2011 North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun

Main Event
Day: 5
Event Info

2011 North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
k7
Prize
$450,000
Event Info
Buy-in
$4,700
Prize Pool
$1,764,330
Entries
387
Level Info
Level
30
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
15,000

O'Dwyer Tanks

Level 24 : 15,000/30,000, 3,000 ante
O'Dwyer staring down Selbst
O'Dwyer staring down Selbst

On the third hand of play, Steve O'Dwyer raised to 60,000. Action folded to Vanessa Selbst in the big blind and she three-bet to 215,000. After a couple minutes of tanking, O'Dwyer made the call.

The two players took the flop of {J-Clubs}{9-Diamonds}{6-Spades} and Selbst was up first. She slowed down after three-betting preflop and checked the action to O'Dwyer. O'Dwyer also checked to see the {K-Hearts} fall on the turn. Selbst reached for chips and fired out 220,000. O'Dwyer made the call.

The river card was the {3-Clubs} and Selbst took a few moments. She then announced that she was all in, effectively betting about 550,000 to put O'Dwyer at risk. O'Dywer began to tank and tank and tank and tank and tank. We're not kidding when we say that he tanked for about 10 minutes before finally folding his hand. Selbst scooped the pot and is up to nearly 2.8 million in chips.

Tags: Steve O'DwyerVanessa Selbst

Shuffle Up and Deal!

Level 24 : 15,000/30,000, 3,000 ante

The announcements have been made and the cards are in the air for the 2011 North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun $5,000 Main Event final table! The button is in Seat 4 with Vincent Rubianes to start things off.

Level: 24

Blinds: 15,000/30,000

Ante: 3,000

Tehan and Selbst Gunning for NAPT History

Vanessa Selbst
Vanessa Selbst

Welcome to the NAPT Mohegan Sun final table!

As has been the case with so many major tournaments in 2011, the conclusion of this event is must-see TV. Good news: You'll be able to see it on TV, too! Our eight finalists are just now entering the final table studio to be mic'd up and lint-rollered down so that they look and sound fantastic when ESPN2 broadcasts this May 9-11.

There are some short bios below, but a few of these players need no introduction. If you kept up with the first season of NAPT broadcasts, you're already well familiar with two of these names. We have two former champions still in contention, and both of them have chips with which to do some damage. Joe Tehan is just a couple events removed from his win at the NAPT Los Angeles last November, a win that earned him $725,000 and some national TV face time. And the defending champion of this event? Vanessa Selbst. And in a case of history trying to repeat itself, she's once again second in chips with eight players left. This encore deep run has already drummed up a lot of chatter in the digital world, but Selbst's focus will clearly be on the analog felt today as she bid for an unprecedented title defense. Only Nacho Barbero has won multiple Main Event titles on the myriad PokerStars international tours. Needless to say, a victory by either Tehan or Selbst would be a seriously impressive accomplishment.

Ah, but there's still six other players trying to spoil the party. Here's how the table is set up as the chips come out of the bags one last time:

SeatPlayerChips
1Joe Tehan1,238,000
2Thomas Hoglund Jr.541,000
3Dan Shak1,571,000
4Vincent Rubianes1,711,000
5Steve O'Dwyer1,032,000
6Tyler Kenney3,021,000
7Aaron Overton373,000
8Vanessa Selbst2,249,000

The final table is scheduled to fire off at high noon, but we'd expect that to roll forward just a bit as the television crew gets all their ducks in their rows. Don't wander off, though. This one figures to be popcorn-worthy.

Tags: Joe TehanVanessa Selbst

Seat 1: Joe Tehan (1,238,000)

Joe Tehan
Joe Tehan

Joe Tehan is a professional poker player, originally from Utica, NY. The 30-year-old currently resides in Las Vegas and travels to a handful of US-based tournaments throughout the year. He's recently married (3 weeks) and when he's not playing cards, Joe enjoys golf, bowling and fantasy football. Throughout the course of his poker-playing career, Joe has amassed over $3.5 million in earnings, including $725,000 he won for besting the 701-player 2010 NAPT Los Angeles Main Event field back in November. Should Joe take down Wednesday's final table, he would become the first player in NAPT history to win multiple NAPT Main Event titles. Joe will start with 1,238,000 in chips at the final table.

Bios provided by PokerStars

Tags: Joe Tehan

Seat 2: Thomas Hoglund, Jr. (541,000)

Thomas Hoglund, Jr.
Thomas Hoglund, Jr.

Thomas Hoglund Jr. is a 36-year-old professional poker player from New Bedford, MA. Hoglund has been playing poker for five years and has a handful of four-figure live tournament scores to his name. Already guaranteed a minimum payout of of $32,330, no matter where Thomas finishes at Wednesday's final table, this single cash will be bigger than all of his previous live results combined. When he's not playing cards, Hoglund enjoys sports, music and dining out. He'll begin the final table with 541,000 in chips.

Bios provided by PokerStars

Tags: Thomas HoglundJr.

Seat 3: Dan Shak (1,571,000)

Dan Shak
Dan Shak

At 51, Dan Shak is the oldest player at the Main Event final table. Shak has lived most of his life in New York City, but is a world traveler and currently splits his time between Las Vegas and NY. One of the hardest-working players in his game -- trading -- Shak can oft be seen fielding business calls or pecking away on his iPad in between hands at the poker table. A talented tournament poker player, Shak has collected more than $2.4 million in prize money since he started playing tournaments back in 2004. He'll begin the final table with 1,571,000 in chips.

Bios provided by PokerStars

Tags: Dan Shak

Seat 4: Vincent Rubianes (1,711,000)

Vincent Rubianes
Vincent Rubianes

22-year-old Vincent Rubianes claims to have the "best hair in poker." Originally from Stockton, CA, Rubianes now resides in Santa Barbara, where he splits his time between his studies and poker. Rubianes is a fourth-year student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, studying Political Science. Nicknamed "Side Show Bob," Rubianes once played 800,000 hands of poker in three months for a prop bet. He'll begin the final table with 1,711,000 in chips.

Bios provided by PokerStars

Tags: Vincent Rubianes

Seat 5: Steve O'Dwyer (1,032,000)

Steve O'Dwyer
Steve O'Dwyer

Steve O'Dwyer is a 29-year-old professional poker player from Doylestown, PA, currently residing in Charlotte, NC. O'Dwyer has earned more than $600,000 in career tournament winnings; his best result a 6th place finish in the 2009 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic ($202,362). O'Dwyer owns a bachelor's degree from East Carolina University, where he studied communications and broadcasting. A win at Wednesday's final table would not only be the largest of O'Dwyer's career; it would also grant him membership to the poker's millionaire's club. Steve will have 1,032,000 in chips to work with when play resumes.

Bios provided by PokerStars

Tags: Steve O'Dwyer