Hand #4: Skip Wilson

Level 27: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante

Skip Wilson raises from the cutoff to 230,000, winning the blinds and antes.

Seat 1.  Skip Wilson  -  1,220,000
Seat 2.  Michael Benvenuti  -  1,230,000
Seat 3.  Jason Koon  -  2,395,000
Seat 4.  Noah Schwartz  -  3,195,000
Seat 5.  Randal Flowers  -  3,175,000
Seat 6.  Andy Frankenberger  -  2,215,000

Hand #3: Noah Schwartz

Level 27: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante

Noah Schwartz raises under the gun to 215,000, winning the blinds and antes.

Seat 1.  Skip Wilson  -  1,050,000
Seat 2.  Michael Benvenuti  -  1,240,000
Seat 3.  Jason Koon  -  2,445,000
Seat 4.  Noah Schwartz  -  3,285,000
Seat 5.  Randal Flowers  -  3,185,000
Seat 6.  Andy Frankenberger  -  2,225,000

Hand #2: Andy Frankenberger

Level 27: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante

Andy Frankenberger raises from the button to 225,000, winning the blinds and antes.

Seat 1.  Skip Wilson  -  1,060,000
Seat 2.  Michael Benvenuti  -  1,290,000
Seat 3.  Jason Koon  -  2,535,000
Seat 4.  Noah Schwartz  -  3,115,000
Seat 5.  Randal Flowers  -  3,195,000
Seat 6.  Andy Frankenberger  -  2,235,000

Hand #1: Andy Frankenberger

Level 27: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante

Andy Frankenberger raises from the small blind to 225,000, winning the blinds and antes.

Seat 1.  Skip Wilson  -  1,110,000
Seat 2.  Michael Benvenuti  -  1,380,000
Seat 3.  Jason Koon  -  2,545,000
Seat 4.  Noah Schwartz  -  3,125,000
Seat 5.  Randal Flowers  -  3,205,000
Seat 6.  Andy Frankenberger  -  2,065,000

Shuffle Up & Deal!

Level 27: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante

The players have been introduced, and everyone is seated and ready to go. It's time to shuffle up and deal!

There are about eight minutes left in Level 27, with blinds at 40,000-80,000 and a 10,000 ante. It took us more than 12 hours to eliminate seven players yesterday, which explains why the blinds are so high.

WPT Festa al Lago Final Table About to Begin

Level 27: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante

The crowd has been warmed up, and the players are about to be introduced. Play should begin within about 10 minutes or so. Here are the official chip counts:

Seat 1.  Skip Wilson  -  1,200,000  (15 bb)
Seat 2.  Michael Benvenuti  -  1,390,000  (17 bb)
Seat 3.  Jason Koon  -  2,555,000  (31 bb)
Seat 4.  Noah Schwartz  -  3,135,000  (39 bb)
Seat 5.  Randal Flowers  -  3,215,000  (40 bb)
Seat 6.  Andy Frankenberger  -  1,935,000  (24 bb)

Photo Recap: Day 5 of WPT Festa al Lago

Level 27: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante

By BJ Nemeth

The playdown day for WPT Festa al Lago was a crazy one, as the chipleaders crashed early and the short stacks made comebacks -- over and over again. It was a day when short stacks always seemed to find a way to double up, even if they were dominated preflop. Read the photo captions for more details.

It took a little more than 12 hours to play down from 13 players to six, but the televised WPT final table is set:

Seat 1. Skip Wilson - 1,200,000 (15 bb)
Seat 2. Michael Benvenuti - 1,390,000 (17 bb)
Seat 3. Jason Koon - 2,555,000 (31 bb)
Seat 4. Noah Schwartz - 3,135,000 (39 bb)
Seat 5. Randal Flowers - 3,215,000 (40 bb)
Seat 6. Andy Frankenberger - 1,935,000 (24 bb)

And the prizepool they'll be playing for:

1st - $831,500 (includes $25,500 seat into WPT World Championship)
2nd - $564,200
3rd - $344,968
4th - $225,680
5th - $161,200
6th - $112,840


And now, a photographic look back at Day 5 of the WPT Festa al Lago at Bellagio:



Last night, Jeff Madsen grabbed some late-night Chinese food, and found this in his fortune cookie: "Your hard work is about to pay off." Madsen hoped it was a sign of making his first televised WPT final table.



Shortly before Day 5 began, Jeff Madsen (left) and Andy Frankenberger rebuild their chip stacks from the night before.



Annette Obrestad (top left) seems like an innocent young woman, but she commands a powerful presence at the poker table, especially when she has chips. Obrestad began the day as the only player with more than 2 million in chips. Before play began, the other players were jokingly asking her to be merciful.



