Final Table Set; Tom Dwan the Chip Leader

Level 31: 200,000-400,000, 40,000 ante

“One more player,” has been the recurring theme at this year’s World Poker Finals. On Sunday, the players returned and they were just one player away from reaching the money. Today, the remaining 19 players came back and they were just one player away from the final two tables. Eventually, Young Phan was eliminated by John Myung’s pocket queens and the last 18 players redrew for seats at the final two tables. With every position promising a pay jump, the action was surprisingly quick, and in short succession Bob Williams (18th), Jonathan “fatal error” Aguiar (17th), and Jimmy Tran (16th) were eliminated. Darren Nelson eliminated Williams to boost his stack near 1 million when disaster struck in the form of 2005 WPF champion Nick Schulman. Nelson raised to 75,000 and Schulman made the call. The flop came 763 and Nelson bet 150,000. Schulman moved all in and Nelson made the call, showing 76. Schulman turned over 107. The turn was the 5 giving Schulman his flush and Nelson was down to his last four outs. The river was the 4, which eliminated Nelson in 15th place and took Schulman’s stack close to 3 million. After Vic Cianelli (14th) and Anthony Casagrande (13th) were eliminated, Schulman went back to work by eliminating T.J. Cloutier in 12th place. Schulman raised to 80,000 under the gun and Cloutier reraised to 190,000 from the big blind. Schulman reraised to 490,000 and Cloutier moved all in. Schulman called, showing AA and Cloutier was behind with JJ. The board came 8538A and Cloutier made a jack-high flush, but it wasn’t enough to best Schulman’s aces full. After adding Cloutier’s stack to his own, Schulman had taken a massive chip lead with roughly 4,500,000. With just one more player to go until the final table, last year’s champion Nenad Medic wasn’t having the same success as his counterpart, and was struggling on the short stack. After getting down to his last 300,000 he received a timely double up from Daniel Shiff. Shiff raised to 115,000 and Medic moved all in for 296,000. Shiff called and showed 33. Medic showed AK and the two players were racing. The board ran out 999KQ and Medic doubled up to just over 600,000 to keep his repeat hopes alive. After losing half of his stack to Medic, Shiff was eliminated in 11th place a short time later, when his Q10 was no match for Mike Vela’s AK. Here were the chip counts heading into the final table: Seat 1: Nenad Medic - 664,000 Seat 2: William Pilossoph - 693,000 Seat 3: Mike Vela - 2,494,000 Seat 4: Mark Weitzman - 895,000 Seat 5: Rodney Legendre - 823,000 Seat 6: Mike White - 1,235,000 Seat 7: Freddy Deeb - 1,091,000 Seat 8: John Myung - 2,289,000 Seat 9: Nick Schulman - 4,693,000 Seat 10: Tom "durrr" Dwan - 2,291,000 William Pilossoph has been to a WPT final table before when he finished eighth in the 2007 Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to improve on that finish here, and he was the first to go at the final table. Tom “durrrr” Dwan raised from middle position to 110,000 and Pilossoph moved all in behind him for 389,000. Dwan made the call with 77 and Pilossoph showed AK for a race situation. The board ran out 1074KA, giving Dwan a set, while Pilossoph rivered two pair - too little, too late. Pilossoph was eliminated and he will have to try again to make his television debut. Coming into the day as the chip leader, Freddy Deeb couldn’t get much going at the final table and was the next to go. Deeb moved all in from middle position for his last 545,000, and Dwan called from the cutoff with AJ. Deeb showed KQ and the board came 77598 to eliminate Deeb in ninth place. After stumbling early, Dwan was finally making the right moves at the right time to challenge Schulman for the chip lead. After doubling up Mike Vela, Myung hung on as long as he could but eventually went out in eighth place. Medic raised from middle position to 165,000, and Vela called from late position. Myung moved all in from the big blind for 540,000 and Medic went into the tank for about a minute before mucking his hand. Vela counted out the chips to see how it would affect his stack, and eventually called with 77. Myung showed AQ, and it was a race situation. The board came J9574, and Vela turned a set of sevens to win the pot and eliminate Myung. Rodney Legendre was card dead the entire final table and it showed on his last hand of the night. He moved all in for 955,000, and Mike White called from the small blind. Legendre showed J5, and White clapped his hands as he flipped over AJ.The board came AA827, and White flopped trip aces to win the pot and eliminate Legendre on the TV bubble. As a result, both former WPF champions are still in the hunt for a repeat as the final six will return tomorrow at 4 p.m. EST to battle for the $1,704,986 first place prize money. Here are the final six and chip counts: Seat 1: Nenad Medic – 555,000 Seat 2: Mike Vela – 4,155,000 Seat 3: Mark Weitzman – 855,000 Seat 4: Mike White – 2,455,000 Seat 5: Nick Schulman – 4,395,000 Seat 6: Tom Dwan - 4,875,000

