A Message from Chuck Weinstock

This is the last chapter in the reporting of the 1998 World Series of Poker. I'd like to thank Mike Paulle and Tom Sims for the terrific job they did this year. And, I'd like to thank you, the faithful reader, for caring enough to read their efforts. Finally, a special thanks to Jim Albrecht and Binion's Horseshoe for all of his assistance in making this happen.

We will announce when the play-by-play's of the final tables becomes available.

Hope to see you all at the final table next year.

You made it!!! The Final Table of the World Series of Poker.

Since it's vacant, we'll put you in the six seat between Scotty Nguyen and the dealer.

This is what you see.

Completely different from every other Final Table this year, you've entered a set for a television show. Overhead, the lights form a circle around the table. Behind you is a raised podium where the commentators sit. There are ESPN cameras in every direction. One is trained right on your hand. Another camera is at the end of a giant boom that extends out over the table.

Your every movement is followed by at least one camera. If you didn't know before that this was a big deal, you know it now.

On the other side of the dealer, Kevin McBride is your small blind. Lee Salem is your big blind. You're not worried about Salem. He drew the two seat, poor guy. No one has won an event from the two seat in this year's World Series. You hope he stays around for awhile, though. Because if Salem gets up, T.J. Cloutier in the three seat, becomes your big blind.

The director is standing just to your left. He wants you to flash your cards to the camera. He's saying, hopefully, that no one will see them before the scheduled telecast in a couple of months. You decide not to let anyone see your cards at first, but you'll think about it.

Directly across from you, behind Cloutier and Dewey Weum, is the comforting presence of a standing Jack McClelland. You know Jack will make sure that this will be a real poker game, not just a media circus.

Beyond Jack is a barrier. Behind that are the fans. The room is packed. As close as they are, they are hard to see because the table area is so brightly lit.

You have to wake up now, they are about to start. Your dream of making the Final Table is still unrealized.

Maybe next year.

THE DANCERS

After three grueling days, these five survivors are the last left sitting. Every other entrant has had their chair pulled out from under them.

The Dancers are:

Kevin McBride from Boca Raton FL. No one really knows him. We've been told he just started playing tournament poker in January of this year, and won his seat in a Super Satellite. Wow, what a fantasy trip this must be for him!

Lee Salem from San Diego CA. He's not well known, either, but is an experienced player.

T.J. Cloutier from Houston TX. What can you say about T.J. except "Been here, done this." He's done everything, that is, except win the Big One.

Dewey Weum from Monona WI. Another known quantity. A veteran of the poker wars, Dewey can be depended upon to be tough.

And Scotty Nguyen from Henderson NV. A very aggressive player, Scotty is expected to bring action to the table.

THE STEPS

The average chip count for the five players is $700,000. Three have more than that, two have a lot less. The lowest chips belong to Lee Salem. He wants to do something about that right away.

He does, he loses them all.

Soon after we start, Kevin McBride raises 40k on the button. Lee Salem goes over the top with A J in the small blind for 163k more, all-in. Kevin called with the A 4 of clubs.

The flop is K 8 7 with two clubs, and in a continuation of what happened yesterday, once again, the best hand pre-flop is dead meat.

A club comes on the turn. Gee, Lee, we hardly knew ya.

Almost immediately, the game is really short-handed. With each round costing 23k in antes and blinds, this is a huge advantage to the bigger stacks. Only Dewey Weum, with about 35 times the big blind, is in any danger.

Soon after Lee Salem leaves, the expected pattern starts to emerge. Dewey Weum raises the big blind for 50k. Scotty Nguyen raises 120k. Dewey folds. This is what one of the three large stacks is supposed to do. Scotty does it this time.

Not long after, Kevin McBride on the button raises the blinds 50k. T.J. re-raises 200k. Kevin, as all the remaining players will do repeatedly, shows his hand. McBride lays down a pair of 10's.

In the first big pot four handed, Kevin McBride calls Scotty Nguyen's 200k bet on the turn and turns over a 3 5 for a straight. Kevin takes over the chip lead.

Later, in what's to be a rare sight this day, McBride goes over the top of Cloutier's 200k bet all-in for 900k. Cloutier folds. Kevin shows Kings.

After a few more hands we have our first break. The ante and blind level, that was carried over from yesterday, is history. We're going to "get it out of the mud" as Rudy Lotief likes to say.

The new ante is $2,000 and the blinds are $10,000 and $20,000. With only four players, a round comes insanely fast. And at $38,000 a round, we're talking about real money.

In one of the first hands of the new level, Nguyen bets 190k on the river with the board A 9 5 A 5. McBride shows K K and folds.

The higher level soon does it's job, it scares a small stack into acting.

On the button, Dewey Weum goes all-in with his last 150k. McBride does what he likes to do best. From the big blind this time, he calls.

McBride calls so much, he should do commercials for the phone company.

Weum has A 7. Kevin has K J of Diamonds. Not to keep us in suspense, the flop comes K K 7.

"Well, when you're running good, you're running good." McBride says smiling, before Dewey Weum can even leave the table. He's inexperienced, you'll have to forgive him.

In an interesting confrontation that follows, Cloutier twice checks the flopped second nut flush. T.J. has to bet on the river to try to make something, but Nguyen doesn't bite. Cloutier bets 200k, Scotty folds a pocket pair of 9's.

Kevin McBride has established a pattern of betting. Call a raise, bet first. This time Scotty Nguyen raises 70k. The flop is K 9 3. McBride bets out 100k. Scotty folds. Kevin shows a King.

Scotty Nguyen sees McBride's pattern, of course, and takes advantage of it. Nguyen raises 70k on the button. Kevin calls as usual. The flop comes 6 6 3. Kevin bets as usual, this time it's 60k. Nguyen pops him 170k. Kevin strokes his goatee a minute then folds. Cloutier turns to Jack McClelland behind him to ask if the dealer can turn over T. J.'s mucked hand. It's an A 6.

Soon, it's McBride and Nguyen, again, checking to the river. The board is K 3 2 3 4. Kevin turns over K 6, Scotty K 4.

After the hand, the chatty McBride asks Nguyen "Would you feel left out, if you were not in a hand?" This is the "calling station" calling the kettle black!

Scotty Nguyen is a prideful poker player. He's not going to forget this goading.

Soon it's Cloutier's turn to raise. He bets 40k on the button. To no one's surprise, the guy who "never plays a hand", Kevin McBride calls. The flop is 3 4 5, both check. The turn is a 10. Kevin bets 60k, T J calls. Another 10 falls on the river. Kevin bets 100k, T J calls again. McBride has K K. Kevin's trap call almost cost him, but didn't this time.

Does McBride ever give those Kings back to the dealer?

McBride is chirping now. "I've had Kings a lot," he says. "Yesterday I put Jesse (Jones), who had Aces, out with them when I flopped a set."

Kevin doesn't even sense that the two veterans would like to kill him.

The surprise for T.J. Cloutier at this final table is that McBride, the rookie, calls all of Nguyen's raises. Cloutier can't get Heads up. It's cost him over 1/3 of his stack to watch almost every hand.

Soon it's time to make a move. In the small blind, McBride raises 40k. Cloutier re-pops 120k. McBride calls. The flop is 4 5 7 with two spades.

T.J. goes all-in with 400k. This is a recording: Kevin calls. Cloutier has K Q. McBride has J 9 of spades.

McBride calls T.J. with a flush draw. He can't be thinking his J 9 are the high cards. Or is he thinking? Maybe Kevin's been so hot for so long, he thinks he can play any two cards and win.

He can play any two cards and win.

In a $1.2 million pot, the turn is a Jack. T.J. Cloutier fails to win the Big One, again.

LAST DANCE

As heads up play starts, McBride has $2.2 million, Nguyen has $1.3 million. Scotty, even with the fewer chips, has been in this situation so many times that it's hard not to consider him the favorite. He will be the aggressor, and at 34k a round, the big blind comes every other hand.

In the first decisive hands between the two, McBride finally starts to pay for his inexperience and passivity.

In an un raised pot, the flop comes K Q 9 with two hearts. Kevin and Scotty check. It wouldn't have been a bad idea for Kevin to put in a decent sized bet here with second pair. It is heads up. A pair should be a big hand. If he gets playback, he can fold.

