Grand Tunica - Live Updates

Bart Tichelman is champ. In just the second hand of heads-up he raised it up from the button, Nicholson pushed and Tichelman called, felting K♠ 4♥ for the lead against Nicholson's Q♠ 8♠.

A king on the turn ended it all and with the final board reading A♣ 3♠ 4♣ K♦ 10♦ the event is over.

Nicholson grabs $236,163 for second and the ring. The 2008 WSOP Main Event seat and the $428,210 first-place prize go to Bart Tichelman of Atlanta, Ga.

In the biggest hand of the event so far Giovanni Marcacci made it $200k from the button and Bart Tichelman announced a raise to $300k more from the small blind.

Nicholson got out of the way and Marcacci sat back in his chair and mulled it over for a minute before making the big call.

On the flop of 6♣ 7♣ 9♠ Tichelman wasted no time pushing all-in and Marcacci called, showing pocket tens. He was in the lead against Tichelman's A♥ 8♣ but the 5♦ on the turn gave Bart the straight and it held when the 2♣ came on the river.

Giovanni Marcacci goes out third grabbing $129,760 and they're bringing out the money as we go heads-up.

Looks like Tichelman will have the huge chip lead with more than $3 million in chips to Nicholson's $500,000.

Here's the three-way chip count as it stands now:

The blinds are up again and the tense three-way action will continue with the price of poker getting dangerously high!

Bart Tichelman just picked up a big pot in a tense battle of the blinds.

In a limped pot the flop falls K♦ 9♠ 6♦ and Tichelman makes it $100k to go. Nicholson makes the quick call and the turn brings the K♠ and a $200k bet from Bart. This time Nicholson tanks it for a few minutes, asks for a count and finds out he's got about $975,000 behind.

He stares him down for another few minutes and finally makes the call.

The river is the 8♦ and this time Tichelman moves all-in. It's decision time for Nicholson and he gives Tichelman the cold, hard stare. Tichelman is as still as the water in the Mississippi River at 6 a.m. in December, giving up nothing.

Nicholson eventually folds and Tichelman grabs the decent-sized pot without a showdown.

Donald Nicholson has doubled up.

He made a $110k raise before the flop from the small blind and Giovanni Marcacci made the call in the big blind. Heads-up to the flop the 5♥ 4♠ 8♥ came down and Marcacci checked. Nicholson pushed all-in for his final $510k and Marcacci made a quick call. Surprisingly, Nicholson's sixes are ahead against the A♠ 5♣ felted by Marcacci and the 8♦ turn and Q♠ river keep them there.

In this up-and-down affair, Nicholson is now the chip leader and Marcacci back down to third.

John Devia could not hold the chip lead he came into the day with and is now out fourth. After a  $150k Bart Tichelman pre-flop raise Devia shoved and his 10♥ 9♥ looked to be in big trouble facing Tichelman's Q♥ Q♣. Things got interesting after the turn with the board reading A♥ A♠ 4♠ 5♥ but the 4♣ was not a heart and Devia is done.

He cashes $103,808 for fourth ... and then there were three.

All four aces come out to play and Sabrin bows out fifth cashing $77,856. Marcacci now vaults into the chip lead picking up Sabrin's $440k in chips.

Here's how the chip count breaks down with about 10 minutes left in the dinner break:

With just five players remaining and the end of this latest level upon us, we will take a one-hour dinner break. Even poker players have to eat.

They're racing off the $1,000 chips and we'll be back when they are at around 7:45 p.m. Central time.

Keep it locked on PL.com as it won't be long before a WSOPC Tunica champ is crowned!

New chip leader Bart Tichelman is having no problem moving a few chips around.

After an $80k pre-flop raise from John Devia, Tichelman made it $240k to go. Devia made the call and bet out $160k on the K♠ 10♥ Q♠ flop, but Tichelman almost beat his chips in the pot announcing he was all-in.

Devia folded and Tichelman's mountain keeps on growing. A few hands later Tichelman picked up another pot with a big pre-flop raise. He seems to believe aggression with the big stack is the right strategy - few can argue.

After a John Devia raise, Mark Garner shoved his last $239,000 in and Devia made the call. Garner found out quick he was in big trouble with A♠ 7♠ against Devia's A♣ A♦.

After the turn the board read 10♣ 3♣ 8♠ 6♦ and Garner needed a nine on the river to survive. The 8♦ made him the sixth-place finisher and sent him to the cage to pick up $64,880.

Bart Tichelman managed to make jacks hold and has doubled through chip leader Donald Nicholson - grabbing the lead himself. After raising it to $90k from the small blind he was pushed all-in by Nicholson and made the call for his last $446,000.

