Tom West - Main Event Champion

Solid play for two days, a top stack from about 30 players down, Tom West improved on his 3rd place finish in the January 2015 HPT Main Event to defeat Nic Vu heads up and with the $154,590 top prize when his top pair on the flop held against Vu's flush draw.

Nic Vu - 2nd Place

A limped pot and the flop is 7♦️2♠️5♦️, Tom West checks, 275,000 from Nic Vu and aWest first counts out a call, then he moves all in and Vu insta-calls.

Vu -  J♦️6♦️
West - J♣️7♠️

Top pair versus a flush draw

The turn 5♣️ doesn't change anything

 A 2♣️ and it is all over, .. Nic Vu collects $94,500 for second place.

Event 10 - $1,650 HPT Main Event - Results

Here are the results (so far) for Event 10 - $1650 HPT Main Event - in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

9/23-28/15

464 Entries

Prize Pool

Pays 54 Places 

Place	Name	City	Cash
1	Tom West	Mountain View, CA	$154,590
2	Nic Vu	San Rafael, CA	$94,500
3	Randy Smith	Tracy, CA	$62,642
4	Minh Nguyen	Modesto, CA	$43,553
5	Craig Gold	Belmont, CA	$32,598
6	Adam Ghattas	Reno, NV	$25,205
7	David Carey	Rohnert Park, CA	$20,500
8	Daniel Hatch	Santa Clara, CA	$16,803
9	Doron Shako	San Jose, CA	$13,442
10	Valerie Hanley	Reno, NV	$10,888
11	Jaime Ronas	San Leandro, CA	$10,888
12	Larissa Buchman	n/a	$10,888
13	Robert Mitchell	Salt Lake City, UT	$4,772
14	Phuoc Nguyen	San Jose, CA	$4,772
15	Greg Guth	Yuba City, CA	$4,772
16	Nadav Noy	San Leandro	$4,772
17	Marcos Fontanos	Clovis, CA	$4,772
18	Steven Geralis	Stockton, CA	$4,772
19	Josh Prager	Yuba City, CA	$4,772
20	Dan Barker	Poulsbo, WA	$4,772
21	Yasir Maheed	Sacramento, CA	$4,772
22	Brent Lickiss	Grass Valley, CA	$4,772
23	Nicholas Matsumoto	Morgan Hill, CA	$4,772
24	Paul McCaffrey	San Ramon, CA	$4,772
25	Anne Bui	San Jose, CA	$4,772
26	Anthony Spinelli	n/a	$4,772
27	Sean Rogan	San Francisco, CA	$4,772
28	John Nicholson	San Jose, CA	$3,898
29	Paul Brown	Auburn, CA	$3,898
30	Edvin Talusan	San Francisco, CA	$3,898
31	Dan Stir	San Francisco, CA	$3,898
32	Triet Nguyen	San Francisco, CA	$3,898
33	Michael Pearson	San Francisco, CA	$3,898
34	Cary Marshall	Sparks, NV	$3,898
35	Arish Nat	Elk Grove, CA	$3,898
36	Kfir Nahum	Sunnyvale, CA	$3,898
37	Daniel Williams	San Jose, CA	$3,159
38	Exequiel Fernando	Elk Grove, CA	$3,159
39	Dorathea Timmons	Manteca, CA	$3,159
40	Mike Jacob	Hollister, CA	$3,159
41	Lance Garcia	Houston, TX	$3,159
42	James Richards	Denver, CO	$3,159
43	Anton Dimagiba	Sacramento, CA	$3,159
44	Matthew Dillon	Oakland, CA	$3,159
45	Ronald Larsen	Redding, CA	$3,159
46	David Forster	Alameda, CA	$2,890
47	Andrew Ling	Santa Rosa, CA	$2,890
48	Shane Preston	Sacramento, CA	$2,890
49	Jared Griener	Huntington Beach, CA	$2,890
50	Mark Lehnert	Sonora, CA	$2,890
51	Jacqueline Wesley	Hanford, CA	$2,890
52	Dipankumar Padsumbia	San Jose, CA	$2,890
53	Dokyun Kim	San Rafael, CA	$2,890
54	Ken Fitzgerald	Roseville, CA	$2,890

Vu Closes the Gap

The flop is 7♠️-Ax-2x, there's a bet of 175,000 by Tom West and a call by Nick Vu
The turn T♠️ draws a check from West, a 300,000 bet by Vu with a check-call from West.
On the 9♠️ river, West checks again, "600,000," Vu says aloud and West doesn't look happy about the bet but he makes the call.

Ks6♠️ for a flush and Vu gets a little more than a milly from West there

Blinds Up

to 60000/120000, just 115 total BB in play now heads up between Tom West and Nic Vu.

First Hand Fireworks

Nick Vu bets 250,000 on a Q-6-4 flop and West check-calls.

The 5♠️ on the turn gets another check from West, and Vu also checks

The river is a 3♠️ and Vu bets 400,000 and West 3-bets to 1,700,000 and Vu moves all in

Both players had a 7 so they chop it up and we start all over.

Bling to da Winner

Here's the @HPTPoker bracelet that winners get at each stop now.

Heads Up Chipcounts

Tom West has 9,815,000 chips and Nic Vu 4,090,000 as we get ready for heads up play here.

The winner takes home $154,590 and a $3,000 HPT Championships ppackage
The runner up collects $94,500

Randy Smith - 3rd Place

On a flop of Q-J-9 Randy Smith shoves and Tom West calls, having Smith covered.

Smith - Q♣️8♣️

West - Q♦️T♦️

Bigger kicker for West and there's straight draws for both players.

The 8 hits the turn for 2 pair for Smith but it hits West harder as he gets his straight.

