1. $1,173,260 (+$25,000 Bellagio Seat) 2. $578,375 3. $272,665 4. $170,175 5. $132,200 6. $99,150 7. Paul Phillips $82,625 Las Vegas, NV 8. Edward Moncada $66,100 Oakland, CA 9. Perry Friedman $49,575 San Marcos, CA 10. John Sacha $33,050 Denver, CO 11. Stephen Gin $33,050 Ontario, Canada 12. Adam Schoenfeld $33,050 San Jose, CA 13. Hans "Tuna" Lund $29,745 Lake Tahoe, CA 14. Michael Dean $29,745 Indian Rock, FL 15. Seyedin Moji $29,745 Henderson, NV 16. Harry Thomas Jr. $23,125 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 17. Gabe Kaplan $23,125 Beverly Hills, CA 18. Larry Eubanks $23,125 Las Vegas, NV 19. Mark Wilds $16,525 Alpharetta, GA 20. Marcello Cabrera $16,525 Visalia, CA 21. Rufus Nagel $16,525 Denver, CO 22. Ronnie EBanks $16,525 Hollywood, FL 23. Andy Miller $16,525 Abilene, TX 24. David Whitemore $16,525 Quincey, MA 25. Reagan Silber $16,525 Los Angeles, CA 26. Ashok Surapanen $16,525 Bangor, ME 27. Michael Yoshino $16,525 San Marino, CA 28. Louis Laxineta $11,570 Beverly Hills, CA 29. Jennifer Harman $11,570 30. Chris Ferguson $11,570 Pacific Palisades, CA 31. Scott Berriman $11,570 Clawson, MI 32. Cuong Huynh $11,570 33 Nekpal Singh. $11,570 Mesa, AZ 34. Paul Lom $11,570 San Jose, CA 35. Martin Schaffel $11,570 Tampa, FL 36. Timothy Morgan $11,570 Hilton, NY 37. Shahryar Aslam $7,980 38. Willliam Agver $7,980 Dubuque, IO 39. Brian Walker $7,980 Phoenix, AZ 40. Stephane Borrero $7,980 Pasadena, CA 41. Alan Smurfit $7,980 Avenfora, FL 42. Eric Ford $7,980 Tigard, OR 43. Chris Hinchclife $7,980 Olympia, WA 44. Joseph Shulman $7,980 Los Angeles, CA 45. Robert Blechman $7,980 Culver City, CA 46. Nikzad Hooman $6,490 Scottsdale, AZ 47. Salam Kassis $6,490 Simi Valley, CA 48. Michael Breault $6,490 Dracut, MA 49. Steven Taylor. $6,490 Richfield, WA 50. David Rubin $6,490 Mill Valley, CA 51. Michael Tom $6,490 San Gabriel, CA 52. Mike Caro $6,490 Shellknop, MO 53. Desmond Portano $6,490 Brooklyn, NY 54. Keith Sexton $6,490 Henderson, NV 55. Carlos Mortensen $5,000 Madrid, Spain 56. Padraig Parkinson $5,000 57. Tam Hang $5,000 Lynnwood, WA 58. Paul Kraus $5,000 Manhattan Beach, CA 59. Robert Zalar $5,000 Carmichaels, PA 60. James Ferel $5,000 Phoenix, AZ 61. Ramzi Daniel $5,000 Los Angeles, CA 62. Yosh Nakano $5,000 Long Beach, CA 63. Chris Grigorian $5,000 Panorama City, CA

Final Six

As six players prepare to do battle tomorrow for a first-place prize of $1,173,260 plus a $25,000 Bellagio seat in the Legends of Poker 2004 Championship/WPT televised event, Lee Watkinson will arrive with a sizeable chip lead of $2,466,000. The “King of Poker,” the legendary Doyle Brunson, is in second place with $1,631,000. Watkinson started the third day in second chip position, took the lead at the second table and then vaulted ahead when he made a straight and took down a massive pot in three-way action. Watkinson, who lives in Lakeway, Washington, is currently in third place in this year’s WPT tour with $562,937, behind Surinder Sunar with $679,860 and Eli Elezra with $1,024,574.

