Event 2 - $40,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Live Updates

We have a winner and it's Vitaly Lunkin who takes down the bracelet, the plaudits for winning such a prestigious event and of course the $1,891,012 1st prize money!

The key hand provided yet more drama. Here's how it went down.

Haxton Gets the Bullet

Vitaly had already been burnt after slowplaying aces once, but this didn't discourage him playing with fire once more as he limped the button, then flat-called Haxton's raise to 600k from the big blind with the bullets.

The flop fell Q♦ T♦ 8♦ and Haxton bet out 1.2 million, Lunkin moved all-in and Haxton made the call with his 8♣ 3♦ - naughty, naughty!

With no diamond in his hand, Lunkin's aces were only flipping versus Haxton's pair and flush draw and given the nature of the final, everyone expected Haxton to slip the noose again and bust the bullets.

Instead however, the turn and river blanked and Lunkin's Russian supporters went into overdrive, cheering their man on from the rail as he defeated Haxton to win the bracelet.

We will have a full account of the final along with quotes from the man of the moment, Vitaly Lunkin and, of course, winner shots shortly but for now congratulations to Vitaly for conquering one of the strongest fields in history.

The topsy-turvy battle between these two continues with multiple big pots played out and the chip lead swapping hands seemingly every few minutes!

We're here to bring you the exciting developments from the felt so sit back and put your feet up as we deliver the cream of the action.

Red Army Rises

Haxton had lost the chip lead to Vitaly Lunkin but after grinding away and getting the better of the recent exchanges, Haxton restored his 2-1 chip advantage.

He then went for the big knockout, four-betting all-in preflop with K♣ 3♣ in a bid to force Lunkin out of the pot.

Unfortunately for Haxton Lunkin had tens and snap-called all-in.

A ten on the flop left Haxton drawing thin and when the turn blanked he was paying the man his money, down to 8 million with Lunkin boosted to roughly 16 million.

Rivered Russian!

Lunkin flat-called with pocket aces from the big blind and after check-raising the K♣ 5♣ 3♥ flop,  he persuaded Haxton to ship the rest of his chips in on the 6♠ turn with K♠ T♠.

Lunkin had one hand on the bracelet, Haxton needing a ten or king to get out of it. And the river was...

...the T♣  !

Incredible scenes ensued, Isaac's fans whooped and bellowed at seeing their hero hit his long shot and the shell-shocked Russian handed over the chips as Haxton took over the chip lead once more.

So, so rigged!

ZOMG! Unbeleivable!

As if there had not been enough drama already, we witnessed yet more carnage in this critical hand.

Haxton popped it up to 400k on the button, only for Lunkin to re-pop to 1.4 million. Call.

The flop fell A♣ 5♣ 4♣ and once Vitaly led out for 2 mill, Haxton shipped it in pretty quickly. Call!

Yet another all-in and when the cards were flipped it was looking pretty dire for Haxton.

His Q♠ 8♣ had a small flush draw to get there, but even though Vitaly was also drawing, his Q♣ T♠ was already good, meaning he just had to swerve an eight and a double-up would be his.

The poker gods are clearly relishing delivering these twists and turns however and the turn fell the 8♦ !

Once again the railbirds erupted into ecstatic whooping as Haxton outdrew the Russian and with one hand on the bracelet, he watched the river come...the 2♣!

Yet another twist of fate saw the Russian re-suck on the river, making his superior flush and doubling through to a dominant chip lead!

Here is how the players stand right now. Counts courtesy of worldseriesofpoker.com.

If you are funkin' for Lunkin, then it's good news for you right now as the Russian has managed to turn his big heads-up deficit round. He's been pretty busy over the last level, forcing Haxton out of many pots, and winning a few biggies.

The two players both appear to be "in the zone" as illustrated by the the calm, methodical manner in which they are calculating and deliberating every decision.

One key hand saw a big chip swing that put a huge dent in Haxton's dominant chip advantage.

Always On The River!

Lunkin pumped it up from the button to 400k and Haxton made the call.

The flop fell T♣ 7♣ 2♦ and both players checked. The turn fell the 9♣ and Lunkin met Haxton's second check in a row with a 900k bet.

Haxton again made the call.

Finally the river was the 6♥, check from Haxton and Lunkin threw a bumper 1.5 million in the middle which Haxton called, only to muck when the Russian showed a rivered straight with 8♣ 5♠.

Can Haxton turn round the momentum that is going against him right now?

Chipping Away

Here are the latest counts from the felt, courtesy of worldseriesofpoker.com.

Isaac Haxton is the man on whom all eyes are riveted at the moment.

Shortstacked just after dinner, he has ascended to the chip lead, following a whirlwind of action and two significant bust-outs.

Here's how it went down.

Double Trouble

Haxton shoved over the top of a limp from Dani Stern, and Stern made the call with pocket fives.

It was a race as Haxton showed down K♣ 7♣ and a superb flop of A♣ 6♠ 3♣ gave Haxton the nut flush draw and two overcards - turning his hand into a small favourite versus Stern's fives.

The turn sealed the deal falling the 9♣ leaving Stern drawing dead and allowing the pumped up Haxton to move to over 6 million in chips.

Ansky Busts! (4th)

Left short by that hand, Dani Stern shipped it in pretty quickly when he looked down at Q♥ T♣.

After only a momentary pause that scarcely qualified as a slowroll, his nemesis Haxton called with A♠ K♥.

It could have been worse for Ansky, with two live cards, but once the flop, turn and river appeared devoid of queens and tens, his time had come and gone and he was on the rail, picking up a pretty impressive $548,315 for the day.