Nick Schulman Looking to Takeover Another WPT Final Table

Level 31: 200,000-400,000, 40,000 ante

Final Table Chipleader Tom "Durrrr" Dwan

Level 31: 200,000-400,000, 40,000 ante

Defending Foxwoods World Poker Finals Champion

Level 31: 200,000-400,000, 40,000 ante

Mike Vela Flying the Family in for Support

Level 31: 200,000-400,000, 40,000 ante

Home Game Hero Mike White

Level 31: 200,000-400,000, 40,000 ante

Another WPT Final Table for Mark Weitzman

Level 31: 200,000-400,000, 40,000 ante

Official Chip Counts

Level 31: 200,000-400,000, 40,000 ante

Here are the official chip counts for tomorrow's televised WPT Final Table: Seat 1 - Nenad Medic - 555,000 Seat 2 - Mike Vela - 4,155,000 Seat 3 - Mark Weitzman - 855,000 Seat 4 - Mike White - 2,455,000 Seat 5 - Nick Schulman - 4,395,000 Seat 6 - Tom "Durrr" Dwan - 4,875,000 There are two defending champions from previous years at this table -- Nenad Medic won this event last year, while Nick Schulman took it down two years ago in Season IV. Stay tuned for a full recap of today's action, and return to WorldPokerTour.com tomorrow at 5:00 pm Eastern time for live hand-for-hand coverage of all the action.

Hands #69-72: Rodney Legendre Eliminated in 7th Place ($162,123)

Level 31: 200,000-400,000, 40,000 ante

The blinds increase to 30,000-60,000, with a 5,000 ante. Hand #69 - Nenad Medic has the button in seat 1, and Dwan raises from the cutoff to 175,000, winning the blinds and antes. Hand #70 - Mike Vela has the button in seat 3, White raises under the gun to 150,000, Weitzman moves all in from the small blind, and White folds. Mark Weitzman takes the pot. Hand #71 - Mark Weitzman has the button in seat 4, and Dwan raises from early position to 155,000, winning the blinds and antes. |:img:4480,R:|Hand #72 - Rodney Legendre has the button in seat 5, he moves all in for 955,000, and White calls from the small blind. Legendre shows J5, and White claps his hands and flips over AJ -- Legendre is dominated and is drawing slim to stay alive. The board comes AA827, and White flops trip aces to win the pot. Rodney Legendre is eliminated in seventh place, earning $162,123. That ends play for today. The final six players need to verify their chip counts, fill out WPT bio sheets, and schedule their WPT interviews for tomorrow. Official chip counts will be posted soon.

Official Chip Counts

Level 31: 200,000-400,000, 40,000 ante

Here are the official chip counts from the break, with the blinds increasing to 30,000-60,000, with a 5,000 ante. Seat 1 - Nenad Medic - 575,000 Seat 3 - Mike Vela - 4,205,000 Seat 4 - Mark Weitzman - 690,000 Seat 5 - Rodney Legendre - 1,065,000 Seat 6 - Mike White - 1,615,000 Seat 9 - Nick Schulman - 4,470,000 Seat 10 - Tom "Durrr" Dwan - 4,445,000