If I hadn't seen this with my own eyes, I would never have believed it. But after Vanessa Selbst successfully defended her NAPT Mohegan Sun title yesterday, her Team PokerStars Pro colleague Jason Mercier has just defended his High Roller Bounty Shootout title too.

According to mathematicians, that's a 30,000 to one shot. Yes, it's rigged. Obviously it's rigged.

However for something stage-managed, this looked remarkably authentic. Mercier came to the final table with the most bounty chips, having eliminated six players from his heat on Tuesday. Today, he won a further three bounties--including the crucial last one of Eugene Katchalov who he defeated heads up--and his winnings totaled $246,600. (See the results page for the full calculations.)

This was Mercier's tenth major tournament victory in a career that is still only about three years old. It is, frankly, staggering stuff.

"There is no real secret to it," Mercier said. "I just try to make the right plays and do the best I can."

The heats on Tuesday had been quick-fire affairs, with a rapidly escalating structure prompting chips to fly into pots and players out the door. The reward for surviving that carnage, however, was a seat at this final table, where every bounty was now worth $10,000 apiece but picking them up was much more difficult.

After five opening levels, all nine players were still in the hunt. Stacks were evenly balanced and it seemed as though it could have gone on all night. Then something suddenly changed.

First, Joe Sweeney shoved his middle pair into Eugene Katchalov's flopped nut flush. Whoops. One down. Then Micah Raskin found tens when Jonathan Jaffe had found queens. Raskin was our second to depart.

The dust had barely settled on those two eliminations when we were looking at two more. Scott Blackman ([ad][qh]) came off third best in a three-way all in coup, also featuring Michael Pesek ([ac][kc]) and Jimmie Guinther ([qc][9s]).

Blackman busted then and there, out in seventh, and Guinther was also critically injured. He doubled his micro stack against Mercier, but couldn't continue an improbable resurgence. Instead he was all in again very soon after and Pesek this time finished the job. Pesek managed to get pocket twos to hold against Guinther's king high.

At five handed, the action barely slackened. Taylor von Kriegenbergh, who had amassed the loudest rail of supporters, also almost managed to pull off the most unlikely outdraw when he took pocket fives up against Eugene Katchalov's aces.

Von Kriegenbergh turned a set to send his supporters bounding across the tournament floor in delight. But the ace rivered to leave them sprawled on the carpet in despair.

Katchalov allowed himself a wry chuckle and a thumbs up to family on the rail, while Von Kriegenbergh knew he would have to get his short stack in the middle very quickly. He did, but his [kd][jd] was no match for Pesek's [Ad][Jc] and out went Von Kriegenbergh, pursued by his cavalry.

At this stage in the proceedings, Mercier was still ahead in the grand bounty race, but only owing to his destruction of the table in his heats, where he knocked out six opponents. He had not eliminated anyone from the final and Pesek in particular, who had slain three, was inching closer.

But cometh the challenge cometh the Mercier. The next player to fall, Jonathan Jaffe, was cut down by the Team PokerStars Pro. Jaffe had led the table for long periods today, but when he shoved for slightly more than 70,000, Mercier had a smidgen more both in terms of cards and chips.

Mercier's [ac][qs] was never behind Jaffe's [ah][9s] and that was the end of Jaffe's challenge.

With seven bounties and only three players left, Mercier was now guaranteed at least a tie of the $20,000 bounty bonus. The only person who could stop him was Katchalov, who would need to bust Pesek and Mercier to draw level.

But as the newest member of Team PokerStars Pro, Katchalov saw a perfect opportunity to prove his mettle. Lo and behold, he seized his chance - although he needed a stroke of good fortune to eliminate Pesek.

Three-handed and folded to Pesek in the small blind, he moved all in for about 70,000 and Katchalov, who had found an ace, called the shove. The problem was that Pesek also had an ace, along with a six, which was one pip better than Katchalov's [ah][5h]. But it wouldn't be a major final without an outdraw, and the [5d] appeared on the flop to vault Katchalov into the lead and send Pesek home.

With Pesek's chances in the bounty race thus extinguished, it was Team Pro v Team Pro not only for the title but for that bounty bonus too. They were pretty even in stacks (Mercier had a slight advantage) and the stage was set for a battle that might have gone on for several hours.

But there's another way to end heads up battles: Big hand against big hand. They had played fewer than ten hands when all the money suddenly flew into the middle on a flop of [9c][8c][7s].

Mercier had [9s][10d] (ie, top pair, an overcard and a straight draw) while Katchalov had also connected with his [7h][8s]. If there's one thing you can say about Mercier it is that he flips well. And although the [3s] wasn't an out, the [10h] on the river was.

Katchalov offered his hand, and Mercier shook it warmly. It is hardly a new thing for Mercier to walk off with a major title, but he still seems to enjoy it immensely.

"It's definitely not getting old," Mercier said.

That really is now it from NAPT Mohegan Sun. Vanessa Selbst laid down a gauntlet to Jason Mercier, and Jason Mercier rose to the challenge.

Congratulations to both of them on a remarkable, ridiculous week.

Look back on the play-by-play of this tournament. And find the full Bounty Shootout results by clicking the red.

Goodnight.

All photography © Joe Giron/www.joegironphotography.com

After calling an 8,000 pre-flop raise from Katchalov, Mercier check-raised all-in on a [9c][8c][7s] flop. Katchalov called, finding himself ahead with [7h][8s] for two pair while Mercier turned over [9s][Td] for top pair and a straight draw.

Mercier missed his outs on the turn when the [3s] fell, but the [Th] on the river made him a better two pair, tens and nines, sealing up yet another remarkable repeat win here in Connecticut.

Mercier's BSO haul totaled $246,600-- the $142,600 winner-take-all prize, $40,000 for winning his first-round table, $14,000 for the seven $2,000 Day 1 bounties he claimed (six knockouts plus his own bounty), $30,000 in final table bounties (also including his own $10,000 bounty), and the $20,000 bonus for winning the most bounties. For his runner-up finish, Katchalov collected $66,000.

In the time it took to type this post, I've been informed those odds are 27,000 to 1. And that this is Mercier's tenth live tournament win in only three years. My God.

We'll have a full wrap-up shortly. --KB

8.35pm: Trip aces
The early, small-ball, heads up encounters have tended to favour Eugene Katchalov. He flopped trip aces in one of the early hands and got Mercier to call him all the way to the river, but it was a relatively small pot.

The two of them--seasoned campaigners both--are deep-stacked and in no hurry to get this over with. This could end up being a long and fascinating heads-up battle. -- HS

8:26pm: Heads-up play begins
Jason Mercier and Eugene Katchalov are back in their seats to decide who walks away with the title. --BW

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 2,000-4,000-500

7.10pm: Dinner time
Ahead of the heads-up duel, we're now going for a one-hour dinner break. Join us the other side of 8.10pm.

7:03pm: Katchalov eliminates Pesek; Gates freaks everybody out
Michael Pesek open-shoved for around 69,000 and Eugene Katchalov made the call. Pesek held [ac][6c]. Katchalov had [ah][5h].

Just about that time, VIP Player Host Garry Gates wandered up and said, "Five a diamonds. Third card on the right."

The dealer laid out [as][qc][5d].

While we were busy freaking out over Gates' prediction, the dealer out out the turn and river [7c], and [kd]. Pesekwas gone with his $68,000 in earnings from yesterday.

Jason Mercier (269,600) and Eugene Katchalov (180,400) are now on dinner break. We'll be back in an hour. --BW

6:34pm: Mercier eliminates Jaffe, locks up at least a tie in bounty race
Following Eugene Katchalov's 6,000 opening raise, Jonathan Jaffe moved all-in for 71,500, Jason Mercier moved all-in behind him, and Katchalov folded. Mercier had him covered, leaving Jaffe's tournament life at risk.

Jaffe [Ah][9s]
Mercier [Ac][Qs]

Jaffe found no help on the [Ks][8s][6h][8d][5s] board and was eliminated in fourth place. His cash haul totaled $52,000 from his preliminary table win, the $2,000 bounty he collected in the first round, and the $10,000 bounty he earned today for eliminating Micah Raskin.

With this KO, Jason Mercier will at least tie the bounty race with seven total. (If Eugene Katchalov knocks out everyone else, he too would have seven.) Don't forget, the winner of the bounty race gets a $20,000 bonus as well as a free entry to the next Bounty Shootout, wherever it may be.

Mercier now also has the chip lead with about 180,000 as we move into three-handed play.--KB

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 1,500-3,000-400

6:13pm: Jaffe drops back-to-back pots
Jonathan Jaffe opened for 4,800 and Eugene Katchalov was the lone caller. Both players checked the [Qd][6c][Kd] flop. Katchalov led out for 7,600 when the [Jd] fell on the turn, Jaffe coming along with a call. The river was the [Kc], but Jaffe could not continue, folding to Katchalov's 10,400 bet.

Jaffe raised the next hand, opening again for 4,800. Jason Mercier made the call and they saw a [Qd][Qc][7h] flop. Mercier checked and Jaffe checked behind. Mercier did the same when the [2h] came on the turn and Jaffe took a stab at the pot, betting 6,600. Mercier called and they checked down the [7c] on the river. Mercier showed king-jack and it was good.

Between the two hands, Jaffe shed about 24,000 chips and is down to around 70,000. --KB

6:00pm: Pesek sends Von Kriegenbergh packing
Michael Pesek came in for a raise to 5,300. Taylor von Kriegenbergh pushed in his last few blinds. Pesek made the call with [ad][jc]. Von Kriegenbergh needed help with [kd][jd].

He didn't get it. The board ran out [7s][6s][9d][6c][qh], and Von Kriegenbergh was eliminated. He earned a total of $42,000 for winning his first flight table and one preliminary round bounty.

After coming into the day with only one bounty, Pesek now has four sitting in front of him. Jason Mercier still leads the bounty race with six. --BW

5:51pm: One two-outer deserves another
At last, a bit of drama!

Jason Mercier led off the action with a raise to 4,800, Taylor von Kriegenbergh moved all-in for 59,400 and Eugene Katchalov called from the big blind. Mercier folded and the cards went on their backs.

Von Kriegenbergh [5d][5c]
Katchalov [As][Ah]

The flop fell an innocuous [9c][7d][3h], but the [5h] fell from the heavens on the turn, sending Von Kriegenbergh's railbirds into an apoplectic fit of ecstasy. Their celebration, however, was short-lived as Katchalov spiked the [Ad] on the river to double up, leaving Von Kriegenbergh on less than 15,000 in chips.

"Did that really just happen?" one of the aforementioned railbirds mumbled aloud. --KB

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 1,200-2,400-4,00

5:35pm: A few words from Eugene Katchalov
Our video blogging team caught up with Eugene Katchalov at the break. Here's what he had to say. --BW

5:27pm: Von Kriegenbergh quads up, doubles up
Jonathan Jaffe came in for a raise and got the call from Taylor von Kriegenbergh. On a flop of [Td][9d][9c], Von Kriegenbergh led out for 6,500. Jaffe raised him to 14,800. Von Kriegenbergh moved all-in and Jaffe called.

Jaffe: [ad][4d]
Von Kriegenbergh: [jc][9s]

The [9h] came on the turn and have Von Kriegenbergh the double. --BW

5:21pm: Mercier doubles through Jaffe
On a flop of [3h][7h][ad], Mercier moved all-in for around 40,000 and Jonathan Jaffe called. The hands:

Jaffe: [kd][qd]
Mercier: [7d][8d]

The [5d] came on the turn, and the [9h] on the river. Mercier doubled up and is now back in contention to repeat. --BW

5:17pm: Pesek gets Guinther
Following an opening raise to 4,800 from Michael Pesek, Jimmie Guinther moved his short stack all-in and Pesek quickly called.

Guinther [Kh][8s]
Pesek [2h][2c]

The [9h][6h][6d] flop favored Pesek and although Guinther picked up a slew of outs on the turn when the [7c] fell, the river was the [3d], sealing his elimination in sixth place. Guinther's winnings totaled $36,000 from his first-round win plus the two bounties he collected in the process.

We're down to five. --KB

5:14pm: Guinther doubles, needs to do so several times more
Jason Mercier open-shoved for 47,200 with [kh][7s], and play folded around to the couple of blinds in Jimmie Guinther's stack. Guinther squeezed his [jc][4c] and got his last chip in the middle. The board ran out [2d][9s][4d][qc][ts] and Guinther doubled...which still doesn't mean much. --BW

5pm: Counts
Here are the counts as we start level seven.

Taylor Von Kriegenbergh - 59,000
Michael Pesek - 99,125
Eugene Katchalov - 76,600
Jimmie Guinther - 5,700
Jonathan Jaffe - 160,875
Jason Mercier - 47,800

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 1,000-2,000-300 IN LEVEL 7

4.45pm: Break
Players will take a 15-minute break.

4:42pm: Scott Blackman eliminated in three-way all-in
Jimmie Guinther raised to 3,600, Scott Blackman three-bet to 29,400, and Michael Pesek moved all-in for 31,225 from the big blind. Both opponents called, Guinther having both Blackman and Pesek called.

Pesek [Ac][Kc]
Blackman [Ad][Qh]
Guinther [Qc][9s]

Although Guinther hit top pair on the [9h][7h][3s] flop and remained safe when the [Js] hit the turn, Pesek scooped both the main and side pots with the [Kh] on the river to triple his stack to 99,000. Guinther was left with only 5,700 and Blackman exited in seventh place, earning a total of $36,000 for his first-round win along with three $2,000 bounties. --KB

4.25pm: End of the road for Raskin
Micah Raskin is our eighth placed finisher, coming out on the wrong side of a pair against pair pre-flop shove-fest. Jonathan Jaffe opened the pot, making it 3,600 to go. Raskin raised to 13,600 and then Jaffe shoved, covering Raskin.

Raskin called for all his chips and for the first time at this Bounty Shootout final, we saw two big hands.

Raskin: [10c][10h]
Jaffe: [qs][qc]

"We got this far, we ain't gonna quit now!" shouted Dwyte Pilgrim, supporting Raskin. But his confidence turned to despair on a flop of [9c][kh][jc]. The [5s] turned and the [4c] rivered, which meant it was all over for Raskin.

He earned $40,000 for winning his heat and a further $4,000 for two first-round bounties. But that's the end of the road for Raskin. -- HS

4:20pm: Mercier ahead! Mercier behind! Mercier wins!/
On the hand immediately following his loss to Jonathan Jaffe, Jason Mercier open-shoved for 24,600. Play folded to Michael Pesek in the big blind. He thought for several minutes before calling with [js][9d].

Mercier had [kc][9c], which was all well and good until the flop came [jh]qh][6s]. The turn, [3c], was no help. That left Mercier with only a few options, one of which, the [td] hit on the river to double him up to around his starting stack.

Color commentary's Dwyte Pilgrim asked all who would listen, "You think Jason's gonna miss six outs? You think Jason is gonna miss that? Not in this decade!" --BW

4:15pm: Jonathan Jaffe doubles through Jason Mercier
Eugene Katchalov opened for 3,800 and Jonathan Jaffe reraised to 6,000 in the cutoff before Jason Mercier made a cold four-bet to 11,700 on the button. Katchalov folded, Jaffe moved all-in for 43,500 and Mercier called.

Jaffe [Ks][Jh]
Mercier [9h] 9d]

Mercier's nines held on the [Td][Th][3h] flop, but Jaffe hit top pair on the turn when the [Jd] fell. The river was the [Ac] and Jaffe moved up to second in chips with 90,000, leaving Mercier on only 25,000. --KB

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 800-1,600-200

3:56pm: Katchalov flops nuts, Sweeney just flops
Eugene Katchalov came in for a raise to 2,400 and Joe Sweeney called out of the blinds. When the flop fell [kd][5d][9d], Sweeny moved all in for 28,300. He picked the wrong time to do that. Katchalov had flopped the nuts with [ad][2d]. Sweeney was dead to runners and stayed that way. Joe Sweeney still made a total of $50,000, $40,000 of which he earned for winning his heat, and $10,000 for five first-round bounties. --BW

3:46pm: Jonathan Jaffe doubles through Micah Raskin
Micah Raskin opened for a 2,700 raise, Jonathan Jaffe three-bet all in for 17,200 and Raskin quickly called.

Jaffe [Ah][Kh]
Raskin [As][9h]

The board ran out [4s][6d][Tc][6s][Js], Jaffe's ace-king holding up to double his stack to 38,000. --KB

3:36pm: Five pots, two showdowns
There was little notable action or significant chip movement in the last five hands, but just to give you a slice of life from our vantage point on media row, here's a look at how they played out.

1. Jimmie Guinther raised to 2,900, Jason Mercier three-bet to 7,650 and Guinther folded.

2. Michael Pesek opened for 2,900, Eugene Katchalov called, Scott Blackman called, and Joe Sweeney called. The action checked around to Blackman on the [Td][6h][3c] flop and he bet 5,000, enough to chase away all three opponents.

3. Eugene Katchalov made it 2,700 to go and Joe Sweeney was the lone caller. Both players checked the [Qs][9d][Td] flop as well as the [5c] on the turn. The river was the [8s] and Sweeney led out for 6,000. Katchalov called and turned over [Ac][Jd] for a jack-high straight, besting Sweeney's [As][7s].

4. Jimmie Guinther opened for 3,000 and both Taylor von Kriegenbergh and Joe Sweeney came along. The action checked around on the [Td][4c][3h] flop. The turn was the [8h] and Guinther led out for 6,500. Von Kreigenbergh called and Sweeney folded. Both players checked the [Jh] on the river. Guinther showed the winner with [jc][tc] for two pair and took it down.

5. Jonathan Jaffe raised to 2,800, Jason Mercier reraised to 6,600 and Jaffe folded. --KB

3:23pm: Jason Mercier knows how to play poker
We'll be honest. We watched the taping of this particular segment. It offered Jason Mercier a pop quiz on poker math, etc. The fact that we knew the answers to the questions meant one thing: this was like Jason Mercier showing up for final exams in a kindergarten class. Nonetheless...here it is. --BW

3.20pm: Structure
Plenty of players were surprised by the steepness of the structure in the opening heats, where they started with a 25,000 stack and played 30 minute levels. But this 50,000 stack and 40-minute levels has offered much more opportunity for measured play. Another way of putting it: we're still nine handed entering level five.

BLINDS UP. PLAYING 600-1,200-200 IN LEVEL FIVE

3.10pm: From the cutting room floor
Taylor von Kriegenbergh raised to 1,600 from mid-position and attracted Eugene Katchalov, in the small blind, to a flop. It came [4d][8h][2h]. Check, check. The [8s] turned and Katchalov checked again, encouraging a 3,000 bet from Von Kriegenbergh. Katchalov folded.

My guess is that that one won't make the TV edit. -- HS

2:58pm: Of course he had...the six of diamonds
Taylor von Kriegenbergh raised it to 1,600 and got calls from Scott Blackman and Jonathan Jaffe. On a flop of [3s][8h][qs]. Jaffe led out of the blinds for 2,600 and Von Kriegenbergh raised him to 5,800. Blackman mucked his hand, and Jaffe did the same. Just for fun, Von Kriegenbergh showed the [6d]. --BW

2.45pm: Mercier moving
Jason Mercier, sixth in chips at the break, has quickly set about moving up the leaderboard, winning a pot against Joe Sweeney. Mercier opened to 1,600 and Sweeney, a couple of seats to his left, called. The flop came [2c][7s][js] and Mercier bet 2,450. Sweeney called that too, taking them to a [4d] turn.

Sweeney was finally shaken off by a bet of 5,600 from Mercier. --HS

2:36pm: Action resumes
Although the first few levels lacked what we might normally define as action, under the loosest of definitions of the word, we're back in it. --BW

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 400-800-100

2:25pm: First break chip counts

Eugene Katchalov 69,350
Taylor von Kriegenbergh 69,000
Micah Raskin 65,675
Joe Sweeney 63,450
Michael Pesek 53,325
Jason Mercier 41,400
Jimmie Guinther 34,525
Scott Blackman 28,875
Jonathan Jaffe 24,400

2:15pm: Players take a 15-minute break

2:02pm: Blackman folds to Raskin's four-bet
After opening for a 1,500 raise, Scott Blackman got two callers in Micah Raskin and Eugene Katchalov before all hell broke loose on the [9s][9h][6c] flop. Katchalov checked, Blackman bet 2,200, Raskin raised to 6,000, and after Katchalov got out of the way, Blackman came back over the top for 12,000. It wasn't enough for Raskin who four-bet to 25,000 straight and after a long tank, Blackman surrendered. --KB

2pm: Blind on blind
Joe Sweeney and Micah Raskin have renewed their acquaintance in the blinds, and this time Joe Sweeney took a small pot. Sweeney raised to 1,200 from the small blind and Raskin called from the big.

They both checked the [jd][4c][9c] flop, and then Sweeney check-called Raskin's 2,200 bet on the [10h] turn. The river was [5h], which they both checked, and Sweeney's [10c][7s] was good. Raskin mucked.

