Chris Lyons misfired several bullets in Event 15, and was eliminated during Level 1 when an opponent cracked his pocket kings with pocket jacks, but in the end he was the last man standing, collecting $31,654 and the trophy for his efforts.
This is the largest score of Lyons' live tournament career, and afterwards all he could say is how tired he was from the 19-hour grind.
Despite falling in fourth place, this was Surapaneni's second final table this week. He finished third in Event 13: $300 Deeper-Stack NLHE for $5,798, and he now has over $40,000 in career live tournament earnings. This was the second-largest cash of his career - he took third in a $200 big stack event here at Borgata in January, earning $15,551.
Event 15 attracted a total of 504 entries, generating a total prize pool of $127,108. Each of the top 54 players walked away with at least $508, and among the notable min-cashers were Nancy Martin, Iverson Snuffer, Michael Sneideman, Jesse Cohen, Armando Then, and Stephanie Johnston.
Several players fell just shy of earning any money, including Tommy Vedes, Phil Neiman, Jimmy Lillis, and Paul Spitzberg.
Be sure to return later today for continuous coverage of the WPT World Championship, along with the start of Event 16 right here on PokerNews!
All of the money went in preflop between all three players, and Chris Lyons had both players severely out-chipped, but none of the hands were exposed until the board was completed .
That's when Lyons revealed for a rivered pair of kings, and both of his opponents mucked. Because Thomas Coan began the hand with more chips, he was awarded the second-place prize of $17,795.
Chris Lyons was first to act, and raised to what looked like 450,000. Satish Surapaneni moved all in for around 2.5 million on the button, and both players in the blinds folded. Lyons snap-called.
Lyons:
Surapaneni:
The kings held up on a board of , and Surapaneni was eliminated.
Chris Lyons and Martin Weinfeld took a flop of from the small blind and big blind respectively. There was a series of bets and raises, and all of the money went in the middle.
Lyons:
Weinfeld:
Neither the turn () nor the river () were a spade or an ace, and Weinfeld hit the rail in sixth place. Lyons is up to four million chips.
Nick "Panini" Curanovic moved all in for 580,000 from under the gun, and Martin Weinfeld called in the cutoff.
Curanovic:
Weinfeld:
"Nice call," Curanovic told him.
Both players flopped a pair when the dealer fanned , but Weinfeld remained ahead. It was all over when the turn produced the , and a meaningless completed the board.
Kyle Norton raised to 150,000 on the button, Satish Surapaneni three-bet jammed for effectively 900,000 out of the big blind, and Norton made a "borderline" call, according to him.
Norton:
Surapaneni:
"Ack!" Norton blurted at the sight of Surapaneni's hand.
The flop was filled with blanks, and the hand was over on the turn (). The on the river was but a formality, and Norton was eliminated.
While we were writing the last elimination hand, a monstrous pot was brewing between John Johnston and Kyle Norton. When we arrived, each player had already committed a million chips, and the board was completed .
Norton checked, and Johnston moved all in for 675,000. Norton tank-called, and could only shake his had at the sight of Johnston's .
Some players started defending Johnston, saying he flopped a spade draw, but Norton and Nick "Panini" Curanovic were quick to point out that he only held one spade in his hand.
Johnston is now over 3 million chips, while Norton plummeted to 820,000.
Frank Panetta opened for a raise from under the gun, and the action folded all the way to John Johnston on the button. He moved all in, and before the two players in the blinds could fold, Panetta started to commit the rest of his stack. The dealer used his left arm to stop Panetta, who was sitting in the one seat, and once both players folded, he quickly called all-in.
Johnston ripped over , and Panetta studied the hand for a few moments before showing .
The flop changed very little, and Panetta was drawing dead when the fell on the turn. A meaningless completed the board, and Panetta hit the rail in ninth place.
Adir Davidov open-shoved for around 600,000 from the hijack seat, Nick "Panini" Curanovic re-shoved on his direct left, and the rest of the players folded.
Davidov:
Curanovic:
The flop came , giving Davidov a wheel draw, but he lost three outs on the turn ().
There were only four cards in the deck that could save Davidov on the river, and unfortunately for him the on the turn wasn't one of them. He hit the rail in 10th place, while Curanovic chipped up to 1.5 million.
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for a rivered pair of kings, and both of his opponents mucked. Because Thomas Coan began the hand with more chips, he was awarded the second-place prize of $17,795.
, and Surapaneni was eliminated.
, and unfortunately for him he was dominated by Chris Lyons' 
, and Johnston was eliminated.
) were a spade or an ace, and Weinfeld hit the rail in sixth place. Lyons is up to four million chips.
completed the board.
). The 
.
, giving Davidov a wheel draw, but he lost three outs on the turn (