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Here is how the chip counts stacked up:

Darvin Moon - 58,930,000
Eric Buchman - 34,800,000
Steven Begleiter - 29,885,000
Jeff Shulman - 19,580,000
Joseph Cada - 13,215,000
Kevin Schaffel - 12,390,000
[url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Phil-Ivey.html]Phil Ivey[/url] - 9,765,000
Antoine Saout - 9,500,000
James Akenhead - 6,800,000

Out in ninth place was Englishman James Akenhead who finished runner up in a 2008 WSOP preliminary event. Akenhead got coolered early on, running K-K into A-A, and pushed his shortstack holding 3-3 into the 9-9 of 51 year old Kevin Schaffel. The board was no help to Akenhead, but the $1.2 million for ninth place had to of helped.

About twenty minutes after Akenhead’s exit, Schaffel was fortunate enough to get all-in preflop again with A-A. Eric Buchman showed K-K as the two players wait for the community cards to fall. The K-Q-J flop put 28 year old tournament grinder Buchman in the driver’s seat after being a 4-1 underdog preflop. Akenhead needed a T or an A on the turn or river, but no help came, sending Schaffel home to Florida with $1.3 million.

Darvin Moon – $58,000,000
Eric Buchman – 453,000,000
Steve Begleiter - $25,000,000
Antoine Saout - $22,000,000
Jeff Shulman - $16,000,000
[url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Phil-Ivey.html]Phil Ivey[/url] - $9,000,000
Joe Cada - $8,000,000

The players played two more hours until the dinner break at 10 PM.

Eric Buchman - $54,000,000
Darvin Moon - $41,000,000
Steve Begleiter - $38,000,000
Antoine Saout - $27,000,000
[url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Phil-Ivey.html]Phil Ivey[/url] - $16,000,000
Joe Cada - $10,000,000
Jeff Shulman - $7,000,000

Shortly after the break, [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Phil-Ivey.html]Phil Ivey[/url] moved all-in with A-K and was called, but dominated the A-Q of 45 year old lumberman Darvin Moon. The Q-6-6 flop brought a stunned look to Ivey’s face and silenced the crowd. The turn and river were bricks which shattered Ivey’s chance of winning the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Ivey would certainly trade the $1.4 million seventh place for another shot at the Main Event bracelet.

Eric Buchman - $53,000,000
Antoine Saout - $52,000,000
Darvin Moon - $40,000,000
Steve Begleiter - $22,000,000
Jeff Shulman - $16,000,000
Joe Cada - $10,000,000

Next to go was Steve Begleiter, who managed to qualify for the Main Event through his local [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/poker-league]poker league[/url]. Begleiter managed to get Q-Q all-in preflop versus the Moon’s A-Q of spades. The flop of 7-4-8 two spades turned the rest of the hand into a million dollar coin flip. The turn was a brick, and the river brought a spade sending Begleiter to the rail in sixth with over $1.5 million.

Next, 21 year old Joe Cada began to chip up. Cada three bet all-in with 3-3 and Jeff Shulman snapped with J-J. Cada flopped a set, and doubled up to 22,000,000 while Shulman was left with just 8,000,000 in chips. Next, Darvin Moon lost his mind and four bet Joe Cada all-in holding K-9 versus the A-A of Cada. Cada held and doubled up again.

Antoine Saout - $54,000,000
Eric Buchman - $49,000,000
Joe Cada - $45,000,000
Darvin Moon - $39,000,000
Jeff Shulman - $6,000,000

Card player editor Jeff Shulman shipped his short stack all-in with 7-7 and was called by Frenchman Antoine Saout. Saout hit a nine on the flop of 10-9-6 and Shulman failed to hit his outs on the turn or river. Shulman earned nearly $2 million for his fifth place finish.

Antoine Saout - $62,000,000
Eric Buchman - $55,000,000
Joe Cada - $45,000,000
Darvin Moon - $31,000,000

Countless all-in three bets propelled Moon into second place while Saout’s stack dwindled.

Buchman - $56,000,000
Moon - $53,000,000
Cada - $46,000,000
Saout - $39,000,000

Moon’s luck continued  when his A-K bested Buchman’s A-Q in a button versus blind battle. Moon was in control with nearly 90,000,000 in chips while Buchman plummeted to the bottom with about 10,000,000 in chips.

The players continued three handed until Antoine Saout reraised all in with 8-8 and was at risk with Cada showing A-K. The flop was a harmless 5-4-5. The turn bricked a 10, but the river was a heartbreaking King. Saout was eliminated in third, earning nearly $3.5 million. It was grueling 17 hours, but Cada and Moon would get be able to get some rest before going headsup for the most coveted WSOP bracelet.