It's still very quiet here. -- HS

1:54pm: Three-bet-fail
Jonathan Jaffe surrendered a good chunk of his stack in back-to-back hands where he was forced out of the pot after three-betting preflop. In the first, Micah Raskin opened for 1,500 and Jaffe reraised to 4,000, only to be met with a four-bet to 12,000. Jaffe folded and Raskin took it down. On the next deal Eugene Katchalov got things started with a 1,500 raise and again Jaffe three-bet to 4,000. This time Taylor von Kriegenbergh was the spoiler, cold four-betting to 10,500, a move that folded out both his opponents.

Undeterred, Jaffe opened the next pot and took it down without a fight. --KB

LEVEL UP. PLAYING 300-600-75 IN LEVEL 3

1.35pm: Level over
In common with the heats, the early levels haven't seen any eliminations from the final table. However the steep structure meant that players started flying out the door from about level three onwards. I'm predicting at least one elimination in the coming 40-minute level.

1:25pm: Katchalov raises out Jaffe's dark bet
Joe Sweeney led off the action with a raise to 1,200 and Eugene Katchalov called before Jonathan Jaffe put in a three-bet to 3,800. Both players called. Jaffe led out for 4,800 on the [Jc][5c][2h] flop, Sweeney folded and Katchalov made the call.

Jaffe bet 7,000 in the dark before the [9c] fell on the turn, a move that was met with a raise to 20,000 by Katchalov. Jaffe tanked for several minutes before conceding the pot. --KB

1pm: Maybe he is that good
On Tuesday night, as Joe Sweeney was stacking up five bounties and winning his heat, a friend and supporter arrived to the rail and said (with a good degree of admiration): "You must have got some help from the man upstairs because you ain't that good."

Sweeney, an amateur player, had just beaten a table stacked with some of the best professional poker talent in the game and had not looked at all out of place.

That same friend is back today to support Sweeney at the final table, and he was the most vocal in his admiration for this recent hand too.

Sweeney made a standard opening raise pre-flop and then called Micah Raskin's three bet. "No one's pushing us around Joe!" shouted Sweeney's supporter. So it proved.

The flop came [6d][4s][8h] and Raskin bet 4,000. Sweeney raised to 13,000 and Raskin called. Both players checked the [4d] turn, but then when Sweeney led for 15,000 on the [10c] river, Raskin folded.

Big--and deserved--cheers from Sweeney's rail. -- HS

LEVEL UP. PLAYING 200-400-50 IN LEVEL TWO

12:51pm: Raskin the early chip leader
Micah Raskin just moved into the chip lead after taking down two consecutive pots. In the first, he opened for 600, earning calls from Eugene Katchalov and Jimmie Guinther. Guinther checked to the raiser on the [Tc][9d][3h] flop and Raskin bet 1,200. Katchalov called and Guinther folded. The turn came the [7s] and Raskin slowed down and checked, leaving the door open for Katchalov to bet 3,000. Raskin called and the [Kc] hit the river. Raskin turned around and led out for 6,000, a bet too rich for Katchalov as he pursed his lips and folded.

On the next hand, Raskin and Guinther went heads-up to a [7c][7d][2h] flop. Guinther led out for 800, Raskin raised to 2,500 and Guinther gave it up as Raskin moved up to 60,000 in chips. --KB

12.50pm: Portents
This week is all about repeats, and superstition's Joe Giron has just noticed that Jason Mercier, looking to repeat his Bounty Shootout triumph of last year, is today occupying the nine seat, the same chair that Vanessa Selbst occupied yesterday as she completed her back-to-back main event triumph. Oooooh. What could it mean? -- HS

12:41pm: Von Kriegenbergh does a little advertising
Opening his fourth pot out of five, Eugene Katchalov made it 600 to go, Jason Mercier called from the cutoff and Taylor von Kriegenbergh three-bet to 2,000 on the button. Katchalov folded and Mercier called. The flop fell [Kh][5c][5d] and Mercier check-called von Kriegenbergh's 4,100 bet. However, when the turn fell the [6s], Mercier couldn't continue, folding to von Kriegenbergh's 8,000 bet.

Von Kriegenbergh showed the bluff, showing the [2c][4c] as he raked in the pot. --KB

12.35pm: Raskin involved
Michah Raskin, who always likes to be involved, has been playing true to form in the early stages today. After Jason Mercier raised to 400 from late position, Joe Sweeney called in the small blind. Raskin, in the big blind, raised to 1,800 and the squeeze got rid of Mercier. Sweeney called.

The flop was [3c][jh][2d] and after Sweeney checked, Raskin bet 2,100 which was enough to take it down. -- HS

12:30pm: Presto!
Eugene Katchalov opened his third pot in a row with a raise to 600, Jason Mercier looking him up from the small blind. Mercier checked over to Katchalov on the [6h][8h][6d] flop, then raised his fellow Team Pro's 800 continuation bet to 1,600. Katchalov called and both players checked down the [Ad] on the turn and the [Qs] on the river.

Mercier showed pocket fives and they were good. --KB

12:27pm: Early analysis
For a quick pre-game chat between a nice-looking woman and bloated old man, check out the video below. --BW

12:20pm: Jaffe scores first blood
Taylor von Kriegenbergh came in for a raise and set the stage for a three-bet to 1,900 form Joe Sweeney. Jonathan Jaffe was having none of that and made it 4,200 to play. Von Kriegenbergh got out of the way, but Sweeney called. On a flop of [js][3h][9h], Sweeney checked and Jaffe bet 5,800. Sweeney got out of the way, and Jaffe picked up the first pot of the day. --BW

12:15pm: Away we go
Cards are in the air with blinds starting at 100-200-25. Levels are 40 minutes long and players start with 50,000 in chips. Here's what they all look like. --KB

11.45am: Mercier also leads bounty race
In addition to the first prize of $142,600 for winning this tournament, there are also a number of other ways players can pick up additional money.

Each table winner has already taken either $36,000 or $40,000 for besting their eight- or nine-handed opening tables, and they will have also taken $2,000 for every player they have eliminated. That's the "bounty" part of the bounty shooutout, and the tally of bounty winners from the first flight is over on the results page.

The value of the bounties now increases. They are worth $10,000 each. At the end of the entire tournament, the player who has picked up the most bounties will also get a bonus $20,000 in cash, plus a buy in into the next NAPT Bounty Shooutout.

Currently leading that charge is, you guessed it, Jason Mercier. He has six bounties from his opening heat. Joe Sweeney picked up five and the closest others, Katchalov and Blackman, have three.

It's still possible for everyone to win that race, however.-- HS

11.40am: Mercier aims to emulate Selbst
At almost any other tournament in world poker, Jason Mercier's achievement of making the final table 12 months after he won the same event would be enough to have commentators purring. The problem for Mercier, who will sit down today at the final of the $10,000 NAPT Bounty Shootout final and attempt to defend his own crown, is named Vanessa Selbst.

Last night, Selbst completed a remarkable back-to-back triumph in NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Events. Today, anything less than back-to-back victories for Mercier will somehow feel like a disappointment, even though his is also already a spectacular achievement.

Mercier railed Selbst to triumph yesterday. Today Selbst is back in class at law school, so Mercier will have to go it alone. He will also have to beat a field including his Team PokerStars Pro colleague Eugene Katchalov, as well as seven other players who emerged victorious from a stacked field of talent on Tuesday.

The full line up, in seat order, is:

1. TAYLOR VON KRIEGENBERGH
2. JOE SWEENEY
3. MICAH RASKIN
4. MICHAEL PESEK
5. EUGENE KATCHALOV
6. JIMMIE GUINTHER
7. SCOTT BLACKMAN
8. JONATHAN JAFFE
9. JASON MERCIER

Play is due to begin at noon.

Reporting team: Kristin Bihr, Howard Swains and Brad Willis. Photography: Joe Giron.

This time last year, the Team PokerStars Pro from Brooklyn, New York, bested a field of 716 to win $750,000 and her first NAPT Mohegan Sun title. A year later, here we are again.

This time the field was 387 players and the first prize is $450,000. That means 1,101 players have tried and failed to knock Selbst out of a poker tournament in this room and $1.2 million is the combined reward for this Uncasville immortality. (Let's not forget, in the intervening year she also won close to $1,650,000 in France.)

But let's say it again because it becomes no less remarkable through repetition: Vanessa Selbst is the back-to-back NAPT Mohegan Sun champion. No one can beat her.

"I don't know, I'm speechless," she said when asked if there would be a three-peat next year. Her supporters seem to think so. One of them carried a sign today that read: "Every year the same damn thing."

Tonight Selbst overturned a near three-to-one heads up chip deficit against Dan Shak to win. It was the first time she had ever gone to a heads-up duel without the lead, but it didn't seem to matter one jot. She had had the breaks when necessary, but was extraordinarily focused too.

"I didn't win this in my typical fashion," Selbst said. "I didn't steamroll the table. I had some luck on my side and I played a pretty good heads up game against a formidable opponent."

We started on Saturday with those 387 players, and began today with eight. Steve O'Dwyer and Aaron Overton were two of the shorter stacks coming into the final, and they were the first to fall.

O'Dwyer never really recovered from a massive skirmish with Selbst on the third hand of the day, while Overton, who had led at the end of day two, couldn't outdraw Selbst's [ah][2h] with his [kh][qd]. Those two were out in eighth and seventh respectively.

One intriguing sub-plot in this story of Selbst was the tale of Joe Tehan, the NAPT Los Angeles champion. Tehan had also made the last eight of this week's tournament, only a matter of four months since he was in the winner's enclosure himself.

According to many commentators, if anyone was going to stop Selbst, it would be Tehan. But he couldn't bring the Californian fortune to the east coast. A couple of missteps, then an unfortunate chop of a pot that should have been his, put Tehan on the short stack. When he got it in with [kd][6s] he couldn't outdraw Thomas Hoglund's [8c][8d]. Tehan went to the rail in sixth.

It was around this time that Shak really came to prominence. He won a massive pot from Selbst when he managed to spike an ace with his [ad][6h] to beat [7d][7s] and he was then able to sit back and watch as his table-mates devoured one another.

Selbst took a huge chunk from Vincent Rubianes, another player who had once soared to the chip lead in this tournament, only to be pegged back. Rubianes was then blasted to the rail in fifth by Tyler Kenney, who had been chip leader ahead of the final. Rubianes had ace-high pre-flop, Kenney only had a king. But when two more kings turned and rivered, Rubianes was rubbed out.

Thomas Hoglund Jr. had played a largely quiet final table, picking his spots to manoeuvre his short stack into the middle and slowly climb the leaderboard. But then he got it in with queen high and ran into Kenney's aces. Hoglund was the first player to earn a six figure score. Fourth bagged him $120,000.

The next major confrontation might easily have been Selbst's last. She shoved her [ac][5h] into Kenney's [ah][kd] sending her loyal followers--seven friends and one dog--to gather anxiously around the monitors. But you don't win poker tournaments without the occasional stroke of good fortune. And you certainly don't go back-to-back without a larger slice than most.

The dealer duly delivered a five on the flop, sending Poker Dog into howls of delight.

Kenney, whose entire family (but no dogs) had come to Uncasville to watch him at his first major final, was not quite so delighted. He soon found an ace and moved in with [as][7s], but Shak was lying in wait with [ah][qs]. It held.

That brought us to heads up and a battle that amply represented everything that is terrific about this game. Selbst started as the short stack, but chip, chip, chipped away until she had Shak on the ropes.

But then Shak showed his fighting spirit, doubling up a couple of times at crucial moments to keep the yo-yo exchange going for close to two hours. In the end, Selbst flopped two pair with her [kc][7c] and stayed good against Shak's single pair of sevens.

"This is seriously the most special thing in my career," Selbst said. "Maybe last year wasn't a fluke."

So, after Selbst's remarkable display today, we might as well just give her the NAPT Mohegan Sun trophy for good. She certainly seems in no hurry to hand it over.

You can look back on the play-by-play of today with the following links. And you can see some moving pictures at PokerStars.tv.

Final table player profiles
Levels 24-26 updates
Levels 27-30 updates

We're not yet done in Uncasville. Tomorrow we will return for the final of the $10,000 Bounty Shootout, where the Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier will be attempting a back-to-back of his own. Play is due to start there at noon, so be sure to join us on the very stroke of 12.38pm to hear the excuses for the delay.

In the meantime, goodnight from us all, including Poker Dog.

All photography © Joe Giron/www.joegironphotography.com

On the second hand after we returned from the break, Dan Shak limped in on the button and Vanessa Selbst checked her option. The flop came down [Ks][7d][3s] and Selbst checked to Shak, who bet 300,000. Selbst raised to 625,000, Shak immediately moved all-in and Selbst just as quickly called.

Shak [Jh][7h]
Selbst [Kc][7c]

Selbst had nearly flopped him dead, Shak drawing only to running jacks against her kings up. It was all over on the turn when the [5h] hit the felt, the river falling the [2h] to seal Selbst's remarkable repeat win here at Mohegan Sun. She'll take home $450,000, while Shak earned $254,000 for his runner-up finish.

Congratulations to Vanessa Selbst on her historic run, which puts her over the $4.1 million mark in career tournament earnings and third on the Womens' All-Time Money List. Stay tuned for a full wrap. --KB

LEVEL UP: PLAYING 60,000-120,000-10,000 BLINDS IN LEVEL 30

Hands 50-59: Selbst chips away at Shak's comeback
Dan Shak's comeback was all but erased in hands 50-59. The chip counts as the players take a 15-minute break look like this:

Selbst: 8,875,000
Shak: 2,835,000

Here are the hands.

Hand 50: Selbst limped in and Shak checked his option. On a flop of [3h][tc][ks], both players checked. Shak checked the [8s] turn, Selbst bet 175,000, Shak raised to 400,000, and Selbst folded. -

Hand 51: Shak raised to 250,000 pre-flop and Selbst folded.

Hand 52: Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak folded.

Hand 53: Shak limped in, Selbst raised, Shak folded, and Selbst showed a pair of nines.

Hand 54: Selbst limped in and Shak checked his option. On a flop of [2s][6][5h]. Selbst bet 125,000 and Shak called. The [ts] came on the turn. Shak checked and Selbst bet 280,000. Shak then raised to 680,000. Selbst made the call. The river was the [3s]. Shak bet 800,000 and Selbst called. [kd][2d]. Selbst showed [ad]td] for a pair of tens and the win.

Hand 55. The two players saw a flop of [9h][6c][ah]. Selbst checket, Shak bet 100,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 56: Selbst raised to 200,000, and Shak folded.

Hand 57: Shak raised to 200,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 58: Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak called. On a flop of [kc][qc][kh], Shak checked, and Selnst checked behind. The [ad] came on the turn. Selbst bet 160,000. Shak raised to 400,000. Selbst folded and Shak picked up the pot.

Hand 59: Shak folded and Selbst won the pot.

9:48pm: Hands 40-49-- Shak doubles through Selbst, misses value on nut boat
Dan Shak managed to make a bit of a comeback over the last ten hands. He doubled up with a straight against Selbst's nut flush draw on Hand 42, but could not get paid off on the full house he turned on Hand 45. Currenlty Selbst is on 7.1 million in chips while Shak is up to about 4.6 million.

Hand 40: Selbst opened for 200,000 on the button and Shak called. Shak checked the [4h][Js][8h] flop over to Selbst, who bet 260,000. Shak folded and Selbst won the pot.

Hand 41: Shak limped in on the button and Selbst checked her option. Selbst led out for 100,000 on the [5c][Jh][Ac] flop and Shak folded. She showed the [Js].

Hand 42: Selbst limped in and Shak checked from the big blind. The flop was [8h][7c][4h] and Shak checked to Selbst, who bet 125,000. Shak raised to 375,000, Selbst moved all-in and Shak called.

Selbst [Ah][3h]
Shak [5d][6d]

Shak flopped an eight-high straight but Selbst had outs to an ace-high flush draw. She missed on the turn when the [6c] fell, and again on the river with the [Jd]. Shak doubled to just over 4 million, leaving Selbst on 7.7 million.

Hand 43: Shak raised to 250,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 44: Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak folded.

Hand 45: Shak raised to 250,000, Selbst three-bet to 500,000 and Shak called. The flop fell [Kc][7c][7h] and both players checked. Same story when the [Ac] came on the turn. The river was the [Td] and Shak cut out a 1,000,000-chip bet. After talking through the hand out loud and speculating about Shak's hand, Selbst decided on a fold. Good thing she did--Shak showed pocket aces for the nut boat.

Hand 46: Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak folded.

Hand 47: Shak gave Selbst a walk

Hand 48: Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak called. Shak led out for 200,000 on the [2h][Js][8d] flop and Selbst called. The turn was the [Qd] and Shak checked to Selbst , who bet 580,000. Shak folded and Selbst won the pot.

Hand 49: Shak raised to 250,000 and Selbst folded. --KB

9.30pm: Another ten hands

Hand 30 - Selbst limped from the small blind and Shak checked. The flop came [9c][5s][3h], which they both checked, to take them to a [ac] turn. Selbst bet 125,000, called by Shak, and the [7c] rivered. This time Selbst bet 400,000 and Shak called again, only to be shown the [3c][4c] for a flush. Selbst took it.

Hand 31 - Shak raised pre-flop to 250,000 and Selbst let him have it.

Hand 32 - Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak called. The flop was [3c][2d][kc] and Selbst's bet took it. "Unstoppable!" bellowed one of Selbst's fan club in the bleachers.

Hand 33 - Shak folds.

Hand 34 - Selbst made up Shak's big blind and Shak moved all in. Selbst wasn't having any of that and folded. Shak still has less than two million chips. Selbst has close to nine million.

Hand 35 - Shak limped from the small blind, and Selbst raised 200,000 more. Shak called. That took them to a [8d][2d][6s] flop and Selbst bet 250,000. Shak called. The [4d] turned and Selbst fired again, this time for 300,000. Shak folded, and Selbst showed [ad][kd] for the turned nut flush. "I thought you were going to shove some time in that hand," Selbst said.

Hand 36 - Selbst open shoved, which, of course, is simply asking Shak if he fancies playing for all his chips. He didn't. He folded.

Hand 37 - Shak moves all in and Selbst calls! This could be it...

Selbst: [kc][jc]
Shak: [qh][6h]

Selbst is miles ahead, and the [4c][10d][3h] doesn't change that. The turn, however, comes [6c], which puts Shak into the lead.

Selbst still had plenty of outs, but the [10h] isn't one of them. That gave Shak the double up and he now has about 3.5 million. Most importantly, he's still alive.

Hand 38 - Selbst raised. Shak folded.

Hand 39 - Shak folded. -- HS

9:16pm: Hands 21-29-- Selbst steamrolling
How about some more hands? Here's another nine, which saw Vanessa Selbst chip up to nearly 10 million via a series of small pots, while Shak slipped to 1.8 million.

Hand 21: In a limped pot, Selbst led out for 150,000 on a [Kd][Jc][3h] flop and Shak folded.

Hand 22: Selbst opened for 200,000 and Shak called. Both players checked the [8s][5d][2s] flop. When the [Jc] hit the turn, Shak bet 200,000 and Selbst called. The river was the [5s] and they checked it down. Selbst's A-Q high was good.

Hand 23: Shak limped in on the button and Selbst checked her option. THe [Ad][Jc][7c][Ah][4s] board was checked through the turn before Selbst put in a 115,000 bet on the river. Shak folded and Selbst took it down.

Hand 24: Selbst opened for 200,000, Shak three-bet to 600,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 25: Shak gave Selbst a walk.

Hand 26: Selbst did the same for Shak.

Hand 27: Another limped pot. Selbst check-folded to Shak's 300,000 bet on a [As][Qs][3c] flop.

Hand 28: Selbst opened for 200,000 and Shak called, only to fold to her continuation bet on a Q-5-3 rainbow flop.

Hand 29: Shak opened for 250,000 and Selbst caled. Both players checked the [Jh][6h][4c] flop. The turn came the [5s] and Selbst bet 340,000. Shak gave up his hand and Selbst took the pot. --KB

9:03pm: A brief recap
You can see the first 20 hands below, but the only one that really matters after the first 45 minutes of play is the one in which Selbst turned the tables. Selbst started off heads-up play by keeping the pots small. She won most of them, and only stumbled when she ran into Shak's very disguised quad kings. That cost Selbst a bit of her stack, but not so much that she couldn't turn Shak upside down and shake out his pockets when she played kings as straightforwardly as she could and got paid off for everything she had in front of her after flopping middle set. The chip stacks are now reversed from where they were when Shak and Selbst got heads up. --BW

8:59pm: Hands 13-20--Shak pulls quads, but Selbst now leads
In the hands below, you might just want to check out the last one. It explains how the chips now look something like this:

Dan Shak: 3.25 million
Vanessa Selbst; 8.3 million

Hand 13: Shak limped in and Selbst checked her option. On a [js][3s][ah] flop, both players checked. The dealer put out the [6c] on the turn. Selbst check-folded to a bet from Selbst.

