Players travel from around the world to play the Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino. Who doesn’t want to be called a legend?

The final table has all the makings of a historical one. Action Dan Harrington has long been one of the most respected players in the game, and to claim to the title of legend would be nothing less than fitting. David “Dragon” Pham is at his fifth final table and sincerely wants to win his first WPT title. Tom Schneider, 2007 WSOP Player of the Year, hopes to keep his chip lead and take it down. And Thu Nguyen, Mike McClain, and Jack Liu are all clamoring for the same title.

More than $1.6 million and a seat on the Legends of Poker throne are at stake. Don’t miss it!

The Legends of Poker is one of the players’ favorite stops on the World Poker Tour, as evidenced by the 485 players who came to the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles for it. As a result, the first prize of over $1.6 million is the largest ever at a Legends event.

The players competing for the ultimate title of “Legend of Poker” were seated as follows with chip counts:

Seat 1: Jack Liu 1,285,000

Seat 2: Dan Harrington 2,310,000

Seat 3: Tom Schneider 3,655,000

Seat 4: Thu Nguyen 1,445,000

Seat 5: David Pham 320,000

Seat 6: Mike McClain 675,000

Play began with a 5,000 ante and blinds of 20,000 and 40,000. It wouldn’t take long for the action to heat up.

With less than ten times the big blind, Mike McClain knew he had to make a move, and when he looked down at pocket 10’s on the first hand, he raised it up to 160,000. Jack Liu looked at his own Ks4c and asked McClain how much he had left. He then reraised All-In having his opponent covered, and McClain called. The board spread QcJh8sAd9h, and McClain’s pocket pair held up to give him a fighting chance with his new 1,370,000 stack.

On the very next hand, the other short stack David “Dragon” Pham took a chance with his Ks9h by raising All-In for his last 310,000. Liu peeked at A-10 of diamonds and reraised All-In for 605,000 to ensure two-way action. The cards came Js4h3h9dQd, and Pham’s pair of 9’s was good enough to double him up.

Two hands later, Pham raised it up pre-flop to 120,000 with AsJd, and the very short-stacked Liu reraised All-In for 370,000. “Action” Dan Harrington looked down at pocket Q’s and reraised to 750,000. Pham folded his cards face up, making Liu cringe at seeing some of his outs gone. The board came Jc5s5d6d4c, and the Liu was the first to be eliminated. He left in sixth place for a payout of $137,175.

As the blinds escalated to 30,000 and 60,000, and McClain saw the writing on the leader board. When Thu Nguyen made an initial raise to 200,000 with pocket J’s, McClain reraised to 600,000. Nguyen raised a third time making it an All-In for 1,475,000. McClain called with AcQc and was covered. (It should be noted that A-Q had knocked out 24 previous WPT final table players in the past.) The cards were dealt KcJh2h2c4s, and Nguyen made a full house to win the hand. A-Q found its next casualty in McClain, who was sent home in fifth place with $182,900.

Tom Schneider had lost his chip lead and had yet to find a hand that could hold up. Pham doubled through him with pocket J’s versus Schneider’s J-10. Nguyen won a hand against him with an inferior hand, showing it to Tom to possibly induce a bit of tilt. Pham and Nguyen each then took another pot from Schneider, who found himself on the short stack. When Harrington made an initial raise of 220,000 with Ad10s, Schneider reraised All-In for 920,000 with pocket 7’s. Harrington called, and the board produced AhKs7sAc3c to give Schneider the double-up with a full house.

Even so, Schneider couldn’t seem to win another pot. He looked down at Ad9h, moved All-In for 1,070,000, and Pham couldn’t help but call with pocket K’s. Harrington had folded an Ace, so Schneider only had two outs, neither of which came on the Jc10s9c10d6d board. A dejected Schneider left the tournament in fourth place with $228,625 to ease the pain.

With the ante upped to 15,000 and 60,000/120,000 blinds, Nguyen was now the short stack. After losing one pot to Pham, he was ready for more action. Pham made an initial raise to 400,000 with AdQs, and Nguyen reraised All-In for 1,570,000 with Ah5h, hoping Pham would fold. Instead, he called, and the board came Jc7d3sKd3h. No help from the cards for Nguyen sent him packing in third place with $388,660.

Heads-up play began with Joe Pelton, the reigning Legends of Poker champion, carrying the title ring to the table and leading the way for the women with the cash. Chip counts were as follows:

David Pham 6,200,000

Dan Harrington 3,490,000

The first hand of heads-up showed the kind of excitement that was about to take place. Pham limped in with 9h8s, Harrington raised it up to 300,000 with Qd10h, and Pham called. The flop came Qc7d3h. Harrington bet 350,000 with top pair, and Pham called. The 7c on the turn gave Harrington two pair, but he checked. Pham bluffed at the pot for 450,000, and Harrington called. After a 4c on the river, Harrington checked, Pham made another play for 1.5 million, and Harrington sensed weakness and made the incredible call. He won the pot and became the new chip leader.

With the ante still at 15,000 and blinds up to 80,000 and 160,000, Pham called Harrington down on a bluff on the next hand. Then Harrington let Pham limp in the Big Blind with 6-3 off-suit where he flopped trips, and Pham won a sizable pot to regain the chip lead. But one hand later, the tide would turn again. Harrington limped in with 10h9s, and Pham raised to 700,000 with KsQs, which Harrington called. The flop showed Jh9c3s, to which Pham checked, Harrington bet 700,000, Pham raised All-In for 3,345,000, and Harrington called. The two remaining cards came Ah and 8d, and Harrington took a massive chip lead with 8,670,000 to Pham’s 1,020,000.

Pham attempted a comeback by doubling up twice in a row, and was just barely the underdog on in the chip counts. With a 30,000 ante and blinds of 150,000 and 300,000, play was speeding up. Pham limped with 7c5h, and Harrington checked with 10h5c. The flop brought 10s5s4h. Harrington bet 400,000 with his two pair, and Pham called with middle pair. The Ad on the turn brought a 1 million chip bet from Harrington and an All-In raise from Pham. Harrington called, and when the cards were flipped, Pham saw that he was drawing dead. The 3s on the river was irrelevant, and Harrington was declared the winner.

David Pham took second place for a $800,185 prize.

Dan Harrington, one whom many in the poker community already considered a legend, won the 2007 Legends of Poker main event. He was awarded the Legends of Poker ring and the $1,635,865 first prize. He also made his way into the coveted elite club of few players who had won a WPT and WSOP title, joining Doyle Brunson, Carlos Mortensen, Scotty Nguyen, and Joe Hachem. Congratulations, Dan!