The turn brings the Ace of Hearts. One card too late, Kevin bets 60k, Scotty calls. The river is the Queen of Hearts. Kevin tries 100k. Scotty thinks for some time. Finally, Nguyen calls and turns over the 3 of Hearts for a flush.

The guys are even, $1.75 million each.

Now, it's Nguyen who takes the chip lead.

Scotty raises 60k to go. Kevin, stuck in a groove, calls. The flop is K Q 9 with two hearts, again. Almost the identical flop to the last time. Kevin makes his pattern bet of 60k. Scotty calls. The turn is a 5. Kevin checks. Nguyen bets 100k, McBride calls. The river is an A. Kevin bets 200k, Scotty raises 400k. Kevin folds.

Kevin McBride isn't finished, though, because Scotty Nguyen gives him the chip lead back on this hand.

With the board A 10 10 K 3. The betting on the river is raised and re-raised until Scotty calls Kevin's 250k. McBride turns over pocket 3's to win. It was Nguyen this time who failed to bet enough on the flop or turn and lost because of it.

Nguyen is visibly angry with himself. He returns to his aggressor role with a vengeance.

Raising before the flop and betting out 80k, Nguyen is re-raised 200k by McBride. The flop is Q 10 7. The turn is bet by Scotty and called by Kevin. The river is a King. Scotty bets 500k and Kevin folds.

After a break, the antes and blinds go up to 3k, 15k/30k.

Taking over, finally, Scotty Nguyen takes $700,000 from Kevin on a fold and a baby straight. Nguyen has a 4-1 chip lead and looks like the sure winner.

But there's no quit in Kevin McBride. What he lacks in experience he's makes up for in...lack of experience.

Kevin's all-in bet of $280,000 on the flop isn't called by Nguyen. The flop is A 10 5. McBride shows Nguyen and the cameras a 3 5. Scotty isn't happy about being shown up and barks at Kevin.

Again, Nguyen lets McBride off the hook with a weak play. The flop is A 4 3 with two clubs. Scotty has A Q and only bets 30k. The turn us a 4. He bets 80k. The river is a 9. Nguyen now bets 200k. It's too late. McBride goes all- in. Scotty calls. Kevin turns over a 4 5. Nguyen has reopened the door for McBride for some reason.

The crowd is buzzing as the chip count is $2.0 million for Nguyen to $1.5 million for McBride. Could we be in for an upset?

Now Nguyen is steaming. With the board A K 9 J 8, Scotty had gone up the ladder with bets of 40k,120k and 300k on the river. McBride can't call the last one.

Nguyen turns over 5 6 for a stone cold bluff.

It's almost over, we just don't know it yet.

McBride's got one last joust at the title. When a fourth heart hits the river, Scotty bets 70k. Pausing dramatically trying to suck Scotty in, Kevin raises $240,000. Smelling a rat, Scotty folds. Kevin shows the nuts, an Ace of Hearts.

In the hand that breaks McBride's spirit, Kevin for the hundredth time only calls a raise. The flop comes K 7 2. McBride breaks his pattern and checks. This time it's a fatal mistake. The turn is an Ace. Again, Kevin is paralyzed. He checks. The river is a Queen. Everyone in the house knows what Scotty has, except Kevin McBride.

Kevin, in a critical error, has waited too long. He bets $120. Scotty wants so much to bet enough to put Kevin all-in, but is afraid McBride will fold. He decides that 300k is just enough to get a call.

The vast experience difference between Scotty Nguyen and Kevin McBride finally pays off for Scotty. Kevin calls the $300,000. Nguyen turns over the nuts. J 10. Kevin has A Q for top two pair.

It's all over but the shouting and one last hand.

McBride raises the big blind $50,000. Nguyen calls. The flop comes 9 9 8. Kevin bets 100k, Scotty smooth calls. The turn is an 8. Again a 100k bet by McBride and another call by Nguyen. The river is yet another 8. Now it's Nguyen who almost waited too long. If McBride has an 8, he wins with quads.

The board is 9 9 8 8 8

Scotty goes all-in and Kevin calls with his last $310,000, saying "I'll play the board."

Scotty Nguyen doesn't want to play the board. Scotty improves the board and wins the Championship. He has J 9. The crowd goes nuts. Kevin McBride calmly mucks his hand and no one sees it.

The veteran and the rookie shake hands.

Scotty Nguyen is "The Lord of the Dance" and new World Champion. No one can ever take that away from him.

1 .	Scotty Nguyen	Henderson NV	$1,000,000
2.	Kevin McBride	Boca Raton FL	687,500
3.	T.J. Cloutier	Dallas TX	437,500
4.	Dewey Weum	Monona WI	250,000
5.	Lee Salem	San Diego CA	190,000
6.	Ben Roberts	London ENG	150,000
7.	Jan Lundberg	London ENG	112,500
8.	Mark Brochard	Paris FRANCE	75,000
9.	Paul McKinney	Princeton WV	57,500
10.	Susie Isaacs	Las Vegas	40,000
11.	Mike Laing	Franklin PA	40,000
12.	Bobby Hoff	Cerritos CA	40,000
13.	Paul Kroh	Logandale NV	35,000
14.	Mark Weitzman	Long Beach CA	35,000
15.	Danny Dang	Whittier CA	35,000
16.	Sooyoung Kim	Kent WA	30,000
17.	Kathy Liebert	Las Vegas	30,000
18.	Tommy Jin Joo	Brooklyn NY	30,000
19.	David Kim	Atherton CA	25,000
20.	Vince Burgio	West Hills CA	25,000
21.	Thor Hansen	Oslo NORWAY	25,000
22.	Jack Keller	Lake Cormorant MS	25,000
23.	Rod Peate	Redondo Beach CA	25,000
24.	David Mosely	London ENG	25,000
25.	Eskimo Clark	New Orleans LA	25,000
26.	Jack Fox	Reno NV	25,000
27.	Farzad Bonyadi	Los Angeles CA	25,000

The Temperature sign atop Binion's Horseshoe read 72 degrees at 9:30 AM on Thursday morning. It was sunny out with a few clouds. There was a 15 mph SW wind gusting to 30 mph.

The $10,000 Final Table was held indoors, in the Special Events room. The room was packed, as was the TV viewing area set up for the General Public in the Tournament Pavilion. I don't believe that anyone other than Press, family and friends were admitted to the live viewing area.

Vince Van Patton and Jim Albrecht provided the ESPN commentary, and rotated in several well known poker personalities to provide additional color. ESPN once again dominated the Final Day proceedings. Their cameras were everywhere inside (and outside) the rail, and you were always trying to look around an ESPN person. Press access didn't mean much, if your badge didn't say ESPN on it.

Cards were in the air at 10:38 AM today as opposed to 11:15 AM last year. There was the usual coaching of the audience by the ESPN director, to make things better for TV, and they re shot the opening sequence about four times, but in general, things went a lot smoother this year.

Mike Paulle and I were given "just outside, and on the rail access" and it proved to be adequate for our purposes. At least we could see the TV monitors (as opposed to last year, when the sun glare rendered them useless). I don't believe that we missed any info in recording the Play-by-Play data.

ESPN is scheduled to run today's final table on 12 July 1998.

Scotty Nguyen: Sun glasses, black and white dress shirt, white linen slacks, cream jacket, short white boots, lots of gold around his neck and on his fingers.

Kevin McBride: Black tee shirt, blue jeans, red 1998 WSOP jacket, black canvas tennis shoes.

Dewey Weum: Dark slacks, horizontally striped golf shirt, grey jacket, dress loafers, and wore a white tennis visor.

T.J. Cloutier: Light brown slacks, black Horseshoe golf shirt (same as worn by Horseshoe staff), light brown Horseshoe jacket, cream leather walking shoes.

Lee Salem: Blue jeans, white tee shirt, red jacket and blue baseball cap.

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Kevin McBride brought a gift for each of his opponents ... A bottle of Moet Chandon champagne. He suggested that they go ahead and enjoy their gifts, immediately.

As soon as Lee Salem busted out, Jack McClelland announced "Seat open in the poker game."

After announcing an early chip count, Jack McClelland said "and Jack Binion has all the rest."