The 6 ♣️eliminates Smith in 3rd place, moving us to heads up play. Smith cashes for $62,642

Aces for West

Randy Smith leads out, Tom West 3-bets to 800,000 and Nic Vu moves all in, with Smith folding and West quickly undershoving for 3,430,000

Vu - Q♦️J♠️
West - A♦️A♠️

7♥️K♠️8♠️T♥️ makes Vu open-ended
The river 4♥️ misses Vu and West takes the chiplead while Vu moves down to about 2 million

West Has Been Here Before

Tom West finished 3rd the last time @HPTPoker came to Thunder Valley, and here he is again with 3 remaining.

Minh Nguyen - 4th Place

Minh Nguyen is all in for his last 900,000 and Nic Vu makes the call.

Vu - A♥️4♣️
Nguyen - K♠️J♦️


The board runs out 3♠️7♥️8♦️T♠️6♣️ and Nguyen is eliminated in 4th place, cashing for $43,553, just shy of the $48,000 he won last weekend in Event 1.

Craig Gold - 5th Place

Craig Gold moves all in and Nic Vu makes the call.

Vu - K♦️9♥️
Gold - A♣️2♠️

The board runs out 4♠️5♠️9♣️T♥️K♣️ and Gold is eliminated in 5th place, cashing for $32,598

West Doubles Through Gold

Craig Gold moves all in preflop and Tom West snap-undershoves for 1,655,000.

West - J♦️J♥️
Gold - 6♣️6♥️

The flop is 7♣️T♠️7♦️, while the turn A♠️ and river T♣️ keep West in front and he gets a full double from Gold to 3.4 million and Gold slips to slightly below 1 million.

Adam Ghattas - 6th Place

Adam Ghattas all in for his last 115,000 at blinds of 50000/100000 and Tom West calls, tehn Minh Nguyen reraises all in and West folds.

Nguyen - J♠️J♣️
Ghattas - Q♠️3♥️

K♠️5♦️6♣️3s♠️2♣️ and Ghattas is eliminated in 6th place, cashing for $25,205.

Nguyen gets back to a milly.

Big Blinds

Blinds are now 50000/100000 for the final 6 players, leaving no player with more than 51BB

Dinner Break Chipcounts

Here are chipcounts for the 6 players at the @HPTPoker Main Event Final Table as they head off on dinner break.

Counts in seat-position-order ...

Nic Vu - 5,215,000 (52BB)

Randy Smith - 3,165,000 (31BB)

Tom West - 1,930,000 (19BB)

Minh Nguyen - 860,000 (8BB)

Craig Gold - 2,530,000 (25BB)

Adam Ghattas - 205,000 (2BB)

Vu Goes Big

Nic Vu and Adam Ghattas mix it up on the final hand before dinner break. The board is 6-T-A andVu bets 600,000 on the 8 turn and Ghattas makes the call.

The river is a 9 and Vu moves all in for his last 1,60,000.

Ghattas asks for a count and calls, showing A9 for 2 pair.

Vu shows 88 for a turned set and he's good.

They count down the chips and Ghatts has some, we can't see how many, but its not much, ad we'll update chipcounts in just a moment.

Pass the Broccoli Beef

The remaining 6 players have headed off on a 45-minute dinner break (not the hour-long-break we first announced). We'll have chipcounts here in a few, but we need to order some broccoli beef first.

Nguyen is Back

On the very next hand Minh Nguyen moves all in for his last 465,000 and Nic Vu makes the call.

Vu - T7
Nguyen - AhQs

There's an A and a Q in the window, plus a K for the flop, two pair for Nguyen, but that gives Vu a gutshot broadway draw.

6 on both the turn and river and just like that he's back to more than a milly.

Gold Undershoves and is Good

Minh Nguyen moves all in preflop and Craig Gold undershoves for 1,575,000.

Nguyen - A♦️Q♣️
Gold J♠️J♥️

The flop is 9♠️J♣️6♥️

The K♣️ on the turn gives Nguyen outs

But the case J hits the river for quads .. and Gold moves to what should be the chiplead now.

Ghattas Gets a Bluff Going

Adam Ghattas opens, there is a reraise for 420,000 from Minh Nguyen and Ghattas moves all in. Nguyen asks for a count - 1.2 million is the count - and Nguyen starts doing some chip-math as he debates a call, but decides to slow-fold his cards.

Ghattas show .... 7♠️4♠️ ...

Boat Over Boat

Whoa, Nic Vu gets Kings full, and Adam Ghattas throws his cards down as his 6's full is beat in a BIG pot ...

Give 'em a Rest

The remaining 6 players in the @HPTPoker Main Event have headed off on their second 15-minute break of the day. We'll have updated chipcounts for you before cards go back in the air.

David Carey - 7th Place

Tom West bets out preflop to put David Carey all in for 625,000 and Carey agrees.

West - A♥️Q♣️
Carey - 6♦️6♥️

The flop is 2♦️5♥️K♥️
The turn is the Q♥️ and the K♦️ eliminates Carey in 7th place, earning $20,500

West Chips Up the Easy Way

Tom West moved all in preflop on two consecutive hands, everyone folded and he added almost 30 percent to his stack, getting back close to a milly now.

Vu Doubles

Nic Vu moves all in for 945,000 on a 4x3♦️5♦️ flop and Adam Ghattas makes the call.

Vu - 88
Ghattas - A♦️T♦️

The turn is 7♥️ and the J♠️ gives Vu the double.

Quack Quack

David Carey's trip 2's bests the 2 pair of Adam Ghattas and Carey gets a full double-up.

I gotta get closer to the action so I can give y'all better chip-updates.

Vu in, They Gone

First time we've seen Nic Vu get really active today, and shoving for 885,000 is as active as you can get.

