LAPT San Jose to an end. He opened for 7,000 chips, then felt obligated to call for his remaining stack (roughly 20,000 more) when Joel Micka shoved all in from the big blind. Kielesinski had a slight edge with pocket nines against Micka's Big Slick, but lost the hand when a king hit the flop and a nine was nowhere to be found.

Kielesinski qualified for this tournament through online satellites for only $7. He takes home $9,770. That's a pretty good rate of return.

3:00pm--Chip counts updated

Chip counts from the beginning of this level have been added to the LAPT Chip Counts page.

2:50pm--Quads send Maurice Millares Molina to rail

Sean Patrick Ryan pushed all in from the button and Maurice Millares Molina called from the big blind with Qc-Td. Ryan held pocket nines. He flopped another nine and turned another one, making the straight Molina made on the river just a cruel little joke. Molina earns $9,770 for his 22nd place finish.

2:49pm--Petronack spikes his card

Deflated elation is a phrase that best captures the feelings of a player who loses with a big pair against a small pair. That's Maurice Molina's lot in Level 13. He raised to 10,000 preflop. Action folded to the small blind, Jeff Petronack, who shoved for 46,400. Molina snap-called with pocket queens and was in great shape against Petronack's pocket nines -- until the flop brought a nine. Petronack's set held to double him up to almost 100,000.

2:46pm--Frazee not crazy, just unlucky

It's a flop of 2-2-3 in which Jason Frazee has called Brent Sheirbon's raise from the big blind. After a lead out and raise, Frazee pushed all in. "Did you look before you called?" Sheirbon asked. And then he called, flipping over his pocket queens. He shook his head when he saw Frazee's A-2. The six on the river had Sheribon counting out his chips. The river...a queen...a two outer turned the tables on Frazee. He's on in 23rd place for $9,770.

2:40pm--Play resumes

Cards are back in the air. 23 players remain, with blinds of 1,200 / 2,400 / 200.

2:35pm--Color-up continues

While the color-up is finished, check out what PokerStars.tv has been up to during the first two levels of play today:

2:25pm--Break time

Players are on break during the color up. We will return with coverage and a new chip count soon.

LAST UPDATED: 2:22pm

2:22pm--Break time

With 23 players remaining and two levels behind us, players are now on a 15-minute break while the 25-denomination chips get colored up.

2:20pm--Carter Gill headed the wrong way

After sending Max Stern to the rail, Carter Gill ran into a few roadblocks. First he doubled Jeff Petronack when Petronack pushed for about 23,000 over the top of Gill's initial raise to 4,900. Gill made the call with Qh-Ts and found himself up against Ah-Jh. A 7h-Th-Js was huge for Petronack but the board turned disastrous with the Qs on the turn, bringing a muted exclamation of "No!" from Petronack and "Hold one time!" from Gill. His two pair didn't hold; the river fell 6h to make a heart flush for Petronack.

Shortly thereafter, Gill found himself in a hand against Dane Martin Clemmensen. Gill bet 6,200 on a flop of 4c-Qs-9s. He slowed down with a check when the turn came Ks to put three spades on board, but Clemmensen checked behind. The board got even uglier with the 10d on the river. This time when Gill checked, Clemmensen bet a suspiciously small 5,000.

"Jesus Christ, I call," said a clearly exasperated Gill. He showed 9c-9h for a set of nines but was beaten by Clemmensen's straight made with Ks-Jc. "Of course," snorted Gill. "How do you not bet the turn?"

Clemmensen never responded, leaving Gill to ponder how to stem the tide and start rebuilding.

2:13pm--Alfredo Delgado, $9,770 to pay for potentially broken hand

With a raise in front of him, Alfredo Delgado re-raised, and Claus Rasmussen pushed all-in. The original raiser foldered, and Delgado called with 6d-6c. Rasmussen held Ad-Kc. The flop was perfect-ish for Delgado. 3-3-3. He called for a six, just to be sure. He got one upside down on the turn...a nine. Then, the Ah on the river, punctuated by Delgado punching the table with enough force to knock out...well, at least someone with a jaw like mine. Delgado is out in 24th place, earning $9,770.

2:03--Guillaume Noël eliminated on the bubble

Short-stacked and in need of a double-up, Guillaume Noël got his final chips in with K-Q vs. Ryan Fee's Ac-2c. Fee flopped an unnecessary deuce and rivered an unnecessary ace to send Noël out just short of the money.

