Shawn Buchanan Wins the WPT Mandalay Bay Title

While most of the poker world was at the Rio, six lone players gathered at the south end of the Strip last night at Mandalay Bay. The reason for these nomads to meet just south of the poker capital of the world was the final table of the 2007 World Poker Tour Mandalay Bay Poker Championship. Action got underway shortly after 5 p.m. and here's how the final table looked at the start:

Seat No. 1: Thayer Rasmussen: $273,000
Seat No. 2: David Levi: $334,000
Seat No. 3: Jared Hamby: $1,764,000
Seat No. 4: David Haddad: $1,180,000
Seat No. 5: Danny Wong: $185,000
Seat No. 6: Shawn Buchanan: $853,000

After a handful of uneventful hands, David Haddad bet $42,000 and Shawn Buchanan raised to $140,000. Haddad reraised all in for $731,000 more. Buchanan called, which put his tournament life at risk. Buchanan flipped over pocket kings and Haddad flipped over pocket jacks. The board was dealt K J 8 5 3, which got a huge reaction from the crowd. Especially Buchanan's cheering section. Buchanan doubled up on the hand, and he was the new chip leader with $1.7 million.

Danny Wong moved all in with his short stack for $91,000 and Thayer Rasmussen moved all in over the top of Wong. Rasmussen flipped over pocket sevens and Wong showed pocket threes. The board was dealt K J 9 K 8 and Wong was eliminated in sixth place ($76,515). The next hand was an exercise in déjà vu. Rasmussen bet $45,000 under the gun and Haddad moved all in on the button. Buchanan then moved all in on top of him and Rasmussen folded. Haddad turned over A J and Buchanan turned over A K. The board was dealt Q 5 4 K 5 and Haddad was eliminated in fifth place ($98,375).

Less than an hour into the action, two players had been eliminated, and it was now time for the David Levi show. On a flop of K J 4 Levi moved all in and Buchanan once again moved all in over the top of an opponent. Buchanan flipped over 10 6 and Levi showed Q J. The turn and river cards were dealt Q 8 and Levi doubled up to $600,000 with the crowd cheering in response to the heart on the river. Levi was all smiles as he collected the pot. Buchanan was down to $1.7 million and was dead even with Hamby for the chip lead. A few hands later, 8 8 7 sat on the board and Levi checked. Buchanan opened the pot for $75,000. Levi popped it to $220,000 and Jared Hamby mucked. Buchanan smooth-called after going into the tank for a minute. The 4 was dealt on the turn and Levi checked again. Buchanan moved all in. Levi completed his hook, line, and sinker maneuver by quickly calling. Levi flipped over pocket sevens for the full house and Buchanan turned over K 8. The river brought the 2 and Levi doubled up through Buchanan again.

Hamby now had control of the chip lead with $1.5 million, while Levi and Buchanan were tied with about $1.2 million apiece. Rasmussen was the short stack with $600,000. An hour of quick jabs and small pots weexchanged between the Final Four players before Rasmussen attempted to make a move. Buchanan bet $59,000 from the cutoff and Rasmussen moved all in on the button. Buchanan made the call after a moment and flipped over A J. Rasmussen was dominated when he revealed A10. The board was dealt Q 6 3 6 7 and Rasmussen was eliminated in fourth place ($131,170).

Buchanan once again had the chip lead and another famine took place in the action. An hour of play and a tape change break later was when Levi sang his swan song. Shortly after the break, Levi bet $150,000 and Hamby reraised to $420,000. Levi moved all in and Hamby called. Hamby showed 9 9, and Levi flipped over 7 7. The flop hit A J 8, which induced the Levi cheering section to erupt in repeated chants of "Diamond!" The J and 3 were peeled off on the turn and river though, and Levi was eliminated in third place ($229,549).

Action was now heads up and Hamby held a $1 million chip advantage over Buchanan. The two had cold feet in the early going until Buchanan picked up $500,000 off Hamby in their first battle. Buchanan scored the pot with an uncontested $800,000 bet on the river. Then the turning point came. Buchanan bet $130,000 from the small blind and Hamby raised $220,000 more. Buchanan called and the flop was dealt Q 9 4. Hamby fired out $410,000 and Buchanan called once again. The turn card was the 9 and Hamby bet $600,000. Buchanan called and the river card was the K. Both players checked and Buchanan turned over pocket threes. Hamby mucked and Buchanan took a 3-to-1 chip advantage with the call of the tournament.

The end was near and Buchanan now had fate on his side. On the final hand, Hamby moved all in preflop for $865,000 and Buchanan called after thinking for a moment. Hamby showed K 8 and Buchanan turned over pocket threes again! "It was kind of destiny, so I had to call the last hand. No, I just figured he had a random hand, so if I lose the hand, we're back to even. So I decided to gamble with him," said Buchanan. The board was dealt J 7 5 4 A and Buchanan won the WPT championship title. His friends, many of whom had flown in from Canada that day, broke into cheers and rushed to their friend. This group of well-wishers also included Greg Mueller, who was the current chip leader in the mixed-hold'em world championship at the World Series of Poker. Mueller had left during the dinner break to come support Buchanan. "It was a fun time. It's nice watching everyone cheer," said Buchanan. Hamby took home $459,080 in prize money. Buchanan took home $768,775 for his first-place finish, the 2007 Mandalay Bay Poker Championship trophy, and a $25,000 buy-in for the WPT Championship.

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