Tichelman's J♠ J♦ was in a classic race with Nicholson's A♣ K♣ and stayed in the lead following the Q♥ 4♠ 5♦ 5♣ J♥ board.

The double gives Tichelman the chip lead with over $900,000 and cuts Nicholson down to around $400,000.

Here's the latest in the chip count department:

With Ryan Young all-in on the first hand after the break Giovanni Marcacci made the call. Young showed K♥ Q♦ and needed help against Marcacci's A♦ K♠.

The board of 7♠ 6♣ 4♠ 2♣ 5♠ didn't give it to him and Young is our seventh-place finisher, cashing $51,904 for his efforts.

The blinds are up and the TD has just assured the crowd this is the bust-out level.

With blinds up this high he may be right!

Raise and take it, raise and take it, raise and take it, raise and take it. You raise you might just take it too.

Since the double-doubles in the first few hands of the level, we have seen very little action and, incredibly, very few flops. Turns and rivers... forget it.

As we near the break one big hand did play out with Ben Sabrin raising to $67k before the flop and Bart Tichelman suddenly pushing all-in for $352,000. Sabrin laid it down and the paint drying continues.

Feeling the pressure of the blinds, a short stacked Giovanni Marcacci just made a big move. Ben Sabrin made it $57,000 to go and Marcacci shoved for just over $100k more.

Sabrin contemplated the call for quite a few minutes.

"Oh god why do I hate math sometimes," Sabrin said, making the crying call.

It was K♣ Q♣ for Marcacci, in tight against Sabrin's 6♠ 6♦ and the race was on.

The flop was great for Marcacci as the A♣ 5♣ 7♠ made him a flush draw. The 4♦ turn was meaningless, but the 2♣ gave him the flush and he doubled up.

A short-stacked Mark Garner open-shoved for his last $160k and Donald Nicholson obliged with the call.

Garner's A♥ Q♦ was way ahead against Nicholson's A♠ 9♠ and looked great for the double when the flop came 7♥ Q♣ 8♣. The 6♣ on the turn meant a ten or a five could send Garner to the rail but the 2♥ gave him the check mark and he doubled to over $300k.

Here's the chip counts as things stand right now:

With just a few minutes left in this level play has seemingly ground to a halt. The structure has handed these players deep stacks with the average around $500k and the big blind only $16k, making for what is shaping up to be a marathon of a final table.

Most of the hands at this level have been of the raise-and-take-it variety with little action to report.

Only two players have been bounced in the first three hours of poker and no one seems to want to get their money in too quick and be the next one out. Why should they with the blinds being no threat at all.

Mark Garner made a $35,000 pre-flop raise only to see John Devia come over the top from the big blind for $105,000 total.

He made the call and watched Devia pushed out a $150k bet on the A♥ 4♠ 2♣ flop.

"You caught your ace huh?" Garner asked, before folding. "Nice bet."

Here's the updated chip counts:

Donald Nicholson $1,000,000

Ben Sabrin $800,000

John Devia $500,000

Ryan Young $358,000

Bart Tichelman $270,000

Mark Garner $220,000

Giovanni Marcacci $300,000

Giovanni Marcacci pushed his last $120k in pre-flop behind a John Devia $53,000 raise and needed some help with A♥ Q♦ after Devia made the call with 7♦ 7♣.

The 8♠ 9♦ 10♦ flop gave Marcacci any jack as another out and the 8♦ turn gave him even more possibilities considering any diamond, nine or ten would also make him the best hand.

The A♠ on the river was what did it and Marcacci doubles through Devia.

Right before players headed off on a 20-minute break Ben Sabrin doubled up.

His last $300k went all-in on the flop with the board reading 8♥ 7♠ 4♠ and he got the call from Giovanni Marcacci with A♠ 8♠. With pocket jacks, Sabrin would need to dodge an eight, ace or any spade and managed to double up when the 7♣ turn and K♦ river did not improve Marcacci's hand.

Sabrin's now got over $600k and Marcacci will be crippled when they come back from break.

Tom Schneider is out eighth after a stellar play by Ryan Young checking a straight twice. The action was a battle of the blinds as Young limped from the small blind and Schneider checked his option.

The flop came 10♠ 4♥ 9♣ and both players checked. The J♦ hit on the turn and Young checked, as did Schneider. It turned out the river was a great card for Young as the 9♦ fell and he checked again. Schneider made it $40k and Young came over the top, putting Tom all-in for his tournament life. He made the call felting K-9 for the rivered trips, but was done in by Young's slyly played Q-8 for the turned straight.

