It's opening night for the WPT Celebrity Invitational, which is often called the most fun poker tournament of the year. Several hundred players, with a mix of celebrities, sports stars, poker pros, and VIPs, are playing an event that feels more like a cocktail party than a poker tournament. But everyone has a good time.

There is a single rebuy available for $200, and 100% of those proceeds go to the Chrysalis charity, which does job placement for the poor and the homeless to help them rebuild their lives.

The players begin with 5,000 in chips, and blinds at 25-50. This is a faster structure than we're used to on the World Poker Tour, with 30-minute levels through Level 8, with 40-minute levels after that. Generally, the players see this as a fun event on Day 1, but everyone who survives to Day 2 gets serious as they battle for the six seats at the televised WPT Final Table, where a $200,000 prizepool awaits.

Everyone is seated and ready to go, so it's time to shuffle up and deal!

Sorted In: Featured Blog, Commerce Casino, Tournaments, Season IX, WPT Invitational
08:36 PM, 02/19/11

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RANKING

1	Davidi Kitai	$100,000
2	Almira Skripchenko	$50,000
3	Dan Heimiller	$20,000
4	George Rechnitzer	$15,000
5	Damon Schramm	$10,000
6	Dinara Khaziyeva	$5,000

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Payout Structure

Place	Prize
1	$100,000
2	$50,000
3	$20,000
4	$15,000
5	$10,000
6	$5,000

Level	Blinds	Ante
1	25-50	0
2	50-100	0
3	75-150	0
4	100-200	0
5	100-200	25
6	150-300	25
7	200-400	50
8	300-600	75
9	400-800	100
10	500-1,000	100
11	600-1,200	200
12	800-1,600	200
13	1,000-2,000	300
14	1,200-2,400	400
15	1,500-3,000	500
16	2,000-4,000	500
17	3,000-6,000	1,000
18	4,000-8,000	1,000
19	5,000-10,000	1,000
20	6,000-12,000	2,000
21	8,000-16,000	2,000
22	10,000-20,000	3,000
23	12,000-24,000	4,000
24	15,000-30,000	5,000
25	20,000-40,000	5,000
26	25,000-50,000	5,000
27	30,000-60,000	10,000
28	40,000-80,000	10,000
29	50,000-100,000	10,000
30	60,000-120,000	20,000

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World Poker Tour

WPT CELEBRITY INVITATIONAL

Davidi Kitai Bests Friends and Pros to Win Celebrity Invitational

Davidi Kitai Wins the 2011 WPT Invitational

Hand #102: Davidi Kitai Wins the WPT Celebrity Invitational! ($100,000)

Hand #96: Davidi Kitai Wins a Pot Worth 2.18 Million

Hand #82: Davidi Kitai Wins a Pot Worth 1.7 Million

Hand #73: Almira Skripchenko Doubles Thru Davidi Kitai

Hand #65: Dan Heimiller Eliminated in 3rd Place ($20,000)

Hand #61: Dan Heimiller Doubles Thru Davidi Kitai

Hand #58: George Rechnitzer Eliminated in 4th Place ($15,000)

Hand #57: Almira Skripchenko Doubles Thru George Rechnitzer

Hand #41: Davidi Kitai Doubles Thru Dan Heimiller

Hand #9: Damon Schramm Eliminated in 5th Place ($10,000)

Hand #8: Dan Heimiller Doubles Thru Damon Schramm

Hand #7: Dinara Khaziyeva Eliminated in 6th Place ($5,000)

Hand #6: Almira Skripchenko Doubles Thru Dinara Khaziyeva

Treadmills of Fire with Jess and BJ

Photo Recap: WPT Celebrity Invitational

Day 2 Draws to a Close

Hand #54: Tom Christopher Eliminated in 7th Place ($0)

Hand #39: David Mosikian Eliminated in 8th Place

Hands #34-38: Actor Ashton Holmes Out in 9th Place

Hand #11: George Rechnitzer Doubles Thru Davidi Kitai

Final 10 Players: Seating & Chip Counts

Davidi Kitai Doubles Thru Linda Johnson in Massive Pot

Linda Johnson vs. Antonio Esfandiari

Antonio Esfandiari Doubles Thru Nikolay Evdakov

Phil Laak's Abandoned Chip Stack

Celebrities Who Made The Final Six Tables

Live Near the Red Carpet with Jess and BJ

Day 2 Chip Counts and Seating Assignments

Day 1 Comes to an End; Linda Johnson Chipleader

Chipleader Jennifer Tilly?

Red Carpet Photos

Celebrities Sign the Tables

Oscar-Nominated John Hawkes and Lou Diamond Phillips

Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon

Carlos Mortensen, Camryn Manheim, and Elky Grospellier

Randy Couture Taps Out

WPT Celebrity Invitational: Shuffle Up & Deal!

Live Tournament Updates

WPT Celebrity Invitational: Shuffle Up & Deal!

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RANKING

Payout Structure

Blind Structure