Everyone folds ...

Ben Says Pay More Per Bet

Blinds are going up to 30000/60000 with a 10000 ante, with 8 players remaining in the Main Event, a 15-minute break coming after this hour-long level. Yep, the small blind is now the same size as the players' starting stacks on Day 1.

Daniel Hatch - 8th Place

A shortstacked Daniel Hatch is all in and Tom West makes the call.


Hatch - Qh9c
West - KK

The board runs out 4-5-A-J-T and Hatch is out in 8th place, earning $16,800

Carey Doubles

David Carey is all in for 435,000 and Minh Nguyen makes the call.

Carey - A♣️T♠️
Nguyen - K♥️9♦️

The board runs out 2♠️Q♥️2♣️6♥️J♦️ and Carey doubles.

Doron Shako - 9th Place

Doron Shako moves all in for 660,000 and Craig Gold moves over the top for about 1.2 million

Gold - A♠️K♥️
Shako - A♣️T♥️

The flop is 7♥️Q♣️J♣️
A 7♦️ on the turn changes nothing
The river 6♣️ eliminates Shako in 9th place, earning him $13,442

West Doubles

Tom West is all in for his tournament life and David Carey makes the call.

Carey - J♣️J♥️
West - K♦️Q♠️

The flop is 77K, with a 3♥️ on the turn and the 9♥️ gives West the double, we couldn't hear the chipcount but he was all in the previous hand for around 600k.

There's been 4 all-in-and-a-call so far, and the short stack has doubled each time.

Shako Doubles

Doron Shako moves all in for 315,000 and Daniel Hatch moves all in also.

Shako - A♠️J♠️
Hatch - K♦️Q♥️

The flop is T♣️A♥️3♦️, while the 8♠️ turn doesn't change things.

The river 5♦️ gets a full double for Shako, leaving Hatch fairly short now. We are away from the table, unable to see a good view of chipstacks so counts are a tad tough.

Top 3 to a Flop

The top three chipstacks - Randy Smith, Minh Nguyen and Adam Ghattas take a look at a flop of  T♣️2♣️8♦️

Smith checks, Nguyen checks, Ghattas bets 225,000 and takes it down.

that was the biggest action since returning from break, folks, other than Tom West moving all in preflop and everyone folding.

Updated Chipcounts

Here are the updated chipcounts on first break of the @HPTPoker Main Event final table, with Adam Ghattas (pictured above) the chipleader.


(In seat position order)

1. Nic Vu - 1,130,000

2. Daniel Hatch - 705,000

3. Randy Smith - 2,590,000

4. Tom West - 585,000

5. Minh Nguyen - 2,305,000

6. Doron Shako - 1,515,000

7. David Carey - 1,290,000

8. Craig Gold - 1,715,000

9. Adam Ghattas - 3,070,000

Give 'em a Break, Jeremy

The nine @HPTPoker Main Event Final Table players are on a 15-minute break. We'll try to get updated chipcounts for you on break.

Gold Doubles Through Ghattas

Craig Gold moves all in for his last 565,000 and Adam Ghattas makes the call.


Gold - K♠️J♣️
Ghattas - Q♥️J♥️

The flop is K♦️A♣️6♦️
Turn A♦️
River A♣️

Gold gets a boat and gets 565,000 more in chips plus the blinds and antes.

Carey Doubles

Tom West bets out 200,000 on a Q♥️7♥️9♦️ flop and David Carey moves all in for his last 575,000, with West making the call.

Carey - A♥️T♥️
West - K♠️Q♣️

The turn 3♦️ misses Carey but he catches the 8♥️ on teh river and doubles up. We stay 9-handed.

Minh in, Tom Out

Tom West bets and Minh Nguyen hesitates a bit, then asks West how many chips he has behind. Nguyen has a few things to say quietly (we can't hear what he's saying) and after about 20 seconds more he looks to Wil The Dealer and Jeremy The Tournament Director and announces all-in.

West quickly lets go of his cards.

We watched Nguyen play last weekend's $200,000 guarantee final table (he won the event for a $48,000 first prize) and he did something very similar .. same movements, actions.. got a call and showedAA ... we didn't get to see this hand.

Long Time Before Another All in

Craig Gold moves all in from UTG+1, and it folds all the way around to ... everyone, Craig gets the blinds and antes.

Level Up

Now playing at 20000/40000 blinds and 5000 antes, still 9 remain.

First Action

Play has been a bit slow and methodical here at the final table, but just now Randy Smith 3-bet to 275,000, only to see Adam Ghattas reraise Smith all in from the 9 seat.

Smith thought for a few moments, and then released his cards to the chipleader.

Your Final Table

Here are the 9 players at today's @HPTPoker final table. (Front row, from left) Tom West, Minh Nguyen, Doron Shako, Adam Ghattas. (Back row from left) Nic Vu, Daniel Hatch, Randy Smith, David Carey, Craig Gold.

Ooooh Shiny

Here is the new HPT bracelet the winner receives here at Thunder Valley, and all HPT Main Event winners now receive a bracelet.

20-Minute LiveStream Delay

There is a 20-minute LiveStream delay for this event, so watch here in 20 minutes to see the action

Final Table Chipcounts

Getting ready for today's @HPTPoker Main Event final table. Here's what everyone has to start their day.

Play ended during Level 25, blinds of 15000/30000 with 4000 antes

1. Nic Vu - 1,393,000 (64BB)

2. Daniel Hatch - 1,375,000 (46BB)

3. Randy Smith - 1,287,000 (43BB)

4. Tom West - 2,263,000 (75BB)

5. Minh Nguyen - 1,542,000 (51BB)

6. Doron Shako - 1,612,000 (54BB)

7. David Carey - 1,100,000 (37BB)

8. Craig Gold - 739,000 (25BB)

9. Adam Ghattas - 2,592,000 (86BB)

LiveStream has Tournament Director Jeremy Smith on the mic, no backroom commentary.