Jack McClelland reminded all of the players that "The Horseshoe craps tables will be open all night."

An obviously disappointed T.J. Cloutier, said "I got all of my money into the pot, with the best hand".

Kevin McBride was the life of the party for most of today's Final Table. Almost non stop chatter and comments. His attitude became more serious, and his comments fewer and further between, near the end, when he fell behind in heads up play with Scotty Nguyen.

During Heads up play, Scotty said "We're about even now". Kevin replied "We're not even. You're about $500,000 ahead, but we're having fun."

Kevin McBride was a frequent walker today, as he had been on Day 3. On one hand, Scotty also got up, and both were several feet from the table, during the play of a hand.

When one pot was checked on the flop and turn, and then raised and re-raised on the river, Jack McClelland said "They forgot to check their cards until the river."

They brought the $1,000,000 in cash out in a Mountain Valley Spring water card board box. MVW apparently is a sponsor of the ESPN Telecast.

Amarillo Slim wandered by the Final Table, after being interviewed on camera by Vince Van Patton and Jim Albrecht, and faked taking a stack of the $100 bills.

The hand where Kevin McBride went all-in, holding 4 5, with two 4's on the board, was about a $1,500,000 pot. As soon as Kevin raised all-in, he left the room (presumably on a restroom break), and didn't return for a couple of minutes. No one knew where he had gone, or why. Scotty (obviously puzzled by Kevin's absence) also got up and walked around a bit while Kevin was gone.

$12,482,000 (1998) vs $12,259,000 (1997)

Today's Final Day, Final Table lasted 5 hours and 56 minutes, as opposed to last year's 3 hours and 46 minutes. Heads up play between Scotty Nguyen and Kevin McBride lasted 3 hours and 52 minutes. It seemed a lot longer.

	1998	1997	CUM DIFF
Event #1	$2000 Holdem	5:32	2:36	+ 2:56
Event #2	$1500 Razz	4:37	4:02	3:31
Event #3	$1500 Omaha	3:00	3:59	2:32
Event #4	$1500 Stud	2:39	3:58	1:13
Event #5	$1500 PL Omaha	5:06	3:41	2:38
Event #6	$1500 Stud Hi/Lo 8	3:51	3:08	3:21
Event #7	$2000 NL Holdem	1:59	3:22	1:58
Event #8	$2000 Omaha Hi/Lo 8	3:49	3:28	2:19
Event #9	$2000 PL Holdem	4:12	3:11	3:20
Event #10	$2500 Stud	4:10	3:12	4:18
Event #11	$2500 PL Omaha	3:21	3:45	3:54
Event #12	$2500 Stud Hi/Lo 8	5:31	4:12	5:13
Event #13	$3000 Holdem	5:08	4:26	5:55
Event #14	$3000 Omaha Hi/Lo 8	3:08	4:26	4:37
Event #15	$3000 PL Holdem	3:56	2:23	6:10
Event #16	$5000 NL 2 to 7	3:18	2:41	6:47
Event #17	$5000 NL Holdem	2:54	3:38	6:03
Event #18	$5000 7 Stud	2:24	3:48	4:39
Event #98	$5000 Holdem	4:38	3:12	6:05
Event #20	$1000 Ladies 7 Stud	2:14	?	-
Event #21	$10000 Final Day	5:56	3:47	8:14

First 20 Events: $8,982,000 (1998) vs $9,139,000 (1997)

We're not aware of any Final Table Deal. When they were down to the final two, we overheard Scotty Nguyen telling a friend that there was not, and would not be a money deal.

Event #1	$2000 Holdem	Deal Unlikely
Event #2	$1500 Razz	Deal Unlikely
Event #3	$1500 Omaha	Deal Probable
Event #4	$1500 7 Stud	Deal Probable
Event #5	$1500 PL Omaha	Deal Probable
Event #6	$1500 Stud Hi/LO 8	Deal Probable
Event #7	$2000 NL Holdem	Deal Unlikely
Event #8	$2000 Omaha Hi/Lo 8	Deal Probable
Event #9	$2000 PL Holdem	Deal Unlikely
Event #10	$2500 7 Stud	Deal Probable
Event #11	$2500 PL Omaha	Deal Unlikely
Event #12	$2500 Stud Hi/Lo 8	Deal Probable
Event #13	$3000 Limit Holdem	Deal Unlikely
Event #14	$3000 Omaha Hi/Lo 8	Deal Probable
Event #15	$3000 PL Holdem	Deal Unlikely
Event #16	$5000 NL Deuce to Seven	Deal Unlikely
Event #17	$3000 NL Holdem	Deal Probable
Event #18	$5000 7 Stud	Deal Probable
Event #19	$5000 Holdem	Deal Probable
Event #20	$1000 Ladies 7 Stud	Deal Unlikely
Event #21	$10000 NL Holdem	Deal Unlikely

SCOREBOARD

Unknown	20 Minutes
Barry Shulman	20 Minutes
Ray Dehkharghani	20 Minutes
Unknown	20 Minutes
Unknown	20 Minutes
Unknown	20 Minutes
Phil Tanner	20 Minutes
Unknown	20 Minutes
Thi Thi Tran	20 Minutes
Phil Tanner	20 Minutes
Paul Kroh	20 Minutes
Joe Macchiaverna	20 Minutes
Joe Gualtieri	20 Minutes
Ron Stanley	20 Minutes
Mike Schichtman	20 minutes

