NAPT Venetian Las Vegas Main Event - Live Updates

The NAPT Venetian main event is over and Tom "Kingsofcards" Marchese is champion!

He made a huge comeback in a surprisingly short amount of time, value-towning Sam Stein in a huge way and getting looked up light on two crucial hands.

The first started with Marchese opening to 500k from the button and getting a call from Stein. The flop came K♣ 6♦ 5♥.

Stein check-called 625k on the flop and another 1.45 million on the 4♠ turn. Marchese moved in on the T♣ river and after some tanking Stein made the call with J-5.

Marchese had K-9 and doubled up, taking a slight lead.

The next hand played out almost exactly the same, starting with the $500k button raise from Marchese.

Stein check-called the flop and turn before calling all-in again on the river. The board read 9♦ 5♥ 4♣ 3♣ T♠ and it took Stein a long time to make the call.

Marchese showed pocket tens for the rivered set but he had been way ahead the whole time against Stein's 4♠ 2♠.

Tom Marchese takes $827,648 for first while a disappointed Sam Stein takes $522,306 for second.

Daniel Clemente was voted most likely to go out in third and in this case that prediction held true.

We've got the details of his exit hand below so check that out and get ready for an epic heads-up match.

Tom Marchese and Sam Stein have been central to the storyline of this final table and as it turns out they'll be writing the final chapter.

Stein still has the lead with around 16 million to Marchese's 10 million.

Clemente Cashes Out ($309,366)

Daniel Clemente opened from the button and Tom Marchese shoved, putting the action back on Clemente.

Clemente thought for a few moments before making the call with A-8. Marchese had him crushed with pocket queens and it was Clemente at risk.

The board ran with Clemente praying for an ace on every street. His prayers were not answered and he is out in third for $309,366.

We're down to three and it took some time to get it done. Yunus Jamal took a crippling hit last level and despite scoring a double he was still dangerously short.

He managed to pick up pocket tens on the button and shipped it in. Tom Marchese was in the small blind, happy to call with A-Q.

Jamal's cheering section, which has been very vocal, was on its collective feet. They reacted negatively to the ace on the flop.

Marchese couldn't be happier and watched the board finish out leaving his aces the best hand.

Yunus Jamal is out in 4th for $241,064.

We're still four-handed here and we've got a few highlights to report. Read on if you know what's good for you.

Big Misstep Cripples Clemente

Tom Marchese opened from the small blind and Daniel Clemente defended in the big blind.

The flop came down K♠ Q♦ T♣ and Marchese cbet 475,000. Clemente called and Marchese bet 825k on the K♥ turn.

Clemente decided to move in and Marchese snap-called, turning over pocket queens for the full house.

Clemente was drawing dead to a chop but missed on the 7♣ river.

Clemente's down to around six big blinds.

Shortstacks Double, Four-handed Continues

Yunus Jamal and Daniel Clemente were both in desperate need of a double and that's exactly what they got moments ago.

Jamal got it in racing A-K against Tom Marchese's pocket eights and a king on the flop earned him the check mark.

Clemente got it in better with nines against Marchese's Q-3 and made it hold up for the double.

This final table seems to be running in cycles, extreme activity followed by periods of cautious sparring.

We're in one of the latter and with a few brief exceptions detailed below we haven't seen a whole lot happen since getting back from dinner.

Sam Stein is still in the driver's seat at this final table but a few quick doubles could put any of his opponents in contention.

Stein Folds Aces on Scary Board

Sam Stein opened to 255k and Tom Marchese came along from the big blind. They saw a flop of Q♥ J♥ 9♥ and Stein cbet 330k.

Marchese called and they both checked the 2♥ turn. Marchese was the one to bet when the T♥ hit the river and Stein didn't take long to fold two black aces face up.

"You run so bad Sam!" called someone from Stein's cheering section. Yeah ok.

Jamal Folds; Left Short

Yunus Jamal just called two streets and ended up folding to a third bullet fired by Sam Stein. It surprised us since Jamal left himself with less than ten big blinds.

Jamal will be getting all-in soon lest the blinds wear him down to nothing.

One hour has elapsed and the dinner break is officially over. Four remain and we're not going to stop until we've crowned a winner.

We've seen some crazy stuff so far at this final table and only time will tell what's going to happen next.

Sam Stein absolutely dominated the playdown to four. He busted three of the four already eliminated and despite a few recent setbacks he's still got more than half the chips in play.

In the level he double up both Yunus Jamal and Daniel Clemente, losing a race to the first and getting aces cracked against the second.

Check out the chip counts to your right and stick with us as we bring you continuing coverage of the NAPT Venetian final table.

Things are slowly starting to turn around as a few cracks appear in what we previously thought to be an unbreakable force field of rungood surrounding Sam Stein.

The players are off to a one-hour dinner but there were some important hands played in the minutes leading up to it.

We've got the new chip counts posted and the need-to-know hands detailed below.