Hand 14: Selbst limped in and Shak checked in the big blind. On the [tc][qs][4c] flop, Selbst bet 155,000. The turn brought the [ts]. Shak checked and Selbst checked behind. On the [kc] river, Shak checked again and Selbst checked behind. Shak showed [jh][4h] for bottom pair and the win.

Hand 15: Shak folded pre-flop and Selbst won the blinds and antes.

Hand 16: After the level went up, Selbst min-raised to 200,00. The flop came down [ks][kc][7h]. Shak checked, Selbst bet 210,00 and Shak called. The [8h] came on the turn. Both players checked to [2s] on the river. Shak bet 500,000 and Selbst called and let her mouth hang open a little but when Shak showed her...pocket kings...for quads.

Hand 17: Shak raised to 200,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 18: Shak raised to 200,000 and Selbst folded

Hand 19: Shak limped in and Selbst checked her option. The flop was the [kh][7h][7s]. Both players checked and saw the [8h] on the turn. Two more checks to the [5d] on the river. Two more checks and Shak's queen-high wins it.

Hand 20: Selbst raised to 200,000 and Shak re-popped it to 600,000. Selbst didn't back down and bumped it up to 1.3 million. Shak made the call. The flop brought [ad][2s][kh]. Shak checked and Selbst fired out 800,000. Shak moved all in. Selbst snap-called with [kd][ks]. Shak held [kc][qc]. The [jc] came on the turn. The river was the [js] giving Selbst kings full and the massive pot.--BW

8.50pm: Counts
The approximate chip counts at this stage are:

Dan Shak 6,000,000
Vanessa Selbst 5,600,000

Ms Selbst is coming back. -- HS

LEVEL UP. PLAYING 50,000-100,000 IN LEVEL 29

8:40pm: Hands 11-12 of heads up play--Selbst wins a big one

Hand 11: Shak raised to 200,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 12: Selbst raised to 175,000 and Shak called. On a [4s][jc][9c] flop, Shak checked and Selbst bet 155,000. Shak, in his first display of aggression since heads-up play began, raised to 355,000. Selbst wasn't ready to go away and made the call. The dealer put out the [9d] on the turn. Shak led at the pot for 500,000, and Selbst called. The river brought the [4d]. Shak put out a bet of 800,000. Selbst announced she was all-in and Shak went into the tank. He rested his cheek on his hands, looked at Selbst for about a minute, and folded. Score the first big one for Selbst. --BW

8:32pm: The first ten hands of heads-up play

Hand 1: Selbst took it down on the turn for a min-bet.

Hand 2: Selbst limped in. Both players checked the [jd][4s][3d] flop. On the [5s] turn, Shak bet 100,000 and Selbst called. The [9h] came on the river. 200,000 from Selbst on the river. Selbst called with a three in her hand. Shak announced eight-high and mucked.

Hand 3: Another to Slebst, uncontested.

Hand 4: Selbst limped in. Shak raised to 400,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 5: Shak gives Selbst a walk.

Hand 6: Selbst min-raised to 160,000 and Shak called. The flop came out [ad][ts][5s]. Shak checked and Selbst bet 140,000. Shak folded.

Hand 7: Shak called, Selbst checked her option to the [qh][jc][4c] flop. Both players checked. The [3c] came on the turn. Both players checked again. The river was the [kc]. Selbst min-bet 80,000 and Shak folded.

Hand 8: Selbst raised to 160,000 and Shak called. On a flop of [2s][tc][as], Shak checked, and Selbst checked behind. The [4s] came on the turn. Shak checked, then folded to a 180,000 bet from Selbst.

Hand 9: Shak raised to 200,000 and Selbst folded.

Hand 10: Selbst Made it 160,000 and Shak folded.

8:13pm: Cards back in the air
We have an obscene amount of BBQ in our bellies and hopefully our two remaining gladiators are similarly sated after the one-hour break. Action has just resumed, and Poker Dog has taken front-row seat alongside Team Selbst. --KB

7pm: Schedule change
We're going to take a one-hour dinner break. Play will resume at 8pm. Join us, and Poker Dog, after the break!

6:55pm: Heads-up chip counts

Here's how our final two are stacked going in to heads-up play:

Dan Shak 8,650,000
Vanessa Selbst 3,025,000

6:48pm: Tyler Kenney eliminated in third place
Dan Shak opened to 200,000 and Tyler Kenney moved all-in. Shak snap-called with [ah][qs]. Kenney was in rough shape with [as][7c] and didn't improve on the [9h][jh][8h][tc][4h] board. Kenney banks $170,000 - and a hug from Vanessa Selbst.

There is going to be a ten-minute break before we begin heads-up play. Approximate counts have Dan Shak with a 8.6 million to 3 million lead.--BW

6:38: Kenney's river raise shakes Shak
Dan Shak and Tyler Kenney limped in from the blinds and saw a [Qs][6d][5d] flop. Shak checked, Kenney bet 100,000 and Shak made the call. Both players checked the [4h] on the turn. The river fell the [3s] and Shak tossed in another 100,000-denomination chip only to watch Kenney raise to 325,000. Shak quickly folded and Kenney took down the pot. --KB

6:09pm: Selbst doubles, poker dog scored with assist
Tyler Kenney opened to 200,000 from the button and short-stacked Vanessa Selbst shoved for 1.2 million from the small blind. Dan Shak folded, but Kenney made the quick call with [ah][kd].

Selbst was in bad shape with [ac][5h]. Selbst's rail squeezed up to the flop-cam monitor. Included in the rail is a labrador retriever service dog that has become the de facto mascot for Team Selbst today. One of Selbst's friends muttered, "Come on, poker dog."*

The dog must have done the trick. Selbst hit a five on the flop.

Kenney couldn't find a king on the turn or river and Selbst is back up to 2.5 million. --BW

*Later immortalized in song by falsetto's Brad Willis.

6pm: Break counts
Here are the three handed chip counts at the latest break:

Dan Shak: 6,950,000
Tyler Kenney: 3,525,000
Vanessa Selbst: 1,280,000

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 40,000-80,000-10,000

5:46pm: Shak looking unbeatable
Tyler Kenney came in for a raise to 140,000 and got calls from both Vanessa selbst and Dan Shank. On a [8c][8h][qd] flop Selbst and Shak both check-called a 160,000 bet from Kenney.

The [9d] turn drew a check from Selbst, but this time Shak came out betting 250,000. Kenney gave up, but Selbst raised to 750,000. Shak made the call.

When the [ks] fell on the river, Selbst checked. Shak didn't think for long before moving all-in. Selbst wasted no time in folding and gave up the giant pot to Shak.

Players are now on a 15-minute break. --BW

5:40pm: Selbst takes it sans showdown
Tyler Kenney limped in on the button and Vanessa Selbst made it an additional 135,000 to go from the small blind. Dan Shak folded and Kenney made the call. The [Js][7d][6s] flop saw Kenney call Selbst's 155,000 bet, which both players followed up with checks when the [3c] fell on the turn. The river was the [4h]. Selbst bet 365,000 but it was too rich for Kenney, who mucked his hand. With that pot, Selbst is back up to 2.3 million while Kenney fell to 3.8 million. --KB

5.25pm: Thomas Hoglund Jr. out in fourth, winning $120,000
Tom Hoglund Jr., who has done a good job of staying out of trouble and moving into the final four, could go no further. He is out in fourth, winning $120,000 for his week in Connecticut.

Hoglund shoved his short stack all in from the button and was called by the mighty towers of Tyler Kenney. Kenney also had the best hand when they were showndown:

Hoglund: [qh][9s]
Kenney: [as][7d]

Both players flopped pairs on the [ac][qd][6h] board, but Hoglund couldn't get any further help on the [5c] turn and the [8d] river and that meant he was sent to the rail. -- HS

5.05pm: Rubianes out in fifth, winning $90,000
Vincent Rubianes was close to a triple up, but now he's close to the cash cage. He is out.

Tyler Kenney opened to 140,000 and Dan Shak called. Sensing that potential triple up, Vincent Rubianes decided this was his chance and moved all in for 155,000.

The flop came [3c][4d][2d] and Kenney bet 160,000. Shak mucked, leaving Rubianes and Kenney to decide the former's tournament life.

Rubianes: [ad][7c]
Kenney: [Kh][10c]

At this stage it looked good for a potentially life-saving moment for Rubianes. He only had a few outs to fade on turn and river. Howevever, both turn and river were horrible for him, coming [kd][ks], and that was that for Rubianes.

He is out in fifth for $90,000. -- HS

4:59pm: Selbst doubles through Rubianes
On the shortstack and down to 1.2 million in chips, Vanessa Selbst open-pushed for around 1.1 million with [kd][jh]. Vincent Rubianes called her with [8d][8c]. From the rail came the call of "One Time Chip!"

The flop came down [kh][2h][7h], leaving Rubianes with just one out...until the turn came the [ks]. The opened up one more out for Rubianes. It didn't hit. The [4c] came on the river and Selbst doubled to around 2.3 million. The hand left Vincent with 150,000. He'll be all in before I hit publish on this post. --BW

4:50pm: Moving pictures

4:45pm: Shak seizes the chip lead, doubles through defending champ
On Day 1 of this event, we reported a hand where Dan Shak, quite literally asleep in the small blind, woke up to ace-six and ultimately called his opponent's re-shove, doubling his stack. The hand once again proved to be lucky for the New York City futures trader, as it just gave him a double-up through (formerly) second-in-chips Vanessa Selbst.

Selbst opened for her standard twice the big blind raise to 120,000, Shak three-bet to 400,000 and Selbst moved all-in. Shak didn't waste too much time in calling, revealing [Ad][6h] to Selbst's [7d][7s].

Although Selbst's pair held on the [Th][8c][4h] flop, the [Ah] on the turn left her drawing to only a single out as Shak picked up the nut flush draw. The river was the [9d] and Selbst shed about two-thirds of her stack, leaving her on 1.2 million while Shak vaulted into the chip lead with over 4 million.

Meanwhile, Vanessa Selbst's normally enthusiastic rail has been temporarily silenced. --KB

4:36pm: Small flop, small(ish) pot for Kenney
Tyler Kenney opened for a raise to 140,000 and got one caller in Vincent Rubianes. The flop fell [3d][2s][2h] and Rubianes checked to Kenney, who made a 140,000 continuation bet. Rubianes called, and the [6d] came on the turn. Rubianes checked a second time, Kenney made it 325,000 to go and it was enough to fold out Rubianes, our hooded leader adding a few more chips to his growing stack. --KB

4.30pm: Five for it
Welcome back to Connecticut, where there are five players still in the hunt for NAPT glory.

On the final hand of the past level, the NAPT Los Angeles champion Joe Tehan was eliminated, ending his hopes of becoming the first two-time NAPT champion.

But Vanessa Selbst, the only other player with that chance at the start of the tournament, could still pull it off. She not only remains at the final table, she is also the chip leader.

The full counts of the remaining five are as follows:

Vanessa Selbst: 3,230,000
Tyler Kenney: 3,200,000
Dan Shak: 2,135,000
Tom Hoglund: 1,590,000
Vincent Rubianes: 1,550,000

Blinds are now 30,000-60,000, meaning each small blind is now the equivalent of a starting stack in this tournament.

Reporting team: Kristin Bihr, Howard Swains and Poker's Brad Willis. Photography: Joe Giron.

Tehan's exit leaves Vanessa Selbst as the only remaining former NAPT champion at the final table. --BW

4.10pm: Shak finds some support
After a routine blind steal from Dan Shak, the audience around the ESPN feature table went nuts. It might have been a touch on the ironic side, but for the time being Shak's appeal for supporters (see 3.56pm) seems to have worked. -- HS

4.05pm: Selbst takes challenge to other champion
Tom Hoglund limped under-the-gun, which was one way of enticing the two former NAPT champions in from the blinds. Vanessa Selbst made it up from the small blind and Joe Tehan checked his option.

The flop was all diamonds: [5d][kd][4d]. Selbst bet 115,000, Tehan called and Hoglund folded.

The turn was the [10c], and Selbst again fired at it. She bet 170,000 and again Tehan called. This one was getting intriguing.

The [9h] rivered, and Selbst wasn't done yet. This time she bet 290,000 and after a couple of minutes' thought, Tehan called again. Selbst showed [ks][5h] for kings up, and Tehan folded.

That gain of about 600,000 put Selbst back up very close to the lead. Tehan is the shortest of short stacks. -- HS

3:56pm: Shak's only fan
As a hand between Joe Tehan and Vanessa Selbst played out at the table, Dan Shak wandered over to the rail and stood in front of a quiet Nick Binger.

"I've got a problem here," Shak said. You're my only fan."

At issue was the amount of cheering going on for all the players at the table...except Dan Shak.

"I didn't think you wanted me to cheer," Binger said.

"It's either that or you gotta find some slot players and bring them in here to cheer," Shak begged.

As of this minute, Binger has taken a deep interest in something on his iPhone.--BW

3:49pm: Chop bails Kenney out
Tyler Kenny limped on the button, which didn't seem at all scary to Joe Tehan. He shoved for 845,000 more from the big blind. After dwelling on the bet for a few moments, Kenny made the call with [kc][qh]. 'Twas not the best of decisions. Tehan held [ad][qs]. But wait! What's that board? Well, sure enough, it went [ah][ks][2c][js][td] for the chop. Tehan was not best pleased.

As you were. --BW

3:40pm: Yup, that'll do it
As she's prone to do, Vanessa Selbst opened for a raise to 100,000 and was called by Dan Shak and Tom Hoglund in the blinds. Hoglund led out for 225,000 on the [6c][5h][4h] flop and Shak quickly raised to 600,000. The move folded out Selbst and after a brief tank, Hoglund gave his hand up as well.

Shak showed [2h][3h] for the flopped straight and a straight flush redraw, worthy of the raise indeed. --KB

3.30pm: Shak on the rise
Buoyed after picking up a few chips from Tyler Kenney when he hit top pair kings, Dan Shak again raised pre-flop to 100,000. This time he was up against Vincent Rubianes, who called from one seat to Shak's left.

The flop was [qh][2h][kc] and Shak wasn't so keen. He checked. Rubianes checked back at him. The [qs] turned and now Shak bet 125,000, which Rubianes called.

The river was [8c] and Shak again bet 125,000. With a smirk, Rubianes thought through a few of his options. Eventually he decided to call, but was shown [kd][jd] for two pair, which was good.

That's the second hand in succession that Shak took with a pair of kings, and he's now approaching the two million mark. -- HS

3:22pm: Kenney exacts his revenge on Rubianes
Just moments after Vincent Rubianes stole the chip lead from Tyler Kenney, Kenney looks to have taken it back.

Kenney called a raise to 110,000 from Rubianes and they saw a [2d][ts][jd] flop. Rubianes led for 135,000 and found himself raised to 310,000. Rubianes made the call and then checked the [6s] on the turn. That opened the door to a 435,000 bet from Kenney. Again, Rubianes called. Rubianes checked the [qh] turn. Kenney put out a bet (the amount of which wasn't announced) and Rubianes insta-mucked.

Kenney now has more than 3 million and the chip lead again. --BW

3:09pm: Kenney loses the chip lead, Rubianes tops 3 million
Vincent Rubianes opened for a 130,000 raise and Tyler Kenney made the call. Rubianes led out for 165,000 on the [Td][7s][6s] flop and Kenney looked him up. The turn brought the [5s], and Rubianes fired a second time, making it 415,000 to go. Again, Kenney called (drawing his brother Bryn and friends over to the flop-cam to sweat the river). It was the [8d], and both players checked.

Rubianes turned over two black kings and claimed the 1.5 million-chip pot. He's up to about 3.2 million while Kenney slipped to 2.5 million. --KB

2:49pm: First break chip counts

Tyler Kenney 3,275,000
Vanessa Selbst 2,830,000
Vincent Rubianes 2,435,000
Tom Hoglund 1,345,000
Dan Shak 1,235,000
Joe Tehan 610,000

2.38pm: Break time
Players are now taking their 15-minute break.

2.35pm: Shak shaken down by Hoglund
From under-the-gun, Tom Hoglund opened to 100,000 but couldn't get it past Dan Shak, one seat to his left. Shak three bet to 300,000 and that persuaded all others out the way.

It came back to Hoglund, who moved all in for about 900,000 and Shak called, with something close to double that in his stack.

Hoglund: [as][ks]
Shak: [ac][qd]

So Hoglund was ahead at the start, and he only managed to tighten his grip on the hand with the [ad][6h][2d] flop. The [kh] completed it in his favour, and he doubled up.

Accurate counts for the six remaining players will be with us momentarily as they go on their first break of the day. -- HS

2:29pm: Selbst ousts Overton in seventh place
With the action folded around to him in the small blind, table short-stack Aaron Overton moved all-in and Vanessa Selbst made the call.

Overton [Kh][Qd]
Selbst [Ah][2h]

Selbst hit top pair on the [Ac][Th][6s] flop while Overton found a small ray of hope with a gutshot straight draw. One of his four outs disappeared on the turn when the [3h] fell giving Selbst a flush draw, and the rest vanished when the [5s] hit the river. Overton departed the table to polite handshakes all around, collecting $50,000 for his seventh-place finish. --KB

2.10pm: Steve O'Dwyer out in eighth, winning $32,230
Steve O'Dwyer, who was down to only 10,000 in chips on day three but rallied all the way to the final table, is the first player eliminated today.

Play was folded all the way to Vincent Rubianes in the small blind. He peeked and moved all in, essentially simply asking O'Dwyer if he wanted to call for his tournament life. O'Dwyer saw an ace and decided that was good enough. The hands:

Rubianes: [qd][10s]
O'Dwyer: [ah][7d]

O'Dwyer will know that the best hand pre-flop does not always stay like that to the end, and so it proved on this occasion. By the time all five cards were out - [2c][jc][qh][qc][10d] - Rubianes had made a boat, which beats ace high most days.

Bye bye to Steve O'Dwyer. Rubianes has about 2.5 million now. -- HS

1:50pm: Hoglund doubles through Tehan
Season 1 NAPT Los Angeles champion Joe Tehan came in for a raise to 80,000 and short-stacked Thomas Hoglund moved all-in. Tehan considered his call for a couple of minutes before deciding to take a shot with [2c][2d]. Bad news. Hoglund held [qc][qh]. The board ran out [kh][kd][6h]tc][4d] and Hoglund doubled to just under a million chips. Tehan is now down to around 600,000. --BW

1.30pm: Kenney comes to the party
Tyler Kenney, who has started this final table in a muted fashion (he can; he's the chip leader) finally put out a raise. He made it 82,000 and Joe Tehan asked whether he really wanted to play, re-raising to 220,000.

Kenney was pretty emphatic in his response, raising all in. With dreams of a double NAPT title fading like Marty McFly's family in a tattered photograph, Tehan folded and brought them all back to life. -- HS

1:26pm: O'Dwyer survives second clash with Overton
Down to 149,000 in chips, Steve O'Dwyer moved all-in and Aaron Overton made the call, this time having his opponent surely covered. Although Overton again had the best of it with [Ac][8h] to O'Dwyer's [Kd][3s], O'Dwyer hit a king on the river to make top pair and double up to 367,000. --KB

1.15pm: O'Dwyer dives, Overton doubles
Short stacks collide! Steve O'Dwyer had allowed himself to get a little short and was forced to move all in from the button. Aaron Overton was also very low on chips and so when he called from the big blind, it wasn't immediately clear who covered whom.

One thing was for sure, Overton had the best hand with [ah][kd] to Overton's [ac][7h]. And once the tournament officials had done the requisite cutting and counting, it was evident that O'Dwyer had the bigger stack. (Something you would have known because you're keeping an eye on our regularly updated chip-count page).

So it was Overton under threat and soon it seemed even more perilous. The flop came [7d][3d][10h], to hit O'Dwyer's pair.

But this one wasn't over yet. Once the [4d] turned, Overton now had a flush draw too. And he was send bounding to his rail on the [9d] river. "I was all in twice yesterday with the nine of diamonds!" Overton bellowed in delight. He has a new favourite card.

Meanwhile Steve O'Dwyer is now down to fumes, with only about 153,000. Overton returns to the position of authority he has held for the past few days. -- HS

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 20,000-40,000-4,000

1:06pm: Rubianes won't. be pushed. a. round.
Vanessa Selbst may be able to bully Steve O'Dwyer into a fold, but she is dealing with a different customer in the form of Vincent Rubianes. Selbst came in for a raise to 60,000 and Rubianes re-raised to 160,000. Selbst, perpetually undaunted, made it 425,000. Rubianes took just a few seconds before moving all-in. Selbst snap-folded and Rubianes scored first blood on last year's champion. --BW

12:55pm: Selbst cuts down O'Dwyer
On the third hand of play, the action folded around to Steve O'Dwyer in the cutoff. He put in a min-raise to 60,000 and Vanessa Selbst re-popped it to 215,000 total. O'Dwyer called and they saw a [6s][9d][Jc] flop. Selbst checked and O'Dwyer checked behind. The turn brought the [Kh] and Selbst thought for quite a while before settling on a 220,000 bet. O'Dwyer made the call and they went to the river which fell the [3c]. Selbst quietly declared herself all-in and O'Dwyer tanked for a solid ten minutes, an audible sigh escaping his lips before he made a tortured fold.

