UltimateBet.com -- WPT Season 4

Day 1A The group of players for the tournament were divided into 3 fields which will allow the play to proceed with 21 tables a day. From what we know so far, the official list of participants has 412 names on it. Others who came down to Aruba to pay the entry fee in cash will drive up the numbers. Some of the names who showed up for the first field were David Ulliott, John Cernuto, WSOP final table player Andrew Black, Alan Cunningham, Melissa Hayden and John Phan. Play continued until there were 79 players left. Don't forget to visit UltimateBet's website using the above link to read their blog for the latest updates. Here are the 6 top players with chip counts from the first field:

1. James Van Alstyne 82600
2. Roland de Wolfe 79000
3. Casey Castle 77700
4. Stacy Matuson 71700
5. Russell Johnson 61900
6. Paul Magriel 58500

Day 1B Some names playing today in the second field are Erik Seidel, Freddy Deeb, Chris Bigler, Al Ardebili (coming fresh off his win at Borgata, ending up #36 on the day), Alex Brenes (last year's champion), Robert Williamson III, Aaron Kanter and Antonio Esfandiari. This field played from 12:00 noon to 11:09 p.m. when 87 players were left. The bustouts came quickly as Hoyt Corkins, Chip Jett, Layne Flack, Juha Helppi, Gavin Smith and Antonio Esfandiari were among those sent to the beach for partying. But Antonio Esfandiari's brother Paul did well becoming chip leader for the field 2. For a complete list of participants, visit UltimateBet's website and read their blog on the event. Below are the 6 top players with chip counts from the second field:

1. Paul Esfandiari 80900
2. Bret Mingo 73900
3. Richard Freire 63500
4. Dewey Tomko 62500
5. Mike Ross 61400
6. Jeff Shulman 58500

Day 1C The 3rd and final flight brought in a lot of tournament heavyweights. Phil Ivey, Scotty Nguyen, Clonie Gowan, David Williams, Michael Gracz, Annie Duke, Josh Arieh, Erick Lindgren, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi and Jennifer Tilly were among the names at the tables. We now know that 647 players entered this tournament in total. First place will pay $1,000,000 and a seat to the WPT championships.

The competition heated up and those sent to the beach today include Jennifer Tilly, Phil Laak, Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth Jr., wife Kathy Hellmuth Jr., Yakov Hirsch, Annie Duke and Chris Ferguson. The action continued until there were 80 players left. For a complete list of participants, visit UltimateBet's website and read their blog on the event. Below are the 6 top players with chip counts from the third field:

1. Michael Mizrachi 124,600
2. Cliff Josephy 104,100
3. Andrew Wiggins 91,900
4. Frank Sinopoli 83,800
5. James Van Alstyne 82,600
6. Stuart Fox 82,000

Day 2 Today is the first day with the contenders from all 3 fields. 247 players made it to this point and the top 125 will be in the money. The day was interesting as the goal is to play down to 26 players. The event got underway at 9:00 AM and Allyn Jaffrey Shulman was the first one out at 9:15 AM. Others who were eliminated Erick Lindgren, John Phan, Michael Gracz, Clonie Gowen, Morgan Machina, Roland De Wolfe, Scotty Nguyen, Paul Esfandiari, Dewey Tomko and Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi. Also Al Ardebili who recently won the WPT Borgata Poker Open went out in 47th place. By the time 8:10 PM rolled around, 26 players were ready to get a little rest for tomorrow. And these are the names of the top 6 players and their chips:

1. Frank Sinopoli 739,000
2. Kassem 'Freddy' Deeb 655,000
3. Katherine Jackson 489,500
4. Stacy Matuson 486,000
5. James Van Alstyne 406,000
6. Richard Freire 340,500

Day 3 Beginning at 12 noon, 26 players sat down to see who would play for the championship, and who would end up on the beach with a drink! Freddy Deeb eliminated players left and right, becoming the chip leader going into the final table. The action picked up when the number of players got down to 18 as a lot of all-ins took place, increasing the casualty list. James Van Alstyne who played well this tournament went out in 7th place, just missing an opportunity to compete for the title. James had been receiving bad beats all day, but when he had his last few chips in a heads up with Johan Storakers, he lost to a pair of 9's. You can get more details by going to UltimateBet website's blog. Below are the 6 top players with chip counts for the final table:

1. Freddy Deeb 2,020,000
2. Devin Porter 1,769,000
3. Johan Storakers 933,000
4. Josh Schlien 867,000
5. Stacy Matuson 619,000
6. Robert Border 356,000

Day 4 Final Results Freddy Deeb is the winner of the UltimateBet Aruba Classic. In a final table that lasted about 8 hours, Freddy showed a high level of control by maintaining the chip leader position throughout this last round of the tournament. The winning hand came when 2nd place finisher, 20 year old Josh Schlein, and Freddy saw the flop which produced Jh 8d 3h. Then Josh went all in holding J 2. Freddy quickly called with his J 3. The dealer came out with the final two cards which were Qd Ad giving Freddy the win with two pair and a cool million bucks. Deeb also received a free seat to next year's WPT championship tournament. You can get more details by going to UltimateBet website's blog. Here are the final table results:

1. Freddy Deeb -- $1,000,000 and seat to WPT championship tournament
2. Josh Schlein -- $440,450
3. Johan Storakers -- $300,000
4. Devin Porter -- $200,000
5. Robert Border -- $150,000
6. Stacy Matuson -- $100,000