1:58pm--Max Stern eliminated

One-half of the Stern family has been eliminated. Three-time WSOP bracelet winner Max Stern moved his last 9,975 into the middle from under the gun and was called in two spots: by Carter Gill from middle position and by Maurice Molina. Gill and Molina checked it down all the way on a board of Qd-6d-Ad-9d-3c. Stern showed Ac-Kc for top pair, but Gill four-flushed him with 5d-5s. Maria Stern has to carry the torch for the Stern family from here.

1:55pm--Rasmussen sniffs out bluff, sends player home

William Valladeres has been eliminated after bluffing with no pair on the river into Claus Rasmussen's Kd-Qh on a final board of Qc-4h-Jd-7-2.

1:50pm--Joel Micka doubles

Joel Micka just put himself and tournament on the line in a battle of the blinds. With more than 40,000 in front of him, he got it all in with Michael Collins. Collins held Ac-6c in the small blind to Micka's pocket eights. The flop came down 9c-Kd-Tc, giving Micka the flush draw do go with his ace-outs. He missed all of them twice and Micka's doubled up. Carter Gill wondered aloud, "How do you fade that?"

1:45pm--Short stacks making their moves

It's bubble time here in San Jose, with just 29 players remaining. Since only 24 will make the money, the short stacks need to decide whether to try to double up or to turtle. Guillaume Noel and Andres Herrada both tried to double up, and each one found himself behind in the hand. Noel's Ah-8h was up against Jon Van Fleet's As-Td but managed a chop when the board double-paired. Herrada was also all-in with ace-eight against the red jacks of Tark Abboud. There was no help for Herrada; Abboud's jacks held up to send Herrada to the rail.

1:40pm--Fresh chips

If you'd like to see the updated standings, check out the LAPT Chip Counts page. It has been updated with counts from the beginning of this level.

1:30pm--Robert Woodcock, table bully

If Teddy Roosevelt had been a no-limit hold'em player, we imagine he might have said, "Walk tall and carry a big stack." Certainly a big stack is a dangerous weapon in the hands of a skilled player. Robert Woodcock started the day as the chip leader and has been punishing his shorter-stacked opponents today. He recently called a preflop raise to 6,100 in position behind Martin Clemmensen. Clemmensen made it 10,000 to go on a flop of 3h-6d-8h. Woodcock, who had been scrutinizing Clemmensen as the flop came don pushed out a stack of 23,500 chips without saying a word. It was a raise that sent Clemmensen into the tank. He seemed agonized, even removing his sunglasses at one point to rub his eyes. Ultimately, however, he folded and another pot was shipped to Woodcock.

1:15pm--Rasmussen fills up

The action hasn't slowed down in the slightest with the increase in the blinds. Another big hand just went down at Table 1. We didn't see the action, but we did see the aftermath -- Claus Rasmussen's Js-9s made a full house on a board of 2d-9d-Jh-Jd-Ah. His opponent, Jesse Macleod, could only come up with trip jacks. When all of the chips were sent to their proper spots, Rasmussen was wielding a stack of almost 100,000 chips, while Macleod had dropped to 30,000.

1:10pm--Level 12 begins

We are now beginning the 1,000/2,000/150 level.

LAST UPDATED: 12:55pm

12:55pm--Rosenkrantz eliminated in stunning fashion

All it takes in no-limit hold'em is one hand -- the cards break the wrong way and a player can go from the proverbial penthouse to the proverbial outhouse. That's Abraham Rosenkrantz's story today. He woke up with the red kings in the small blind and was delighted to see the button, Brent Sheirbon, raise to 4,000. Rosenkrantz smooth-called, only to see Joel Micka reraise to 12,000 from the big blind. Sheirbon quickly made it 44,000 to go.

"I think you're in trouble," Rosenkrantz announced. "I'm all in." Micka obligingly folded, but Hirleman snap-called with the red aces! The board ran out jack-high.

"What can you do?" Sheirbon asked Rosenkrantz with a smile.

"If I would have seen your cards, I would have folded!" Rosenkrantz replied, drawing laughs from the table. Because of the number of chips involved, it took some time to count down the stacks, but when the process was completed Sheirbon had Rosenkrantz covered by about 10,000 chips. Rosenkrantz is out, and Sheirbon is the new chip leader with more than 220,000 chips.

