27 Players Left - Final Update

10pm local time. 27 players are left in the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event - the biggest poker tournament ever. The play will resume tomorrow at Binion's Horseshoe, with the final table scheduled for Friday.

The top five chipleaders, according to an unoffical count by CardPlayer:

Mike Matusow $5,104,000
Phil Ivey $4,600,000
Steve Dannenmann $4,150,000
Tex Barch $3,900,000
Greg Raymer $3,500,000

This is also the final LIVE update on Noble Poker's WSOP blog. This year, Noble Poker sponsored five players in the WSOP. Next year we hope to increase the size of our contingent. You could be one of Noble Poker's players at the 2006 WSOP. Stay tuned for tournament details on Noble Poker.

Thank you for being part of Noble Poker's 2005 World Series of Poker experience.

A tough lineup at the ESPN featured table. Tim Phan sits next to the 2004 WSOP champion Greg Raymer. The chip lead at the table is actually held by amateur player Tiffany Williamson (right), the only woman left in the competition. 

Phil Ivey is one of the chip leaders as the field drops to 37 remaining players. 

Last 39 Players

5pm local time. Only 39 players are left in the competition. A record-breaking 5,616 players started play in the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event, and only 39 players are left.

The pots are huge, and chip counts are changing rapidly. Play will continue today until there are only 27 players left. At that stage, the tournament will break and continue tomorrow at Binion's Horseshoe. The final table will take place on Friday.

According to unofficial chip counts, Mike Matusow is leading the pack with $4 million in chips. A most interesting contest is taking place at the ESPN featured table, where Tim Phan is sitting next to 2004 WSOP champion Greg Raymer. But according to PokerPages, the chip lead at the featured table is actually held by amateur player Tiffany Williamson, the only woman left in the competition.

6pm local time. The level ends and the 37 remaining players go out on a 30 minute break. During the interval, the $1,000 chips will be removed from play.

Montana native Douglas Evenhus, 22, won Noble Poker's Maui Jackpot Prize of $18,500. Next year Douglas hopes to play in the World Series of Poker. 

Montana student wins Noble Poker's $18,500 Maui Prize

Joining the Noble Poker team at the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas, Nevada, is Douglas Evenhus, a 22-year-old native of Montana. Douglas is the first player at Noble Poker to receive a $18,500 prize, after winning five straight 10-player Maui Jackpot Sit 'N Go tournaments.

"It's still my dream to play in the World Series of Poker," Douglas says, looking at the players in the biggest poker tournament ever held. "Maybe next year."

Noble Poker is proud to have introduced an industry first - Jackpot Sit ‘n’ Go Tournaments. In addition to the regular prizes that can be won at any Sit ‘n’ Go, players can also win an incredible Jackpot Prize by winning 5 consecutive tournaments. In Noble Poker's $5 Maui Tournament, winning 5 consecutive tournaments gives the winner a Jackpot Prize of $15,000.

When no player won the Jackpot Prize after six weeks, Noble Poker began to increase the prize progressively. When Douglas succeeded where all others had previously failed, and won five Maui tournaments in a row, he received a prize of $18,500.

"In the back of your mind you always think 'what if...'" Douglas says, remembering how he felt when he began to play the Maui tournaments. Douglas won tournaments on a Friday night, and then decided to call it a night. He got up Saturday morning, won two more tournaments, and then he took a break and ate lunch. He even tried to calm himself down by going shopping. Yet, in the back of his mind, he knew that it was possible to win.

"The nerves began to set in," Douglas says. "I kept telling myself, 'Play smart, play smart!'"

When Douglas succeeded in winning the fifth straight Maui tournament, he was so excited that he nearly broke his computer.

Douglas, who recenting graduated from Rocky Mountain College with degrees in Science and Business, has been playing poker since he was about eight years old. "We used to play poker at family get-togethers. We played for nickels and dimes."

Incredibly, Douglas has only been playing online poker for six weeks. Previously able to read players' tells by their physical reactions to cards, Douglas is now teaching himself to see the tells apparent when players bet in online games.

"The Maui prize was nice, but next year I hope to play in the WSOP. That's my dream and my goal," he says.

A player gets a massage during one of the early days of the 2005 WSOP Main Event.