FINAL LIST

John Aglialoro
Jaggi Alphons
Greg Alston
Lazarou Anastassion
Mickey Appleman
Bill Argyros
Dolph Arnold
Sven Arntzen
Louis Asmo
Bruce Atkinson
Fariborz Azima
Bobby Baldwin
Edgar Barham
Don Barton
Joe Baumgartner
Billy Baxter
Derrick Baxter
Jim Bayton
Jim Bechtel
Paul Begun
Larry Beilfuss
Lyle Berman
Michael Bittan
Chris Bjorin
Andrew Black
Andy Bloch
John Bonetti
Fred Bonyadi
Bill Boston
Andre Boyer
John Bradley
Steve Brecher
Peter Brehm
Alex Brenes
Humberto Brenes
Dan Brings
Marc Jean Brochard
Alan Brodsky
Catherine Brown
Fred Brown
Jim Brown
Patrick Bruel
Doyle Brunson
Todd Brunson
Ken Buntjer
Vince Burgio
Debbie Burkhead
Scott Byron
Pat Callihan
Martin Canavan
Mike Caro
Dick Carson
Brent Carter
"Miami" John Cernuto
Jimmy Cha
Johnny Chan
Xanthos Charalambos
Tony Chaskelson
Percy Chen
David Chiu
Paul "Eskimo" Clark
David Cleary
T.J. Cloutier
Don Coates
Caesar Como
Bruce Corman
Glen Cozzen
Jack Culp
Allen Cunningham
Matt Damon
Danny Dang
Hamid Dastmalchi
Fred David
Cliff Davis
Al DeCarlo
Freddy Deeb
Asher Derei
Annie Duke
Tam Duong
Cal Dykes
Gus Echeverri
Frank Edinger
Mark Edwards
Al Emerson
Barbara Enright
Bob Ensley
Hershey Entin
Mori Eskandani
John Esposito
Super Mario Esquerra
Albert Joseph Ethier
Ali Farsai
Bob Feduniak
Maureen Pang Feduniak
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson
Michael Finn
Bruno Fitoussi
Layne Flack
Ken Flayton
Lewis Flemming
Pat Fleming
Lian Flood
Roy Flowerday
Ted Forrest
Jack Fox
Noli Francisco
John Franjesh
Tom Franklin
Gus Friedman
John Galbraith
Bill Gazes
Chau Giang
John Gledhill
Alan Goehring
John Goodfellow
John Gordon
Jason Gray
Scott Gray
Jack Green
Perry Green
Barry Greenstein
David Grey
Tommy Grimes
Sam Grizzle
Oklahoma Johnny Hale
Gorden L. Hall
Russ Hamilton
Thor Hansen
Jennifer Harmon
Dan Harrington
Gene Harris
Richard Harroch
Mike Hart
Tony Hartman
Chehab Hassan
Gary Haubelt
Pete Haugan
John Heaney
Dan Heimiller
Jay Heimowitz
Phil Hellmuth Jr.
Frank Henderson
Frank Hernandez
Paul Hoenke
Bobby Hoff
Randy Holland
Don Holt
Paul Honas
Ralph Hoots
Kent Hori
Tommy Huffnagle
LA Hung
Susie Isaacs
Ken Jacobs
Tom Jacobs
Gus Jacobson
Bjorn Janson
Tommy Jin-Joo
Berry Johnston
Crews Johnston
Jesse Jones
John Juanda
Mel Judah
Hal Kant
Jim Karambinis
Bob Karp
Casey Kastle
Steve Kaufman
Jack Keller
Robert Kennewick
Morris Kessler
Earl Key
David Kim
Sooyoung Kim
Richard Klamian
"Q" Knopow
Robert Kojfer
Kathy Kolberg
Michael Konik
Brian Koppelman
Vic Kramer
Paul Kroh
Mark Kroon
Brian Kruger
Matti Kuortti
Paul Ladanyi
Mike Laing
Phat Lam
William Lamkin
Frank Landen
Tony Lantz
Vasilios Lazarou
Howard Lederer
Matt Lefkowitz
Ken Lenaard
Gary Lent
Bill Lester
Jason Lester
Ralph Levine
Kathy Liebert
Jaime Ligator
Andy Lin
Bob Loar
R. London
O'Neil Longson
Steve Lott
Hans "Tuna" Lund
Jan Lundberg
Men Thoai Ly
Hieu Ma
Mike Magee
Mike Markos
Paul Martin
Jim Masclher
J.P. Massar
Phil Mazzela
Kevin McBride
Tom McCormick
Tom McEvoy
George McKeever
Carl McKelvy
Paul McKinney
Steve Melton
Milt Meyers
Phyllis Meyers
R.W. Miller
David Monico
Roger Moore
David Mosley
Joel Nacht
Yosh Nakano
Mark Napolitano
Dan Negreanu
Men Nguyen
Scotty Nguyen
Tam Van Nguyen
Jeff Norman
Edward Norton
Don O'Dea
Henry Orenstein
Michael Pancer
Shelby Parrot
J.C. Pearson
Rod Peate
Ralph Perivoskin
Pascal Perrault
Robert Perry
Steve Pestal
Flan "Irish Mike" Pilkington
Cesare Poggi
Dean Potashner
Amarillo Slim Preston
Robert Redman
John Richman
Benjamin Roberts
Donnie Robinson
Blair Rodman
David Roepke
Lucy Rokach
Dana Ronald
Mark Rose
Jose Rosenkrantz
Jeff Rothstein
Paul Rowe
David Rubin
Steve Rydel
Lee Salem
Fred Saliba
Junior Sample
Luis Santoni
Larry Satterwhite
Mike Schichtman
Barry "Doc" Schwartz
Dennis Seagle
Huck Seed
Doug Segers
Erik Seidel
Keith Sexton
Mike Sexton
John Shipley
Hilbert Shirey
Barry Shulman
Larry Sigety
Fred Sigur
Randall Skaggs
Christopher Smith
H.R. Smith
Gary Solomons
Kevin Song
John Spadaveccia
Ron Stanley
Max Stern
Edward Stevens
Al Stonum
Mark Straus
William Strother
John Strzemp
Julien Studley
Bob Stupak
Surinder Sunar
David Tagg
Jim Tarr
Richard Tatalovich
David Tavernier
Alan Tessler
Tab Thiptinnakon
Harry Thomas
Don Thompson
Walter Threadgill
Roy Thung
Judge Thurmand
Tibor Tolnai
Duane Tomko
An Tran
Nhut Tran
Marko Trapani
Chris Tsiprailidis
Greg Turk
Robert Turner
David "Devil Fish" Ulliott
Bruce Van Horn
Peter Vilandos
Cindy Violette
J.J. Volpe
Marsha Waggoner
Rickie Walden
Bob Walker
Jim Waltenburg
Garland Walters
Jack Ward
Jim Ward
Charles Watkins
Lee Watkinson
Ron Weaver
Mel Weiner
Mark Weitzman
David Welch
Justin Westmoreland
Dewey Weum
Charles Wight
Lamar Wilkinson
Buddy Williams
Ronnie Williams
Martyn Wilson
Frank Wong
Lee Wosk
Bruce Yamron
Rick Young
Hertzel Zalewsky
Steve Zolotow

Scotty Nguyen, an exuberant poker performer and a seasoned tournament strategist, overcame a record field to capture the richest World Championship event ever.

"It's my dream come true," he told Horseshoe President Jack Binion as he accepted congratulations with flashbulbs popping and television lights glaring. Nguyen, 35, became the first Vietnamese World Champion. His $1 million victory plus sixth previous cashes, including three this year, sent him into 13th place on the World Series Top Money Winners list with total earnings of $1,244,462.

Nguyen, a well-known professional who had been riding a string of tournament successes earlier this year, was a poker dealer after arriving in the U.S. from his native Vietnam in 1979. When he placed third on April 28 in the $2,000 No Limit Hold'em event, he pledged that "you will see me at more final tables here at the Horseshoe."

Nguyen reached THE final table with an appreciable but not overwhelming chip lead over his four opponents, and although he lost the lead several times to eventual runner-up Kevin McBride, his stack never dropped beneath $1,000,000. "I was never worried," he said afterwards. "I knew I could bounce back."

Nguyen's heads-up marathon with McBride lasted just under three and a half hours. At one stage Nguyen won seven pots, mostly small, in a row and then lost a $1.48 million pot with A-Q to McBride's 5-4 when the board came A-4-3/4-9. Then came a dramatic hand, when a queen on the river made aces and queens for McBride but also a "hidden" gutshot top straight for Nguyen who held J-10 with a board of K-7-2/A-Q.

Twenty minutes later McBride with Q-10 of hearts raised before the flop and was called by Nguyen who held J-9. The flop came 9d-9h-8c. McBride bet $100,000 and Nguyen, hesitating, called. The turn card was the 8 of hearts. McBride again bet $100,000 and Nguyen called. The 8 of spades fell on the river and Nguyen shoved his towers of chips toward the middle of the table. McBride, saying "I'm playing the board," called all-in and watched the new World Champion turn over his killer nine.

"Scotty and I play too much alike," said McBride. "I played much better yesterday than today. I had a huge flop and turn on the last hand. I wouldn't have called if Scotty hadn't said, 'If you call, it's all over.' I didn't believe him." McBride, a 43 year-old management consultant who has only played tournament poker since January, echoed the winner by saying, "This is a dream come true. Realistically I didn't think I'd be at the final table. It was a fine experience playing against such great players as Scotty and T.J."

T.J. Cloutier, 58, a veteran World Series luminary, took third when he went all-in with K-Q against McBride who held Js-9s on a flop of 7s-5-4s. A jack on the turn won the $1.1 million pot for McBride. "I enjoyed it," said Cloutier who moved into 6th on the Top Money Winners list with his 28th WSOP cash. His earnings now total $1,693,386. "For me the tough part is getting there. Once I'm at the final table, I'm relaxed," he said.

Fourth place went to Dewey Weum, 54, a trucking firm owner who has come to the World Series for 20 years and with this 11th cash has now earned $385,267. He was eliminated with A-7 offsuit by McBride whose K-J of diamonds became three kings on the flop and a flush on the river.

Lee Salem, a 38 year-old businessman who has cashed twice before, finished fifth when he was all-in with A-J and lost to McBride's A-4 of clubs which became a flush on the turn.

For the first time in WSOP history, the last day of the Championship Event began with just five players, thanks to a remarkable - and classic - poker hand which ended the third day. Jan Lundgren moved all-in with pocket tens and was called by Nguyen holding A-Q of diamonds. Ben Roberts on the button re-raised all-in with pocket aces, called by Nguyen. Both players, from London, were eliminated when Nguyen caught a flush on the river.