"You're too good. I couldn't put you on a hand," O'Dwyer said as Selbst raked in just over 40% of his chips. O'Dwyer is down to 585,000 while Selbst is sitting on 2.725 million. --KB

12:41pm: A look at your final table
Here's a look at the final table players on their last opportunity to smile before putting on their game faces. --BW

12:35pm: Cards in the air
As expected, the over took it, but play is finally underway. --KB

12:30pm: Getting closer-er
It looks like we might be getting close to started. The gallery is full, the players are getting their pictures take, and the media are at the ready. We'll be started in just a matter of minutes. --BW

12:16pm: Getting closer
Six of our final eight are in their seats and the other two are being miked up by ESPN. We'll set the over/under at a 12:30pm start (though I'd still take the over). --KB

11:26am: Final table to commence at Noon(ish?)
We've said it before and it certainly bears repeating this morning-- if you're suffering from a profound sense of deja vu when it comes to this final table, you're hardly alone. In a stunning repeat of events, Vanessa Selbst ended Day 3 of the NAPT Mohegan Sun as the chip leader, lost the lead on Day 4, and will arrive at the final table sometime in the next hour in second position. Today, Selbst is looking to make history not only as the first repeat NAPT champion (a tour that is only five events old, mind you) but as the first player to win the same poker major in back-to-back years. Remarkably enough, Selbst isn't the only player at this final table pursuing a second NAPT title. Season 1 Los Angeles champion Joe Tehan is looking to do the same. Both of them will have their hands full, though, with a formidable group of challengers including Steve O'Dwyer, Vincent Rubianes, and chip leader Tyler Kenney threatening their record-breaking runs.

Today's final table will be filmed for broadcast on ESPN and as these things go, we're nearly a lock for a late start this morning. Cameras are being positioned, the felt meticulously cleaned, and the players are trickling in following their pre-game interviews. We'll be here with wall-to-wall coverage until someone lays claim to the shiny silver trophy and the $450,000 grand prize.

Here's a look how our final eight stack up:

Seat 1: Joe Tehan (1,238,000)
Seat 2: Thomas Hoglund, Jr. (541,000)
Seat 3: Dan Shak (1,571,000)
Seat 4: Vincent Rubianes (1,711,000)
Seat 5: Steve O'Dwyer (1,032,000)
Seat 6: Tyler Kenney (3,021,000)
Seat 7: Aaron Overton (373,000)
Seat 8: Vanessa Selbst (2,249,000)

Reporting team: Kristin "change100" Bihr, Howard "Horseradish" Swains, Brad "Otis" Willis
Photography: Joe Giron

Check out the final table player profiles below for more information on the eight final table players.

NAPT Mohegan Sun final table player profiles

Seat 1: Joe Tehan - Las Vegas, NV (1,238,000)
Joe Tehan is a professional poker player and originally from Utica, NY. The 30-year-old currently lives in Las Vegas and travels to a handful of US-based tournaments throughout the year. Tehan got married just three weeks ago. Over the course of his poker career, Tehan has amassed more than $3.5 million in earnings, including $725,000 he won for besting the 701-player 2010 NAPT Los Angeles Main Event field back in November.

***

Seat 2: Thomas Hoglund, Jr. - New Bedford, MA (541,000)
Thomas Hoglund Jr. is a 36-year-old professional poker player from New Bedford, MA. Hoglund has been playing poker for five years and has a handful of four-figure live tournament scores to his name. Already guaranteed a minimum payout of of $32,330, no matter where Thomas finishes at Wednesday's final table, this single cash will be bigger than all of his previous live results combined. When he's not playing cards, Hoglund enjoys sports, music and dining out.

***

Seat 3: Dan Shak - New York, NY (1,571,000)
At 51, Dan Shak is the oldest player at the Main Event final table. Shak has lived most of his life in New York City, but the world traveler currently splits his time between Las Vegas and NY. One of the hardest-working players in his other game game -- trading -- Shak can often be seen fielding business calls or pecking away on his i-Pad in between hands at the poker table. A talented tournament poker player, Shak has collected more than $2.4 million in prize money since he started playing tournaments back in 2004.

***

Seat 4: Vincent Rubianes - Santa Barbara, CA (1,711,000)
22-year-old Vincent Rubianes claims to have the "best hair in poker." Originally from Stockton, CA, Rubianes now resides in Santa Barbara, where he splits his time between his studies and poker. Rubianes is a fourth-year political science student at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Nicknamed "Side Show Bob," Rubianes once played 800,000 hands of poker in three months for a prop bet.

***

Seat 5: Steve O'Dwyer - Charlotte, NC (1,032,000)
Steve O'Dwyer is a 29-year-old professional poker player from Doylestown, PA, currently residing in Charlotte, NC. O'Dwyer has earned more than $600,000 in career tournament winnings. His best result to date is a 6th place finish in the 2009 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic ($202,362). O'Dwyer has a bachelor's degree from East Carolina University where he studied communications and broadcasting. A win at Wednesday's final table would not only be the largest of O'Dwyer's career. It would also grant him membership to the poker's millionaire's club.

***

Seat 6: Tyler Kenney - Long Beach, NY (3,021,000)
Tyler Kenney is a 21-year-old semi-professional poker player from Long Beach, NY. He is the younger brother of Bryn Kenney, a well known high stakes cash game player who has appeared on the PokerStars.net Big Game and finished third at the 2011 PCA Super High Roller Event ($643,000). Tyler credits his brother for teaching him the game. He has an impressive tournament resume for only having been "legal" in the United States for 10 months. He's cashed in two World Series of Poker events, chopped a $5,000 buy-in event at the 2010 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $90,000 and has amassed more than $140,000 in tournament earnings since turning 21.

***

Seat 7: Aaron Overton - Philadelphia, PA (373,000)
Aaron Overton became a professional poker player after finishing his undergraduate studies at the University of Vermont. The 28-year-old from Philadelphia, PA is a cash-game specialist and admits he rarely plays "tornadoes," (tournaments). He won his seat to the Mohegan Sun main event in a $1,000 satellite. When he's not playing cards, Overton can be found snowboarding, biking or spending time with his friends and family. The man they call the "Mighty Redwood" will begin the final table as its short-stack.

***

Seat 8: Vanessa Selbst - Las Vegas, NV (2,249,000)
Making a return to the NAPT Mohegan Sun main event final table is defending champ and Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst. Selbst won the first ever NAPT Mohegan Sun main event championship, and it appears she's not looking to give up the crown anytime soon. Should she emerge victorious at Wednesday's final table, Selbst would become the first player in NAPT history to win back-to-back or repeat titles. Her already stellar tournament, resume includes a WSOP bracelet, a victory at the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event and more than $3.6 million in career tournament earnings. Selbst holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and is working toward a law degree at the same prestigious college.

Mercier also won six bounties, so leads the charge for the $20,000 extra prize awarded to the best bounty hunter of them all.

He'll be joined by Eugene Katchalov, also of Team PokerStars Pro. But they'll have their work cut out against Joe Sweeney, Micah Raskin, Jonathan Jaffe, Scott Blackman, Jimmie Guinther, Taylor Von Kriegenbergh and Michael Pesek.

That final table will begin on Thursday. Return to PokerStars Blog tomorrow for the conclusion of the Main Event. Until then, goodnight from Uncasville.

See the full Bounty Shootout final table line up, and list of bounty winners, on the results page.

1.55am: Von Kriegenbergh applies finishing touch
Taylor von Kriegenbergh has won the last table of the day, and completed the final table line-up for Thursday. The last hand went like this: Von Kriegenbergh raised to 10,000 and Pezzin called. That took them to a flop of [ad][2c][5s]. They both checked. The turn was [8c] and Pezzin counted out a bet. Then he simply announced, "All in" instead, for 64,800 total.

Von Kriegenbergh thought about this decision a lot, but then pushed a tower of blue chips over the line to call. Pezzin knew he was in a spot of bother when he turned over his [6c][3c], but probably didn't realise quite how bleak it was. Von Kriegenbergh had [kc][5c], covering the flush draw, so Pezzin was drawing to his straight only.

The [2d] wasn't one of his outs, and with that Von Kriegenbergh ended this one. Pezzin comes up one place short. -- HS

1.45pm: Pezzin persists
Pat Pezzin moved all-in for just over 40,000 and von Kriegenbergh called.

Pezzin: [6d][7d]
von Kriegenbergh: [kh][9h]

The flop was [5c][4s][6c] giving Pezzin a pair and a straight draw. The [8s] on the turn completed the straight and Pezzin doubled up to 82,000. Von Kriegenbergh still holds the chip lead with about 143,000. --AV

LEVEL UP. PLAYING BLINDS OF 2,500-5,000-500 IN LEVEL 10

1.35am: Levelled out
Taylor von Kriegenbergh has got his stack up to around the same size at Pat Pezzin's, and this battle could go on for some time yet. Just recently, Von Kriegenbergh limped from the small blind, which prompted a bet of 11,000 from Pezzin. Von Kriegenbergh responded by intimating that he had set a trap. He moved all in, and Pezzin dwell-folded. Von Kriegenbergh then proudly flipped over [7d][8d]. Pezzin was unmoved. -- HS

1.25am: Leveling the playing field
The battle continues.

Team PokerStars Pro Pat Pezzin raised to 10,000 and Taylor von Kriegenbergh moved all-in for 45,800 more.

Pezzin called and showed [kc][jc], Kriegenbergh showed [ah][qd].

The flop paired Kriegenbergh's queen and it was good enough for the double up. Both players are now close to even in chips. --AV

1.15pm: Pezzin chipping away
On our only remaining table, Pat Pezzin has amassed something like 185,000 of the total 225,000 chips in play on that table. Taylor von Kriegenbergh is trying all he can to keep afloat, but Pezzin has entered bullying mode.

Just recently, Von Kriegenbergh opened to 8,000 and Pezzin called. They both checked the [qd][9h][9c] flop, but then it kicked off on the [8c] turn. Pezzin bet 9,500, Von Kriegenbergh raised to 20,500 and Pezzin moved all in. Von Kriegenbergh folded. -- HS

1.05am: And then there were two
Our last table is now heads up.

Jason Somerville went all-in at the Hearts table and Pat Pezzin called.

Pezzin: [kc][10d]
Somerville: [9c][8c]

The board ran [3h][6h][4h][ks][ah] and Pezzin's pair of kings was good enough for Somerville's bounty. --AV

1am: Jaffe applies the final squeeze on Walsh
Jonathan Jaffe has finished the job on Pat Walsh after a very measured heads up battle. The damage was done principally when Jaffe cracked Walsh's pocket kings, getting all the money in on a turn of [9d][7h][9c][qc]. Jaffe had [9h][8h].

The [3c] rivered, leaving Walsh with less than two big blinds. He doubled up on the next hand, but then was knocked out the hand after that. Jaffe's [7h][4d] beat Walsh's [5c][6c]. -- HS

12.55pm: Staying alive
Jason Mercier's chance at a back-to-back NAPT Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout title stays alive.

In the last hand at the Clubs table, Mercier and Ronnie Bardah were all-in preflop.

Mercier: [3c][3d]
Bardah: [ah][qs]

The board, [6s][8h][7d][10c][2s], brought all low cards and gave Mercier the win at the Clubs table, good for $40,000. He also walks away with six bounties and a signed copy of Barry Greenstein's "Ace on the River."

On the neighboring table Pat Pezzin knocked out Nenad Medic, the hearts table is now 3-handed. --AV

*Take a deep breath before reading this sentence.

12.45am: Heads up ding dong
On table five, Jonathan Jaffe has a small chip lead over Pat Walsh, but the relative parity means the two of them are playing an intriguing heads up battle. Just recently, Walsh flat-called from the small blind, Jaffe raised to 9,000, Walsh then re-raised to 25,000 and then Jaffe moved all in. Walsh folded.

Shortly after, another three bet pre-flop from Jaffe - making it 19,800 after Walsh had made it 8,500 - also got through.

The neighbouring heads-up table, featuring Jason Mercier and Ronnie Bardah, is more one-sided. Mercier has something like a four-to-one advantage, and is milking it. -- HS

LEVEL UP. PLAYING BLINDS 1,500-3,000-400 IN LEVEL 9

12.25pm: Dombrowski downed
Jason Mercier has eliminated Chris Dombrowski. It was all in pre-flop, but then swung both ways, before Mercier emerged victorious.

The hands were as follows: Mercier [as][10s], Dombrowski [6h][qh].

The flop looked like it had given Dombrowski the out-draw, when it came [qd][10h][kd]. But the turn put Mercier back out front. It was the [jh]. Dombrowski still had outs to the flush, but the [4c] wasn't one of them and so he went broke.

Mercier has now picked up five bounties and is heads up with Ronnie Bardah. -- HS

12.20am: Another winner
The Spades table was heads up with a [qc][3d][6d][10s][2s] board, there was more than 10,000 in the pot and Chris Klodnicki had just announced all-in.

"I know you were going to say that," said Joe Sweeney. He stood up while he contemplated his next move. He looked down at his stack and announced the call.

Sweeney showed [qd][9h] and Klodnicki threw his hand into the muck, making Sweeney the second winner of Flight B. --AV

12.10am: Medic doubles through Somerville
Nenad Medic is battling still, having just doubled up to about 46,000 with pocket sixes. Jason Somerville was his opponent, with [kc][9h]. The pocket pair stayed good.

12am: Alex out
It's getting late and concentration is beginning to wane. That's one excuse for the hand that has just ended Jim Alex's participation in this event. Chris Dombrowski opened the pot and Alex moved all in - despite the fact that there were still two players to act before him.

Jason Mercier, who was one of those two, asked for a ruling. If he raised Dombrowski's opener, then apparently Alex would be allowed to take back his out-of-turn raise. However if Mercier only called, Alex would be forced to move in.

Mercier called.

As instructed, Alex was forced to move in and when Dombrowski got out the way, the two of them were heads up. Mercier had [th][tc] and Alex had [5s][5d]. Mercier flopped an unneeded set and Alex was sent to the rail.

Mercier is now playing three-handed against Ronnie Bardah and Chris Dombrowski. -- HS

11.55pm: Baumstein bounced by Jaffe
Scott Baumstein is out, leaving Jonathan Jaffe heads up with Pat Walsh. Baumstein shoved for [qd][6h] and Jaffe called with [as][8c]. The board was dry and the ace high stayed good. -- HS

11.50pm: DeBora DeParts
Pat Pezzin remains as the last Team PokerStars Canada in the field after Greg DeBora followed Daniel Negreanu out the door. DeBora got the last of his chips in the middle on a flop of [2c][9d][jc] and he had a straight draw with his [qh][ts]. His opponent, Pat Walsh, had [jd][kc] and DeBora needed to hit.

He didn't.

The turn came [5s] and the river [td]. That was the end of that for DeBora.

11.45pm: Medic doubles up
Nenad Medic was all-in for 37,825 against Jason Somerville.

Somerville held [8h][8s] and was flipping against Medic's [ac][jd].

The flop came [9c][10h][ks] giving Medic even more outs. The [10c] wasn't one of them, but it came on the turn anyways.

A [js] came on the river to give Medic a pair and the double up. He now has over 75,000, while Somerville is down to 15,000. --AV

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 1,200-2,400-400 IN LEVEL 8

11.37pm: Details
Nick Binger moved all-in for 15,500 and got a call from Jason Somerville.

Somerville showed [qh][9h] and was up against Binger's [jc][9h]. The flop, [8h][5d][10c], giving Binger a straight draw. A [3d] came on the turn then a [10h] fell on the river and Binger missed his straight.

Somerville won his bounty and the Hearts table is now 4-handed. --AV

11.35pm: Binger bounced
Nick Binger has been eliminated by Jason Somerville. Details to follow.

11.30pm: Timoshenko tamed by Sweeney
Yevgeniy Timoshenko has become the latest player to be defeated by Joe Sweeney. Sweeney is now heads up with Chris Klodnicki. -- HS

11.25pm: Cada crushed
That's the end of Joe Cada's day, defeated by Chris Dombrowski's mighty [6d][3c]. Cada had [ad][2h] but this board - [8s][7d][5s][9d][2c] - gave Dombrowski the straight and crushed Cada. -- HS

11.20pm: Micah Raskin wins
Micah Raskin is the first winner of Flight B.

The flop was [as][ks][qh] and Joe Gibbons and Raskin got it all-in. Gibbons showed [kh][qs] for two pair and Raskin had a pair of aces with [ac][9s].

A [2h] came on the turn and the [ah] caused Raskin to throw his arms up in celebration. Raskin wins the final bounty at his table and an entry to Thursday's final table. --AV

11.15pm: Paredes' parade ends
Nenad Medic and David Paredes were all in pre-flop, and although Medic's [jd][tc] was behind Paredes's [ac][9s], the board soon changed that. It ran [4c][8d][9h][qd][8c], which gave Medic the straight. Paredes is out. -- HS

11.10pm: Timoshenko ends Azzi's day
Yevgeniy Timoshenko has sent Charbel Azzi out the door in a fairly standard all in pre-flop confrontation. Azzi had [9s][8h] and needed to hit an eight to beat Timoshenko's [as][9h]. But he didn't. In fact, the board brought two aces and Azzi was no more. -- HS

11.10pm: Heads up
We now have our first heads-up table in Flight B.

Micah Raskin and George Lind found themselves all-in preflop. Raskin had Lind's 39,700 covered, he also had Lind's [ac][4d] dominated with [ah][10c].

The board ran [qh][ad][5d][6s][9d] and Lind surrendered his bounty to Raskin. --AV

11.05pm: Bardah takes over chip lead
Jason Mercier could seemingly do no wrong, but he has just doubled up Ronnie Bardah and yielded the chip lead in the process. Joe Cada opened, making it 3,200. Mercier raised to 6,400, then Bardah made it 27,000, which was pretty much all in. Cada folded, but Mercier was happy to play and they made the all in official with Mercier's shove.

Mercier had [ad][kc] and he was against Bardah's [tc][td]. This time Mercier couldn't win the race as the board came seven high. Bardah's pair held and he now has something like 80,000.

11pm: Loman laid low
Kyle Loman and Scott Baumstein were all-in preflop and at first, it wasn't certain who was at risk.

After counting out both stacks, the dealer revealed that Baumstein had Loman covered by a couple hundred chips. They had:

Loman: [jc][js]
Baumstein: [ah][6s]

The flop fell [6h][10c][kd], giving Baumstein a pair.

The turn was a [4h] and Baumstein seemed resigned. "Just give him a jack, I'm pretty indifferent now," he said.

But a [6c] came and turned Baumstein's indifference into celebration. He's now has 40,000 and another bounty chip.--AV

LEVEL UP. PLAYING 800-1,600-200 IN LEVEL 6

10.55pm: Three more down
Two more short-stacked players, one on the feature table and one not, are out. The first of those is Bryan Colin, who shoved pre-flop with [qs][8c] and couldn't outdraw Joe Gibbons' [ac][qh]. The second was Eric Froehlich, whose [qs][8s] couldn't beat Pat Pezzin's [ac][10c].

Moral of the story: queen-eight no good.

Also missing in action is Allen Bari. Greg DeBora got him. -- HS

10.50pm: The most wonderful time of the tournament
It's that time in the tournament again. The blinds are high, stacks are short and all-ins are heard every other minute.

At our feature table Micah Raskin found himself all-in on a [10c][8s][5h] flop against Bryan Colin.

Colin held [10d][6d] but Raskin showed [qs][qc] for the over pair. Raskin's hand held up and he doubled through Colin.

A few hands later Colin would find himself all-in again, this time it was preflop versus Joe Gibbons.

Colin was at risk this hand and he was trailing behind Gibbons' [ac][kd]. The first card on the flop paired Colin's 9 and the river paired his 10, doubling him up.

Action is sure to continue as another all-in has just been announced. --AV

10.45pm: Mercier's mauling continues
Adam Junglen has become the third player to fall to the bounty might of Jason Mercier. Junglen moved all in pre-flop for 7,600 and Mercier called from his huge stack. "I only looked at one," said Junglen, and turned over [qh][9c].

Mercier had [qd][jc] and the board blanked, meaning Mercier's jack played. Junglen headed home and Mercier took yet another bounty chip. The Team PokerStars Pro won this event last year, and is looking good for a repeat already. -- HS

10.40pm: Lind doubles up
George Lind just doubled-up courtesy of Micah Raskin.

Micah Raskin held [7s][7c] and was up against Lind's [ah][7d].

