"I play extremely tight," Jason Mann explained after his win in $1,000 no-limit hold'em, the ninth event in the Harrah's WSOP Circuit event at Caesars Indiana. "And I could because the blinds were low, and there were 425,000 chips in play." That's the reason why this event dragged on for more than five hours and 179 hands. It was only after Mann built a 3-1 lead that he felt he could get aggressive and soon put away his final opponent, Jeffrey Jones.  He was so selective that throughout the final table he had the lesser hand only once, when his A-Q sucked out against K-K.

Mann, 28, is from Hermitage, Arkansas and owns Mann's Tower Service, which builds telecommunications towers. His nickname is "The Super Weez," an allusion to his short legs and long back which he explained liken him to a weasel and allow him to "weasel out" of everything. His poker high water mark came this year when he finished 10th in a $3,000 event at the WSOP at the Rio. Tonight he "100 percent" dedicated his win to his mother for her total support.

The final table got underway with 200 antes and blinds of 600-1,200, 25:45 on the clock. Mark Morris, with 104,700, was chip leader.  Four of the finalists, Jones, Len Ashby, Jamin Stokes and Jon Van Fleet, were pros.
Here were the seat positions and chip counts:

SEAT 1 Rick Gleason     6,300 
SEAT 2 Jeffrey Jones     19,500
SEAT 3 William Coyle    78,400 
SEAT 4 Len Ashby      57,600
SEAT 5 Jason Mann     55,600
SEAT 6 Jamin Stokes    83,300
SEAT 7 John Mosseau    8,400
SEAT 8 Mark Morris       104,700
SEAT 9 Jon Van Fleet              20,700

On the first hand, Van Fleet moved in with pocket kings on the button,  and then Rick Gleason called from the small blind with just 10-9. The board came Q-3-2-5-3, and  Gleason was out in ninth place, which paid $3,376.  Gleason, 43, is an electrician from Logan, West Virginia. He's been playing poker for 10 years, and his highlights are finishing 11th in a $1,000 event at the WSOP, and a cash in a WPT event. His other hobbies are hunting, fishing and golf.

John Mosseau is a police officer, and he soon found himself pulled over for speeding. He moved in twice, on the second hand and then again on the sixth. He arrived shortest-chipped at the final table, and moved in the first time for 7,800 with pocket 4s. They held up that time against Ashby's A-J. The next time, he pushed in with pocket 9s after Van Fleet opened for 3,000 with A-K. The flop was A-10-10, and an ace on the river filled him. Mousseau, nicknamed "Moose," is 36, married with five children, and lives in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He learned poker from his parents and has played poker two years.  A native American, he was once shot while on duty. This was his  first ever Circuit event, and it paid him $5,063.

Several hands later, blinds went to 800-1,600 with 200 antes. Jones and Mann were lowest chipped with about 25,000 and 45,000 respectively, while the other five players were all around the 50,000 and 60,000 range. As play progressed, several players went all in but doubled up. The largest chip exchange came when Van Fleet was all in with pocket jacks and took 30,200 from Stokes, who couldn't hit his A-K

The level ended with all seven players still left. Blinds were now 1,500-3,000 with 400. antes Nine hands into the new level, Ashby was knocked out on a very tough beat. He moved in with pocket kings and was called by Mann with A-Q. No aces or queens came, but a board of 4-3-2-10-5 gave Mann a wheel. Ashby, 25, formerly was in sales. He's a college graduate who majored in sports management and has been playing poker eight years. Seventh paid $6,751.

Four hands later, Stokes took a big hit on a one-outer. He had A-5 when an ace flopped. Mann had pocket 5s, and   caught the last remaining 5 on the river. 

On hand 65, there was big action when two big stacks tangled with big hands. Mann raised, Van Fleet re-raised and Mann went all in. Van Fleet called from the small blind for all his 80,000 wth pocket kings, and Mann showed pocket rockets. The board came  A-10-4-Q-5, and Mann, blowing Van Fleet away with a set of aces, now moved into a commanding lead with around 240,000.

Van Fleet, 25, was a student before turning pro. He's been playing three years, learning from friends, books and the Internet. He's single, plays chess, and earned $8,439 for finishing sixth.

Two hands later, with a flop of Jh-5s-3h, Mark Morris, holding Ah,-5h, moved in for 45,000 on a flush draw. William Coyle, an attorney called with A.J. Another ace and then another jack came, and Morris was down to two $100 chips. He managed to stay alive on the next hand...barely. On fourth street, Coyle had two pair to Van Fleet's pocket 4s. "Gimme a four, gimme a four," he   begged, and got his wish. But on the next hand, Morris went all in again, blind, for his 12,000, discovered he had only 5-2 to Mann's 9-5, and went out when the board didn't help. Morris, 30, is from Grand Haven, Michigan and is sales manager at his family-owned manufacturing business. He taught himself poker eight years ago and says he has "many years of losing." His poker highlight came when he won back-to-back tournaments in his local area. Tonight he picked up $10,127 for fifth.

The next level was 2,000-4,000 with 400 antes. Mann still was  in front with roughly a quarter-million. A dozen hands into the round, Stokes pushed in for about 25,000 with A-6. Jones, with Q-Q, called and busted him when the board came K-J-9-3-10. Stokes is from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and his bio is a duplicate of Van Fleet's. He's also 25 and was a student before turning pro, dropping out of college to play poker. He is married with one child, and his biggest cash-out came when he won a $1,500 event here last year. His ambition is to get on TV. His payout for fourth was $13,502.

By the next break, Jones was right on Mann's tail with about 186,000 to 191,000 for Mann, while Coyle had the other 50,000 or so. Blinds were now 3,000-6,000 with 500 antes.

Play dragged on into the 140th hand.  Action had been excruciatingly slow since it got three-handed, with players making small stabbing bets and avoiding any confrontation Poker room manager Jimmy Allen walked over, brandishing an enormous can of WD-40, saying he hoped it would loosen the table up.  It  worked!   

On the next hand, Coyle moved in for 25,000 with A-10. Jones saw him with Q-9, flopped a lady, and finally we were heads-up. Coyle, nicknamed "Big Count," is 58, from Indianapolis, and has been playing for 40 years. His payout for third was $16,878.

At this point, Jones had a modest lead over Mann, roughly 225,000 to 200,000. Play went back into the slow lane again, with almost no action at all. The lead changed hands a couple of times, with Mann then getting the best of it and slowly moving ahead. By the time the level sputtered to a close, Mann was in front again, about 230,000 to 195,000.

On hand 174, there was finally an all-in bet. There was a 10,00 bet by Jones and a 20,000 raise by Mann pre-flop. Mann then flopped a set of 10s and moved in. Jones folded, down to 51,000. On the final hand, the flop was J-8-5. Jones, with 6-5, looked at his chips. "You can go all in if you like," Mann told him. He did, and Mann turned over a set of jacks to end the evening. 

Jones, nicknamed "Slick," is from Newburg, Missouri. Before turning pro he owned a pump trucking company. He is married with three children and his other hobbies are racing and restoring classic cars. He's played for two years and earned $28,693 for finishing second.

-- Max Shapiro

For more information, please contact:Max Shapiro -- WSOP Media Director at (323) 356-3303
Or visit our official website: http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com

World Series of Poker Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack
Director of Poker Operations for Harrah's Entertainment – Jack Effel
Caesars Indiana Poker Room Manager – Jimmy Allen