Day 5 started horribly for Annette Obrestad, as Skip Wilson doubled through her twice in the first hour. In the first hand, they were all in after the flop, Obrestad's overpaid against Wilson's flush draw -- and Wilson turned his flush. Wilson was relatively short-stacked, so Obrestad survived in good shape. But half an hour later, Wilson was all in with QQ against Obrestad's AK -- and you can see the board in this photo. Wilson cheered when he turned a set of queens, but it actually favored Obrestad, who picked up a gutshot straight draw and a flush draw to go with her two overcards. But it wasn't Obrestad's day, and she missed all her outs and was knocked down to just 16 big blinds. Skip Wilson, who started the day in 13th place, was now the chipleader.



Talk about a reversal of fortune -- in less than an hour, Annette Obrestad and Skip Wilson swapped chip stacks and positions on the leaderboard. Obrestad's boyfriend, Scott Montgomery, watches the carnage from the background.



Jeff Madsen (top left) also had a horrible start to Day 5. Madsen started the day in third place on the leaderboard, but he doubled up Michael Benvenuti before losing this race (AQ vs. JJ) to John Monnette (foreground, right). Like Annette Obrestad, Madsen was knocked down to just 16 big blinds, and he had a lot of hard work ahead of him to make his fortune cookie come true.



Now short-stacked, Annette Obrestad moves all in, and Brandon Steven (not pictured) asks if she's looking for a call. Annette says she'll take whatever comes, because she needs chips. Steven eventually folded, and Obrestad showed K6. Obrestad assured him it wasn't a bluff, saying, "Honestly, I'd have taken a call."



Jeff Madsen (background, right) starts work on his comeback, doubling through Andy Frankenberger (center) with KQ against AJ. Madsen caught a queen on the turn and a king on the river to win the pot.



Annette Obrestad moves all in preflop with Q10, but she's dominated by Brandon Steven's A10. Obrestad calls over her friend WPT Anchor Kimberly Lansing (standing, right) to hold her hand for good luck as the board comes out, but it didn't work -- Steven won the pot with ace high, and Annette Obrestad was eliminated in 13th place.



Brandon Steven stacks his chips after eliminating Annette Obrestad in 13th place. Steven was the high-profile 10th-place finisher in this year's WSOP Main Event, just missing a coveted spot in the November Nine. Steven was hoping to redeem himself by making this televised WPT Final Table.



Short stack John Krpan (right) doubled up with AK against the AQ of Randal Flowers (center) with 11 players remaining. (John Monnette was eliminated in 12th place.)



Noah Schwartz (left) reraises Jason Koon after a flop of 10106 with 11 players remaining.



Michael Benvenuti (center) plays a hand against Noah Schwartz (right) during hand-for-hand play with 11 players remaining.



Jeff Madsen (top left) is stunned after he is eliminated in 11th place. Madsen was all in preflop for 15 big blinds with AQ, and he dominated the A5 of Jason Koon (foreground). The flop was a good one for Madsen, but the final board of 8739J gave Koon a spade flush to win the pot. Madsen was motionless for more than 10 seconds as he watched a WPT final table slip out of his reach.



Day 5 took place in Bellagio's poker room, in the high-limit section. While the final 10 players resumed play at a single table, the WPT crew and reporters operated from repurposed poker tables.



Randal Flowers (left) and Andy Frankenberger have both won WPT titles -- Flowers won the WPT Spanish Championship last season, and Frankenberger won the WPT Legends of Poker earlier this season. In this battle-of-the-champions hand, Flowers got the best of it. With the board showing QQ9J on the turn, Flowers moved all in with KQ (trip queens) and doubled through Frankenberger's A10.



With 10 players remaining, Brandon Steven (background, right) talks to Andy Frankenberger (foreground, left) after a flop of 1092. Steven claimed to have had a set, but felt that Frankenberger had a higher set. Steven eventually folded, and Frankenberger took the pot without showing.



John Krpan (right) shakes hands with the other players after busting out in 10th place. Krpan lost a preflop race with 77 against the AK of Jason Koon (not pictured).



Brandon Steven (left) moves all in under the gun, and waits for a decision from Jason Koon (center, left). Koon would eventually fold, but Bobby Suer (far right) would call with AK and win a race against Steven's 88. The hand would cripple Steven, who ultimately busted in ninth place.



Skip Wilson (standing, right) pumps his fists after doubling up with AA against the AQ of Randal Flowers (foreground, left). Wilson didn't play many hands at the final table, but he showed down strong hands whenever he did.



Allen Kessler attempts to make his third televised WPT final table, and is wearing a "Texas Hold'em Chainsaw Massacre" shirt that a fan created.



Michael Benvenuti (far left) puts a bad beat on Bobby Suer (far right) -- Benvenuti was all in preflop with 86 against Suer's QQ, but caught a diamond flush to win the pot. On this day, there were quite a few times when the short-stacked all-in players were dominated preflop and dishing out bad beats.



To keep the game running, Tournament Director Craig Lumpp sits in the box and deals a hand to the final eight players until a new dealer can be rounded up. Lumpp dealt one hand, but it wasn't without controversy, as Jason Koon (foreground, right) open-folded the river in a three-way pot. Koon received a warning, and Andy Frankenberger (left) bet Allen Kessler (seat 9) out of the pot.