Sometimes when you multi-table, you misclick.

Fossilman Buried! (3rd)

Three-handed now, Fossilman and the revitalised Haxton went to war and following a four-bet by Raymer and call from Haxton, the cards were on their backs.

Nines for Haxton and fives for Raymer who was already eyeing up his lonely, unoccupied chair in the Champion's Invitational.

No five appeared, meaning the whopping 17 million chip pot was shipped Haxton-wards and Raymer skedaddled to the Champion's Invitational $774,927 richer.

That hand leaves the play heads-up with Haxton facing off against Vitaly Lunkin.

A huge pile of dollar bricks has been dumped into the middle of the table to remind the players of the riches on offer - as if they weren't already motivated enough.

The Mano-a-mano Count

Thanks to worldseriesofpoker.com for the counts.

The four players still vying for that prestigious bracelet are back in their seats after filling their bellies, and it's chip leader Greg Raymer who has been applying the pressure in the first few hands.

Already, he has stung Isaac Haxton for some chips, leaving Haxton the short-stack and the man most under pressure.

Raymer had less time than most to eat, given he spent much of the break sitting at the Champion's Invitation Tournament, trying desperately to accumulate chips in the 90 minutes he was able to play.

A victim of his own success perhaps?

Take The Count

Here are the counts as the play continues, courtesy of worldseriesofpoker.com.

The players are taking a ninety-minute break to rest their limbs and sate their appetite.

With such big sums of money being played for, it's been a quiet, subdued and focused atmosphere at the table over the last level.

We haven't seen any eliminations but we have seen Greg Raymer rising up to challenge Vitaly Lunkin for the chip lead, the former main event winner making a fiercesome bid to collect his second bracelet.

Vitaly Lunkin is also bidding to win his second bracelet. Should he manage it, he will become the 4th highest Russian money winner, behind the three big guns - Demidov, Timoshenko and Kravchenko.

Counting The Cost

With the player busily gulping down their noodles and Capriotti sandwiches, here are the counts as we stand, courtesy of worldseriesofpoker.com.

Enjoy!

Greg Raymer continues to slide here at the $40k final table.

He called Dani Stern's shove with 7♦ 7♠ and was flipping against Stern's A♠ T♥ with a chance to rail him.

The Q♣ Q♠ 4♦ flop and 6♦ turn did little to help Stern, but the T♣ was enough to ensure he doubled up to over four million in chips through the 2004 WSOP Main Event Champ.

A few minutes later Justin Bonomo ran jacks into Isaac Haxton's pocket aces.

He got no help from a board that brought a third ace and took fifth place for $413,166.

A short-stacked Alec Torelli decided to put his tournament life on the line with A♥ 2♥ and a dominating Isaac Haxton made the call with A♠ T♦.

The flop fell Q♥ J♣ 8♦ changing nothing until the Q♠ turn gave Torelli some outs to chop.

However, the river came the 5♠ and Torelli was sent to the cage to pick up $329,730 in sixth place money.

In the meantime, 2008 WSOP bracelet winner Vitaly Lunkin has ramped up the aggression.

He now has a slight lead over Greg Raymer and is picking up pots left and right.

After a short break, play has resumed at the $40k final table.

Most pots over the first few were being picked up with pre flop raises as the players tightened up.

That is until Greg Raymer raised and Lex Veldhuis suddenly and decisively pushed in.

Raymer called and Lex's A♦ 7♦ needed some serious aid against the Fossilman's K♠ K♦.

Unfortunately for Veldhuis, the J♥ 6♣ 2♣ Q♣ 10♠ board brought none and he cashed $277,940 for seventh.

Raymer, meanwhile, appears to be running like God as his lead increases.

We're seven-handed at the $40k final table now and there's a new boss in town.

Noah Schwartz shoved only to see the larger stacked Greg Raymer do the same.

When the rest of the table walked, Schwartz turned over A♦ K♥ and was absolutely crushed by Raymer's pocket rockets.

The flop came J♠ 8♦ 7♥, the turn the 5♣ and Schwartz' fate was sealed.

He bowed out seventh cashing $246,834.

Greg Raymer then doubled through Isaac Haxton flopping a set of sixes against Haxton's pocket jacks and is suddenly in the lead.

After a brief delay for a few ESPN interviews with the finalists, the final table in the 2009 WSOP $40k anniversary event in underway.

Isaac Haxton has a massive chip lead here and seems content to let the others try to hang themselves for now.

He sat back and watched as several of the shorter stacks pushed in front of him and calmly passed on the opportunity to rail those foes.

In fact, the first few all-in moves saw no callers until Justin Bonomo pushed in facing a Greg Raymer raise.

Raymer made the loose call with A♥ 8♠ and was forced to double Bonomo's 1.29 million chip stack when his A♠ J♥ held on a K♥ 6♥ 5♦ 2♠ A♣ board.

A few minutes later, Dani Stern took his turn getting it in against Alexander Veldhuis and looked as good as dead holding A♦ J♥ against Lex's A♣ K♣.

The A♥ 9♥ 5♣ changed little, but Stern picked up a flush draw on the Q♥ turn.

No heart fell in the river, but the J♦ was good enough to double him up.

Then, seconds later, we saw our first casualty.

Ted Forrest got it in against Noah Schwartz with J♥ T♦ against 3♣ 3♠.

The small pair held on the K♠ 9♠ 2♠ 8♥ 4♦ board and Forrest went out ninth collecting $233,317.