The Final Table
Card by Card and Bet by Bet
1998 WSOP Event #21: $10,000 No Limit Holdem
350 Entries, $3,500,000 Total Prize Pool and chips in play

Seat 1.	Paul McKinney	113,000	[PM]
Seat 2.	Kevin McBride	1,100,000	[KM]
Seat 3.	Lee Salem	350,000	[LS]
Seat 4.	T.J. Cloutier	421,000	[TJ]
Seat 5.	Jan Lundberg	255,000	[JL]
Seat 6.	Dewey Weum	130,000	[DW]
Seat 7.	Scotty Nguyen	875,000	[SN]
Seat 8.	Mark Brochard	69,000	[MB]
Seat 9.	Ben Roberts	187,000	[BR]

sb = small blind.

First action reported in a betting round, normally means the first player that put money into the pot in that betting round. A check is usually not reported as the first action in a betting round. Folds are not always reported. If there are four players at the beginning of a betting round, and it's reported that one player bets and is called by one other player, then the remaining two players folded.

*** 1,000 Ante - 3,000/6,000 Blinds

1. sb TJ - BR raises 20,000 and KM calls. Flop: Jc Ad Ac. KM bets 60,000 and BR folds.
2. sb JL - PM raises 49,500 all-in and all fold.
3. sb DW - KM, DW and SN all limp. Flop: Qd Ts Ac. All check. Turn: 7s. KM bets 15,000 and SN calls. River: Th. KM bets 30,000 and SN calls. KM mucks his hand.
4. sb SN - TJ raises 14,000 and all fold.

5. sb MB - LS raises 20,000 and MB re-raises all-in. All fold.
6. sb BR - KM raises 10,000 and LS calls. Flop: 2d Qs 4s. KM bets 30,000 and LS folds.
7. sb PM - BR raises 25,000 and all fold.
8. sb KM - DW, KM and LS all limp. Flop: Ad 9s Qd. DW bets 35,000 and all fold.
9. sb LS - DW raises 20,000 and MB calls. Flop: Js 3h Jc. DW bets 40,000 and MB raises about 40,000 all-in. DW folds.
10. sb TJ - SN raises 16,000 and KM calls. Flop: 7s Qd 6c. Both check. Turn: 9s. SN bets 22,000 and KM calls. River: 5s. KM bets 100,000 and SN calls. KM shows Ks Td and SN wins with As 9d.
11. sb JL - KM raises 10,000, TJ makes it 50,000 to go, and KM calls. Flop: 4c 2h 5c. KM mucks as soon as TJ starts to bet.
12. sb DW - DW and SN both limp. Flop: 4s 7h 6d. DW bets 49,000 all-in and SN folds.
13. sb SN - SN raises 16,000 and MB folds.
14. sb MB - KM raises 15,000 and LS calls. Flop: 5h 6s 5s. KM bets 30,000 and LS calls. Turn: AD. KM bets 30,000 and LS calls. River: 3h. Both check. KM shows 4s 4c and LS wins with Qs Qh.
15. sb BR - LS, MB, BR and PM all limp. Flop: Td 2c Ac. PM bets 22,000, LS and MB fold and BR check raises 50,000 more. PM folds.
16. sb PM - BR raises 14,000 and KM calls. Flop: 6d Th Qs. BR bets 50,000 and KM folds.
17. sb KM - KM raises 24,000 and LS folds.
18. sb LS - DW raises 35,000 and all fold. TJ shows 7c 8c.
19. sb TJ - BR raises 19,000 and all fold.
20. sb JL - MB, KM, LS and DW limp. Flop: 4c Jc Ad. MB bets 30,000 and KM calls. Turn: 3c. Both check. River: 2s. Both check. KM shows Ac Th and MB wins with 4s 4h.
21. sb DW - PM makes it 80,000 to go all-in and TJ calls. PM has Ah 2d and TJ has Ac Qd. Board: Ks 9s 7h Ts Th.

    *** TJ wins the pot and Paul McKinney finishes 9th at 6:15 PM.

22. sb SN - TJ raises 19,000 and MB calls. Flop: 8h 5s 5d. Both check. Turn: Tc. Both check. River: Td. Both check. TJ shows Ah Jh and MB shows Ad Qs. Split pot.
23. sb MB - JL raises 9,000 and DW re-raises 53,000 more all-in. JL folds.
24. sb BR - SN raises 16,000 and all fold.
25. sb KM - BR raises 20,000 and KM re-raises 25,000 more. All fold.
26. sb LS - MB raises 16,000 and TJ calls. Flop: 9h Ac 8c. Both check. Turn: 3d. MB bets 30,000 and TJ folds.
27. sb TJ - LS raises 15,000 and TJ re-raises 42,000 more. All fold.
28. sb JL - KM raises 10,000 and all fold.
29. sb DW - KM, DW and SN all limp. Flop: 7s 2d 8s. KM bets 20,000 and all fold. SN shows a 2.
30. sb SN - KM raises 20,000 and all fold.
31. sb MB - MB raises 17,000 and BR folds. BR shows 7c 3d.
32. sb BR - All fold to KM in the big blind. BR shows 4d 2c.
33. sb KM - TJ raises 11,000 and SN calls. Flop: 4c As Qs. Both check. Turn: 2d. TJ bets 35,000 and SN folds. TJ shows Ac Js.
34. sb LS - MB limps, BR raises 18,000 and all fold.
35. sb TJ - LS and JL limp. Flop: Ac Qs Qc. LS bets 15,000 and JL check raises 30,000 more. LS folds.
36. sb JL - KM limps and LS raises 25,000. All fold.
37. sb DW - KM raises 15,000 and all fold.
38. sb SN - KM raises 19,000 and all fold.
39. sb MB - SN raises 16,000 and all fold.
40. sb BR - TJ raises 20,000 and all fold.
41. sb KM - KM and LS limp. Flop: 9h 3s 3c. Both check. Turn: 4s. Both check. River: 7c. LS bets 10,000 and KM folds.
42. sb LS - SN raises 16,000 and KM calls. Flop: 8h Qd 2d. KM bets 25,000, SN raises 35,000 and KM folds.
43. sb TJ - KM raises 16,000 and all fold.
44. sb JL - KM raises 15,000 and all fold.
45. sb DW - MB raises 12,000, TJ re-raises 65,000, MB re-raises about 67,000 more all-in and TJ calls. TJ has Kc Kh and MB has 8s 8c. Board: Ts Js 6h Jd As.

    *** TJ wins the pot and Mark Brochard finishes 8th at 6:55 PM.

46. sb SN - KM raises 20,000 and DW re-raises 21,000 more all-in. KM calls. KM has Ah Qc and DW has Ks Qh. Board: Td 9s 3d Kd Th. DW wins.
47. sb BR - LS raises 20,000 and all fold.

    *** 15 minute break at 6:59 PM.

    *** Chip Count

    KM 800,000 LS 330,000 TJ 815,000 JL 175,000 DW 120,000 SN 1,100,000 BR 160,000

    *** New Ante is 2,000 and Blinds are 5,000/10,000.

48. sb KM - JL raises 25,000 and all fold.
49. sb LS - SN raises 20,000 and all fold.
50. sb TJ - KM raises 30,000 and all fold.
51. sb JL - LS raises 30,000 and JL calls. Flop: As 7h 4s. Both check. Turn: 8c. LS bets 80,000 and JL folds. LS shows an A.
52. sb DW - TJ raises 30,000 and all fold.
53. sb SN - KM raises 30,000 and all fold.
54. sb BR - SN raises 30,000 and all fold.
55. sb KM - DW raises 28,000 and all fold.
56. sb LS - SN raises 30,000 and all fold. SN shows an A.
57. sb TJ - LS raises 30,000 and all fold.
58. sb JL - KM raises 30,000 and all fold.
59. sb DW - TJ raises 30,000 and shows Ac Ad after all fold.
60. sb SN - TJ raises 30,000 and all fold.
61. sb BR - TJ raises 30,000 and all fold.
62. sb KM - BR raises 40,000 and all fold.
63. sb LS - BR raises 40,000 and all fold.
64. sb TJ - DW raises 10,000 and all fold.
65. sb JL - LS raises 25,000 and all fold.
66. sb DW - DW limps, SN raises 30,000 and DW folds.
67. sb SN - SN raises 40,000 and BR folds.
68. sb BR - JL raises 65,000 and all fold.
69. sb KM - KM raises 25,000 and LS folds. KM shows an A.
70. sb LS - SN raises 30,000 and all fold.