The flop, [6c][ad][8c], gave Lind the pair of aces and it held up for the double up. Lind now has over 60,000. --AV

10.35pm: Azzi doubles through Sweeney
Joe Sweeney can't knock everyone out - at least not yet. Charbel Azzi just doubled up when his pocket nines stayed good against Sweeney's [ah][7d]. Azzi was all in pre-flop for a little more than 15,000. --HS

10.25pm: The tale of Sweeney continues
Joe Sweeney found himself in a three-way all-in with king-jack for the second time today.

But this time he was up against Dan Suied's [ah][qc] and Gregory Merson's [5c][5d], Sweeney had them both covered.

The flop was [10c][2d][jd], putting Sweeney in the lead. Another jack came on the turn and Sweeney killed two birds with three jacks.

He's now up to around 75,000. --AV

10.20pm: Disturbance in the force: Selbst is beaten
Yep, here comes that rash of eliminations.

First up, Greg DeBora bust Daniel Illingworth, when DeBora's [ad][qs] stayed good against Illingworth's [qh][6h]. A queen was on the turn and they got it in.

Then on the feature table, Joe Gibbons managed what no one else has ever managed at Mohegan Sun: he eliminated Vanessa Selbst from a poker tournament.

It looked for all the world as though it wouldn't happen, but he hit a two-outer on the river to end the Bounty Shootout participation of the Team PokerStars Pro. (She is, of course, still in the Main Event.)

Selbst opened the pot, Gibbons raised to 10,000, Selbst moved all in for 41,300 and Gibbons called.

Gibbons: [9d][9c]
Selbst: [ks][qs]

Selbst flips well, and it looked as though she was going to do it again when the flop came [ac][qc][qh]. The turn was [jd], but then the [9h] rivered and Gibbons vaulted into the lead.

He had Selbst covered, and so her day is finally done. -- HS

10.15pm: Back for level five
We're now entering level five, and if Flight A was any indication, this is where a lot of players get knocked out.

To see who has already been eliminated, head on over to the results page, then stay here to see what happens next.

Level five begins with the following players leading their respective tables: Joe Sweeney, Jason Mercier, Nenad Medic, Micah Raskin and Pat Walsh.

Here's a glimpse of what they're all playing for (in addition to the odd thousand dollars here and there).

Reporting team: Howard Swains, Alex Villegas and Brad Willis. Photography: Joe Giron.

Brother to well-known grinder Bryn Kenney, Tyler Kenney has $163,000 in career live tournament earnings, most of it coming from a $90,000 cash at a $5,000 event in Las Vegas. Keep in mind, Kenney is new on the live scene and has posted seven live cashes in just the past year. Now he has his shot at an NAPT title and a chance to deny two people their second win on the tour.

Vanessa Selbst, a woman who has spent the last 12 months controlling the poker world like a small army of marionettes, is poised to put on one of the greatest shows of her career. Almost exactly one year removed from the day she won the first NAPT Mohegan Sun title, the Team PokerStars Pro has put herself in position to secure a repeat championship. She is second in chips on the way to the televised final table. On Day 3 of the NAPT Mohegan Sun main event, Selbst made taking the chip lead seem easy. Today she spent most of the day in control. It was only as Day 4 drew to a close that Kenney took over the chip lead.

The European Poker Tour has clawed its way through nearly seven full seasons without a repeat winner. Selbst is aiming to win twice inside of just a few NAPT events. It's an achievement that is punctuated by another startling fact: she isn't the only one who could pull off a second NAPT championship tomorrow.

It's been only five months since Joe Tehan won the NAPT Los Angeles event in November. This week, he's followed Selbst's lead all the way to the final table. Anyone wondering if tournament poker is still a skill game need only look at Selbst and Tehan. To paraphrase Mike McDermott, "What are they? The luckiest two people on the NAPT?"

Though it drew fewer than 400 players, the NAPT Mohegan Sun field was probably the toughest of any NAPT main event yet. It was packed with professional tourney grinders who know their stuff better than most people on the tournament circuit. The final eight stand witness to the difficulty of making it this far. They will sit down tomorrow as follows:

NAPT Mohegan Sun main event final table

Seat 1: Joe Tehan (1,238,000)
Seat 2: Thomas Hoglund, Jr. (541,000)
Seat 3: Dan Shak (1,571,000)
Seat 4: Vincent Rubianes (1,711,000)
Seat 5: Steve O'Dwyer (1,032,000)
Seat 6: Tyler Kenney (3,021,000)
Seat 7: Aaron Overton (373,000)
Seat 8: Vanessa Selbst (2,249,000)

If you'd like to see how they did it, we have the blow-by-blow in our NAPT Mohegan Sun Day 4 live updates.

For all the other scoreboard-y information you might want and some added entertainment, see any of the links below.

That should keep you busy until noontime tomorrow when we'll be back to see if Selbst or Tehan can score another NAPT title, or if the tour will get a new name on its list of champions.

We'll see you then.

All photography © Joe Giron/www.joegironphotography.com

9.55pm: Small pairs
Daniel Negreanu's bounty has been claimed.

Joe Gibbons and the Team PokerStars Pro found themselves all-in preflop.

Negreanu: [2d][2s]
Gibbons: [6d][6s]

The board, [5h][3c][jc][qs][10d], brought Negreanu no help and he was sent to the rail, leaving only two PokerStars Pro at the feature table. --AV

9.55pm: Klodnicki ousts Elias
This one isn't especially pleasant, especially if your name is Darren Elias. He got his last chips in the pot pre-flop, called by Chris Klodnicki. Klodnicki "only" had [ad][2d] and Elias probably thought he was on for a double up with his [ah][8s].

But the flop came [2c][4s][2h], the turn was [as] and the river [6c]. Klodnicki's come-from-behind boat sent Elias out. -- HS

9.50pm: Dombrowski downs Schwartz
Justin Schwartz is "flipping badly" - and certainly that pessimistic assertion was confirmed in the last hand he played at Mohegan Sun tonight. After Chris Dombrowski opened to 1,600, Schwartz moved all in for his last 6,000-ish. And then they were flipping.

Schwartz: [8h][8d]
Dombrowski: [ah][qs]

The flop favoured the overcards. It came [kd][9c][qh] and the [js][jc] turn and river changed nothing. Schwartz is out. -- HS

9.45pm: Cannibalism
The Team PokerStars Pros are at it again. This time it was Victor Ramdin who found himself all-in against Vanessa Selbst.

Ramdin held [as][kc] and was up against Selbst's [ah][7c] on a [qh][2d][8c] flop. The turn was a [7h], giving Selbst a pair. The river changed nothing and Selbst added a PokerStars Team Pro bounty chip on top of hers. --AV

9.40pm: Another three way
Joe Sweeney raised to 1,600 from the cutoff and things were about to heat up, shootout style.

Darren Elias re-raised to 4,200 from the button and Alex Keating moved all-in for 16,450 from the big blind. Sweeney moved all-in too, and Elias, who had them both covered, quickly called.

Showdown
Sweeney: [kc][jd]
Keating: [qh][qs]
Elias: [ad][as]

The flop came [kh][9s][3d], pairing Sweeney's King. The turn, [jh], paired his other card and the [js] on the river gave him the full house.

Sweeney won Keating's bounty chip and is up 52,000. Elias is now down to 10,000. --AV

9.35pm: Three way
When you have a three way all in pre-flop before the first break, you expect to see some premium hands. So it was in a confrontation between Pat Pezzin, Jonathan Tamayo and Nenad Medic, which ended up earning Medic his second bounty, tripling up Pezzin and sending Tamayo out.

As stated, they got it all in pre-flop. Pezzin was the short stack but had the best hand: [kc][kd]. Tamayo had Pezzin covered, but had the worst hand: [ad][qd]. Medic had the most chips and had [js][jc].

The board ran [5c][2c][7h][6c][6s] and that meant that Pezzin won the main pot, Medic won the side pot, and Tamayo won nothing. Medic claimed the bounty from the side pot with Tamayo. -- HS

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 400-800-100 IN LEVEL 4

9.30pm: Time for Timoshenko
The shootout massacre continues. This time, Dan Shak and Yevgeniy Timoshenko were the ones who went all-in preflop.

Shak: [as][qs]
Timoshenko: [jd][kc]

The board was an unforgiving [6d][qd][jc][2h][5d] and Shak was forced to hand his bounty chip over to Timoshenko, who now has over 50,000. --AV

9.25pm: Lind cracks Stein's aces
George Lind III has claimed his second bounty on the feature table, this time cracking the aces of Sam Stein. Lind had [qd][ts] but made two pair on the [kd][qc][8c][th][6c] board, which was precisely one pair more than Stein had. -- HS

9.20pm: No mercy
Team PokerStars Pro Joe Cada raised to 1,400 and Alex Wice re-raised to 3,500. Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier made it 7,150 to go and Cada got out of the way. Wice opted for the 5-bet option and went all-in, Mercier made the call.

Mercier had Wice covered but Wice's [as][kc] was ahead of Mercier's [ah][qd].
The flop came [kh][js][2s], giving Mercier a straight draw and déjà vu. "Now you've got 4 outs," said a tablemate. "Last time you hit it on the turn," said Ronnie Bardah.

The turn was indeed a [10s], giving Mercier the straight and prompting suspicion among his tablemates. "Is this real life?" asked Bardah.

The river was a [5c] and Mercier won another bounty. He's now past the 90,000 mark. --AV

9.10pm: Medic sends Heimiller to mortuary
Dan Heimiller has become the latest casualty, finding this particular Medic to be particularly damaging to his health. Heimiller flopped a set with his pocket tens, but by the time the board had been dealt all the way - [9d][10h][ah][js][7d] - Nenad Medic's [6h][8h] had made a straight. I didn't see the action, but it seems likely that the money went in on the flop. -- HS

9.05pm: Battle of the pros
Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein and Jason Mercier got it all-in preflop.

Mercier: [kd][qh]
Greenstein: [qs][qd]

The flop came [9c][jd][3d], giving Mercier the straight draw. The [10c] came on the turn, giving Mercier his straight.

"Oh God no, a king is coming," Mercier said as the river was being dealt.

But it was a [6h], proving his gut wrong and earning him a Barry Greenstein bounty chip and autographed copy of "Ace on the River."

"Three years I've been playing against Barry," said Mercier. "And I finally win a book." --AV

9pm: Waxman wilts
Max Waxman has become the second player to depart from Greg DeBora's table, following Bryn Kenney out the door. This time it was Kyle Loman who took the bounty after the following.

Allen Bari opened to 1,200 from the cut off. Waxman moved all in for his last 1,900 from the button. Loman re-raised to 5,000 from the small blind, which was enough to get Bari out the way, and the two of them were heads up with Waxman under threat.

Waxman: [as][2d]
Loman: [10c][10s]

The board blanked and Waxman melted. Bounty goes to Loman. -- HS

LEVEL UP. BLINDS: 300-600 IN LEVEL 3

9.05pm: Not the worst hand
Kyle Loman raised to 400 from under the gun and Jonathan Jaffe raised to 2,600. Both Matt Waxman, in the big blind, and Loman made the call.

The flop came [9d][3d][7c] and action was folded to Jaffe who bet 4,600. Waxman moved all-in, Loman folded and Jaffe made the call.

Jaffe showed [7s][3d] for bottom two pair and Waxman tabled his [qd][qc].
"I'll take a nine said Waxman," looking for the counterfeit.

But an [8s] on the turn and an [ac] on the river wasn't what he was looking for. Jaffe doubled up to 50,000 while Waxman is now under the 2,000 mark. --AV

8.50pm: Lind busts Li, makes for uncomfortable road trip
George Lind III and Andrew Li are heading off on a road-trip after this event, but there was no love lost between the buddies on the feature table. Lind has just sent Li out of the tournament, giving him ample time to prepare the car.

It was a straight race. Li had [9s][9d] and Lind had [ad][jd]. The jack flopped and did Li could not pull off a redraw. That was that. -- HS

8.45pm: Kenney's resurgence cut short by Illingworth
Bryn Kenney was the last player to register for this event, but he has become the first to leave. Jonathan Jaffe opened the pot, making it 1,000 to go from the cut off. Daniel Illingworth, on the button, raised to 2,500 and Kenney moved all in from the small blind.

Jaffe folded, but Illingworth called. He had Kenney covered despite the latter's recent double up through Greg DeBora. It was another flip for Kenney, who had [ad][kh] against Illingworth's [jd][jh].

The board again favoured the pair. It came [10c][9s][4c][9c][5h] and Kenney was sent packing. -- HS

8.35pm: Kenney climbing
With only 3,800 left, Bryn Kenney moved all-in from early position. Everyone folded and he took down the blinds.

The very next hand Kenney employed the same technique. This time, Team PokerStars Pro Greg DeBora decided to call.

Debora showed [ad][jc] and Kenney showed a small pair, [4s][4h].

"Anyone fold an ace?" asked DeBora, and one player raised his hand. "What about a Jack?" And another player raised his hand, diminishing his odds.

The board fell [3][2c][kd][8h][9c] and Kenney doubled up to about 11,000. DeBora is down to 14,500. --AV

8.25pm: Great minds think alike
Allen Bari raised to 400 from under the gun and Jonathan Jaffe re-raised to 1,200. Bari 4-bet to 2,575 and Jaffe made the call.

The flop came [9c][7h][6h] and both players suspiciously checked. The turn, [10c], brought another round of checks. The river was an [8d] and both players checked yet again.

Bari showed [as][ks] and Jaffe showed the same cards with different suits, [ad][kc]. They chopped the pot but Bari won the extra green 25 chip. --AV

LEVEL UP. PLAYING 200-400-50 IN LEVEL 2

8.25pm: Strong-arm Junglen
Adam Junglen just quietly suggested to Jim Alex that tangling with him is a bad idea, putting Alex to a decision for his tournament life on the last hand of level one.

The two of them were at a flop of [jh][ah][8h] and Junglen, who had been under-the-gun pre-flop, bet 1,000. Alex, on the button, raised to 3,000 and Junglen immediately eyed his opponent's stack.

"You have 19 behind?" said Junglen. That was indeed what Alex still had left. After a few seconds, Junglen moved 19,000 of his own in the middle. Alex thought for a couple of minutes, twitched his mouth, and folded. -- HS

8.20pm: Raskin roasts Li
Micah Raskin has just doubled up through Andrew Li, leaving Li very short indeed. Li opened the pot pre-flop and Daniel Negreanu raised. Micah Raskin then four bet, before Li five-bet to 21,525. Negreanu folded, but Raskin called for all his chips, and the two of them were racing:

Raskin [ah][kc]
Li: [qh][qd]

Raskin got there the hard way, making a flush to his king on the [9c][3c][8c][4c]x board. Li had Raskin covered, but he is now in big trouble, while Raskin leads the feature table. -- HS

8.10pm: Cada outmuscles Dombrowski
This is a stacked field and no mistake, and while the likes of Vanessa Selbst, Daniel Negreanu and Victor Ramdin, among others, do battle on the feature table, there's also a wealth of talent on table four.

In a row there are Joe Cada, Adam Junglen and Alex Wice, then comes the Team PokerStars Pro duo of Jason Mercier and Barry Greenstein. Mercier also happens to be the defending champion in this event.

Chris Dombrowski isn't one to be intimidated, although he was just forced to lay something down to Cada after the 2009 World Champion found a check raise. Dombrowski had opened to 500 from the button and both Cada and Junglen had called from the blinds.

The flop came [8d][5s][7s] and after Cada and Junglen checked, Dombrowski bet 800. Cada then bumped it to 2,800, which turned out to be enough to drive both of them away. -- HS

8.05pm: Tamayo takes some
The board read [qd][kd][3s] and Dan Heimiller bet out 1,100. Jonathan Tamayo raised to 3,000 and Heimiller shot back with a blue chip, raising to 8,000.

Tamayo made the call and a [4s] came on the river. Both players cautiously checked and Tamayo showed [qc][qs] for a set of queens. Heimiller looked at his cards, sighed and threw them in the muck. He now has just over 16,000. --AV

8pm: Counterfeit, but still good
Kyle Loman opened for 550 from early position and Daniel Illingworth called on the button. That tempted Scott Baumstein in from the big blind, and he ended up happy to have been tempted.

The flop came [5c][3s][9h] and Baumstein checked. Loman bet 850, which Illingworth raised to 2,225. After Baumstein called, Loman thought better of it and folded.

The turn was [9s] and Baumstein led for 3,275. Illingworth called. The river was [5c] and Baumstein now tickled 2,000 at that. Illingworth called the small bet quickly, and Baumstein said: "I got a counterfeited boat." He tabled [3d][3c].

He seemed to be fearing the worst, but ended up scooping as Illingworth mucked. -- HS

7.50pm: Re-organising again
The continued delay to the start here is because the Main Event has just wrapped for the day, allowing Vanessa Selbst and Dan Shak, both of whom are on that final table, to join the Bounty Shootout action. Steve O'Dwyer, another Main Event final table-ist, opted not to play here despite having registered. His seat has been filled by Bryn Kenney.

7.35pm: Two down
It seems as though Dan Shak and Steve O'Dwyer will not be playing in the Bounty Shootout. Both of them are still involved in the Main Event, which is now nine handed. -- HS

7.30pm: Starting?
After the mandatory 30 minute delay, players have now arrived to the Bounty Shootout room and flight B should be starting in about 10-15 minutes.

7pm: Flight B to begin
After a quick-fire flight A of the $10,000 Bounty Shootout, during which Scott Blackman, Eugene Katchalov, Jimmie Guinther and Michael Pesek booked their spot at the final, you join us now for Flight B, with a bigger field and a few very famous names.

The organisers have squeezed an additional table into the Bounty Shootout room, and have put an extra chair around most of them. We're now going to watch four nine-handed tables and one eight-handed one, with the 44 players angling for that final table felt.

Players will earn $40,000 if they win their heat ($36,000 for the eight-handed table) and $2,000 for each bounty chip they pick up. At time of writing, two of the registered players (Dan Shak and Steve O'Dwyer) are still going in the Main Event, so they may un-register from this. We will obviously keep you posted.

Here's the table draw for this second flight, and please click over to the results page to see who won what earlier on.

Flight B table assigments

Table 1 - Spades
1 Joe Sweeney
2 Darren Elias
3 Chris Klodnicki
4 Alex Keating
5 Dan Suied
6 Gregory Merson
7 Dan Shak
8 Yevgeniy Timoshenko
9 Charbel Azzi

Table 2 - Hearts
1 Nick Binger
2 Eric Froehlich
3 Dan Heimiller
4 David Paredes
5 Pat Pezzin
6 Jason Somerville
7 Jonathan Tamayo
8 Nenad Medic
9 Taylor von Kriegenbergh

Table 3 - Diamonds
1 Joe Gibbons
2 George Lind III
3 Andrew Li
4 Bryan Colin
5 Victor Ramdin
6 Daniel Negreanu
7 Micah Raskin
8 Sam Stein

Table 4 - Clubs
1 Jim Alex
2 Chris Dombrowski
3 Joe Cada
4 Adam Junglen
5 Alex Wice
6 Jason Mercier
7 Barry Greenstein
8 Justin Schwartz
9 Ronnie Bardah

Table 5
1 Kyle Loman
2 Greg DeBora
3 Pat Walsh
4 Jonathan Jaffe
5 Daniel Illingworth
6 Steve O'Dwyer
7 Scott Baumstein
8 Allen Bari
9 Matt Waxman

Levels last 30 minutes and starting stacks are 25,000.

Reporting team: Howard Swains and Alex Villegas. Photographs: Joe Giron.

See the full results of this flight on the results page. -- HS

4.50pm: Berg sunk by Guinther
We are done for flight A as Jimmie Guinther has finished off Elijah Berg. The final hand was cruel on Berg, but it also played itself.

They got it all in pre-flop, and both had the goods. Berg's [qh][qc] was ahead of Guinther's [ad][10s], but Guinther had something like four times as many chips, so it was the owner of the queens who was in peril.

The flop increased the tension. It came [kd][2d][3d] to give Guinther the flush draw. Berg dodged trouble on the [9h] turn, but the [6d] river was emphatic. Berg was sunk.

Guinther moves into the final on Thursday. -- HS

4.40pm: Katchalov wins
One table to go. Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov claims Chau Giang's bounty and wins $40,000 for winning the only 9-handed table of the event.

Katchalov's [kc][js] was up against Giang's [ad][8d]. The flop was [9h][kh][7s] and Katchalov caught his king. The turn was a [2h] and Giang started pushing all his chips towards Katchalov.

"I get to keep this though," Giang said as he picked up Nick Schulman's bounty chip.
The river was a [4s] and Giang was sent to the rail. --AV

4.30pm: Kelly canned
Eugene Katchalov has just ended Steven Kelly's resurgence, and will go heads-up with a huge chip lead against Chau Giang. Kelly and Katchalov were looking at a flop of [8c][7s][4s] and Katchalov checked. Kelly bet 6,000 and Katchalov moved all in, comfortably covering his opponent.