Day 3 started with 62 players left. The top 23, with 100,000 or more chips, were Michael Yoshino, 347,900; Watkinson, 305,200; Gabe Kaplan, 274,100; Pete Lawson, 268,000; Stephane Borrero, 258,000; Paul Phillips, 251,000; Rufus Nagel, 247,900; Edward Moncada, 233,400; Moji Seyedin, 226,900; Reagan Silber, 223,900; and Hooman Nikzad, 206,100. Two other WSOP champs started day 3: Chris Ferguson finished 30th and Carlos Mortensen ended up 55th. Jennifer Harman was the last woman out in 29th place.

The tournament got down to two tables just before 9 p.m. when Mark Wilds opened for $30,000 with A-Q and got moved in and busted by a player with A-K. Perry Friedman at this point was chip leader with about $870,000, while Watkinson was a close second with around $830,000. Blinds were now $4,000-$8,000 with $1,000 antes.

Larry Eubanks was the first of the 18 finalists to leave when he moved in for $167,000 with A-5 off and lost to John Sacha’s pocket kings. Kaplan was next out on a very bad beat. The actor/poker player pushed in his remaining $140,000 with pocket 5s. Friedman called with pocket 4s and snagged a 4 on the river. Kaplan, who has tailed off on his poker playing, has a $210,000 win at the Super Bowl, but cashed out for even more by finishing third at a Mirage event.

Level 17 was played with blinds of $6,000-$12,000 and $1,000 antes. Watkinson had now moved into the lead with about $1,125,000. Harry Thomas Jr., who had already been all in several times, fell victim to a brutal beat. He pushed in for about $140,000 with As-Qs. Sacha called with Ad-4h and flushed when four hearts hit. Finishing 15th was Moji. He had A-9, hit two pair when an A-10-9 flopped and moved in for around $70,000. Brunson was waiting for him with a set of 10s.

Michael Dean had exactly $100,000 when he moved in with A-8. Lawson had pocket 6s and picked him off when the board came J-9-4-5-7.

With midnight approaching, Friedman opened for $40,000 and the veteran Hans “Tuna” Lund went all in for $241,000 more with pocket queens. Friedman matched him with A-Q and flopped an ace. “Terrible call,” muttered Tuna as he swam off in 13th place. A couple of hands later, the flop was K-10-5. Card Player columnist Adam Schoenfeld had K-Q and called when Sacha moved in with K-5. A king on the river filled Sacha and now 11 were left.

When level 18 got underway with $2,000 antes and blinds of $8,000-$16,000, Watkinson had increased his lead to about $1.4 million. Now came the key pot of the night. Stephen Gin was all in with K-5. The board showed Q-5-2-3. Friedman, with A-Q, bet $50,000 and Watkinson, holding 6c4c for a straight and a redraw to a straight flush, made it $250,000 to go, and got another $200,000 off Friedman by betting the river. The field was down to 10 and Watkinson was up to about $2.5 million.

The finalists regrouped at one table. They had barely sat down before three players were out in three hands. Brunson once again had pocket 10s and bet $300,000. Sacha had pocket 8s and raised all in for another $100,000. The board came J-J-3-5-3, and nine were left. Amazingly, on the next hand, Brunson had those same two 10s. (Was he holding out the cards?) Friedman had A-J and opened for $50,000. Texas Dolly made it $200,000 to go and Friedman pushed in all his $232,000. The board came Q-8-7-3-K, and Friedman was out in ninth place. And one hand later, Moncada moved in $150,000 with K-10. Yelia “Joe” Awada, the CEO of a gaming entertainment company and the reigning 7-card stud champion, called and put him out with A-K.

After the three bust-outs in a row, a lot more hands went by before the last player left. Paul Phillips moved in for $105,000 with K-J. “I got that,” said Brunson, calling with Ac-3c. The board showed Q-10-2-4-8 and we were ready for the day four finale.

The three other players have little if anything in the way of major tournament credentials. Pete Lawson of Sandy, Utah, is a pro player. Tom Lee of Denver, Colorado, is a real estate broker and former helicopter pilot. And Grant Helling, from Noperville, Illinois, is an electrical contractor. We’ll see how they do against the big boys tomorrow.

Max Shapiro

CHIP POSITION FINAL TABLE

Doyle Brunson 1,631,000

Lee Watkinson 2,466,000

Pete Lawson 1,056,000

Tom Lee 272,000

Yelia “Joe” Awada 1,064,000

Grant Helling 215,000

2004 Legends of Poker