Cada - $135,000,000
Moon - $58,000,000

Play resumed just past 1AM the next day.Within an hour young gun Joe Cada had blown his sizable chip lead and was out chipped by 100 million. Cada battled back and made an excellent call holding J-9, facing an all-in-checkraise, on a board of T-5-9-T. Darvin Moon showed 7-8 for a straight draw. The river was a 3 which allowed Cada to regain a slight chip lead.

About 15 minutes later it was over. Darvin Moon got himself in another marginal spot, getting his J-Q all in versus Joe Cada’s 9-9. The board ran out 8-7-2-K-7 sending Moon home as runner up with over $5 million. Joe Cada became the youngest Main Event champion ever at 21 years of age and earned over $8.5 million and the Main Event bracelet.

When he accepted his bracelet, Cada wanted to first congratulate the rest of the final table, including Moon. Cada also thanked his supporters. The 2009 Main Event has brought us a great champion and, more importantly, a young man on his way to becoming a great ambassador of poker

The first stop was Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. Ivey ignored the lavish villa prepared for him and proceeded to bet up to $50,000 on craps before leaving on his private plane. Rhyeem McCutchen, Ivey’s childhood friend, knows firsthand Ivey did not start out living the high life. Both grew up in Roselle, New Jersey where Ivey worked at a McDonald’s restaurant and shot dice in the bathroom to earn money.

After graduating from high school Ivey took a job as a telemarketer, but soon began to play poker in Atlantic City for days at a time. [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Phil-Ivey.html]Phil Ivey[/url] developed a love for poker at the age of 8. To escape the heat of his parents home, which wasn’t air conditioned, Ivey would sneak downstairs where his grandpa lived. His grandpa taught him the game and Phil took an immediate liking to it. Eight year old Ivey loved poker, despite the fact he was playing for mere pennies and his grandpa was cheating him. Ivey’s grandpa cheated in an attempt discourage Phil from gambling.

Unfortunately, love for something doesn’t translate to immediate success. Ivey admits when he was 18 he sometimes lost all his money during the night at the casinos and was forced to sleep under Atlantic City’s Boardwalk. Ivey described waking up to the sun as a “disgusting feeling.” Despite the setbacks, Ivey was determined to make a living at poker and expressed his desire to be unlike his parents, working 9-5 jobs.

The crews next stop was the Casino de Montreal in Canada. Ivey nonchalantly wrote a check for one million dollars in chips so he could play on another private high stakes craps table. Ivey started out down $365,000 but soon was up to $1.500,000. Ivey allowed a member of the E 60 crew toss the dice for him, but he lost, costing Ivey $240,000. Despite the loss, Ivey finished up $750,000 in about half an hour of play.

At the age of 21 Ivey moved to Las Vegas to become a professional poker player. In just three years [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Phil-Ivey.html]Phil Ivey[/url] amassed $550,000 by winning 4 WSOP bracelets. Not feeling satisfied, Ivey decided to play in a high stakes cash game at the Hustler Casino near Los Angeles. The pots in these high stakes games could be massive, reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars. Phil was soon down to the last $50,000 and called his friend McCutchen to sit behind him for his last stand. McCutchen conveyed to E 60 that Ivey was going to quit poker if he lost that last $50,000 to his name. That day Ivey destroyed the opposition, like he did in the WSOP tournaments, and finished with about two million dollars.

Amsterdam was the E 60 crews third stop. Phil expressed to the crew that today was a day off, which meant no gambling of any kind. The crew simply wandered around, taking in the sights and sounds of the beautiful city in the Netherlands.

Ivey continued to destroy Las Vegas cash games and tournaments. In 2006, Ivey and a group of players, deemed the Corporation, pooled their money together to each play billionaire Andy Beal heads up. In three days Ivey earned the group $16,600,000. The magnanimous Ivey bought his mother a condo, and provided his sister enough money to go to college and law school. Phil got a little something for himself too, a half-million Mercedes-McClaren SLR sports car.

The final stop for the E60 crew was an arena in Salzurg, Austria where Ivey was promoting [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url] poker. Thousands of fans cheered when he was introduced. He signed autographs and took pictures which could become more valuable if Ivey takes down the Main Event back in Las Vegas.

[url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Phil-Ivey.html]Phil Ivey[/url] has gone from sitting under the dark and cold boardwalk to sitting under the warm bright lights of the Main Event Final Table. His Main Event victory would be incredible, never has such a big name navigated its way to victory in a nearly 6500 player field. With all the obstacles [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Phil-Ivey.html]Phil Ivey[/url] has overcome, it may be unwise to bet against him, it may be destiny.