Ready for the Final Table?

The @HPTPoker Main Event final table kicks off a bit after 1pm today, with LiveStream coverage on a 20-minute delay. You can watch all the action right here.

Players Championship Series Results Page

Here are the results for all events in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

Event 1 - $425 with $200,000 Guaranteed - Minh Nguyen winner
Event 2 - $150 with $50 Bounties - Ted Salman winner
Event 3 - $100 with $25 Bounties - Shannon Kahahane winner
Event 4 - $235 with $25,000 Guaranteed - James O'Connor winner
Event 5 - $150 Escalator with $10,000 guaranteed - Samedy Kuoch winner
Event 6 - $200 PLO8 with $10,000 guaranteed- Nicholas Adams winner
Event 7 - $150 Omaha8 with $10,000 Guaranteed - Steven Stinebaugh winner
Event 8 - $340 6-Max with $25,000 Guaranteed - Daniel Evans winner
Event 9 - $150 HORSE - Ryan Leonis winner
Event 10 - $1650 Main Event -
Event 11 - $265 OFC Pineapple - Ben Barad winner
Event 12 - $280 Survivor - 5 winners
Event 13 - $100 with $25 Bounties - Zachary Fairbrook winner

Event 13 - $100 with $25 Bounties - Results

Here are the results from Event 13 - $100 with $25 Bounties - in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

9/27/15
109 Entries
$6,322 Prize Pool
Pays 12 Places

Place	Name	City	Cash
1.	Zachary Davis	Roseville, CA	$1,400
2.	Ronald Hollis	Roseville, CA	$910
3.	Matthew Rogers	North San Juan, Ca	$910
4.	David Alcala II	Rocklin, CA	$910
5.	Nicholas Franch	Oakland, CA	$910
6.	Tracy Yeates	Roseville, CA	$325
7.	John Grisler	Rancho Cordova, CA	$269
8.	Kabir Halimi	Lincoln, CA	$205
9.	Nathan Patterson	Roseville, CA	$142
10.	Artem Kurudimov	Roseville, CA	$111
11.	Matt Massaro	Napa, CA	$111
12.	Jonathan Gonzales	Merced, CA	$111

Payouts 10-18th

Here are payouts in 10-18th place today in Event 10 - $1650 HPT Main Event - in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

Place	Name	City	Cash
10	Valerie Hanley	Reno, NV	$10,888
11	Jaime Ronas	san Leandro, CA	$10,888
12	Larissa Buchman	n/a	$10,888
13	Robert Mitchell	Salt Lake City, UT	$4,772
14	Phuoc Nguyen	San Jose, CA	$4,772
15	Greg Guth	Yuba City, CA	$4,772
16	Nadav Noy	San Leandro	$4,772
17	Marcos Fontanos	Clovis, CA	$4,772
18	Steven Geralis	Stockton, CA	$4,772

Where They Sit and What They Got

Here are the seat assignments and chipcounts for Monday's @HPTPoker Main Event final table. Cards go in the air at 1pm, with the LiveStream starting about 20 minutes afterwards.

Play ended during Level 25, blinds of 15000/30000 with 4000 antes

1. Nic Vu - 32 yrs old - Poker Pro - 1,393,000 (64BB)

2. Daniel Hatch - 26 yrs old - no listed occupation - 1,375,000 (46BB)

3. Randy Smith - 56 yrs old - Marketing VP - 1,287,000 (43BB)

4. Tom West - 32 yrs old - Caterer'Poker Pro - 2,263,000 (75BB)

5. Minh Nguyen - 30 yrs old - Life Insurance Agent - 1,542,000 (51BB)

6. Doron Shako - 30 yrs old - Online Advertiser - 1,612,000 (54BB)

7. David Carey - 64 yrs old - Self Employed - 1,100,000 (37BB)

8. Craig Gold - 43 yrs old - Business Consultant - 739,000 (25BB)

9. Adam Ghattas - 34 yrs old - Real Estae Investor/Consultant - 2,592,000 (86BB)

LiveStream has Tournament Director Jeremy Smith on the mic, no backroom commentary.

Here's What They're Playing For

Here are the payouts for the final table of the @HPTPoker Main Event.

9/23-27/15
464 Entries
$672,120 Prize Pool
Pays 54 Places

Place	Payout
1	$154,590
2	$94,500
3	$62,642
4	$43,553
5	$32,598
6	$25,205
7	$20,500
8	$16,803
9	$13,442

Monday's Final Table

Daniel Hatch

Minh Nguyen

Nick Vu

Adam Ghattas

David Carey

Tom West

Doron Shako

Craig Gold

Randy Smith

Valerie Goes Home, 9 Come Back

There's a raise to 75,000 preflop and four callers, including Valerie Hanley and Adam Ghattas. With a 250,000 bet on the 5♠️2♥️8♦️ flop from Ghattas, only Hanley comes along.

The 4♠️ turn gets a 350,000 bet from Ghattas and another call from Hanley.

Hanley jams the 7♠️ river for her last 414,000 and Ghattas waits until there is a full count .. and makes the call, having Hanley covered.

Hanley - K♣️5♣️ for a flopped 2nd pair

Ghattas - 22 for flopped bottom set

... and we're at tomorrow's TV Final Table, while Hanley finishes in 10th, cashing for $10,888.

Unofficial Final Table

Here are the seat assignments and unofficial chipcounts for the unofficial final table in the @HPTPoker Main Event, including chipleader Tom West, with 2,350,000.

