Event #6: $1,650 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event

The final nine players returned to the ballroom inside Harrah's Atlantic City today to play it out for the title of champion at the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event. After just about eight hours of play, Matthew Waxman took the crown, pocketing $117,797, the gold ring, and a golden ticket to the season-ending National Championship in May.

Brandon Croft came into the day with the big stack, but he could not manage to hang on to his chips. Croft would't be the first player out, but it was close. It was Manish Patel who fell first, getting his 10 big blinds in with     against Waxman's    . The       flop all but ended Patel's hopes, and he was out the door in ninth place to give Waxman the chip lead once again with close to 2 million. A few minutes later, Croft lost his last 309,000 chips when his     ran into Jesus Cabrera's     to send him out in eighth place.

Once the knockouts began, they did not relent. Tam Ly lost a flip to go out in seventh place, and Mike Summers followed him right out the door when his flush draw failed to materialize against Waxman's pocket aces. Just a couple hands later, Waxman woke up with aces again, and this time Dave Cubeta gave him all-in action with    . A           board full of blanks sealed Cubeta's demise, relegated to the rail in fifth place.

It was only another few hands before Chris Bonita was ushered to the door in fourth place, and Mark Sykes went right behind him in third. He had about 12 big blinds when he went with    , but Cabrera had the chips to call with    . No ten on board ended Sykes' day early and concluded a brutal Level 28 that was responsible for five eliminations.

When the match went heads up, Matthew Waxman had about a 3:2 lead over Cabrera, and the battle was a good one. Cabrera drew even with a couple quick pots, but Waxman recovered to once again whittle Cabrera down toward the felt. After about 45 minutes of dueling, the big one finally came. Waxman opened the pot with a raise, and the betting action ended with him calling a five-bet shove for Cabrera's last 2.11 million. The     of Waxman was dominating Cabrera's    , and the first four board cards were blanks (       ). There were a few chop outs to be had, but there would be no chop. The   slammed the river, saving Cabrera's tournament life and stealing the ring off Waxman's finger.

That pot turned the tables and gave Cabrera the 3:2 lead, but Waxman worked it back to all square within a few hands. The duel continued for more than three hours, and Cabrera got himself short on a couple different occasions before finding a tournament-saving double up.

Just before 8:00, the final hand was dealt. A preflop raising war saw Matthew Waxman's     up against Cabrera's    , and it looked like another double up was going to give Cabrera life once again. The flop was a miraculous       to all but end it, and the   turn meant the at-risk player was dead to a six. The river was the  , though, and Waxman and crew celebrated his first Circuit win. Along with it comes the gold ring, a ticket to the National Championship at Caesars in May, and $117,797 in cash.

Here's the full list of payouts for the finalists:

[TABLE]*Place | Player | Payout*

1| Matthew Waxman | $117,797

2 | Jesus Cabrera | $72,824

3 | Mark Sykes | $53,126

4 | Chris Bonita | $39,406

5 | Dave Cubeta | $29,685

6 | Mike Summers | $22,704

7 | Tam Ly | $17,618

8 | Brandon Croft | $13,869

9 | Manish Patel | $11,073

[/TABLE]

That wraps up our coverage for this Main Event, but we're not done at Harrah's Atlantic City just yet. The $10,000 Northeast Regional Championship kicks off right here next Sunday, and we'll be back in these seats to bring you some high-stakes action and crown our final ring winner of the 2010 calendar year.

As we depart for now, we send our congratulations go out to Matthew Waxman for a fine performance here in the Main Event!

Matthew Waxman's standard opening raise is 180,000 now, and we pick up another pot that he entered first. Jesus Cabrera called out of postion, and they watched the dealer flop       on board. Cabrera checked and called a bet of 160,000, and they arrived on the   turn. Waxman bet again, doubling it to 320,000, and this time Cabrera was forced to surrender his hand.

Waxman - 4.535 million

Cabrera - 2.52 million

Matthew Waxman raised to 140,000 from the button, and Jesus Cabrera came along with the call. The two of them watched the flop come      , and they check-checked to the   turn. Cabrera put out 100,000, and Waxman called, and Cabrera fired another 200,000 after the   river. Waxman needed some time in the tank to make sure, but he eventually put in the call with    .

Two pair was good; Cabrera surrendered his cards into the muck, and Waxman is once again beginning to assert his growing chip stack.

Waxman - 4.415 million

Cabrera - 2.64 million

Jesus Cabrera has won a few small pots in the last few orbits to stretch his chip lead out a bit, but Matthew Waxman has just recouped his losses. It was Cabrera opening the last pot to 140,000 from the button, and Waxman came along from the big blind.

The two men checked through the turn on the         board, and Waxman fired a bet of 300,000 on the   river. Cabrera called, and Waxman tabled     for quads.

Cabrera - 4 million

Waxman - 3.055 million

Matthew Waxman has abandoned the mini-raise in favor of the 2.33x raise. In this new level, we find him opening to 140,000 from the button, and Jesus Cabrera matched the bet to head off to a flop.

The       drew a check-fold from Cabrera as Waxman's bet of 190,000 was good enough to get the job done. The match is beginning to become a bit more lopsided over the last couple passes of the button:

Waxman - 5.185 million

Cabrera - 1.87 million

On the button, Matthew Waxman made his standard mini-raise to 100,000, and Jesus Cabrera came along to the flop.

It brought       and a check from Cabrera, and he called a 130,000-chip continuation bet from Waxman. That brought them to the   turn, and Cabrera elected to lead out into the pot for 400,000. Waxman called, and that's as far as Cabrera would go. He checked the   river, and Waxman fired out a cool 1 million chips. No call came, and the fold drops Cabrera back down to 2.78 million, just about where this battle began.

Essentially even in chips, Jesus Cabrera raised to 150,000 from the button, and Matthew Waxman called for a flop.

It came      , and the action check-checked to the   turn. Waxman check-called 100,000 there, and both men checked once again on the   river.

Cabrera showed up    , and that same ace-nine wins him another pot, albeit a much smaller one this time. He's still holding tight to a small chip lead with 3.765 million.

Matthew Waxman raised to 100,000 again from the button, but this time Jesus Cabrera three-bet him to 300,000. Waxman called.

The dealer spread out      , and Waxman called a bet of 200,000 from his opponent. Cabrera fired another 400,000 on the   turn, and Waxman called once again. On the   river, Cabrera slowed down with a check, and Waxman decided a bet was in order. It was all in, and it put Cabrera to a decision for all of his own chips. He could not call; Cabrera surrendered, and Waxman's count it up to 4.875 million now.

From the button, Matthew Waxman raised to 100,000, and Jesus Cabrera called to see a flop. It was      , and both men checked to see the   turn. Cabrera bet 100,000 there, and another 100,000 on the   river with Waxman paying off both bets.

At showdown, Cabrera tabled    , and his top pair earned him the pot to draw this match nearly square.

Waxman - 3,585 million

Cabrera - 3.47 million

Our finalists are back in their chairs, and the money and the ring have been dumped on the table. They're playing for nearly $120,000, a gold and diamond ring, and an entry into May's season-ending National Championship.

Game on!