WPT Bellagio Cup V - Live Updates

With Alexandre Gomes holding the lead he and Faraz Jaka got it all in pre-flop both holding aces.

Jaka's seven kicker paled in comparison to Gomes' jack, however, and the slight edge held, giving Alexandre Gomes his first WPT title.

The Brazilians went wild and the $1,187,670 first place prize now belongs to Gomes.

Adios muchachos.

Alexandre Gomes has ramped up the aggression and has now taken the lead.

The pot that truly turned the tide began with a 550k Gomes raise.

Jaka called, then checked the J♠ 9♣ 2♦ flop. Gomes bet 735,000, Jaka check-raised it up to 1.9 million and after about a minute in the tank, Gomes shoved.

Jaka was forced to give it up and Gomes was suddenly leading again.

They had played about 23 hands heads up and not much had changed.

Faraz Jaka was running the show in the early going and actually snatched the lead from Alexandre Gomes with some aggressive pre-flop play.

However, Gomes struck back pushing Jaka off a two million chip pot with a 1.3 million chip river bet.

Then, in stunning fashion, Jaka took command by winning a 7.5 million chip pot.

He flopped a pair of aces, got paid off with bets on every street and now has a commanding 2:1 chip lead.

Justin Smith decided A♣ 4♠ was enough to shove his short stack in and he got looked up by Faraz Jaka holding two kings.

No ace on the flop kept the kings ahead and after bricks on the turn and river Smith's Bellagio Cup came to an end.

He cashes $464,870 for third and it appears he will be headed to the hospital now to deal with the knee as we go heads-up with Alexandre Gomes and Jaka just about even in chips.

They now move to half hour levels so stay tuned, this thing could be over fast.

After a period of relative inactivity, Justin Smith and Alexandre Gomes got back at it.

All of Gomes chips went in with A♦ K♥ versus Smith's A♠ Q♠ and he looked good to double.

The flop brought an ace, but not much else to speak of an d when the turn and river bricked Gomes doubled.

The Brazilian contingent came to life cheering wildly as Gomes crept back into contention for the Bellagio Cup crown.

With almost nine million in chips, he's got the lead and it's Smith who is short now.

We're headed into the 26th level now and Faraz Jaka has the chip lead once again.

He got there through a series of aggressive plays and once again appears to have control of the table.

Justin Smith is now being pushed around in a wheelchair with ice on his knee thanks to that ACL injury.

"Poker is not a sport?" he joked, as the players took a quick break before returning to the action.

Justin Smith and Alexandre Gomes continued butting heads here with Smith getting it all in pre-flop again with K♠ J♣ against Gomes 8♠ 8♣ just a few hands after doubling up.

This time he found no joy from the flop and turn, except for the fact he picked up a gutshot.

Miraculosly the river completed his straight, but in celebrating the double up, Smith suddenly doubled over in pain.

"It just snapped my ACL," he said.

He was carried back to the felt by Mike Matusow and play will apparently continue.

"We've got a poker injury here," Matusow joked.

Smith said he's torn both ACL's in an accident previously and knows the feeling, but said he is willing to go on.

With the double, he's now the chip leader on over six million in chips and has sworn off celebrations for the time being.

A short stacked Justin Smith shipped it with A♥ 3♣ and Alexandre Gomes made the call with 3♥ 3♠.

Miraculously, the J♠ 4♦ 4♣ kept the treys ahead. The 5♥ turn didn't mean much, but when the J♦ river fell, Smith made two pair with the ace kicker to double up.

Smith now has over 3 million in chips as three-handed play continues.

Alexandre Gomes lost another 2 million chip pot to Faraz Jaka but was at it again moments ago getting Alec Torelli all-in pre flop in a massive coin flip holding a slight edge.

Gomes had two red tens versus Torelli's A♠ Q♣ and despite Torelli turning a gutshot, he was bounced forth when the river bricked.

Torelli will head to the cage to grab  $271,165 as Gomes takes over the chip lead once again.

Faraz Jaka is in a dead heat for the chip lead now after doubling through Alexandre Gomes.

Gomes went nuts with K♠ J♦ and Jaka played along with two red kings, getting it all in pre-flop.

The A♠ 7♠ 5♥ flop, A♣ turn and J♠ river ensured the flip flop at the top as Faraz dragged an almost 5 million chip pot.

The two are about even now.

The dollars are starting to fly here at Bellagio.

As is his custom, Alec Torelli throws the dealer a $1 chip every time he wins a pot, much like one would in a cash game down the hall.

Over the past few orbits he's won more than his fair share of pots and the $1 tips continue.

A very confident looking Torelli now has around 3.7 million in chips and is sitting right behind chip leader Alexandre Gomes and his more than eight million chip stack.

Things are suddenly starting to move quite fast here at Bellagio.

Just a moment ago, Christopher Sonesson shipped it pre-flop with fours and got looked up by Justin Smith holding A♣ Q♦.

The flop and turn bricked out for Smith, but a double up for Sonesson was not in the cards.

The river brought a queen and, just like that, we are down to just four players.

Sonesson banks $203,385 and Smith moves up into third position behind Alexandre Gomes and Faraz Jaka in the hunt for the Bellagio Cup title.