Kelly took his time about it, but figured himself priced in and called. Katchalov tabled [7d][5d] for middle pair, with a gutshot draw. Kelly had [ad][9h] for overcards.

The [6s] turn filled Katchalov's straight, but also gave Kelly outs to a bigger straight. But the [8s] river didn't alter things, and Kelly offered his hand and left. -- HS

Seems like a good time to see what Katchalov had to say to the video bloggers earlier on:

4.25pm: Giang and Kelly
Steven Kelly called from the small blind and Chau Giang, who had Kelly covered, moved all-in.

Kelly called and showed [qs][js] to Giang's [ad][5d]. A [qd] on the flop gave Kelly top pair, the turn and river brought blanks, making Kelly's queens good enough for the double up.

Kelly now has close to 70,000 while Giang is the table's short stack with about 35,000.

4.20pm: Kelly busts Vo
Short-stacked Steven Kelly had moved all in pre-flop about four times, all unchallenged, and all that blind stealing meant that when he shoved again from the button and Tony Vo called, it was Vo whose life was in danger.

It was a flip. Vo showed pocket fours to Kelly's [as][qd]. And the board favoured the small pair. It came [8s][6d][3d]. But just as one of Vo's supporters said: "Hold!", the dealer burned and turned the [qh]. "Why did I open my mouth?" said the rueful railbird.

The [5s] rivered, and that was it for Vo. Kelly is still shorter than his table-mates Chau Giang and Eugene Katchalov, but he's fighting. -- HS

4.15pm: Berg doubles
After Elijah Berg moved all-in from the small blind a couple of times, Jimmie Guinther, with a commanding chip lead, decided to do the same.

Berg snap called, showing [jh][jd]. Guinther showed [ac][6s].

The flop fell [3c][ks][10c], giving Guinther a backdoor flush draw. The [6c] on the turn would give him a regular flush draw. A [10s] came on the river and Berg doubled up to 55,600. --AV

LEVEL UP. PLAYING 1,500-3,000-400 IN LEVEL 9

3:40pm: The last diamond
In the last hand of the level, Michael Pesek claimed Paul Matteo's bounty, the last one at the Diamonds table.

Pesek bet 6,000 into an [8c][2c][6s][ac] board, and Matteo raised to 16,000. Pesek moved all-in and Matteo called.

Matteo showed [as][3s] for top pair, but Pesek showed [ah][ad] for top set. A [3h] came on the river and Matteo was eliminated.

Pesek is now our second shootout winner of the day and will take $36,000. He only won one bounty, but it was the crucial one.

Players are now on a 15-minute break --AV
3.30pm: One down, three to go
Scott Blackman has survived the first shootout round. He earned $36,000 and Dan O'Brien's bounty chip in the process.

Blackman and O'Brien were all-in preflop. Blackman held [js][jc] and was up against O'Brien's [as][ks], it was an old-fashioned coin flip for the win.

The flop brought [4s][qs][6d] and strong emotions from both players.

"That's great," shouted O'Brien as the last flop card was dealt.

"That's just disgusting," Blackman said as he slumped down in his chair. "You have like every out in the deck."

Then they geared their conflicting emotions towards the dealer.

"Come on Tara," O'Brien cheered, but Blackman begged her for mercy. "Tara, do not do this to me."

The turn was a [4h], and a [3c] on the river sent O'Brien home, making Blackman the first winner of the day. --AV

3.27pm: A tale of two hearts
Nick Mitchell was eliminated and the Hearts table is now heads up.

Short-stacked again, Mitchell moved all-in and got called by Dan O'Brien. Mitchell showed [as][qh] and O'Brien moved his cards towards Mitchell.

"Flip over your own fate," said O'Brien.

Mitchell complied and flipped over a [5d], followed by a [7s].

The flop was [2c][kd][jh] and Mitchell stayed in the lead. A [5h] on the turn would change that.

"I got this one," said Mitchell, now the underdog.

"Ehhh..."O'Brien said as he looked at Mitchell skeptically.

"I'm kidding, I'm not feeling good about this.

There was indeed no ace on the river (literally or metaphorically) for Mitchell and he was sent to the rail. -- AV

3.23pm: Pilgrim looking for pastures new
Dwight Pilgrim has been ousted from the feature table by Paul Matteo. Pilgrim shoved with pocket fours but ran into Matteo's queens. They had similar sized stacks but Matteo had Pilgrim covered, and when the board bricked Pilgrim was sent packing. -- HS

3.20pm: Three-handed double-ups
At our non-feature three-handed table, Nick Mitchell went all in for 26,600. Dan O'Brien, in the small blind, did the same and Scott Blackman folded. Mitchell showed [ah][7c] to O'Brien's [ad][8c].

"I'm not greedy," said Mitchell. "I'll take a chop."

The flop fell [jc][5s][4c]. Then a [7h] on the turn prompted a response from Mitchell. "Now that's a turn car I like a lot!"

The river was a [9d] and Mitchell doubled up.

A few minutes later, at our other three-handed table, a similar scenario played out. Dwyte Pilgrim and Michael Pesek went all-in on a [Ks][5d][8d] flop.

Pesek showed [2d][kc] for top pair and was against Pilgrim's [10d][8c].

Pesek's pair held up and he doubled-up to just over 60,000. -- AV

3.15pm: Guinther takes charge
Jimmie Guinther is now leading his heads up battle with Elijah Berg after getting all his chips in with a straight and fading a couple of outs.

The board was out to the turn, showing: [7d][ah][8c][9d]. Guinther shoved and Berg called, and here's why. Berg had [9h][8d] for two pair. But Guinther had [5d][6d] for the straight.

The river was the [10c] and that kept Guinther ahead. His all in was for 82,500, which means he doubles to 165,000. Berg has 35,000. -- HS

3.05pm: Tenacity on the spades table
Elijah Berg has something like a three to one chip lead on Jimmie Guinther on the "Spades" table. But Guinther is not giving this one up without a fight. Both players recently checked a [6h][4c][2c] flop and then Berg called Guinther's 5,500 bet on the [qc] turn. The river was [5s] and after Guinther checked, Berg bet 10,000. Guinther agonised over his next decision, but called and his [ad][4d] was good against Berg's [ac][9d]. -- HS

3pm: Video
Here's a video:

2.45pm: Panayiotou out
Eracles Panayiotou has left the building after shoving at a double paired board with jack high and getting picked off by Paul Matteo's king high.

One of our tables has four players left, two tables are three handed, while Jimmie Gunther and Elijah Berg are heads up. -- HS

LEVEL UP. PLAYING 1,000-2,000 BLINDS IN LEVEL 7

2.45pm: This one's for the kids
Chau Giang raised to 2,600 and Nick Schulman replied by re-raising all-in for 19,675. He also threw in his bounty chip, watch, glasses and wallet.

Giang tanked, it was a tough decision.

"Please don't slowroll me," begged Schulman.

"I'm not," replied Giang.

He thought for a bit more and Schulman picked up the bounty chip with his face on it. "Whatever happens, I don't you to throw this away," said Schulman.

"I promise I won't. I'll give it to my children," laughed Giang as he made the call.
Giang flipped over [6c][6h] and was up against Schulman's [ad][jh].

The board ran [kh][ks][9s][8c][kc], bringing three kings, but not a single ace to save Schulman.

Giang now has 45,000 and a present for his kids. --AV

2.35pm: Strike two more
Two all ins and two eliminations from neighbouring tables at the precise same time. On "Clubs", Curt Kohlberg's [jd][10h] was against Tony Vo's [ac][10s] and lost on the [qc][6h][8c][4s][2d] board.

On "Spades", Blake Purvis was all in with [js][10s] against Elijah Berg's [kd][5h]. The board there ran [kc][ks][qs][7d][5c].

Moral of the story: don't play jack-ten.

By the way, if you're struggling to keep up - and I'll be honest, I am - then continue to check the results so far page, where you'll find who has knocked out whom to date. -- HS

2.30pm: DeGilio out
Tony Vo has just eliminated Michael DeGilio.

After going all-in preflop, DeGilio's [jh][10h] was drawing slim against Vo's [ac][ad].

The board came [3c][qs][5c][2c] and an [ah] on the river cemented DeGilio's fate and his bounty was claimed. --AV

12.25pm: Family Feud
All five players in the feature table paid to see the, [10h][kc][7c] flop, but that's when things got heated.

Justin Conley moved all-in and action folded to Eracles Panayiotou, who decided to call.

Conley showed [8c][4c] for a flush draw. Panayiotou also showed a flush draw with [9c][10c] but his 10 would also give him top pair.

The pair of 10's held up and Panayiotou earned Conley's $2,000 bounty chip. --AV

2.25pm: Berg finishes Duhamel
Elijah Berg has completed the job on Jonathan Duhamel, turning a set with his pocket deuces. Duhamel was all in pre-flop for a micro-stack, holding only [qh][4h] and got no help .--HS

2.20pm: Duhamel in trouble
Jonathan Duhamel has been left on fumes after tangling with the table captain, Elijah Berg. Berg opened to 4,000 and Blake Purvis called. Duhamel moved in for about 40,000 from the small blind, and Berg's snap-call forced Purvis to fold.

"You got a pair?" said Duhamel.
"Yep," said Berg, showing [kc][ks]. Duhamel's [7s][7h] couldn't catch up, and the World Champion was left with only about 5,000 after that. Berg has loads. -- HS

2.07pm: Eugene Catch-a-lot
Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov and Michael DeGilio had both their hands on the table, waiting for the board to be dealt.

Katchalov held [jd][jc] and was up against DeGilio's [3d][3c].

It's safe to say the flop, [ah][ac][jh], fell in Katchalov's favor. DeGilio would need running 3's to win or running Aces to chop. A [4s] on the turn would eliminate those options and Katchalov doubled up to around 30,000.

A few hands later, Katchalov would catch again and eliminate Robert Dalton. --AV

LEVEL UP. PLAYING 800-1,600-200 IN LEVEL 6

2pm: Out, out and out
There has been widespread carnage on all tables in the very early stages after the break. From the "Spades" table, Melanie Weisner and Paul Volpe have been eliminated by Jimmie Guinther and Jonathan Duhamel respectively.

And on the "Hearts" table, Adriano Pucci has busted. He was sent packing by Nick Mitchell. Pucci had [as][10h] and Mitchell [kh][jd], but the [ks] rivered and that was that for Pucci. -- HS

1.50pm: Switching sides
Scott Seiver moved all-in from the button for 10,750. Dan O'Brien decided to follow suit and moved in from the small blind. It was up to Richard Lyndaker in the big blind.

"Snap him!" Seiver told Lyndaker.

"I don't know, I would've called just you," Lyndaker said as he threw his cards into the muck.
Seiver showed [qc][7c], an underdog to O'Brien's [ad][6c].

The flop came [jh][10s][kd], switching the cards the players were rooting for, a top pair for one player would now give the other a straight. The turn was a [10d] and the river brought a [4s], bringing no straights and Scott Seiver was sent to the rail. --AV

1.45pm: Katchalov clings on
Eugene Katchalov open shoved for 14,175 from the cut off and Steven Kelly over-shoved from the small blind. That persuaded Tony Vo to fold and it was just the shoving two to the flop, with Katchalov at risk.

Katchalov had [kd][qh]; Kelly had [ac][jc]. The dealer was Katchalov's friend on this occasion, putting down a pot-splitting [6s][8s][7h][9s][5h]. -- HS

1.40pm: Off we go again
Play has resumed. --HS

With four levels already complete, we're heading into a fifth. That's the way these things work.

The four biggest stacks on the four tables belong to Dwight Pilgrim, Steven Kelly, Scott Blackman and Blake Purvis.

This swift structure is already catching up with anyone who has started slowly, and with blinds now going to 600-1,200-100 there are sure to be numerous casualties in the next few levels. That's fun.

Hochman [Qh][Th]
Rubianes [Ad][Qd]

It was over for Hochman on the turn, the board running out [5h][Jd][5s][Ac][Td]. He'll take home $26,000 for his ninth-place finish.

The final eight are currently bagging and tagging their chips. We'll have official chip counts and a full wrap shortly. --KB

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 15,000-30,000-3,000

7:01pm: Final table redraw
Here's how the final nine have taken their seats.--BW

Seat 1: Corey Hochman
Seat 2: Joe Tehan
Seat 3: Thomas Hoglund, Jr.
Seat 4: Dan Shak
Seat 5: Vincent Rubianes
Seat 7: Steve O'Dwyer
Seat 7: Tyler Kenney
Seat 8: Aaron Overton
Seat 9: Vanessa Selbst

6:53pm: Stefanski bubbles (unofficial) final table
The televised final table of NAPT events is eight-handed, but the unofficial final table comes together with nine players remaining. That has just happened after Tyler Kenney came in for a raise from the button. David Stefanski shoved all in for a little more than 400,000 from the small blind. His [ac][tc] looked good until Kenney turned up [as][kd]. Kenney's hand held up and Stefanski left in 10th place. --BW

6:38pm: Hoglund doubles, Fernandez departs
Thomas Hoglund made a stand, moving all-in for 310,000 with pocket queens and David Stefanski looked him up with [As][Qh]. The ladies held and Hoglund chipped up to 660,000.

Meanwhile, one table over, Jacobo Fernandez got the rest of his chips in the middle preflop with [Kh][Qs] and Joe Tehan made the call with pocket jacks Again, the pocket pair was good and Fernandez hit the rail in 11th place. --KB

6:32pm: Selbst doubles Overton, loses chip lead
Tournament short stack Aaron Overton moved all-in for his last 350,000 and Vanessa Selbst made the call, turning over [7c][7s]. Overton showed [9d][Td] and hit a nine on the flop, doubling his stack to 740,000.

For the first time all day, Selbst has fallen below 2 million in chips and out of the top spot.--KB

6:25pm: Selbst can't bluff Shak
After taking a bit of a tumble by doubling up Vincent Rubianes, Dan Shak has regained most of those lost chips. Vanessa Selbst limped in from the small blind and Shak checked his option from the big. Selbst led out for 28,000 on the [Qd][7h][5c] flop and Shak made the call. The turn brought the [8h] and Selbst loaded another bullet, making it 63,000 to go. Shak called again, and they went to the river which fell the [Th]. Selbst bet 157,000 and Shak quickly called.

"You got it," Selbst said, as Shak turned up [Qs][7c] for two pair.

Shak is back up to 1.45 million while Selbst slipped to 2.45 million. --KB

6:13pm: Rubianes doubles through Shak
Vincent Rubianes' downward slide today has ended. After starting Day 4 with more than a million in chips, Rubianes was down to half of that. He finally just got all-in with Dan Shak. Rubianes held [ah][ks] to Shak's [td][tc]. Rubianes made his pair on the flop and got back up around where he started the day. --BW

BLINDS UP, PLAYING 12,000-24,000-2,000 IN LEVEL 23

5:30pm: Kenney climbing
A pair of pots late in the level have pushed Tyler Kenney up to second in chips. In the first, Steve O'Dwyer opened for 43,000 from the cutoff, Kenney three-bet to 115,000 on the button and O'Dwyer made the call. Both players checked on the [As][3s][9s] flop, then did the same when the [8s] hit the turn. The river fell the [5h] and O'Dwyer check-called Kenney's 125,000 bet. Kenney turned up [Qs][Qh] for the flush and O'Dwyer mucked.

A few minutes later, O'Dwyer opened again for 43,000, Kenney flat-called and Thomas Hoglund made it 143,000 to go from the cutoff. O'Dwyer folded and Kenney called. Hoglund led out for 150,000 on the [Kc][7c][2d] flop, earned a call, then made it the same amount when the [4d] came on the turn. Hoglund called again and both players checked the [5d] on the river. Kenney showed [Kd][Th] for the win and vaulted to 1.85 million in chips. Hoglund was left with 350,000.

Players are now on a 15-minute break.

5:01pm: Selbst leaves Overton on the short stack
Vanessa Selbst opened for a min-raise to 40,000 from early position, Aaron Overton three-bet to 122,000 from the big blind and Selbst made the call. Overton led out for 202,000 when the flop fell [Qh][7c][3d] and after about a minute in the tank, Selbst moved all-in.

Overton elected to save his remaining 260,000 and folded. Selbst is up to 2.7 million.--KB

4:44pm: Plouffe go poof
(Yes, we've been waiting to use that headline for a couple of days now). Steve O'Dwyer opened to 44,000 and got a flat call from Tyler Kenney. That opened the door to a 431,000 shove from Philippe Plouffe. O'Dwyer must have had something on Plouffe, because he made the call with [as][9c]. Kenney got out of the way, and Plouffe turned up [8c][tc]. The board ran out [kc][[4s][jh][kh][7h] and Plouffe exited in12th place. --BW

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 10,000-20,000-2,000

4:09pm: The kids might call this a "level"
This hand wasn't so remarkable for the betting sequence or the result, but for the sheer amount of time Corey Hochman took to make his decision. As the final seconds ticked off Level 21, Hochman opened for 32,000 in the cutoff and Steve O'Dwyer called on the button. The flop came down [As][Ks][4c] and Hochman checked to O'Dwyer, who bet 42,000. With the ESPN cameras trained on his face, Hochman began mumbling something about putting O'Dwyer specifically on the [8h][Th] and sat in the tank as the 15-minute break ticked away.

"Seriously, this might take the whole break," Hochman said. O'Dwyer remained stone-faced as his opponent hemmed and hawed.

After six and a half minutes ticked off the clock, Hochman finally settled on a raise to 125,000. O'Dwyer snap-folded and headed off for what was left of his break showing no signs of tilt as Hochman continued to mug for the cameras. --KB

4:02pm: Matte's day is done
With just minutes to go before the third break of the day Jean-Philippe Matte took his half-average stack and got it in the middle with [ad][9d]. It was a bad spot. David Stefanski was sitting with black kings, flopped his set, and put Matte out in 13th. Players are now on a 15-minute break. --BW

3:50pm: Updated chip counts
Head over to the NAPT chip count page for fresh-from-the-oven updates on our 13 remaining players. Vanessa Selbst is still atop the pack with 2.5 million, with Dan Shak in second with 1.68 million. --KB

3:29pm: Another scalp for Selbst
The wheels could still come off, but for now Vanessa Selbst is ruling the day. She just opened for 38,000. When Ara Melikian shoved for 176,000, Selbst snap-called with [ac][kc]. Melikian was way behind with his meager [kh][qh]. The board ran out [8c][8d][7s][ts][6c] and Melikian was gone in 14th place. --BW

3:14pm: Gibbons gutted
Following an opening raise to 35,000 from Phillipe Plouffe, David Stefanski three-bet to 85,000 on the button, only to be met with a shove from Joseph Gibbons in the big blind. Plouffe gave up his hand and Stefanski called. Stefanski had Gibbons dominated with [Ad][Ks] to his [Kc][Tc], the board running out [5h][5d][7h][9d][Qc] to send him home in 16th place. --KB

3:05pm: Phillipe Plouffe doubles through Joseph Gibbons
Phillipe Plouffe's stack has been rising and falling faster than the Dow Jones index today. Only minutes after busting Taylor von Kriegenbergh, Plouffe saw nearly all those chips go "poof" when he played a massive pot against David Stefanski right before the last break, Stefanski claiming all but 189,000 of Plouffe's stack. However, Plouffe is back on the rise after doubling through Joseph Gibbons in dramatic fashion.

Gibbons limped in, as he's prone to do, and Plouffe moved all-in for 265,000. After a long tank, Gibbons made the call and turned up the best hand-- pocket nines against Plouffe's [Kc][8c]. The [Qh][6c][2h] flop agreed with Gibbons, as did the [4d] on the turn, but the [Kd] spiked on the river, saving Plouffe's tournament life.

"Yes!" Plouffe exclaimed.

"F**k!" cried Gibbons, before apologizing for his profanity.

Gibbons is down to 300,000 while Plouffe is back up to 555,000. --KB

2:55pm: Redraw
With 16 players remaining, here's how they are seated now. --BW

Table 1
1. Aaron Overton
2. Vincent Rubianes
3. Vanessa Selbst
4. Dan Shak
5. Nenad Medic
6. Joe Tehan
7. Jacobo Fernandez
8. Ara Melikian

Table 2
1. Philippe Plouffe
2. Jean-Philippe Matte
3. David Stefanski
4. Thomas Hoglund Jr.
5. Joe Gibbons
6. Corey Hochman
7. Steve O'Dwyer
8. Tyler Kenney

2:54pm: Overton ousts Olivier
Aaron Overton opened for 36,000 on the button and Olivier Busquet three-bet to 65,000. Overton called the extra 29k, and they went heads-up to a [Ad][Js][5d] flop. Busquet checked, Overton bet 45,000 and Busquet called. The turn brought the [Kd] and Busquet moved all-in. Overton snap-called, revealing [Kc][Jd] to Busquet's pocket queens. The [3s] on the river sent Busquet to the rail in 17th place while Overton hit the million-chip mark.

