DIEGO CORDOVEZ

There were 396 entrants in the $2,000 No Limit Hold'em for a total prize pool of $792,000. 3 tables were paid, a total of 27 players.

There are times to gamble and times to play it safe. Hassan Habib chose to gamble when he didn't have to and it probably cost him a seat at the Final Table. There were four stacks shorter than Habib's when he went all-in under the gun with A Q. The chip leader at this five-handed table, Phillip Ivey, woke up with pocket Kings in the big blind and called.

Coming back on Monday afternoon, the new sensation of tournament poker, Phillip Ivey now had the chip lead thanks to those pocket Kings holding up.

THE FINAL TABLE 70 mins left of 80. The Ante is $500. The blinds are $1,500/$3,000

Player	Hometown	Chip Count
Seat 1 Nick Murphy	Phoenix AZ	$42,500
Seat 2 Simon Zhang	San Francisco CA	$72,000
Seat 3 Phillip Ivey	Atlantic City NJ	$195,000
Seat 4 Diego Cordovez	Palo Alto CA	$104,000
Seat 5 Bob Feduniak	Las Vegas NV	$20,500
Seat 6 David Pham	Bell Gardens CA	$99,000
Seat 7 Toto Leonidas	Arleta CA	$28,500
Seat 8 David Ulliott	Hull, UK	$168,500
Seat 9 John Morgan	West Midlands UK	$61,500

With $500 antes and $4,500 in blinds there was $9,000 in the pot before the flop. Toto Leonidas found all that loot so tempting he had to try to steal it. Toto went for it all with a 9 6 on the button. If he's called, he has to figure to be a big dog to anyone. David Ulliott isn't just anyone. Known as 'The Devilfish,' Ulliott is one of the most successful poker players in the world. Ulliott called with pocket 7's in the small blind. Toto got to go back to Kansas in 9th.

The move Leonidas tried didn't work, so Bob Feduniak thought he'd try it. Bob went all-in with a 5 3 from middle position and $19k. He can't afford any callers, or he needed everyone to call. John Morgan, in the small blind, would have called one million 19 thousand dollars with his pocket Aces. Feduniak sure had two live cards and 8th place locked up.

Dave Ulliott only raised $10,000. Nick Murphy thought his was a chance to pick up some needed chips. He came all-in over the top with the A 6 of Clubs and his last $30k. The trap had been sprung. Ulliott had pocket Kings. You know you are a great player when your opponent's overcards never hit. Murphy got to go to bed in 7th.

At the start of play today, a small but vocal English group draped a British flag over the rail. Dave Ulliott and fellow Englishman John Morgan were sitting together in the 8 and 9 seats. In an all-English hand, Dave Ulliott raised from the button to $15k. John Morgan went all-in for $75k and A K. Ulliott called with pocket Queens. As usual for the Devilfish, no overcards came and John Morgan could have a rum in 6th. Interestingly, when Morgan went out the English group pulled the flag off the rail and left. "Nobody likes the Devil," Dave Ulliott said. As an afterthought, one of the group came back with the flag and redraped it on the rail where Ulliott picked it up and threw in a wastebasket. Tournament Director Bob Thompson fought with the British and retrieved the flag.

Remember this name: Phillip Ivey. Like Kevin McBride a few years ago, Ivey has only been playing tournament poker since January of this year when he came to his first World Series. He already has one major win and came in today as chip leader. "He has no fear," the players say of Phillip. That's what comes from not playing for very long. You don't know yet what terrible things can happen to you when you put your money in the pot. Ivey may have gained some fear today. Phillip limped in with pocket 2's. Behind him on the button Diego Cordovez bet $20k. After the blinds folded Ivey went all-in. Cordovez called instantly with pocket Aces and just enough chips to bust Phillip. Remember this name: Diego Cordovez.

From the first hand David Pham was in a tough spot with David Ulliott right behind him. Early on Pham asked the Devilfish, "Are you going to raise every time I bet?" As that's what seemed to be happening. The key hand for Pham was when he called Simon Zhang's A J all-in with the 8 7 of Hearts. When Simon said my hand will hold up, Pham's stack was decimated. All-in later with the 9 5 of Spades, David 'The Dragon' Pham breathed his last fiery breath in 4th when Simon Zhang called with the K 10 of Spades.

Although obviously disappointed by his 3rd place finish, Simon Zhang shouldn't have been. He fought courageously throughout. Simon survived several all-ins against huge stacks. The killer hand for Zhang was when he and Cordovez went all-in before the flop each with A 5. Four hearts hit the board and Diego had a heart with his A 5. Finally taking his last shot with K 2, Zhang had to leave when Diego Cordovez hit a 10 on the flop with his 10 5 of Diamonds.

Head up with a 4-3 lead this looked like no contest for the Devilfish. He'd just put Cordovez away and we could all go home. Over and over Ulliott would take a commanding chip lead with his aggressive style only to have Cordovez come back in one hand. Finally, it was Ulliott who asked for a split of the remaining prize pool. Diego Cordovez had won the respect of the Devilfish. Next he won all the chips. There probably was no size bet that Cordovez wouldn't have called before the flop with his pocket 6's but Ulliott limped in with pocket Aces anyway. When a 6 on the flop, Ulliott had waited too long to go all-in. Cordovez beat Ulliott's chips into the pot for a major upset.

Another record day for the 2000 World Series of Poker. Life is good.