As a rare thunderstorm raged over the Las Vegas valley, Emil Patel licked his lips in anticipation as a delectable "fish" sat down at his heads-up $25/$50 no-limit hold'em table. Just as Patel started to hit his stride, winning five buy-ins in half an hour, the power went out.
"What the f**k? WHAT THE F**K!" Patel screamed as the war room was plunged into total darkness.
The lights came back on a few moments later, Patel jumping onto Dani Stern's computer, which was miraculously still functioning. Luckily, Patel was able to get back on his table and salvage the $5,000 pot he was involved in, but only a few minutes later, the lights went out again as Patel played an $11,000 pot.
"That's it! I'm too tilted. This blackout is going to cost me $50k, that's what's going to happen!" Emil lamented.
Dressed in a vertigo-inducing paisley shirt, Brian Roberts joined Patel, Stern, and Jay Rosenkrantz for lunch, during which they discussed plans for an end-of-the-summer party. Though they were excited for their backyard bash, all four were disappointed that they came up so far short of achieving their $2 million goal.
"'2 Months. $800k' just doesn't have that '2 Months. 2 Million.' ring," Rosenkrantz said.
Back at home, Roberts and Patel talked to their personal chef Robert Owens (whom they simply call "Chef" a la "South Park") about the menu. A little-known fact? Chef is a former recording artist. Roberts invited him to perform at the party and Chef accepted the offer, assuring them that he would get a tight band to back him up.
The last war room session unfolded that night, with Roberts taking on Sami "LarsLuzak" Kelopuro, while Stern played "CadX2." Needing some girls to come to their party, they begged Emil's assistant Stephanie to round up some friends.
"Set up an I.Q. test. If they pass, they can't come," Roberts joked.
While Stern crushed his heads-up match, Roberts hit cooler after cooler, losing $93,000 to Kelopuro.
Stern continued to play his three-table match as Rosenkrantz and Roberts adjourned to the backyard to audition the entertainment for the party. The two watched as Uncle Sam on stilts, a goth-girl "balloon artist," and a tattooed snake charmer performed for them.
After posting a $71,000 win against "CADX2," his biggest online score all summer, Stern hit up the sneaker store he and Rosenkrantz visited earlier in the season. Remember those $2,000 white Nikes with snakeskin panels and 18-karat gold accents that Stern fell in love with during Episode 4? He made good on his promise that if he ever made more than $40,000 in a day, he'd reward himself with the shoes. With Rosenkrantz by his side, Stern paid the $2,162 tab and walked out of the store in his new kicks.
"I feel like a million bucks," Stern said.
Like any good season finale, all our favorite characters came back for the final scene. Casino host Striker brought a gaggle of girls (strippers?) to the party. Chef performed an original song, written especially for our heroes, accompanied by two backup dancers clad in white chef hats and jackets. All the crazy performers that Roberts and Rosenkrantz auditioned were there -- including the snake charmer. Patel went into overdrive, relentlessly flirting with the girls and taking them on house tours. While Patel played the field, Stern focused his attention on Seattle native Amanda, whom he had met earlier in the summer. Although Stern took Amanda on the obligatory house tour, much to his surprise and delight, she appeared unimpresesd by all the opulence and high-end toys.
The party wound down and as Stern relaxed poolside with Amanda, he reflected on his experiences in the house.
"I definitely don't want to leave Vegas. I want to stay here forever. But there comes a time when you just have to go back to the real world," Stern said. "This was definitely the best summer of my life."
The next morning, it was time for the final tally.
Week 10:
Brian Roberts: -$75,000
Emil Patel: +$34,800
Jay Rosenkrantz: +$0
Dani Stern: +$101,000
Week 10 total: +$60,800
Grand total for the summer: +$676,700
Grand total breakdown by player: Rosenkrantz (+$406,500), Roberts (+$7,500), Stern (+$100,800), Patel (+$161,900)
"I'm a little bit frustrated we didn't make the goal. I don't think we prepared well enough. I don't think we had a game plan that was flexible enough to get us all the way this summer," Rosenkrantz said as he packed up his belongings.
Sitting next to the pool, the foursome recounted their favorite moments from the summer.
"I busted my Cake account. That sucked. I busted my UB account. That sucked too," Dani offered.
"Every moment of my life is a highlight, baby," Roberts said as he clinked beer bottles with Stern.
When Patel declined to list his pancake birthday cake in his top three moments, Roberts launched into one of his signature rants. His three roommates laughed and sipped their beers as the camera pulled back, the Las Vegas sun setting on the first season of "2 Months, 2 Million." Is it too soon to start wishing for a second?
"The World Series of Poker begins anew next June, and the four of us will be there, trying to win $2 million. I like our chances," Rosenkrantz said.
End scene. Fade to black.
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