    *** Scotty Nguyen is drinking a Michelob.

71. sb TJ - DW raises 59,000 and all fold.
72. sb JL - BR raises 30,000 and all fold.
73. sb DW - TJ raises 30,000 and all fold.
74. sb SN - LS raises 25,000 and DW re-raises 32,000 more all-in. LS calls. LS has 4s 4c and DW has Kh Kd. Board: 3d 9d 5s 2h 5c. DW wins.
75. sb BR - DW raises 30,000 and all fold.
76. sb KM - BR raises 30,000 and all fold.
77. sb LS - JL raises 60,000 all-in and all fold.
78. sb TJ - TJ raises 35,000 and JL folds. TJ shows 6h 6d.
79. sb JL - BR raises 40,000 and all fold.
80. sb DW - DW raises 40,000 and SN re-raises all-in. DW calls 120,000 all-in. SN has Jd 8c and DW has Ks Kd. Board: 7s 5d 2d qd 7c. DW wins.
81. sb SN - KM raises 20,000 and all fold.
82. sb BR - LS raises 30,000 and all fold.
83. sb KM - BR raises 30,000 and KM re-raises 40,000 more. All fold.
84. sb LS - JL raises 61,000 all-in, SN calls, BR re-raises 56,000 more all-in and SN calls. JL has Ts Tc, SN has Ad Qd. and BR has As Ah. Board: Qh 4d 5d Js 2d. SN wins the main and side pot at 8:07 PM and the TV Final Table is set for tomorrow.

    *** Jan Lundberg finishes 7th.

    *** Ben Roberts finishes 6th.

    *** Chip Count for TV Final Table Thursday 14 May 1998

    KM 873,000 LS 240,000 TJ 829,000 DW 376,000 SN 1,184,000

    *** 10:38 AM - 2,000 Ante with 5,000/10,000 Blinds.

85. sb LS - SN raises 34,000 and TJ calls. Flop: 2d Kc 8h. SN bets 44,000 and TJ raises 156,000. SN folds. TJ shows K Q.
86. sb TJ - SN raises 40,000 and all fold.
87. sb DW - All fold to SN in big blind.
88. sb SN - SN raise 35,000 and KM calls. Flop: Qc 6c 4s. KM bets 50,000 and shows 3h 5c after SN folds.
89. sb KM - TJ raises 40,000 and SN re-raises 100,000 more. TJ folds. TJ shows a medium pair, which I did not see.
90. sb LS - KM raises 40,000 and LS re-raises 163,000 more all-in. KM calls. KM has Ac 4c and LS has Ah Jc. Board: 7c 9c Ks Tc 5s. KM wins with club flush.

    *** Lee Salem finishes 5th at 10:49 AM.

91. sb TJ - TJ raises 30,000 and DW folds.
92. sb DW - TJ raises 30,000 and shows K K after all fold.
93. sb SN - DW raises 50,000 and SN re-raises 120,000 more. DW folds.
94. sb KM - All fold to TJ in the big blind.
95. sb TJ - SN raises 31,000 and all fold.
96. sb DW - SN limps, KM raises 40,000 and SN calls. Flop: 7d Qc 5h. Both check. Turn Ac. KM bets 50,000 and SN calls. River: 2h. Both check. SN shows Kd Qh and KM mucks.
97. sb SN - DW, SN and KM limp. Flop: 7c Ac 5s. KM bets 40,000 and SN calls. Turn: 8c. Both check. River: As. SN bets 90,000 and KM calls. KM shows Kd 7h and SN mucks.
98. sb KM - KM and TJ limp. Flop: Ac Jh As. Both check. Turn: 2s. Both check. River: 3h. Both check. TJ shows Qd 3s and KM mucks.
99. sb TJ - KM raises 40,000 and TJ re-raises 200,000 more. All fold. KM shows T T.
100. sb DW - DW and SN limp. Flop: Ad 6c Qh. Both check. Turn: Jh. Both check. River: Ah. Both check. DW shows 5h 5s and SN mucks.
101. sb SN - SN and KM limp. Flop: 4c 2d Qc. Both check. Turn: 9c. Both check. River: 7h. Both check. SN shows 4 6 and KM mucks.
102. sb KM - SN raises 30,000 and KM calls. Flop: 2s 4s Kh. Both check. Turn: 8d. SN bets 52,000 and KM calls. River: 6s. Both check. KM shows 5d 3d and SN mucks.
103. sb TJ - KM, TJ and DW all limp. Flop: 2d Jd 5s. KM bets 30,000 and DW raises about 320,000 all-in. KM folds. KM shows 3d 5s.
104. sb DW - DW limps, SN raises 31,000 and DW folds. DW shows a 2.
105. sb SN - All fold to KM in big blind.
106. sb KM - SN raises 22,000 and all fold.
107. sb TJ - TJ and DW limp. Flop: 5s Kh Qc. TJ bets 20,000 and DW raises 30,000. TJ folds.
108. sb DW - KM raises 30,000 and all fold.
109. sb SN - DW raises 40,000 and KM re-raises 50,000. DW folds. KM shows T T.
110. sb KM - DW raises 10,000 and is called by SN and TJ. Flop: 2h 6s Tc. SN bets 40,000 and all fold.
111. sb TJ - SN raises 33,000 and all fold.
112. sb DW - All fold to SN in the big blind.
113. sb SN - SN and KM limp. Flop: Qc Jh 7c. Both check. Turn: 5d. KM bets 30,000 and SN folds. KM shows a 5.
114. sb KM - KM raises 40,000 and TJ folds. KM shows Qd Th.
115. sb TJ - KM and DW limp. Flop: 6h 4h Qs. Both check. Turn: Kc. DW bets 20,000 and KM folds. DW shows K 7.
116. sb DW - TJ raises 40,000 and all fold.
117. sb SN - TJ raises 35,000 and all fold.
118. sb KM - All fold to TJ in the big blind.
119. sb TJ - TJ limps and DW raises 40,000. TJ folds.

     *** Chip count

     KM 1,200,000 TJ 900,000 DW 300,000 SN 1,100,000

120. sb DW - KM raises 30,000 and all fold. KM shows Ad.
121. sb SN - TJ raises 30,000 and all fold.
122. sb KM - SN raises 30,000, KM calls and TJ raises 200,000 more. SN folds and KM raises 900,000 all-in. TJ folds. KM shows K K, and TJ says he had J J.
123. sb TJ - TJ and DW limp. Flop: Qd Kh 5h. TJ bets 20,000 and DW calls. Turn: Js. DW bets 30,000 and TJ raises 100,000. DW folds.
124. sb DW - DW limps, SN raises 30,000 and DW folds.
125. sb SN - DW, SN and KM limp. Flop: 8s 8c 9s. DW bets all-in, and all fold.
126. sb KM - DW raises 45,000 and KM calls. Flop: 9d 5c Jh. KM bets 50,000 and DW folds.

     *** 15 minute break at 11:53 AM.

     *** New Ante is 2,000 with 10,000/20,000 blinds.

127. sb TJ - SN raises 40,000 and KM calls. Flop: 5c 9d Ad. Both check. Turn: Ah. SN bets 70,000 and KM calls. River: 5d. SN bets 190,000 and KM folds. KM shows K K.
128. sb DW - KM raises 60,000 and all fold.
129. sb SN - DW raises 144,000 all-in and KM calls. DW shows Ac 7h and KM shows Kd Jd. Board: Ks Kc 7d 4d 8d. KM wins with a flush.