With 16 players remaining, they're re-drawing for seats on two tables.--KB

2:48pm: Players are back in action
The third level of the day is underway. A fresh chip count is up on our chip counts page (just see that little black box on the right).--BW

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 8,000-16,000,2,000

2:12pm: Plouffe busts Von Kriegenbergh in 18th
Following a 27,000 opening raise from Taylor von Kriegenbergh Phillipe Plouffe moved all-in for 276,000 and Von Kriegenbergh made the call for his last 271,000. Unfortunately, his [Ad][Tc] was dominated, as Plouffe tabled the [Ah][Qc]. No help on the board for Von Kriegenbergh and he departed in 18th place. Plouffe can cool down a bit now, he's up to a far healthier 586,000 in chips. --KB

2:07pm: Plouffe steamy
Philippe Plouffe is not a weak man. He looks like the type of guy that could handle himself in a bar fight. RIght now is not the time to cross him. Moments ago, Corey Hochman came in for a raise to 26,000. Plouffe made it 80,000 to play. Hochman moved all-in for 348,000 and Plouffe snap-called with pocket kings. Up again Hochman's [as][kh], Plouffe was in good shape until the [ah] hit on the flop. Suffice it to say, the five-foot radius around Plouffe is now a place you enter only if you are collecting hazardous duty pay. --BW

2:00pm: Selbst invites Busquet to value-town, Busquet declines
Vanessa Selbst opened for 27,000 from under-the-gun and Olivier Busquet called from the big blind. Both players checked the [Ac][9s][7d] flop. The turn came the [5d] and Busquet checked again. Selbst bet 38,000 and Busquet came along. When the [Qh] hit the river, Busquet checked to Selbst who made it 48,000 to go. After a long think, Busquet folded. Selbst flashed the [6d][8h] for the turned straight.

"I was hoping to get some value there," she said. Busquet confessed to having a suited ace in diamonds for top pair on the flop and a flush draw on the turn. --KB

1:52pm: So long, Sandhu
Joe Tehan came in for a raise to 26,000 from the cutoff. Sukh Sandhu had 102,000 more and moved all-in. Tehan made the call with [9h][th]. Sanhu held [5c][5s]. He looked good on the [ac[2s][8d] flop, but that [js] turn and [qd] river ended his day in 19th place. --BW

1:35pm: Adam Geyer out in 20th
Adam Geyer met his tournament end following a battle of the blinds that saw him get the rest of his chips in the pot with [As][Tc] against David Stefanski's [Ad][Jd]. Stefanski hit top pair on the turn, the board running out [7h][8c][2s][Jd][6d] to send Geyer to the rail. Stefanski is up to 745,000. --KB

1:20pm: Tryba's day ends
An early-days chip leader, Chris Tryba could go no further than 21st place. The end came just now when he opened to 20,000. Jacobo Fernandez three-bet to 60,000. Tryba shoved for 184,000 total, and Fernandez made the call. Tryba's [6s][6h] was behind [jc][jh]. The board ran out [7c][8c][8s][as][8h] and Tryba headed for the rail. --BW

1:11pm: Back in action
The 21 remaining players are back in their seats and ready to play at 6,000-12,000-1,000. --BW

1:04pm: A few words from our chip leader
If you were wondering what was on Vanessa Selbst's mind as she sat down today with the chip lead, here's a little peek. --BW

LEVEL UP. BLINDS NOW 6,000-12,000-1,000

12:57pm: Battle of blinds ends Loman
Kyle Loman was down below 200,000 and in desperate need of a double-up. With [ah][jc] in the small blind, he didn't figure to get a better chance. Unfortunately for Loman, Steve O'Dwyer woke up with [ac][kc] in the big blind. O'Dwyers hand held and Loman left in 22nd place. Players are now on a 15-minute break. --BW

12:55pm: Phillipe Plouffe doubles through Adam Geyer
On the last hand before the break, Adam Geyer opened for 23,000 and got a call from Joe Tehan in the cutoff before Phillipe Plouffe shoved from the small blind. Geyer re-shoved and Tehan folded.

It was a standard race, Plouffe's [Ac][Jh] up against Geyer's [8h][8c]. Plouffe flopped a jack and turned an ace to double his stack to 440,000 while Geyer fell to 385,000. --KB

12:38pm: Eric Froehlich eliminated in 23rd place, Selbst nears 2 million
And the rich get richer.

Vanessa Selbst opened for 22,000 from the cutoff and Eric Froehlich made the call from the big blind. Froehlich checked the [Tc][9d][2d] flop over to Selbst, who made it 28,000 to go. Froehlich called, and the [Qc] landed on the turn. Froehlich checked, Selbst bet 62,000, Froehlich moved all-in, and Selbst snap-called, revealing a set of deuces. Froehlich needed serious help with [Js][Th] but he could not fill his straight draw on the river, the [Jh] falling instead to give him a no-good two pair. Froehlich hit the payout desk in 23rd while Selbst's stack crested the 2,000,000 mark. --KB

12:28pm: Jonathan Schroer eliminated in 24th place
Jonathan Schroer, our man of a thousand quirks (resting his head on the table during all-ins, scooting his chair three feet back from the table to peer at his hole cards) is Day 4's first casualty. After Thomas Hoglund opened for 21,000, Schroer shoved from the cutoff, only to have Dan Shak re-shove right behind him on the button. Hoglund folded and the cards went on their backs, Shak with pocket tens and Schroer with [Ad][Kc]. Schroer could not catch up on the [9h][5h][3c][Qd][6c] board and departed in 24th place, while Shak's stack rose to 670,000. --KB

12:21pm: Busquet takes it with a four-bet
Following Jean-Phillipe Matte's opening raise to 21,000, Nenad Medic made it 56,000 to go from middle position. The action folded to Olivier Busquet in the big blind, who made a cold four-bet to 100,000. Matte quickly folded and Medic, after quite a long tank, did the same.--KB

12:18pm: David Stefanski doubles through Joe Tehan
Adam Geyer opened for 22,000 from under-the-gun, Joe Tehan flat-called and David Stefanski moved all-in from the big blind. Geyer folded and Tehan called.

Stefanski: [As][Ks]
Tehan: [Ah][Qh]

No disasters for Stefanski on the [Ad][8c][4s][Jd][5d] board and he doubled to 322,000, leaving Tehan on 380,000. --KB

12:15pm: Joseph Gibbons doubles through Jacobo Fernandez
Jonathan Schroer led off the action with a raise to 22,000 and Joseph Gibbons called on the button before Jacobo Fernandez made it an additional 65,000 to go from the small blind. Schroer folded and after a long tank, Gibbons called. The flop came down [Kd][9c][7c] and Fernandez moved all-in,having Gibbons significantly covered. He snap-called, turning over [7d][7s] for bottom set while Fernandez revealed [As][Ks]. The set held through the [Tc] on the turn and the [2s] on the river, doubling Gibbons to 215,000. --KB

12:10pm: Play underway
The final 24 players have kicked off play for the day. As the cards went in the air on Table 1, the players started calling out their ages. Nenad Medic thought he was getting old at age 28. Olivier Busquet, on his way to 30, said he had Medic beat. The old man at the table, Jean-Philippe Matte, quietly informed them he was the senior member of the table at 30 years old. I've never felt so aged and decrepit. --BW

As we set up our gear this morning, a polite young man approached the media desk, asking where on the PokerStars Blog he could find the post containing the overnight chip counts.

"All I can find is last year's, when Vanessa Selbst was the chip leader," he said.

We informed him that no, he was not hallucinating, he had indeed found the correct post and that Selbst was once again the overnight chip leader following a Day 3 that saw the field trimmed from 74 to the 24 that will unbag their chips in about thirty minutes' time. Today's mission? To play down to a final table of eight that could very well include defending champion Selbst. Stacked at 1,406,000, she has a 383,000 lead over second-in-chips Vincent Rubianes, the only other player who has crossed the seven-figure mark.

For a full look at the chip counts and today's table draw, click over to the NAPT Mohegan Sun Day 4 seating assignments. We'll also be tracking the first day of the $10,000 Bounty Shootout, which is about to start its first flight over on the ESPN set.

Stick around, it's going to be a jam-packed day of poker up here in the Connecticut woods. We'll be underway at Noon with 48 minutes remaining in Level 19.

Reporting team (in order of 12-oz. cocktails consumed last night): Kristin "change100" Bihr (2), Brad Willis (0). Photography: Joe Giron

Adriano Pucci was faced with Richard Lyndaker's all-in -- it would cost him 9,375 more to call. Pucci lifted up his sunglasses and stared at his chips, then at Lyndaker, then back at his chips. They fell back down as he looked at Lyndaker again.

"You want a call?" asked Pucci.

Lyndaker sighed and was in the middle of saying "I don't care," when Pucci jumped up, announced the call and threw 10,000 into the pot. He also showed [9s][9c], Lyndaker tabled [10c][10s] and Pucci groaned.

"I even got your suits covered," said Lyndaker.

"That's O.K., a nine is all I need," replied Pucci.

The board came [ad][2s][jc][6s], and a [8d] on the river brought brief gasps from the table before they realized it wasn't a nine.

"Wow, don't do that to me again," Lyndaker told the dealer.

Nick Mitchell looked at him and laughed, "What, give you a double up?" --AV

1.21pm: Late to arrive, early to leave
Pat White, who arrived into level three, has been eliminated before the end of level four. David Hilton got him. -- HS

1.20pm: Tournament housekeeping
As the Main Event took a break, Joe Gibbons swung by to check on his friend Adriano Pucci. He's doing just fine, Joe.

The tournament staff also made an announcement to the Bounty Shootout area: winners of the three eight-handed tables will get $36,000 each, and the winner of the nine-handed table will get $40,000. -- HS

1.15pm: Berg busts Peng
It's not a good day to be called Vanessa, as Ms Peng has just followed Ms Rousso out the door. Jonathan Duhamel started it, but Elijah Berg finished it, leaving the "Spades" table down to six.

Duhamel opened with a standard raise and it was folded to Peng on the button. She moved all in, and then Berg also moved all in from the small blind. Duhamel had the chance to eliminate both of them, but thought better of it and folded. That left just Peng and Berg, and Peng was in trouble.

Peng: [kc][qs]
Berg: [as][kd]

The board ran blank and the ace high was decisive. Peng departs. -- HS

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 400-800-100 IN LEVEL 4

12.55pm: Survival of the fittest
Nicholas Petrangelo will not survive to see level 4.

In the last hand of level 3, Scott Blackman raised to 1,500 and was met with a 4,200 re-raise by Petrangelo. Blackman put his remaining stack of blue chips in the pot and announced all-in. Petrangelo called, putting his tournament life at risk.

Blackman tabled [js][jh] and was flipping against Petrangelo's [ah][qc].

The board came [6s][6h][9c][9s][2s] and Petrangelo was eliminated. Blackman now has over 60,000 and is the chip leader at his table.

Around the same time, two tables away, Blake Purvis eliminated Lawrence Greenberg. --AV

12.50pm: Williams wasted
The feature table has lost another player - and arguably its main attraction. David Williams has now hit the rail, unable to hit his straight flush draw and losing to Paul Matteo's full house.

All the money went in on a board of [3s][jd][2c]. Williams had 14,150 and [ac][5c]. Matteo had him covered in chips and had [js][10d] in his hand. The [jh] on the turn only helped Matteo, and the [10s] made his hand even better.

Williams departs. -- HS

12.45pm: White in
Pat White, a late registrant, has arrived and paid his $10,000 for a seat at Eugene Katchalov's table. That one is now playing nine handed. -- HS

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 300-600-75 IN LEVEL 3

12.28pm: Pilgrim's bounty
Dwyte Pilgrim has just earned his first bounty, a shiny oversized chip with a PokerStars logo and Eric Wasserson's face.

Pilgrim and Wasserson went all-in in a fierce pre-flop battle. Wasserson, with 33,825, was at risk with his [kh][kc]. His risk was even greater when Pilgrim showed pocket aces.

The board brought no kings to rescue Wasserson and his bounty was claimed. --AV

12.25pm: Rousso put out of her misery
This has been a tournament to forget for Vanessa Rousso, who has just become the first player eliminated from Flight A. It was another massive confrontation on the feature table, a three way all in featuring these hands:

Rousso: [6d][6h]
Eric Wasserson: [5d][5s]
Michael Pesek: [kc][ks]

Pesek had both of his adversaries well covered in chips - Rousso's all in was for 2,150, Wasserson's 14,250 more - and also had the biggest pair. But the flop of [5h][9d][jd] vaulted Wasserson into the lead, where he stayed through the [7h][3c] turn and river.

Rosso departs, Wasserson triples and picks up the Rousso bounty to boot. -- HS

12.23pm: Safety first
Michael Pesek was short-stacked with [as][kh] and he decided to go all-in. Team PokerStars Pro David Williams decided to call with [ad][qd].

The flop came [6c][4h][qc], giving Williams the lead, but he knew how cruel poker can be.

"One more for safety," said Williams. "Queen of hearts, let's go!"

The turn did not heed to Williams' request and brought a [kd].

"I knew it," Williams sighed.

The river was a [2s], giving Pesek the double up. "Good hand," said Williams. --AV

12.20pm: Always bet on Black(man)
"I'll be in the Borgata every weekend," said Scott Blackman as he raked in his freshly won double up. "And I'll get it in as a three-to-one dog as much as I can."

Although most statisticians would not recommend this strategy, it worked out for Blackman in this particular hand.

Blackman was all-in preflop against Nick Mitchell. Blackman's [ad][qh] was up against Mitchell's [as][kc] and Blackman was, indeed, an underdog.

The flop was [7d][6d][3c], reducing Blackman's odds even more. But a [qs] on the turn would put Blackman in the lead, and a [6h] on the river would keep him there.

Blackman doubled up to 45,000 while Mitchell is now around the 15,000 mark. --AV

12.15pm: Small pot straightens into a larger one
Elijah Berg has added some more to his good-sized stack, rivering broadway to beat Paul Volpe. Berg opened pre-flop, making it 1,000. Volpe called from the big blind and they went to a [2s][10h][2c] flop. They both checked.

They also both checked the turn of [kd] but when the [jc] rivered, the chips started moving. Volpe bet 2,850, Berg raised to 6,550 and Volpe called.

Berg tabled [ah][qd] and Volpe mucked when he saw the big straight. --HS

12.10pm: Conley doubles, Rousso again plays the bank
Justin Conley has now got his short stack all in pre-flop on the feature table and again Vanessa Rousso took him on. This time Rousso had [ad][kd] but she was behind again - Conley had [qd][qh]. The [qc] was one of the flop cards and Rousso couldn't catch a miracle.

The Team PokerStars Pro is now very, very short. -- HS

12.05pm: Pilgrim doubles
On the TV table, Dwight Pilgrim had somehow found himself short stacked and got it all in, under-calling a Vanessa Rousso shove. He was ahead with [ad][ks] to Rousso's [as][qc] and stayed that way through a blank board.

As mentioned, it's a little tricky to see many of the subtleties going on over there on the television set, but I'm guessing that Rousso must now be a relative short stack after that skirmish. -- HS

12.00pm: Berg's kings
Elijah Berg and Blake Purvis found themselves in a multi-thousand chip pot.

The board read [9d][qc][kc] and Berg, from the small blind, check-called Purvis' 2,000 bet. The turn brought a heartier king, [kh], and a heartier bet, 3,300, from Berg. Purvis called and a [6s] came on the river. Berg led out again with a 5,000 blue chip.

Purvis called and Berg showed [ad][kd], good for trip kings and the pot. Berg is now over the 40,000 mark while Purvis' stack dwindled to 12,025. -- AV

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 200-400-50 IN LEVEL TWO

11.55am: Paging one world champion
There are still a couple of empty seats here, with stacks being blinded away. Those players have registered but were clearly frightened out of their wits by the 11am start and haven't yet showed. One of them was Jonathan Duhamel, whose seat on the spades table remained empty for the first 45 minutes. But someone has now located the World Champion, and he has arrived. -- HS

11.50am: Joey boy!
Adriano Pucci has been railing his friend Joe Gibbons all the way to the final three tables of the Main Event, but has today taken his own seat in the $10,000 Bounty Shootout. He's started well, too, and has just taken a pretty good early pot from Richard Lindaker.

In the cut-off, Lindaker raised to 500, and Pucci called from the button. It was just the two of them to a flop of [8d][js][7d]. Lindaker bet 700, Pucci called, and the [4c] turned.

Lindaker bet 1,800 at that, which Pucci also called, and the pattern repeated on the river of [qd]. Lindaker bet 3,500 and Pucci called. Lindaker showed his [8h][4h] but Pucci had been ahead at all stages with his [qc][jd].

"Joey boy!" Pucci said with a smile directed to Gibbons, who is repeating the favour and railing Pucci in the hour before he returns to Main Event competition. -- HS

11.35am: Featured table
The Team PokerStars Pro duo of Vanessa Rousso and David Williams were the obvious choice for the feature table. That's good news for television viewers later in the year, but less so for us live bloggers; we can barely see the action on the TV set. I can hear Rousso doing a lot of raising - there's a man with a microphone calling the action - but it'll be a bit tough to see exactly what's going on. -- HS

11.30am: Early action
With the 25 ante and 100-200 blinds, play is already pretty hasty. On the "hearts" table, Nick Mitchell bet 850 at a flop of [ah][10h][3s], which Scott Seiver called. The [2c] turned and Mitchell checked, prompting a bet of 1,200 from Seiver. Mitchell responded with a raise to 3,500 and Seiver let it go. -- HS

11.25am: Play is under way
We're playing blinds of 100-200 with a 25 ante in level one. The starting stack is 25,000.

Morning all, and welcome back to NAPT Mohegan Sun for the start of the $10,000 Bounty Shootout. This event has become a regular and popular fixture on the North American Poker Tour - and on the television screens of millions of households worldwide.

It's a format that lends itself wonderfully to television. On day one, we play eight sit-and-goes and the winner of each goes through to Thursday's final.

Essentially it's a winner-take-all prize structure, with the added complication/excitement of a "bounty" chip.

To explain: at the very start of the day, each player is also given a big chip with a picture of their face on it, which is their bounty. When that player is eliminated, they hand over the bounty chip to their assassin, and the sniper earns $2,000.

The winner of the most bounties will also win a seat at the next NAPT Bounty Shootout event.

Here's how they line up for the first flight today:

Hearts
1 Richard Lindaker
2 Adriano Pucci
3 Scott Blackman
4 Nick Mitchell
5 Scott Seiver
6 Nicholas Petrangelo
7 Dan O'Brien
8 Matt Glantz

Clubs
1 Curt Kohlberg
2 Eugene Katchalov
3 Robert Dalton
4 Steven Kelly
5 David Hilton
6 Chau Giang
7 Nick Schulman
8 Michael DeGilio

Spades
1 Jonathan Duhamel
2 Melanie Weisner
3 Paul Volpe
4 Jimmie Guinther
5 Vanessa Peng
6 Elijah Berg
7 Blake Purvis
8 Lawrence Greenberg

Diamonds
1 Paul Matteo
2 Vanessa Rousso
3 Eracles Panayiotou
4 David Williams
5 Eric Wasserson
6 Michael Pesek
7 Dwyte Pilgrim
8 Justin Conley

Play was due to start at 11am, but as I write this there are still more members of television crew than there are players in front of me and it's already 11.10am. -- HS

Reporting team: Howard Swains and Alex Villegas. Photography: Joe Giron.

Those players will reconvene on Tuesday to play down to a final table of eight. How they will line up is below.

Check out the prizewinners page for the names of those who have already taken their money and run.

Day four seating assignments

Table one
1 Nenad Medic 350,000
2 Eric Froehlich 420,000
3 Vincent Rubianes 1,023,000
4 Taylor von Kriegenbergh 289,000
5 Aaron Overton 907,000
6 Olivier Busquet 356,000
7 Vanessa Selbst 1,406,000
8 Jean-Philippe Matte 331,000

Table two
1 Corey Hochman 355,000
2 Thomas Hoglund Jr 629,000
3 Joe Tehan 490,000
4 Sukh Sandhu 267,000
5 Philippe Plouffe 293,000
6 David Stefanski 162,000
7 Adam Geyer 803,000
8 Ara Melikian 233,000

Table three
1 Dan Shak 488,000
2 Chris Tryba 361,000
3 Joseph Gibbons 179,000
4 Jacobo Fernandez 813,000
5 Tyler Kenney 478,000
6 Kyle Loman 340,000
7 Steve O'Dwyer 507,000
8 Jonathan Schroer 231,000

74 players returned to the felt for Day 3, 18 of them unfortunately departing without a penny to show for their work. Among them were Todd Terry, Greg Dyer, David Robinson, Ronnie Bardah, last season's 12th-place finisher Alan Sternberg, and Team Online's Andrew Brokos, whose pocket jacks fell to Andrew Weisner's ace-king. The bubble burst only a few minutes into Level 16. Nick Binger had already seen his pocket aces snapped off when four spades appeared on the board, making Adam Junglen the nut flush with [As][Qd]. The two tangoed again in the bubble hand, Binger getting his stack in before the flop with [Qs][Qh] against Junglen's [Ac][Jh]. Everything looked fine for Binger until an ace spiked on the river to crack his queens.