1. Niv Vu - 1,396,000

2. Daniel Evans - 1,325,000

3. Randy Smith - 1,305,000

4. Valerie Hanley - 1,108,000

5. Tom West - 2,350,000

6. Minh Nguyen - 2,117,000

7. Doron Shako - 1,605,000

8. David Carey - 1,108,000

9. Craig Gold - 747,000

10. Adam Ghattas - 1,386,000

K6>KT

Jaime Ronas is all in with KT against the K6 of Doron Shako on a K6x board. No T appears on the turn or river and we are now at the unofficial final table.

Seat assignments and chipcoutns coming in a few moments.

Nguyen Gets There Again

Robert Mitchell is all in for his tournament life and Minh Ngyuen has nim slightly covered, and makes the call.

Mitchell - JJ

Nguyen - AK

There is a K in the window and that's all she wrote. Mitchell is eliminated in 13th place, earning $8,133.

As we are posting this, we lose Larissa Buchman in 12th ($10,888) bringing us one from the unofficial final table

Event 12 - $280 Survivor - Results

Here are the results from Event 12 - $280 Survivor - in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

9/27/15
59 Entries
$14,750 Prize Pool
Pays 6 Places

Place	Name	City	Cash
1.	Ian Bey	San Francisco, CA	$2,500
1.	Greg Jennings	Shawnee Mission, KS	$2,500
1.	Ira Greene	Nevada City, CA	$2,500
1.	Ashkun Lajevardi	Fresno, CA	$2,500
1.	Garrett Gruener	Berkeley, CA	$2,500
6.	Mario Sequeira	Hanford, CA	$2,250

Working Towards the FT

Just 13 remain, 4 away from the unofficial final table, and 4 eliminations away from the end of the night. The final 9 come back at 1pm tomorrow to play in the Red lantern Restaurant where the HPT crew is filming the entire table and it is being LiveStreamed right here and at hptpoker.com (no backroom commentary, TD Jeremy Smith is on the mic brining you the action).

Marcos Fontanos is out in 17th ($6,251)
Nadav Noy in 16th ($6,251)
Greg Guth in 15th ($8,133)
Phuoc Nguyen in 14th ($8,133)

Payouts 19-27th

Here are payouts in 19-27th place today in Event 10 - $1650 HPT Main Event - in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

Place	Name	City	Cash
19	Josh Prager	Yuba City, CA	$4,772
20	Dan Barker	Poulsbo, WA	$4,772
21	Yasir Maheed	Sacramento, CA	$4,772
22	Brent Lickiss	Grass Valley, CA	$4,772
23	Nicholas Matsumoto	Morgan Hill, CA	$4,772
24	Paul McCaffrey	San Ramon, CA	$4,772
25	Anne Bui	San Jose, CA	$4,772
26	Anthony Spinelli	n/a	$4,772
27	Sean Rogan	San Francisco, CA	$4,772

So THAT is How to Play Those Cards

Nic Vu is all in for 431,000 and Nadav Noy makes the call, having him covered.

Noy - A♠️A♦️

Vu - J♠️J♣️

The flop of 2♠️7♣️6♣️ does little for VU but add a backdoor flush draw.

The turn A♣️ gives Noy a set but it also completes half of that backdoor draw for Vu.

Noy yells and slaps the felt hard when the T♣️ lands on the river, finishing off the flush, doubling Vu and leaving Noy with about 105,000.

Valerie's Soul Read

There's a ton of chips in the pot preflop, again, between Minh Nguyen and Valerie Hanley, and more go in on a flop of T♦️T♥️Q♠️.

Hanley leads out for 100,000 and Nguyen announces all-in.

Hanley pauses, stares, looks at her chips and then reaches for all four stacks and slides them in to make the call.

Nguyen stares, almost in disbelief and says "good call," as he turns over AJ.

Hanley smiles and turns over  .... AJ 

Chop it up, folks.

Level 24 Chipcounts

Here are chipcounts for the remaining 17 players as Level 24 begins, blinds of 12000/24000 and antes of 3000.

Table 1
Daniel Hatch - 1,389,000
Nadav Noy - 122,000
Minh Nguyen - 1,415,100
Robert Mitchell - 521,000
Valerie Hanley - 664,000
Nic Vu - 407,000
Adam Ghattas - 1,331,000
Phuoc Nguyen - 772,000

Table 2 
Larissa Buchman - 868,000
Marco Fontenos - 257,000
Greg Gugh - 661,000
Randy Smith - 723,000
Jaime Ronas - 675,000
David Carey - 1,197,000
Tom West - 1,799,000
Craig Gold - 877,000
Doron Shako - 366,000

Send it to 2 Tables

Once we said play had slowed, the players accelerated play and we had a few bustouts in a row. We're down to 2 tables now and right as we move to 2 we lose Steven Geralis 18th place, so we have one 9-handed table and one 8-handed table.

We'll grab chipcounts for you as players are going on z 15-minute break.

We Interrupt This Poker Tournament

OK, so we needed to slip in this semi-ok picture from tonight's lunar eclipse .. now back to the pokers.

The Pace Sloweth

A few players busted out fairly soon after dinner break, but play has slowed considerably here in Level 23 - blinds of 10000/20000 with 3000 antes - as players position themselves to move up the pay ladder and try to be one of the nine playing on TV tomorrow at the HPT Main Event Final Table.

Final Table play begins at 1pm inside the Red Lantern Restaurant here at Thunder Valley. Come out, have lunch while watching the action, or watch the LiveStream commentary right here.

97 Bounty Entries and Growing

There are 97 entries right now in the final event of the 2015 Players Championship Series, the $100 with $25 bounties, and there's still 55 minutes left to enter.