     *** Dewey Weum finishes 4th at 12:02 PM.

     *** Chip count

     KM 1,600,000 TJ 700,000 SN 1,200,000

130. sb KM - SN raises 40,000 and all fold.
131. sb TJ - All fold to SN in the big blind.
132. sb SN - TJ limps, SN raises 60,000 and TJ calls. Flop: Qh 4h 5h. All check. Turn: 4c. TJ bets 200,000. SN folds. TJ shows Kh 8h and SN shows 9 9.
133. sb KM - SN raises 50,000 and KM calls. Flop: 3h Qd 9s. KM bets 100,000 and SN folds. KM shows Qh.
134. sb TJ - KM raises 60,000 and all fold. KM shows Kd 8h.
135. sb SN - TJ raises 40,000 and all fold.
136. sb KM - SN raises 41,000 and KM calls. Flop: 3c 6h 6c. KM bets 60,000, SN raises 170,000 and KM folds. KM says he had a flush draw, TJ had folded A 6, and SN says he had a full house.
137. sb TJ - All fold to KM in the big blind.
138. sb SN - SN raises 40,000 and KM folds. KM shows an A and SN shows Kh Kd.
139. sb KM - SN raises 60,000 and all fold.
140. sb TJ - TJ and SN limp. Flop: 7s 5d Ts. Both check. Turn: Ad. TJ bets 40,000 and SN folds. TJ shows 6d 9d.
141. sb SN - SN raises 30,000 and KM calls. Flop: 4c Tc Ad. Both check. Turn: Kd. SN bets 80,000. KM folds.
142. sb KM - SN raises 61,000 and all fold.
143. sb TJ - KM raises 40,000 and all fold.
144. sb SN - SN and KM limp. Flop: 2h Ks 3s. Both check. Turn: 3d. SN bets 30,000 and KM calls. River: 4h. SN bets 34,000 and KM calls. KM shows Kh 6c and SN wins with Kd 4c.
145. sb KM - SN raises 42,000 and all fold.
146. sb TJ - TJ raises 40,000 and all fold.
147. sb SN - TJ raises 40,000 and KM calls. Flop: 4h 3c 5d. Both check. Turn: Td. KM bets 60,000 and TJ calls. River: Th. KM bets 100,000 and TJ calls. KM shows Kc Kh and TJ mucks. TJ said he had J J.
148. sb KM - SN raises 42,000 and all fold.
149. sb TJ - KM, TJ and SN limp. Flop: 2d Kc Qs. KM bets 20,000 and all call. Turn: 3d. KM bets 20,000 and all call. River: 2c. All check. KM shows Ad 3h, TJ wins with Qc 9h and SN mucks.
150. sb SN - SN and KM limp. Flop: 4c 6d 5d. Both check. Turn: 6h. KM bets 60,000 and SN folds. KM says that he flopped a straight.
151. sb KM - All fold to TJ in the big blind.

     *** Unscheduled restroom break.

152. sb TJ - All fold to SN in the big blind.
153. sb SN - SN and KM limp. Flop: 7d 6h 9d. Both check. Turn: Th. KM bets 60,000 and SN folds. KM shows 7h 9h.
154. sb KM - All fold to TJ in the big blind.
155. sb TJ - KM raises 40,000 and all fold. KM shows Jc Qs.
156. sb SN - SN raises 40,000 and KM calls. Flop: 7h 2c Kh. Both check. Turn: Ah. Both check. River: Qs. SN bets 22,000 and KM raises 103,000. SN folds and KM shows As.
157. sb KM - KM raises 40,000, TJ re-raises 120,000 and KM calls. Flop: 4s 5d 7s. TJ bets 400,000 all-in and KM calls. KM has Js 9s and TJ has Kd Qc. Turn: Jd. River: 2h. KM wins.

     *** T.J. Cloutier finishes 3rd at 12:52 PM.

     *** Chip count

     KM 2,207,000 SN 1,293,000

     **** Scotty Nguyen says that there isn't and won't be any deal. $1,000,000 in cash is brought out in a cardboard box.

158. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 5c Tc Kc. Both check. Turn: Ac. SN bets 50,000 and KM folds.
159. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: 6c Ac 2c. KM bets 50,000 and SN folds.
160. sb KM - KM raises 30,000 and SN folds.
161. sb SN - SN raises 42,000 and KM calls. Flop: 8h Js 5s. SN bets 62,000 and KM raises 62,000. SN folds. KM says he had a J Q.
162. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 5c 6s 8s. Both check. Turn Jh. Both check. River 6c. KM bets 60,000 and SN calls. KM shows Ts 9h and SN wins with 8d 3s.
163. sb SN - SN raises 40,000 and KM folds.
164. sb KM - KM folds.
165. sb SN - SN limps, KM raises 60,000 and SN folds.
166. sb KM - KM limps, SN raises 70,000 and KM calls. Flop: 6s 7c Js. KM bets 70,000 and SN calls. Turn: Jh. KM bets 100,000 and SN raises 200,000. KM folds. KM says he folded A 7.
167. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: 9h Kh Qc. KM bets 60,000 and SN calls. Turn: Ah. KM bets 60,000 and SN calls. River: Qh. KM bets 100,000 and SN calls. KM shows Qd 8s, and SN wins with As 3h for a flush.

     *** Chips are about equal.

168. sb KM - KM folds.
169. sb SN - SN raises 40,000 and KM folds.
170. sb KM - KM raises 50,000 and SN calls. Flop: Qs Kc 7d. Both check. Turn: Ks. Both check. As. KM bets 50,000 and SN calls. SN shows Q J and KM wins with Kd Qc for a full house.
171. sb SN - SN folds.
172. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 6c 3h 2c. SN bets 40,000 and KM folds. KM shows a 4.
173. sb SN - SN folds.
174. sb KM - KM folds.
175. sb SN - SN raises 60,000 and KM calls. Flop: Ks Qh 9h. KM bets 60,000 and SN calls. Turn: 5c. SN bets 90,000 and KM calls. River: As. KM bets 200,000 and SN raises 200,000. KM folds.

     *** Chip count

     KM 1,500,000 SN 2,000,000

176. sb KM - KM folds.
177. sb SN - SN raises 60,000 and KM re-raises 80,000. SN calls. Flop: As 2d 4c. KM bets 60,000 and SN folds.
178. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 8d 2h 9s. Both check. Turn: 9h. Both check. River: Ks. Both check. KM shows As 3d and SN wins with Kd 3s.
179. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: 6h 7d 4h. Both check. Turn: Qh. SN bets 50,000 and KM folds.
180. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: Js 6s 6d. KM bets 60,000 and SN folds. KM shows a J.
181. sb SN - SN raises 60,000 and KM folds. SN shows J J.
182. sb KM - KM limps, SN raises 60,000 and KM calls. Flop: Kc Jc 6c. SN bets 70,000 and KM raises 70,000. SN folds.
183. sb SN - SN folds.
184. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: Ts As Tc. Both check. Turn: Kh. Both check. River: 3s. SN bets 40,000, KM raises 40,000, SN raises 100,000 and KM raises 250,000. SN folds. KM shows 3d 3c.

     *** Chip count

     KM 1,900,000 SN 1,600,000

185. sb SN - SN raises 50,000 and KM folds.
186. sb KM - KM limps, SN raises 70,000 and KM calls. Flop: Td Qc Th. SN bets 80,000, KM raises 120,000, SN raises 200,000 and KM calls. Turn Ks. SN bets 500,000 and KM folds.
187. sb SN - SN limps, KM raises 60,000 and SN folds.
188. sb KM - KM folds.
189. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: Jc Tc Qs. KM bets 60,000 and SN folds. KM shows a Q.
190. sb KM - KM folds.
191. sb SN - SN raises 50,000, KM calls and KM checks blind on the flop. Flop: 2c Kc 7s. SN bets 70,000 and KM folds.
192. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 8s 2d 5d. SN bets 50,000 and KM folds.

     *** 10 minute break at 2:07 PM.

     *** 3,000 Ante with 15,000/30,000 blinds.

193. sb SN - SN raises 90,000 and KM calls. Flop: 8h 9s As. KM bets 90,000 and SN calls. Turn: 6d. KM bets 90,000 and SN folds. KM says he had A 9.
194. sb KM - KM limps, SN raises 80,000 and KM calls. Flop: 7h 9h Kd. Both check. Turn: 4s. SN bets 100,000 and KM calls, River: 8d. Both check. KM shows Ah 2h and SN wins with Tc 9c.
195. sb SN - SN folds.
196. sb KM - KM limps, SN raises 80,000 and KM folds.
197. sb SN - SN limps, KM raises 70,000 and SN calls. Flop: Qs Ad 4d. Both check. Turn: 5s. Both check. River: Js. SN bets 81,000 and KM folds.
198. sb KM - KM raises 70,000 and SN folds.
199. sb SN - SN raises 70,000 and KM folds.
200. sb KM - KM limps. KM folds when SN starts to raise. SN shows Ac As.