Schneider cashes $38,928.

John Devia just called a $36,000 pre-flop raise from Don Nicholson. He also just called a $50k raise from Nicholson on the A♦ 10♦ J♠ flop. The turn came the A♣ and once again, Devia flat-called a $50k raise from Nicholson.

On the river, the story changed as the 5♦ fell and Nicholson led out $50,000. Instead of calling, Devia raised another $100k, forcing Nicholson to a tough decision.

Nicholson called and was surprised to see his pocket kings beat not by an ace, but by Devia's boxcars making him tens-full.

Add another $250k to the massive mountain of chips Devia has been building since Day 1.

Giovanni Marcacci just made his most aggressive play of the final table so far. After Ben Sabrin made it $32k to go and John Devia limped, Marcacci popped it to $132k.

Just enough to force folds from Sabrin and Devia.

After Donald Nicholson made it $35,000 to go before the flop Ryan Young re-popped to $105,000 total. After it folded back to Nicholson he tanked it for a while before pushing all-in for his remaining $300k.

It didn't take very long before Young made the call showing his monster K♦ K♥. Unfortunately for him, Nicholson's bigger, badder monster was the A♠ A♥ and it got even worse when the flop brought the A♣ 3♦ 7♥.

Drawing to running kings, Young was done when the J♦ and 3♣ filled Nicholson up. While Don doubles up to around the $700k mark, Young is now under $200,000.

Here's the updated chip counts from the break:

John Devia $929,000

Ryan Young $703,000

Giovanni Marcacci $477,000

Ben Sabrin $354,000

Donald Nicholson $317,000

Tom Schneider $306,000

Bart Tichelman $297,000

Mark Garner $231,000

Mark Garner shoved his last $130k in the pot following a Tom Schneider open raise of $30,000.

The 2007 WSOP POY quickly called hoping his nines were the best hand. They were not. Garner held jacks and the jacks held when the final board read A♥ 5♥ 4♠ 10♠ 5♠.

Garner doubles and Schneider takes a hit he can hardly afford.

John Devia is holding a big stack and wielding it like a big stick.

After a Don Nicholson $30k raise and a call from Tom Schneider, Devia wasted little time measuring out an additional $75k to pump in the pot.

The big raise was enough to scare off both Nicholson and Schneider!

Jordan Rich is out ninth. He open-shoved for his last $97k and Donald Nicholson came over the top all-in behind him for $270,000.

Everyone stepped out of the way, putting Rich all-in for his tournament life, and he was in big trouble turning over J♦ 10♦ against Nicholson's pocket rockets.

The flop hit J♠ 7♣ 6♥ giving Jordan some outs, but the 3♠ 4♥ turn and river dashed those. For his ninth-place showing Rich will get $25,952 richer.

Ryan Young just picked up a pot worth over $200k pushing all-in on the flop. The action began with Donald Nicholson pushing in a $30,000 pre-flop raise. Young made it $90k behind him and got the call from Nicholson.

Donnie check-folded Q♠ J♣ 5♠ flop after Young shoved.

Don Nicholson is making some moves here at the final table.

He picked up the first of two pots joining the action by calling a $22,000 early position raise from Mark Garner. When Garner checked the Q♥ 8♦ 5♦ flop Nicholson promptly fired out a $33k bet. Garner looked to be counting out a raise but thought better of it, open-folding his A-K.

Nicholson then made a $25k pre-flop bet which was called by chip leader John Devia in the small blind. Nicholson took the pot down again, firing $40k at the 9♣ 4♠ 3♣ flop.

The cards are in the air from Tunica and a Ben Sabrin raise has taken the first pot.

Here We Go!

It's Tuesday in Tunica folks and that means the final table of the 2008 WSOP circuit event at the Grand Casino Tunica.

Internet problems here at the Grand's event center have left us unable to post anything up till now and have delayed the start of the tournament, but we're more than live now.

The final nine will began play in just a few minutes with John Devia in the chip lead sitting on just under 1 million chips. 2007 WSOP bracelet winner Ryan Young will start out next best with a little over $500k.

Giovanni Marcacci isn't far behind either with $465,000 and WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider will begin play with $422,000.

Rounding out the final table are Ben Sabrin with $417,000, Donald Nicholson with over $300k and short stacks Bart Tichelman, 2006 WSOP Main Event 25th-place finisher Mark Garner and 2007 WPT Five Diamond final-table participant Jordan Rich fighting for their tournament lives.

Stay tuned to PL.com and we'll bring you all the action from the banks of the Mississippi as it happens!