Geralis Outlasted Cord This Time

Cord Garcia - the WSOP Colossus champion - finished in th place here today. Steven Geralis didn't get Garcia during Colossus, but he's still going with 23 remaining today in the HPT Main Event.

Geralis was one of the first names to catch people's attention when the largest-ever poker tournament took place at this year's WSOP. Geralis finished Day 1C as the overall chipleader, building his 5,000 starting stack up to 159,000.

"There's a long way to go, so I'm not trying to get too high right now," Geralis told PokerNews after he wrapped up his first Colossus day. "It feels good to have the opportunity to possibly win some serious money."

Geralis finished in 509th place, cashing for $5,000 while Garcia went on to collect more than $600,000 for the win.

Geralis also has something in common with chipleader Minh Nguyen, as both are former champions in the $425 DeepStack that kicks off four different series' ehre at Thunder Valley. Geralis won the August 2013 Players Championship Series $425 for $42,000, his biggest cash to date.

Payouts 28-36

Here are payouts in 28-36th place today in Event 10 - $1650 HPT Main Event - in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

Place	Name	City	Cash
28	John Nicholson	San Jose, CA	$3,898
29	Paul Brown	Auburn, CA	$3,898
30	Edvin Talusan	San Francisco, CA	$3,898
31	Dan Stir	San Francisco, CA	$3,898
32	Triet Nguyen	San Francisco, CA	$3,898
33	Michael Pearson	San Francisco, CA	$3,898
34	Cary Marshall	Sparks, NV	$3,898
35	Arish Nat	Elk Grove, CA	$3,898
36	Kfir Nahum	Sunnyvale, CA	$3,898

Big Clash of the Big Stacks

 Valerie Hanley got the best of Minh Nguyen for a few hands, and they are back at it on a QT4 flop. By the time we get down to the river, Nguyen is all in for 770,000 and Hanley makes the call, having him covered.

Hanley - QT for a flopped top two pair
Nguyen - 44 for a flopped bottom set

Nguyen gets back up to 1,535,000 while Hanley slips back to 640,000

A Gold Double

Craig Gold moves all in and gets a call from Anthony Spinelli for what looks ot be pretty even stacks.

Gold - 99
Spinelli - A7

No Ace shows, and with a countdown of chips, Spinelli is left with just 4 antes, and he is eliminated on the very next hand in 26th place.

Craig Gold 212,000

New Table Layout

Here is the redraw for the final 27 players.

Table 1
1. Sean Rogan
2. Anne Bui
3. Minh Nguyen
4. Robert Mitchell
5. Valerie Hanley
6. Nic Vu
7. Adam Ghattas
8. Phuoc Nguyen
9. Brent Lickiss

Table 2
1. Larissa Buchman
2. Dan Barker
3. Greg Guth
4. Daniel Hatch
5. Nick Matsumoto
6. David Carey
7. Tom West
8. Josh Prager
9. Doron Shako

Table 3
1. nadav Noy
2. Anthony Spinelli
3. Marcos Fontanos
4. Jaime Ronas
5. Paul McCaffrey
6. Craig Gold
7. Yasir Maheed
8. Randy Smith
9. Steven Geralis

Dinner Break Chipcounts

We didn't make the redraw before dinner break. 28 players remain and they are off an an hour-long break.

Here are the chipcounts for everyone. Play resumes in 35 minutes at blinds of 8000/16000 and 2000 antes

Table 1
Nadav Noy - 164,000
Adam Ghattas - 1,042,000
Paul McCaffrey - 296,000
Minh Nguyen - 1,329,000
Nick Matsumoto - 366,000
Randy Smith - 222,000
Doron Shako - 484,000

Table 2
Tom West - 1,484,000
Marko Fontanos - 315,000
Nic Vu - 325,000
Larissa Buchman - 195,000
Josh Prager - 289,000
Brent Lickiss - 153,000

Yasir Maheed - 341,000

Table 3
Phuoc Nguyen - 842,000
Jaime Ronas - 189,000
Robert Mitchell - 530,000
Anthony Spinelli - 231,000
Daniel Hatch - 699,000
Greg Guth - 367,000

Dan Barker - 391,000

Table 4
Craig Gold - 148,000
Anne Bui - 190,000
David Carey - 538,000
Steven Geralis - 903,000
Valerie Hanley - 1,261,000
Sean Rogan - 165,000
John Nicholson - 98,000

And Just Like That ...

John Nicholson is eliminated in 28th on the first hand back from dinner break .. here comes the redraw ...

Who Has a Milly or More?

Four players have crested the milly-mark with 28 left and 8 minutes until dinner break.

Minh Nguyen is up to 1.6 million
Tom West is at 1.25 million
Valerie Hanley - who started Day 2 as chipleader - is to 1.05 million
Phuoc Nguyen is at 1  million

Chipleader Gets Airtime

HPT Sideline Reporter @DreaRenee_N catches up with Thunder Valley Main Event chipleader Minh Nguyen.

Event 12 - $280 Survivor - Payouts

Here are the payouts for Event 12 - $280 Survivor - in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

9/27/15
59 Entries
$14,750 Prize Pool
Pays 6 Places

1. $2,500
2. $2,500
3. $2,500
4. $2,500
5. $2,500
6. $2,250

2014 Champ Down

2014 HPT Thunder Valley champion Ezequiel Fernando has been eliminated in 38th place.

Dinner in an Hour

One more hour until dinner break for the 33  remaining players in the Main event as they now move to Level 21.

Level 21

Blinds 6000/12000

Antes 2000

Minh Gets Cary

Minh Nguyen continues to send players to the rail, this time knocking out Cary Marshall (5th place here in the Ante Up World Championships last month) when his 55 flops a set against the AT of Marshall.