Alexandre Gomes let out a huge scream after calling all-in for his tournament life with a ten-high flush and seeing Faraz Jaka a smaller one.

Not only did the Team PokerStars Pro double up, he grabbed the chip lead after dragging a pot worth around six million chips.

For the first time since Day 3 Jaka steps out of the lead, but he still holds over three million in chips and is in second posititon.

In what has to be considered a shocking turn of events, Erik Seidel has become the first casualty here at the final table.

He slipped down the leader board a little then defended his big blind against a Justin Smith raise with K♠ 9♠.

The flop came 8♠ 5♥ 3♠ and he check-raised all in with the flush draw.

Smith made the agonizing call with nines and they held to rail Seidel sixth.

He cashes $164,640 and we are down to five with Faraz Jaka holding seven million chips and the rest of the table all hanging around the two million chip mark.

Perhaps with the ultra-tight Seidel out of the picture things will start to move at a faster pace, but that remains to be seen.

Justin Smith put his tournament life on the line shoving all-in pre-flop with K♦ J♦.

Faraz Jaka made the million chip call with A♦ T♣, and continued to hold a slight edge after the 9♠ 9♣ 5♦ flop.

However, with Mike "The Mouth" Matusow cheering wildly in the stands behind him, Smith turned the J♥ to pair up.

The 5♥ river ensured he'd double back to two million in chips and the saga continues here at Bellagio with Boosted J back in the thick of it.

Faraz Jaka has struck back against Erik Seidel, taking a 3.4 million chip pot from the Full Tilt pro's hands when he flopped kings up, smooth called a check-raise and a turn bet before taking Seidel to value town on the river.

Seidel still sits second in chips with a little over two million, but Jaka's lead has swelled to over four million chips now.

At one point Justin Smith dipped below one million in chips, but he's since climbed back above that mark and seems quite comfortable as the structure allows him to remain patient, despite the stack size.

Christoffer Sonesson hasn't played many pots at all. In fact, every time he puts chips in the middle the others run for cover.

The Swede sits just behind Seidel in a dead heat with Alexandre Gomes and Alec Torelli.

It's rather quiet in the Bellagio Ballroom. Outside of a running commentary from Torelli, the players really aren't that talkative.

There is a palpable tension in the air and an eerie feeling that sooner or later, something has got to give.

For now they are taking a five minute break and moving on to Level 23.

Erik Seidel won a 1.5 million chip pot when he rivered a straight and got Faraz Jaka to pay him off.

As a result, the Gentle Giant is now within a million or so of Jaka and still playing his always patient game.

In the meantime, Alexandre Gomes has picked up a few chips and a little momentum as well.

A small, but loud contingent of Brazilians are in the crowd and seem to be giving him the push he needs as he picked up five of the first eleven hands this level to move up to third in chips.

The run included several pots taken without showdown, including 200k worth of Seidel's chips he snatched with turn bet and the board showing two aces.

Both Justin Smith and Alec Torelli have failed to keep pace and are now the shortest stacks at the table with Swede Christoffer Sonesson just above them.

The action is still playing relatively tight, but they are coloring up chips right now, meaning the bets should get bigger and the pot sizes more life threatening as we move into Level 22.

If the first 50-minutes of this final table are any indication, we were right about the all night party you've joined us for.

They've played just five hands - one which felt like it took twenty minutes thanks to Justin Smith uber-tanking on every decision.

In the end Faraz Jaka took about a million chips off of him carefully turning big slick into two pair on an A♠ J♥ J♣ 5♦ 5♥ board.

As a result, Boosted J has slipped to fifth in chips, Erik Seidel now sits second and Jaka's lead continues to grow.

They just took a short break and the blinds are going up.

In the wake of the 2009 World Series of Poker we find the WPT's Bellagio Cup final table and it's a dandy.  

With eight WSOP bracelets and a WPT title from Foxwoods in 2008, Erik Seidel's name is on the Marquee, but even he admitted yesterday this is one of the toughest final tables he's ever seen.

23-year-old Faraz "The Toilet" Jaka has won a million dollars in online MTT's over the past three years and he has a massive chip lead.

Floridian Justin "Boosted J" Smith is second in chips and all you really need to know about him is that he's quickly becoming a regular in Bobby's Room down the hall at Bellagio.

When you shared the felt with Ivey, Greenstein, Brunson and the like, something tells us you can play.

Fresh off a final table appearance at the 2009 WSOP $40k 40th anniversary event, Alec "traheho" Torelli is making his WPT final table debut sitting third in chips.

The $1,187,670 first place prize will pretty much match his career earnings.

Seidel is fourth in chips ahead of Swede Christopher Sonesson, whose $120k score in the 2007 Malmo Open in 2007 is his biggest poker accomplishment.

Brazilian Team PokerStars Pro and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure fourth-place finisher Alexandre Gomes is the shortest stack, but nobody is really that short.

The blinds are at 12,000/24,000 with a 3,000 ante and even Gomes has 60 big blinds.

In fact, without the benefit of a few coolers, we could be here all night, just like when Seidel took Foxwoods.

They'll get going in just a few minutes and all you need to do is sit back and let PL.com bring it straight to your dome - we got this.