     *** Chip count

     KM 1,000,000 SN 2,500,000

201. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: Jh 3h Qh. SN bets 70,000 and KM folds.
202. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 7h 2h 5h. KM bets 70,000 and SN calls. Turn: 4h. KM bets 200,000 and SN calls. River: 3d. KM bets 200,000 and SN calls. KM shows Kd Td and SN wins with Kh 6c for a flush.

     *** Chip count

     KM 700,000 SN 2,800,000

203. sb SN - SN raises 70,000 and KM folds.
204. sb KM - KM folds.
205. sb SN - SN raises 100,000 and KM folds.
206. sb KM - KM folds.
207. sb SN - SN limps, KM raises 70,000 and SN folds.
208. sb KM - KM folds.
209. sb SN - SN folds.
210. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 9h 2h 9c. Both check. Turn: Jd. Both check. River: 6c. Both check. KM shows As 5d for A high and SN mucks.
211. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: Kc 9d Jc. SN bets 40,000 and KM calls. Turn: Ac. SN bets 80,000 and KM folds.
212. sb KM - KM folds.
213. sb SN - SN folds.
214. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 6s Ac Ks. Both check. Turn: 9d. Both check. River: 3d. Both check. SN shows Q J and KM wins with Kd 7h.
215. sb SN - SN raises 100,000 and KM folds.
216. sb KM - KM folds.
217. sb SN - SN folds.
218. sb KM - KM folds.
219. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: 4h As 4s. Both check. Turn: 3s. Both check. River: 5h. SN bets 30,000 and KM calls. SN shows T T and KM wins with Ad Kh.
220. sb KM - KM folds.
221. sb SN - SN raises 100,000 and KM folds. KM shows Tc Qh and SN showed A K.
222. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 2h Ks 9s. Both check. Turn: 8d. Both check. River Tc. Both check. KM shows Qs Td and SN mucks.
223. sb SN - SN raises 70,000 and KM folds. SN shows J J.
224. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 6d Qc 8h. Both check. Turn: Jh. Both check. River: Kh. Both check. SN shows 3s 6c and KM mucks.
225. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: Ac 5h 6h. Both check. Turn: 4d. KM bets 60,000 and SN folds.
226. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: Th 5d Ks. KM bets 70,000 and SN folds. KM shows the Tc.
227. sb SN - SN folds.
228. sb KM - KM folds.
229. sb SN - SN raises 75,000 and KM folds.
230. sb KM - KM limps and SN raises 90,000. KM folds.
231. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: 7s Ac 7c. Both check. Turn: Kc. SN bets 30,000 and KM calls. River: 5d. KM bets 120,000 and SN calls. KM wins with Jc 9c for a flush. SN shows an A.
232. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: Jc 2s Th. Both check. Turn: 3c. Both check. River: 7h. Both check. KM shows 9c 7s and SN mucks.
233. sb SN - SN raises 80,000, KM re-raises 80,000 and SN calls. Flop: Kh 3d 5s. KM bets 80,000 and SN folds. KM shows Ks Qh.
234. sb KM - KM folds.

     *** Chip count

     KM 900,000 SN 2,600,000

235. sb SN - SN raises 50,000 and KM folds.
236. sb KM - KM folds.
237. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: Qs 7d 4s. SN bets 60,000 and KM folds. KM shows As and SN shows 5s 8s.
238. sb KM -KM raises 60,000 and SN calls. Flop: 6h 3s 3h. KM bets 60,000 and SN raises 100,000. KM calls. Turn: 6s. SN bets 150,000 and KM folds.
239. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: 3c 3s Js. SN bets 40,000 and KM folds.
240. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 4s 2d 2c. SN bets 40,000 and KM raises 100,000. SN folds.
241. sb SN - SN raises 100,000 and KM folds.
242. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 6c 4h 8d. KM bets 40,000 and SN folds.
243. sb SN - SN raises 80,000 and KM folds.
244. sb KM - KM folds.
245. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: 7d 8h 7h. SN bets 60,000 and KM folds.
246. sb KM - KM raises 60,000 and SN calls. Flop: 6c Kc 2h. Both check. Turn: 8c. Both check. River: Th. Both check. SN shows Qs 9c for Q high and KM mucks.
247. sb SN - SN raises 90,000 and KM calls. Flop: Ts Ad 5s. SN bets 90,000 and KM raises 280,000 all-in. SN folds and shows Qc Jc. KM shows 5c 3s.
248. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 3c 4s 8h. Both check. Turn: 9c. Both check. River: 6s. Both check. KM shows Ad 6c and SN mucks.
249. sb SN - SN folds.
250. sb KM - KM folds.
251. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: 3c 4c Ad. SN bets 30,000 and KM calls. Turn: 4s. SN bets 80,000 and KM calls. River: 9h. SN bets 200,000 and KM raises 386,000 all-in.

     *** As soon as KM raises 386,000, KM leaves the room and does not return for a couple of minutes.

     SN calls. KM wins with 4h 5d. SN shows Ah Qs.

252. sb KM - KM raises 70,000 and then folds when SN re-raises 150,000.
253. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: As Kd 9d. SN bets 42,000 and KM calls. Turn Jh. SN bets 120,000 and KM calls. River: 8c. SN bets 300,000 and KM folds. KM shows Qd Jd and SN shows 5 6.
254. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: 3s 7d Js, KM bets 70,000 and SN folds.
255. sb SN - SN raises 80,000 and KM folds.
256. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: Qs 4c 6s. Both check. Turn: Qd. SN bets 30,000 and KM folds.
257. sb SN - Both limp. Flop: 5h 9d Ks. Both check. Turn: Kh. Both check. River: 5d. SN starts to bet and KM folds.
258. sb KM - KM raises 40,000 and SN calls. Flop: 9d Qs 2s. KM bets 70,000 and SN calls. Turn: 3c. KM bets 70,000 and SN calls. River: 8h. Both check. KM shows 6c 6d and SN mucks.
259. sb SN - SN raises 40,000 and KM calls. Flop: 7d Kd Jc. Both check. Turn: Ad. SN bets 90,000 and KM folds.
260. sb KM - KM raises 40,000 and SN calls. Flop: 9h 5h Qs. Both check. Turn: 3h. Both check. River: 7h. SN bets 80,000 and KM raises 240,000. SN folds. KM shows Ah.
261. sb SN - SN raises 50,000 and KM calls. Flop: 8s As 6h. SN bets 80,000 and KM folds.
262. sb KM - KM raises 50,000 and SN calls. Flop: 8h Ah 4s. KM bets 80,000 and SN calls. Turn: 8s. Both check. River: 3h. Both check. KM shows Jh Qs and SN wins with Jc 4c.
263. sb SN - SN raises 60,000, KM calls and KM checks blind. Flop: 2c 7h Kd. Both check. Turn: As. Both check. River: Qs. KM bets 120,000 and SN raises 300,000. KM calls. SN wins with Jd Th. KM shows Ad Qd.
264. sb KM - Both limp. Flop: As 2c 5d. Both check. Turn: 9h. KM bets 70,000 and SN folds.
265. sb SN - SN raises 90,000 and KM folds. SN shows Ad Ah.
266. sb KM - KM limps and SN raises 110,000. KM folds.
267. sb SN - SN raises 80,000 and KM folds. SN shows Ad 3h.

     *** 10 minute break at 4:27 PM.

     *** Chip count

     KM 610,000 SN 2,890,000

     *** No Ante. Blinds go to 25,000/50,000.

     *** Scotty Nguyen is drinking a Michelob.

268. sb KM - KM raises 50,000 and SN calls. Flop: 8c 9d 9h. SN checks, KM bets 100,000 and SN calls. Turn: 8h. SN checks, KM bets 100,000 and SN calls. River: 8s.

     SN moves all-in. SN says "if you call, it's all over". KM calls 310,000 all-in and says "I'm playing the board". SN shows Jd 9c and wins the pot with 9's full of 8's. KM does not show his hand. It was reported that KM had Qh Th, but I never saw his hand.

     Scotty Nguyen wins the $10,000 No Limit Championship at 4:42 PM.