Nguyen is at 1,250,000.

Payouts 37-45

Here are payouts in 37-45th place today in Event 10 - $1650 HPT Main Event - in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

Place	Name	City	Cash
37	Daniel Williams	San Jose, CA	$3,159
38	Exequiel Fernando	Elk Grove, CA	$3,159
39	Dorathea Timmons	Manteca, CA	$3,159
40	Mike Jacob	Hollister, CA	$3,159
41	Lance Garcia	Houston, TX	$3,159
42	James Richards	Denver, CO	$3,159
43	Anton Dimagiba	Sacramento, CA	$3,159
44	Matthew Dillon	Oakland, CA	$3,159
45	Ronald Larsen	Redding, CA	$3,159

West Gets to a Milly

Tom West calls the all in of Kfir Nahum for 202,000 and the cards are turned up.

Nahum - A5
West - 66

No Ace shows for Nahum and the 2015 Bay 101 Open champ is eliminated in 36th place while West - 3rd place in the HPT Main Event here last January for $64,000-plus, moves to 2nd in the chipcounts.

Kfir Nahum - $3,898
Tom West - 1,080,000

1-2-27

1 table 2 we hit 27 players.

36 remain in the Main Event, a redraw at 27.

Level 20

Blinds 5000/10000

Antes 1000

Cord's Airtime

HPT Sideline Reporter @DreaRenee_N caught up with WSOP Colossus winner Cord Garcia before his Day 2 exit in the Main Event here today. Garcia cashed in 41st place for $3,159.

Drea Catches up With Robert

Here is sideline reporter @DreaRenee_N as she catches up with @HPTPoker Reno Main Event FTist Robert Mitchell during Day 2 play here at Thunder Valley.

Ooooh, Chippies

Those two green stacks - not even counting the other 9 atop - make up 300,000 more in chips than anyone else's entire stack today. Those two greens = a cool milly and belong to Minh Nguyen.

The total count ... 1,464,000

2nd Break Chipcounts

Here are chipcounts from across the field with 42 players remaining as the second 15-minute break of the day kicks in. Players return to Level 20, blinds of 5000/10000 and 1000 antes, plus the introduction of the green 25000 chips. Minh Nguyen gets almost all of the greens.

1,363,000 - Minh Nguyen
673,000 - Yasir Maheed
620,000 - Tom West
606,000 - Phuoc Nguyen
583,000 - Valerie Hanley
550,000 - Adam Ghattas
475,000 - Dan Barker
470,000 - Doron Shako
455,000 - Robert Mitchell
396,000 - Anthony Spinelli
341,000 - Mike Jacob
324,000 - Randy Smith
271,000 - Jaime Ronas
264,000 - Paul McCaffrey
220,000 -Cary Marshall
216,000 - Triet Nguyen
198,000 - Kfir Nahum
183,000 - Craig Gold
175,000 - Anne Bui
88,000 - Cord Garcia
76,000 - Dee Timmons
36,000 - JR Richard

Bounty Tourney at 7pm

The final event of the 2015 Players Championship Series, Event 13, a $100 with $25 bounties, goes at 7pm tonight. Players start with 6,000 chips and play 20-minute levels in the no-ante event.

Late registration in this 1+1 event (one entry, one re-entry per person) closes when cards go in the air to start level 5.

Payouts 46-54

Here are payouts in 46-54th place today in Event 10 - $1650 HPT Main Event - in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

Place	Name	City	Cash
46	David Forster	Alameda, CA	$2,890
47	Andrew Ling	Santa Rosa, CA	$2,890
48	Shane Preston	Sacramento, CA	$2,890
49	Jared Griener	Huntington Beach, CA	$2,890
50	Mark Lehnert	Sonora, CA	$2,890
51	Jacqueline Wesley	Hanford, CA	$2,890
52	Dipankumar Padsumbia	San Jose, CA	$2,890
53	Dokyun Kim	San Rafael, CA	$2,890
54	Ken Fitzgerald	Roseville, CA	$2,890

Slightly Bigger Bread Box

Matthew @biggerbreadbox Dillon and chipleader Minh Nguyen see a flop of 7♦️T♦️2♠️.

Nguyen bets 65,000 and Dillon moves all-in for 239,000, sending Nguyen into the tank for almost two minutes before making the call.

Dillon - 6♣️9♠️

Nguyen - 9♦️T♣️

The board doesn't produce the gutshot 8 for Dillon and he is eliminated in 44th place, cashing for $3,159.

"I was getting bullied and I had to take a chance," said Dillon as his day ended.

Set Hurts Cord's Stack

Cord Garcia flops a set, running in to top pair and 2nd nut flush draw of Dan Barker. Barker gets there on the turn, cutting Garcia down to 88,000 chips. Barker moves up to 454,4000 with his double-up.

Bubble Video

Check out the HPT Video Crew's quick shot of the bubble bursting in today's Main Event,

Jackie's Money-Chips

Jackie Wesley barely held on through the money bubble, down to only three antes .... she turned those 3000 chips in to $2,500.

Boat Bursts Bubble

The flop is 5♥️4♦️5♠️ and Ronald Wu is already all-in, with Jaime Rones and one other player continuing the action down to the turn (7♠️) and river (J♣️).

Rones flopped a boat and that was the end of that story, and of the money bubble. Wu is out in 55th, one shy of the money.

12 = 55

12 hands in and the 55 remaining players are still on the money bubble.

Cord Gets one from Minh

Minh Nguyen is up to 1,165,000 at the start of the hand, he sees a turn of Q♠️3♠️5♦️Q♦️ and watches

Cord Garcia bet 22,000, Nguyen 3-bets to 55,000, Garcia 4-bets to 84,000 and Nguyen releases.