Action's back underway at 8:30pm so grab a bite and join us then.

Clemente Runner-Runners for the Double

Daniel Clemente and Sam Stein saw an innocuous flop of 9♦ 8♥#4 and Stein fired 330k.

Clemente must have sensed weakness because he put in a raise to 880,000, effectively committing himself to the hand.

Stein wasted no time moving all-in and Clemente made the call.

We saw Clemente was in a heap of trouble with K♦ 8♦ for middle pair and a backdoor flush draw. Stein was in the driver's seat with pocket aces.

A diamond on the turn gave Clemente a slew of outs, one of which he hit with another diamond on the river.

Clemente is up over 5 million and Stein drops to the 14 million range.

Jamal Wins Impossible Race

Variance is a mofo and the negative aspects of it are beginning to plague Sam Stein. To this point he's been hitting cards in a big way, something he was unable to do to eliminated Yunus Jamal.

Pocket fours all-in preflop for Stein needed to hold up against Jamal's A-J.

A jack hit the flop and after a bricky turn and river Jamal's good for the double, taking a small bite from Stein's imposing stack.

If Sam Stein loses this tournament we'll be surprised. He has proved it's better to run good than play well and we have absolutely no problem with that. In fact, t's the only reason we play poker.

After the events detailed below Stein is sitting on over 18 million of the 26 million in play.

Check out the sickness below and the new counts to your right.

Paredes Victim of Stein Suck-Out (5^th)

Things were looking up for David Paredes after a big double with aces against Yunus Jamal's A-Q but things went pear-shaped in a big way moments ago.

Paredes opened and was three-bet by Sam Stein to 880,000. Paredes four-bet to 1.7 million and after a bit of thought Stein moved all-in.

Paredes had around 3.7 million behind and snap-called. He tabled aces again and saw he was in great shape against Stein's pocket jacks.

Here in the media room we could already see the jack hitting the flop. Honestly, considering the way Sam Stein's been running there's no way he was going to lose this hand.

A jack hit the flop. The final table area went crazy. We nodded our heads in smug satisfaction.

During his exit interview Paredes said Stein has been playing terribly all tournament.

David Paredes is out in fifth for $184,816.

We reported earlier that the pace of play at this final table had slowed. Let's just say that's no longer the case.

Since our last update we've had no eliminations, but we have had a few close calls. With the blinds just raised to 60k/120k things are getting serious.

Each of the remaining five is up to the challenge, however, and we've already seen their willingness to put their chips at risk when need be.

Check out the new counts to your right and the highlights of the last 30 minutes or so below.

Big Chop for Stein and Clemente

It was a three-way pot that saw a flop of 8♠ 7♣ 2♥ and a 400,000 bet from Daniel Clemente.

Tom Marchese had made it that far but got out of the way. Sam Stein, the third player in the hand, wasn't going anywhere and he shipped it in.

Marchese beat him into the pot with pocket tens and saw he was in great shape against Stein's T-8.

It was Marchese at risk and things got a bit sweatier with a jack on the turn. Now he could lose if an eight hit as well as chop with a nine.

Sure enough the river brought a nine-ball and Marchese was denied a much-needed double.

Ace on the River: The Yunus Jamal Story

We were one card away from fourth elimination but an ace on the river kept it five-handed, at least for now.

Yunus Jamal three-bet shoved A♥ T♦ from the big blind for 2,120,000. Daniel Clemente had raised from the button and after a short tank he made the call with K♣ Q♠.

The flop hit Clemente squarely, coming Q♣ J♠ 6♦ and the 5♣ turn didn't change a thing.

As we alluded to earlier, the river brought the A♠ and set Jamal and his fans cheering.

We're five-handed now after Tom Fuller's exit moments ago.

Leading the final five is Sam Stein, who has dominated so far and succeeded in doubling his stack over the course of the 66 hands we've played so far.

We've got the details of Fuller's bust below as well as the updated chip counts to your right.

Also, check out the full rundown of everyone who cashed in this tournament by going here.

Fuller on Empty (6^th)

Tom Fuller saw his stack dwindle and decided to take a shot moments ago.

Daniel Clemente opened and Fuller shipped for 1,565,000.

Fuller was holding pocket jacks and must have felt pretty good about getting the call, until he saw Clemente table pocket queens.

The board offered nothing for the all-in Fuller and he's gone. Paul Wasicka, Tom's close friend, congratulates him from the audience.

Tom Fuller takes $144,639 for sixth.

After a period of caution and relative inactivity we have an elimination. The veteran, Miami John Cernuto, is out in seventh place.

Cernuto did well to maneuver his shortstack all the way to the final table and had he doubled here instead of busting he would have had a real shot at the win.

Sam Stein opened to 220,000 from late position and Cernuto made an unusual reraise to 620,000, considering he had only twice that to start the hand.

Action back on Stein as he thinks it over. Whatever his thought process he decided to go with it and set Miami all-in.