12:44pm--An abundance of aces

It seems that every time we walk by Maria Stern's table, she has pocket aces. Maybe that means we're not walking by her table often enough, but she definitely has seen her share of good cards throughout this tournament. She bet 20,000 on a non-threatening board of 7h-9d-4h against Michael Collins. Collins quickly announced he was all in, and just as quickly Stern called. Stern tabled the black aces; Collins tabled two red aces, much to the amusement of the table. When the turn and river ran out Kd-10c, it was a chopped pot.

"When you called that fast, I thought you had a set of sevens," Collins told Stern.

"I had to go with it. I can't fold there," Stern replied.

Collins nodded in understanding. "Neither can I."

12:40pm--Jesus unkind to Ioli

Short-stacked Jesus Bertoli pushed all-in from the button and got aninsta-call from Mark Iloi in the small blind. Bertoli held 6h-6s, far behind Ioli'sJh-Jd...until the flop 6-8-A. Ioli never caught up and he finished just short of the money.

12:37pm--Badin Bounahar eliminated

It looked like a halfway decent spot for a chop, but Badin Bounahar couldn't make it happen. He just got A-2 in against Earl Burkland's A-8. The board ran out with enough babies and no deuce and Bounahar was eliminated.,

12:34pm--Kevin MacPhee wishes Andrew Chen hadn't shown up

So, Andrew Chen finally showed up, just time to get his stack in with AQ vs Kevin McPhee's AK. You guessed it. A queen fell and MacPhee is gone.

12:31pm--Stern hates his chances, but survives

Maurice Millares Molina came in for a raise to 4,000 and Max Stern pushed all in for around 20,000 total. Abraham Rosenkrantz then isolated with a raise big enough to push Molina out. It was A-K off for Stern and Ac-Kc for Rosenkrantz. The flop? Well, it's funny how these things work. Jc-5h-Tc. "Roja!," Stern pleaded. He got his wish. No clubs came and they chopped up the pot.

12:30pm--Chenoweth has kicker problems

Ace-jack nevers carries its weight the way poker players expect and hope it will. Chase Chenoweth found himself in a heads-up pot from the small blind holding ace-jack against pre-flop raiser Mark Hirleman. Chenoweth paired his ace with a flop of 4d-Ac-5h but checked the action to Hirleman, who bet 4,000. When the turn fell 9s, Chenoweth checked to Hirleman again, who moved all in for 14,000. Chenoweth surely felt that he was in a sticky situation, as he agonized over his decision for a full minute. He opted to call but found himself drawing very thin against Hirleman's ace-king. Neither player improved with the river Ts, but Hirleman didn't need to.

After the chips were counted down, Chenoweth was left with just 850. He waited two hands, staring dejectedly into space, before putting those chips in with ace-king. Action folded to the big blind -- Hirleman -- who held Jc-Tc. A jack on the flop sent Chenoweth to the rail. "Brutal," he sighed as he stood up. "Good luck."

12:25pm--Jose Contreras eliminated

It was a raise to 4,000 from Jesse Macleod that moved Jose Contreras to push in his remaining short stack (around 25,000) into the midddle. Macleod made the easy call with pocket queens and saw Contreas' Ac-Th. The flop, a solid Q-3-3 made Macleod smile and sent Contreras to the rail. 37 players remain.

12:20pm--Paging Andrew Chen

Andre Chen. Paging Mr. Chen. You have a little more than 30,000 chips sitting in seat 5 at Table 1. The tournament has resumed without you. Seriously, get thee to the ballroom. (In all fairness, three people were not here for the start of play. Andrew Chen is the only one who is still missing. If you know him, you might want to give him a call.

12:06pm--Shuffle up and deal

The button is starting in the three-seat at each table. Cards are now in the air. Tournament Director Mike Ward gave a few programming notes before play began. There will be a redraw once we're down to three tables (when we'll reach the money), then another at two tables and one more at the final table. The final table will start nine-handed today. Upon the elimination of one player from the table, we'll be done for the day. Expect that to happen at some point during Level 16.

11:57am--Play about to begin

Players are taking their seats and unbagging their chips. Play will begin at the 800/1,600,150 level in just a couple of minutes.

11:38am--Day 2 action to begin shortly

Day 2 action of the LAPT San Jose Season 2 event will begin at noon local time. Thirty-eight players will start the day, all looking to make it tomorrow's final table of eight. Join us at noon for all the action.