"Bubbling builds character," Binger told us after the dust had settled. "I have this reserve of character that just keeps growing and growing." We wish we shared his zen attitude, as at least one of us has the tendency to hurl objects and punch walls in that very situation.

Three Team Pros survived the bubble-- Greg DeBora, Victor Ramdin, and defending champion Selbst. Our blonde Canadian friend was the first of them to depart, DeBora losing a race with pocket sixes against Christopher Kirkwood's ace-queen to go out in 49th place. Ramdin, after a trademark up-and-down day followed him out the door a short time later. Following an 18,000 under-the-gun raise from Joseph Gibbons, Adam Geyer called on the button and Ramdin put the squeeze on from the small blind, moving all-in for his last 53,500. Nenad Medic tanked for an age in the big blind before four-bet shoving for 206,000, a move that folded out both Gibbons and Geyer. Ramdin's [Tc][Td] couldn't catch Medic's [Jd][Js] and he exited in 31st place.

Aside from Vanessa Selbst's remarkable run at back-to-back titles, another one of the day's headlines belonged to Steve O'Dwyer. Down to only 10,000 in chips with an hour left to play on Day 2, O'Dwyer managed to grind his stack back up to the 108,700 he bagged up at the end of the night. Today, nothing could stop him. He started the day by doubling up through mega-stacked Aaron Overton with pocket aces again [Ah][Kc]. He knocked out Jesse Kremer when he flopped a set of sevens against [Ah][Qh] and did the same to Michael Quibble when he picked up pocket aces and Quibble shoved with sevens. With 36 players remaining, O'Dwyer lead the pack with 770,000 and finished Day 3 with a formidable 507,000.

O'Dwyer's reign at the top didn't last long. The bullet train that is Vanessa Selbst vaulted to 833,000 in chips after getting maximum value when she turned a straight with [7d][8d] against Jean-Phillippe Matte's pocket jacks. It wasn't quite the OMG she did WHAT moment like last night's five-bet shove with [4d][8d], but it sure did the job.

For a while there, we thought the Day 3 chip lead would certainly belong to Vincent Rubianes, a man with a traffic-stopping head of hair who cashed this event last season in 71st place. Rubianes arrived this morning with an average stack and steadily built it all afternoon, reaching a high-water mark of 1.4 million after eliminating Ruben Costa in a million-chip pot. He'd play another one by night's end, this one a game-changer involving our defending champion.

Olivier Busquet led off the action with a raise to 21,000. Rubianes three-bet to 55,000 before Selbst four-bet to 109,000 on the button. Busquet folded and Rubianes called. The flop fell [Tc][5d][2c] and Rubianes checked to Selbst, who bet 129,000. He made the call and they went to the turn which landed the [Jc]. Both players checked. The river was a fourth club, the [3c] and Rubianes checked a third time, leaving the door open for Selbst to bet 296,000. After a long, tortured tank, he made the call. Selbst turned over [Kc][Ks] for the second-nut flush and Rubianes mucked. The pot gave Selbst the chip lead with 1,406,000 while Rubianes slipped to 1,023,000, still good for second place.

We'll be back tomorrow at Noon when our 24 contenders play down to a final table of eight. If you missed any of the action today (or would just like to re-live it), click on either of the links below.

Level 15-16 updates
Level 17-19 updates

For a look at how much everyone bagged up tonight, check out the NAPT Mohegan Sun chip count page. To see where our dearly departed cash finishers ended their tournament, head over to the NAPT Mohegan Sun prizes and winners page. Multimedia nuts, look no further than PokerStars.tv for all your video needs. For a sneak peek of tomorrow's table draw, click over to the Day 4 seating assignments.

That's all for now. There's some Chinese food and a karaoke bar waiting for us.

All photography © Joe Giron/www.joegironphotography.com

6:36pm: Selbst ends day with chip lead
Last year's NAPT Mohegan Sun champion has ended Day 3 with the chip lead after a massive hand against Vincent Rubianes.

It began when Olivier Busquet came in for a raise to 21,000. Rubianes made it 51,000 to play. With the button, Selbst bumped it up to 109,000. Busquet got out of the way, but Rubianes called.

On a flop of [2c][5d][tc], Rubianes checked-called Selbst's 129,000 bet. On the [jc] turn, both players checked. When the river brought the fourth club, the [3c], Rubianes checked again. Selbst took her time in betting, but finally settled on 296,000. Rubianes sat tortured. He threw his head back and looked into the ceiling. When he emerged for his tank, he announced a call.

Selbst turned over [ks][kc]. Rubianes said, "It's good," and shoved his hand toward the muck.

We're still counting up the chips, but there is little doubt Selbst will enter Day 4 with the chip lead.

Moments later, Leonard Cortellino got [ks][qc] all in against Sukh Sandhu's pocket fours. The pair held and we were down to the final 24. A full wrap-up and chip counts are on the way. --BW

6.20pm: A quarter left
In short order, we've also lost the short-stacked Gerald Aiello and Eracles Panayiotou, leaving us with 25 players left. One more needs to perish and day is done. -- HS

6.15pm: Rubianas crushes Costa, breaks a million
At the recent break, Vincent Rubianes told reporters that his chip count was 980,000, then nodded agreeably when someone piped up: "Good day." It has just got even better for Rubianes because he has sent one of the other mighty stacks, Ruben Costa, to the rail in a massive pre-flop confrontation, worth more than a million chips.

Eric Froehlich opened, making it 24,000 and Rubianes raised to 55,000. Costa announced that he was all in - a stack of 450,000 - and although Froehlich folded, Rubianes called!

Rubianes: [kd][ks]
Costa: [10c][10d]

The board bricked, Costa was sent packing and Rubianes has close to 1.5 million, which puts him massively in the lead. -- HS

LEVEL UP. PLAYING BLINDS OF 5,000-10,000-1,000 IN LEVEL 19

5.55pm: Level over
That's the end of level 17. There will now be a 15-minute interlude.

5:50pm: Junglen can't beat kings
Joe Tehan came in for a raise to 19,000. Adam Junglen pushed for about 100,000 more. Tehan made the quick call with [kh][kc]. Junglen's [ac][js] was behind and never caught up. Tehan flopped a set that held and sent Junglen out for a $10,500 cash. --BW

5.45pm: Ebanks busts
There are no more details than what you see there in the headline. Joe Ebanks is out. -- HS

5.40pm: Can anyone stop Vanessa Selbst?
We've said it before and we'll say it again: something about Mohegan Sun agrees with Vanessa Selbst. She is now very close to the chip lead on day three after doubling up to 833,000 through Jean-Philippe Matte.

Selbst flat-called a pre-flop raise from Matte, taking the two of them to a flop of [5s][9c][3d]. Matte checked, Selbst bet 32,000, and Matte called. The pattern repeated on the [6h] turn. Matte checked, Selbst bet 63,000, Matte called.

And how about one more time? The [3c] rivered and Matte checked, Selbst moved all in for 296,000, which Matte called. Selbst tabled [7d][8d] for the turned straight, which had become much better than Matte's pocket jacks.

Selbst is relentless, we already know that. But back-to-back here would be some achievement even for her. -- HS

5.30pm: Ramdin bites the dust
Vanessa Selbst is the only remaining Team PokerStars Pro in the field, which is the long way to say that Victor Ramdin has been eliminated.

This hand sounds a lot more complicated than it really was, and involved a lot of hand-wringing and chin scratching from four players, before shaking down to be a pair versus over-pair.

It started when Joseph Gibbons opened under-the-gun to 18,000. Adam Geyer called on the button, before Ramdin announced that he was all in for his last 53,500 from the small blind.

Nenad Medic was probably expected to fold his big blind at this spot, but he actually agonised for a good long while before announcing that he was all in too, for 206,000. Gibbons seemed interested, but folded. Geyer never seemed interested, and folded too.

That left the two of them:

Ramdin: [10c][10d]
Medic: [jd][js]

"I need a ten," said Ramdin, but it soon proved that that was the last thing he really wanted. The flop came [qc][as][kd] and Ramdin quickly corrected himself. "I want a jack." But verbal declarations are binding, and the [10s] turned, as Ramdin has first desired, but it now gave Medic a decisive straight.

The [3s] was not one of the chop cards, and Ramdin hit the rail. -- HS

5.15pm: Gibbons doubles, Junglen slips
It is going nuts now out there with huge pot following huge pot and players milling all over the place as they try to consolidate the final 32 around four tables. Ad Dan Shak et al heaved their mighty stacks over from their broken table, Adam Junglen and Joseph Gibbons were involved in a pot, which bucked the general bust out trend. In fact Gibbons doubled up.

Vincent Rubianes started it, raising to 25,000. Gibbons called from a couple of seats to his left and, in the small blind, Junglen eaised to 64,000. Rubianes folded but Gibbons moved all in for 145,500, which Junglen called after a moment of thought.

Junglen: [jd][jh]
Gibbons: [kh][qh]

The flop sent Gibbons fist-pumping to his rail. It came [7c][4s][qs]. The [ah] turn changed nothing, and neither did the [10c] river.

Gibbons now has about 300,000. Junglen is down to 140,000.

About two seconds after this, Matt Matros bust from another table, bringing us down to 31. -- HS

5:14pm: Royalty no match for Geyer
Bryan Leskowitz did all he could today, but his all-in with [ks][qd] couldn't outrun Adam Geyer's pocket tens. The board ran out [8s][9d][ah][[8c][ad] and Leskowitz headed to the cage in 33rd place. --BW

5:12pm: Rubianes running the table
With the board reading [Tc][4d][Kd][Js] on the turn, Vincent Rubianes checked to Adam Junglen, who bet 32,000. Rubianes called, and the [Jh] hit the river. Rubianes checked again, Junglen bet 48,000 and Rubianes raised to 212,000. Junglen folded with a small sigh, saving the 280,000 he had behind while Rubianes moved into the chip lead with 785,000. --KB

5:10pm: Mermelstein is going to Mexico
It looks like Andrew Mermelstein will make that wedding in Mexico after all. After opening from the button, Mermelstein faced a three-bet from Dan Shak in the small blind. Mermelstein called, and they saw a J-T-8 flop. Shak moved all-in, having his opponent covered and Mermelstein made the call, turning up J-8 for top and bottom pair. Shak showed pocket aces. Mermelstein, however, was drawing dead on the turn when Shak spiked another ace to make top set. Shak filled up on the river when the board paired tens and Mermelstein was off to the payout desk, then the airport.

The pot took Shak up to 525,000.--KB

5pm: Tryba ousts Kirkwood, back beyond 300,000
The day one leader Chris Tryba is still in this one, and has now knocked out Christopher Kirkwood, all but doubling up in the process.

Joe Tehan opened the pot to 18,500 and Kirkwood moved all in from the cut-off, a total of 140,000. Tryba, in the blinds, woke up with queens and snap-called. (Tehan did not.)

It was pair versus pair, but Tryba's queens were better than Kirkwood's sevens. The board bricked and Kirkwood was sent packing. There was only the odd 40,000 difference between the stacks but Tryba's was the bigger and is now at 300,000+.

* Please note, the reporting of this hand was butchered the first time around. It is now correct. -- HS

4:58pm: Geyer smells a rat, Weisner smells the rail
On a [7d][6d][5s] flop, Andrew Weisner moved all in for 92,500. Geyer thought for several minutes before making the call with [kc][5d]. Weisner turned up the flush and straight draws with [ad][4d]. Somehow, the pair of fives held and Weisner is gone. --BW

4.55pm: Right back at ya
The problem with three bets is that sometimes people four bet right back at them - as Taylor von Kriegenbergh could no doubt attest. It happened to him in back-to-back pots against Olivier Busquet and then Ruben Costa, costing him about 100,000 chips total.

First up, Busquet opened to 20,000 from early position and Von Kriegenbergh, in the big blind, made it 55,000. Busquet now four bet to 96,000, which left Von Kriegenbergh smiling and muttering: "That's an illegal bet" as he folded.

On the next hand, Costa raised from the button to 17,000 and Von Kriegenbergh bumped it to 45,000. Costa slid out 100,000 straight, and Von Kriegenbergh was forced to fold again. Costa showed [kh][8h].

All three players still have between 350,000-450,000, so there's no need for panic just yet. -- HS

4:48pm: Updated chip counts
Get 'em while they're fresh! Chip counts on all 36 of our remaining players are up on the NAPT chip count page. Over the last level, Steve O'Dwyer moved into the lead with 770,000 while Victor Ramdin is the shortest stack in the room right now with 66,500. --KB

4.40pm: Take a longer break
First hand back after the break, and Vincent Rubianes has sent David Weisberger back to the hall. Rubianes raised to 19,500 pre-flop in late position, Weisberger shoved behind him and Rubianes snap-called.

Rubianes had aces; Weisberger had [ad][jh] and could not catch up. Weisberger is our 37th-place finisher. -- HS

LEVEL UP. BLINDS 4,000-8,000-500

4:24pm: A vulture's view of Victor Ramdin
It all began when Adam Geyer opened for a raise and Victor Ramdin moved all-in. He only had [ad][tc], but it was probably going to be enough to beat Geyer. The problem was Gerald Aiello in the big blind who woke up with pokert queens. Aiello had 54,500 in his stack and Ramdin was left crippled.

Ramdin laughed and told Aiello, "That was a raise and a re-raise. You were supposed to fold!"

That's when the vultures started to circle. Ramdin would be gone soon, and his demise would be late afternoon snack.

Ramdin was all-in on the next hand for 7,500. Called in two spots, Ramdin looked ready to find something to do tonight. The Team Pro was holding ace-king and didn't improve. His opponents couldn't beat ace-high.

"Oh, baby," Ramdin declared. "Ship that cheese!"

On the next deal, Ramdin was under the gun and all-in again. "Here we go. This is a real hand, folks." Play folded around to the big blind. "Don' fold," Ramdin implored. "You're pot-committed. Just call dark. I'm not going to be pissed."

Ramdin got the fold he wanted. "Thank you," he said. "I had eight-high." He showed it. It was Vanessa Selbst's [8d][4d]

Now in the big blind, Ramdin warned, "You guys know I'm pot-committed, right?"

Everything Ramdin says is a lie. Or the truth. It's hard to figure out which or when. He folded to a raise, and then folded to a raise in the small blind. With 30,000 in his stack, he pulled the button in front of him and folded to a raise. He did the same when he was in the cutoff.

"If I bust here, I'll go ship the Super Tuesday," Ramdin said.

"Victor," I interrupted. "Today is Monday."

"I'll have to stick around then," he said.

Finally, on the last hand before the break, Ramdin pushed out 28,500 in chips. "All of it, guys," he said. "This could hurt your stack."

One player folded. "Nit," said Ramdin.

Another player folded. "Another nit," Ramdin said.

Andre Weisner was having none of it. He moved all-in.

"Show me ace-queen," Ramdin said. Weisner turned over [as][qs].

Ramdin tabled pocket threes. The board tan out [jh][tc][2h][7c][ts] and Victor Ramdin was back where he started.

"Oh, baby," Ramdin said again. "I love this game." --BW

4:20pm: Heimowitz hits the road
Once again, ace-queen has yielded quite a nice pot for Adam Junglen. This time, Lonnie Heimowitz shoved for his last 80,000 from the button with [Ah][9h] and Junglen made the call from the big blind with [Ad][Qh]. Junglen's kicker played on the [Ac][Jh][3c][4h][Kd] board and Heimowitz exited in 38th place.

Junglen, meanwhile, is up to 540,000. --KB

4:12pm: Nenad Medic doubles
With the action folded around to him on the button, Christopher Kirkwood opened for 14,500 and Nenad Medic moved all-in for 106,000. Kirkwood didn't take long to make the call, turning up [Ah][Td] to Medic's [8s][8c]. The eights were safe on the [Qc][3h][2c][4c][6d] board and Medic doubled to just short of 225,000. --KB

4.10pm: Kenney trims the beast's claws
Olivier Busquet described Joe Ebanks as "a beast" earlier on today, referring to Ebanks' ability to cling on to tournament life when times are bad and then suddenly burst forward to earn bundles of chips when the opportunity arises. Ebanks has been a short stack for a couple of days, but then suddenly had more than 200,000 on a recent trip round the room.

He pushed Eric Froehlich off a couple of pots to get those chips, but just as it seemed he could do no wrong, along came Tyler Kenney to stop him in his tracks.

Ebanks raised to 13,500 from the hijack, something he's been doing from all positions on regular occasions. Kenney called in the cut off. The flop came [jh][7h][6c] and Ebanks bet 18,000. Kenney called. The turn was [9h] and Ebanks led 41,000 at that, which spurred Kenney into gear.

Kenney, sitting the other side of the dealer, asked Ebanks how much he was playing behind. Ebanks mutely pushed his chips forward a little for Kenney to see. "How much is that?" Kenney sought confirmation. The dealer did the necessary and said Ebanks had about 164,000 more.

Kenney thought for a while but then cut out a raise to 93,000, which sent Ebanks deep into the tank. He dwelled for a good long while before folding. "You going to show?" Ebanks said.

Kenney didn't seem that he had intended to, but was persuaded to flip over a [7s]. Ebanks nodded and on they went. -- HS

3:54pm: Sweeney's swan song
Ara Melikian opened for 13,500 and the action was folded around to Joe Sweeney, who moved all-in for only a few thousand more. Melikian quickly called with [Ah][Kh], while Sweeney's tournament life was at stake with [Qh][Th]. The [Tc][6h][2h] flop was juicy for both players, Sweeney hitting top pair while Melikian picked up the nut flush draw. The turn was the [8c], but the [As] spiked on the river to send Sweeney home in 39th place. --KB

3:45pm: Keeping up with the carnage
If you'd like to keep up with the carnage in a bit cleaner form, we're also keeping up with the bust-outs over on our NAPT Mohegan Sun prizes and winners page.

3:39pm: Adieu, Lachance and Whalen
On back-to-back hands we've lost Ludovic Lachance and David Whalen. Lachance got his last few chips in with [as][qc] vs. Matt Matros' [jd][9c]. The board, [6d][8h][5d][7d][ad], ran out a straight for Matros, and Lachance was gone.

One table over, David Whalen was shoving with [ad][td] to Ara Melikian's [ah][kh]. Melikian held, and Whalen is gone. --BW

3:32pm: Markholt finally falls to Selbst
Vanessa Selbst seemed to be making a habit of doubling up Lee Markholt today. It happened more times than we could count. Nonetheless, at some point in the last half an hour, Markholt somehow lost a majority of his chips.

Just now, his last few antes went in the pot. Both he and Selbst had a jack. Markholt's deuce kicker couldn't hold up against Selbst's eight and he's gone. --BW

3.30pm: Two (vaguely) interesting facts
The day one and day two end-day chip leaders, Chris Tryba and Aaron Overton, are sitting next to one another.
Jacobo Fernandez and the aforementioned Overton are now out front alone, with about 780,000 apiece. -- HS

3:25pm: Junglen busts Papola
Jeff Papola took a coinflip for his tournament life, getting the rest of his chips in the middle before the flop with pocket sevens against Junglen's A-Q. Big Chick once again proved to be a lucky hand for Junglen (it cracked Nick Binger's aces in the first level), as he rivered the [Qs] to eliminate Papola in 43rd place. --KB

3:20pm: Plouffe flops the nuts
Phillipe Plouffe opened for a 13,500 raise from the hijacks, Matt Matros three-bet to 35,000 and Plouffe made the call. Both players checked the [Kc][6c][5c] flop and checked again when the [Ad] fell on the turn. The river was the [3s] and Plouffe led out for 45,000. After a minute or so in the tank, Matros made what looked to be a reluctant call.

Plouffe showed [Ac][Qc] for the flopped nut flush and Matros mucked.

"If it had been a low flop, you would have got it all," Matros said as Plouffe stacked up the pot. Matros is down to 215,000 while Plouffe is hovering around the 400,000 mark. --KB

3:15pm: Steve O'Dwyer and the anti-slowroll
Following an opening raise from Steve O'Dwyer, Michael Quibble moved all-in, and with the following declaration, O'Dwyer beat him into the pot.

"I have aces, I call."

O'Dwyer's [Ac][Ah] held up against Quibble's [7s][7d] on the [Kc][9h][Ts][4s][Kh] board and O'Dwyer vaulted to 556,000 in chips while Quibble departed in 44th place. --KB

3.05pm: Leaders
We enter level 17 with 45 players remaining. Aaron Overton started today out front, and he remains there still with close to 800,000 in chips. However there are a few other players creeping up behind him, including the following:

Players who have cashed already (that's a nice way of putting the fact that they're out) can be found on the prizewinners' page. - HS

Reporting team: Kristin Bihr, Howard Swains and Brad Willis. Photography: Joe Giron.