It was all according to Cernuto's plan and he happily called.

A-5 for John was slightley ahead of Stein's J-T but a ten on the turn and a jack on the river put the kaibosh on Cernuto's tournament.

John Cernuto is out in seventh for $104,461.

After Eric Blair's elimination the remaining seven players have settled into a much more relaxed rythmn.

The only player at serious risk is John Cernuto but he's managed to pick a up a few pots to keep his head above water.

Like we said, things are running a bit slower right now, but we managed to get a few hands worth reporting.

Jamal Bets Scary Board

A three-way limped pot between Yunus Jamal, Tom Fuller and David Paredes saw a flop of A-8-8.

It was checked around but Tom Fuller decided to bet when another ace hit the turn. Jamal check-raised and Fuller was the only caller.

The river was a queen and Jamal pushed out a big 625k bet. Fuller was more than happy to fold and we move on to the next hand.

Marchese the Bluff Catcher

Tom Marchese opened for 190k from the small blind and Daniel Clemente was right there with him in the big blind.

The flop rolled out T♦ 7♦ 2♠ and Marchese cbet 215k. Clemente made the call and they both checked the K♦ turn.

The K♠ landed on the river and after a check from Marchese, Clemente fired a meager 300k.

Marchese made the call and showed a seven after seeing Clemente was holding nothing but queen high.

Marchese rakes the pot and Clemente will think twice the next time he tries to push him off a pot.

Eric Blair was one of the players we had high hopes for at this final table but, sadly, he became the first elimination of the day moments ago.

Tom Marchese opened to 175,000 and and Blair moved in for 1.4 million. Sam Stein was still to act and after getting a count, re-shipped over the top.

Marchese ducked out of the way and we saw it was a race between Stein's A-K and Blair's pocket sevens.

The flop spelled disaster for the all-in Blair, putting a king on the board, and after the board bricked out he was forced to get up and go.

Eric Blair takes $60,266 for his 8th place finish.

The first break of the day is over and the players are back in their seats. The first dozen hands saw a huge amount of action, a little glimpse of what we can expect at this final table.

David Paredes showed us he's capable of making huge folds and Tom Marchese is reaping the benefits of an aggressive style.

Check out the new chip counts to your right and these two highlights below.

Clemente Doubles; Paredes Takes Another Hit

Tom Marchese opens to 140k and gets calls from Daniel Clemente and David Paredes. The flop came down 8♥ 5♥ 4♠ and Marchese bet 195k.

Clemente then made it 550k and Paredes announced all-in. Marchese folded and Clemente called all-in.

Clemente: A♦ A♠

Paredes: 8♣ 7♣.

Paredes had outs but missed them all, doubling up Clemente and dropping to less than 2 million.

Big Pot for Marchese; Big Fold from Paredes

On just the third hand of the day we saw a huge clash involving three of the big stacks at the table.

David Paredes opened to 135,000 from the hijack and Tom Marchese came along in the cut-off. Sam Stein called in the big blind and the flop came T♣ 3♣ 3♦.

It was checked around but Sam Stein fired 220,000 on the 4♦ turn. Both opponents called and the 2♥ hit the river.

The river brought the 2♥ and Stein continued applying pressure with a 430k bet.

Paredes wasn't having it and raised to 1,130,000. Marchese then surprised everyone by announcing all-in for 1.97 million.

Stein bailed but Paredes went way into the tank. He was getting a great price on the call but after a lot of thought he decided to fold.

We didn't see it but we've been told he showed 5♣ 6♣ for the nut straight!

PokerStars was nice enough to ship us a few quick profiles on these final table players and we'll be running them here in the live updates throughout the day.

Sam Stein - Chip Leader

Sam Stein is a confident 22-year-old professional poker player, who came up through the online ranks and began trying his luck in the brick and mortar world as soon as he turned 21.

Since then, he's managed to collect more than $400,000 in career tournament earnings; not bad for a single year on the circuit.

Stein's most recent live cash occurred last month down at the PokerStars.net Caribbean Adventure, where he finished runner-up in a $5,000 buy-in no limit hold'em side event, good for a $168,390 payday.

Stein grew up in Los Angeles, but currently resides in Henderson, Nevada - just outside Las Vegas. He's been playing poker for four years and enters most major events with buy-ins of $5,000 or higher.

The youngster is excited about the opportunity to add yet another big score to his tournament resume, and he has good reason to be; when play starts tomorrow afternoon, no one will begin with more chips than Stein's field-leading 6,145,000 in chips.

PokerListings.com is back on the floor at the PokerStars.net NAPT Venetian final table and we're getting ready to begin.

If you haven't been following along here's the breakdown. 872 players began this tournament and now just eight remain. Sam Stein is leading but the seven others are going to do their best to deprive him of the win.

We've got the full chip counts over there to your right so check that out to get the lay of the land.

We're about to hit the floor for a round of photos and we'll be back with profiles of the players and full coverage of this final table.

Back in a flash.