Garcia moves to 325,000

4 All-ins at 4 Tables

Up to the 7th hand on the money bubble -- next out gets nada while the mincash today is $2,890 ... and now the action gets fast and furious

Dee Timmons all in with JJ v. AK of Anton Dimagiba

Triet Nguyen with AA against the JJ of Yasir Maheed

Two players both with AJ at an outer table

Minh Mguyen 4-bets all-in against Cary Marshall.

Timmons doubles, Triet Nguyen doubles, the AJ's chop and Marshall folds.

One more hand, dealers

Bubble Continues

Two unventful hand-for-hand plays, then Greg Guth and Anton Dimagiba mix it up with a 35,000 preflop raise from Guth and a call from Dimagiba.

The flop is A♠️T♥️T♦️ and Guth jams his last 82,000 ... Dimagiba folds, and hand-for-hand continues ... nothing on the next hand either and we are on to the 5th hand.

One and (not) Done

First hand of hand-for-hand play and Nick Matsumoto moves all-in, into the BB of chipleader Minh Nguyen ... who folds ...

Next hand, please.

We've Made hand-for-Hand Time

Down to 55, playing 54, we're hand-for-hand in the $1650 HPT Main Event

Wakamiya Comes up Short

Jeff Wakamiya is all-in for his tournament life with AK against his opponent's 88 and the 8's hold, sending Wakamiya to the rail four shy of the money.

How They Went Out

Here's what happened to a few of the players as they busted short of the money on Day 2 of the @HPTPoker Main Event. We'll let them tell you themselves in 140 characters.

@HPTPoker @TVPokerRoom CL opens from UTG for 10k. I make it 25k from button w AA. Get AIP vs KK. K river. Ouch! :-)

— Stan Jablonski (@StanJablonski) September 27, 2015

Busted @HPTPoker ME @TVPokerRoom 60th. Put my last 7bb in w KJ and ran into AK. Good luck to those still in.

— Joseph (@Run_It_Twice) September 27, 2015

Out in 61st of 464 in @HPTPoker main event @TVPokerRoom. Seven short of $. Was extremely short-stacked shoved Ac6c from SB. BB woke up w/AA.

— Joseph Shufelberger (@JShufelberger) September 27, 2015

37 Survivors in Level 1

Event 12 of the Players Championship Series is a $280 Survivor tourney, where the top percent of the field all cash for $2,500. There are 37 entries after level 1, with late registration open until level 5.

Play began at 1pm, players start with 10,000 chips and play 30-minute levels.

Hand-for-Hand in 3

58 remain

And 54 cash

So hand-for-hand starts at 55

No back-to-back

Duke Lee, winner last week's HPT Main Event in Reno, has been eliminated before reaching the money.

First Break Chipcounts

Here are some chipcounts from across the room on first break of Day 2 in the HPT Main Event.

598,000 - Minh Nguyen
584,000 - Adam Ghattas
525,000 - Tom West
494,000 - Valerie Hanley

480,000 - Cary Marshall
410,000 - Dan Stir
400,000 - Nic Vu
382,000 - Cord Garcia
353,000 - Randy Smith
302,000 - Matthew Dillon
274,000 - Anthony Spinelli
231,000 - Paul McCaffrey

193,000 - Jeff Wakamiya

128,000- Brett Murray

79,000 - Dee Timmons

56,000 - Joseph Arent

54,000 - Anne Bui

Jeremy Says take a Break

The 62 remaining players have headed off on a 15-minute break, just 8 eliminations away from the money.

Not Another Hometown Title for JC

While we were watching action at Dan Stir's table, JC Tran was eliminated from the HPT Main Event before reaching the money.

66 players remain.

Stir with a Big One

Dan Stir and his opponent have almost 300,000 in the pot preflop and are taking a look at the flop of T♠️T♦️4♦️.

Stir puts his last 170,000 out in front of him and his opponent goes deep into the tank, counting out a total of 210,000 - just 40k left behind with blinds of 2500/500 if he calls and is wrong.

"Show me if I fold?" he asks, and  Stir doesn't stir.

About 90 seconds later, KK goes face up into the muck and Stir goes to 490,000 chips.

Add an Hour

Players are now in their second hour-long level of the day and the board shows 80 remaining, 26 to the money.

Level 17

Blinds 2500/5000

(Allen Kessler would be proud)

Antes 500

Stan's Aces, Minh's Kings

Stan Jablonski is all in and called - and covered - by last weekend's $200,000 guarantee champ Minh Nguyen.

Jablonski - AA
Nguyen - KK

The flop and turn do nothing to change the action, but a K on the river eliminates Jablonski.

Minh Nguyen - 517,000 - chipleader

Does His Wife Know?

Paul McCaffrey finished fifth last weekend in the $200,000 guarantee here at Thunder Valley, joking before the LiveStreamed final table began that he didn't want to be shown because his wife didn't know he was playing.

I wonder if she is reading along now to learn that Paul just knocked Joe Barry out of the HPT Main Event, chipping up to 356,000?

Raymer Down

We arrived after action had completed, but 2004 WSOP Main Event champ Greg Raymer has been eliminated from Day 2 of the HPT Main Event before reaching the money.

Marshall Chips Up

Cary Marshall leads out on a J♥️8♠️Q♥️ flop and Brent Bruno moves all in. Marshall announces a call and shows K♦️T♦️ for an open ended draw. Bruno just stares and slowrolls over A♠️Q♦️.

The turn 8 gives Bruno two pair but the river 9♦️ completes Marhsall's straight and Bruno is out in 93rd place.

Cary Marshall - 360,000