After Bobby Suer's elimination in eighth place, the final seven players battle it out on the TV bubble.



WPT Announcer Mike Sexton (standing, left) and the WPT's new "Raw Deal" analyst Tony Dunst (standing, center) check out the action with seven players remaining.



Allen Kessler waits alone at the table during one of the breaks with seven players remaining. Except for the dealer, that is.



A race situation turns into a chop for Randal Flowers (left) and Andy Frankenberger. Flowers was all in with 33 against Frankenberger's AK. The board brought out an eight-high straight, and Jason Koon said, "Well, if there's ever a good time for a chop, I guess it's a race situation."



Michael Benvenuti (foreground, right) lays a bad beat on Jason Koon (foreground, left) when his J6 turns the tables on Koon's A6 -- Benvenuti caught a runner-runner king-high straight.



Skip Wilson (standing, left) doubles up again, this time with 1010 against the 6-6 of Noah Schwartz (right). Wilson seemed to be the only player who could win with the best preflop hand.



A short while earlier, Allen Kessler doubled through Jason Koon with pocket aces against Koon's A-K. Kessler won that battle, but Koon won the war -- in the last hand of the night, Kessler moved all in with AK and ran into Jason Koon's AA. Andy Frankenberger (left) offers condolences to Kessler after his seventh-place finish on the TV bubble.



The televised WPT final table begins tomorrow (Thursday) at 4:00 pm PT, when the final six players will battle it out for the title. Return to WorldPokerTour.com for complete hand-for-hand coverage of all the action, including chip counts after every hand, a winner's interview with WPT Anchor Kimberly Lansing, and a video recap from Jessica Welman and BJ Nemeth.

Deep Stacks and Dinner Comps with Jess and BJ

Level 27: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante

Festa al Lago Final 6

Level 27: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante

The story of the tournament and maybe the year is 37 year old equity derivatives trader Andy Frankenberger who is poised to do what few have ever done before; win two titles in the same season on the WPT. Only five men, Gus Hansen, Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren, Daniel Negreanu and Tuan Le have ever won two in a single season and no one has accomplished the feat since Season Three when both Negreanu and Le bagged two titles. What makes Frankenberger's results even more astounding is that Festa al Lago is only the fourth WPT tournament he has entered. The key to the former Wall Streeters success is being "consistently inconsistent", a counter strategy attack that more often than not leaves his opponents fuming at his unconventional play. When Frankenberger won the Legends of Poker title in Los Angeles in August, former WPT Player of the Year Jonathan Little called Frankenberger a " table clown" on Twitter. No one questions his ability now as Frankenberger is poised to not only match Little's record of two WPT titles but also finds himself only four tournaments into season nine with an almost insurmountable lead for WPT Player of the Year.

That is not to say there are not other stories at the table. Randal Flowers is the youngest WPT champ in history having won the WPT Spanish Championship in Barcelona at the age of twenty. Now 22, Flowers is the chip leader and favorite to become the youngest two-time WPT title holder. Also of note, while in Las Vegas, Flowers is staying at the home of WPT analyst Tony Dunst.

Twenty-seven year old Noah "McLovin" Schwartz is making his second WPT final table alongside first timers Jason Koon and Michael Benvenuti both of them emblematic of the young guns that have taken over live tournament poker. The odd man out at the table is 62 year old Skip Wilson, an inventor and retired businessman from Cincinnati who at first glance would seem to be the soft spot at the table, but looks can be deceiving as Wilson has 16 cashes and 5 final tables in his WSOP resume.

All eyes at the final table today will be on Frankenberger but for Andy it may seem oddly familiar. Just as at the Legends final there will be a 62 year old in the final six (Tom Lee at Legends, Skip Wilson at Bellagio), a hotshot young player with a raucous fan base in the audience (Kyle Wilson/ Randal Flowers), a tough player with previous WPT experience (Jared Jaffee/Noah Schwartz), and a tough young online pro (Tom Braband/Jason Koon). The New Yorker just hopes that it's deja vu all over again.

Hand #185-187: Allen Kessler Eliminated in 7th Place ($80,600)

Level 27: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante

Hand #185 - Noah Schwartz checks a board of KKT8. Randal Flowers bets 220,000 and Schwartz calls.  The river is the J and both players check.  Schwartz shows 99 and takes the pot.

Hand #186 - Allen Kessler moves all-in from middle position, winning the blinds and antes.  He shows the table TT.

Hand #187 - Allen Kessler moves all-in from under the gun and Jason Koon calls from the cutoff.  Before Koon shows his cards, Kessler tells the table, "I guarantee I'm going to lose with this hand." He then turns over AK and Koon shows AA--a reversal of fortune from the last time these two were all-in against each other,

The board runs out 9642Q and Koon's aces hold to eliminate Kessler in seventh place and bring Day 5 of play to a close.