With so much at stake, fame, money and of course a coveted WSOP bracelet, play was expected to be tight with eliminations few and far between but nothing could have been further from the truth as four players headed to the rail within the first two-hour level.

Play was fast and aggressive from the off and James Akenhead lost a large portion of his stack very early on. Having arrived three minutes late, Akenhead check-raised Ian Tavelli's 750,000 bet all-in on a Qh5h7c flop with Kings, only to be snap-called by Tavelli who held pocket Aces. The 6d and 7h on the turn and river respectively saw the British player's stack dwindle to 2,800,000 and boosted Tavelli's stack close to the 10,000,000 mark.

First elimination of the day

First to bust out was the last woman in the tournament, Leo Margets who lost the rest of her short stack within the first twenty minutes of play when she moved all-in over the top of Warren Zackey's 350,000 raise. Zackey made the call and was in good shape as his AhTh dominated Margets' As7h and his lead was extended when the flop fell 4c8dTs. This left Margets a 95/5 underdog and now miracles arrived on the turn and river and she was eliminated.

The eliminations came thick and fast but a significant one happened when Eric Buchman raised to 425,000 on the button, only to see Tommy Vedes move all-in for 1,900,000. After some deliberation Buchman called and showed a pair of sevens. Vedes revealed his hand, a pair of threes and his fans went crazy when they saw the Tc3c7c flop, not realising his opponent had also flopped a set. Vedes needed the case three to stay in the tournament but the Qh and 2s sent him to the rail with $352,832 for his troubles and meant each of the remaining players would be guaranteed $500,557.

With just 14 players remaining James Akenhead once again lost a large portion of his stack when he was all-in preflop with Ace-King vs Antoine Saout's pair of eights and failed to improve but then was doubled up himself when he cracked Jamie Robbins' Aces with KhQh all-in preflop. A board of KdQhJs7c5d saw Akenhead give himself some breathing room.

Darvin Moon wins a monster pot

Three players, Ben Lamb, Billy Kopp and Jamie Robbins then busted in quick succession, with Kopp's exit hand being one that will haunt him for a long time to come. With the board reading Kd9d2d2h, Kopp entered a raiding war with Darvin Moon which resulted in Kopp being all-in. His 5d3d had flopped a baby flush but Moon had flopped a larger flush with QdJd to eliminate Kopp and boost his own stack to a staggering 45,000,000.

Moon then claimed the scalp of Jordan Smith after cracking his Aces. Ric Buchman raised to 650,000, a bet that was called by Moon. Smith then made a squeeze play and raised to 2,600,000 which only Moon called. The flop came down 8c4d2d prompting Smith to check-raise Moon's 4,000,000 bet all-in, Moon called and showed a pair of eights in the hole for top set, way in front of Smith's AhAd. No aces on the turn or river and with Smith's elimination, the November Nine were confirmed.

The players now go on a 115-day break, with Darvin Moon holding the title of chip-leader for almost four months. Play will resume on November 9 where the players will play down until only two of them remain. These two players will then play the heads-up match on November 10 with the victor claiming $8,546,435 and the most sought after piece of jewellery in poker.

Seat 1 - Darvin Moon - 58,930,000
Seat 2 - James Akenhead - 6,800,000
Seat 3 - Phil Ivey - 9,765,000
Seat 4 - Kevin Schaffel - 12,390,000
Seat 5 - Steven Begleiter - 29,885,000
Seat 6 - Eric Buchman - 34,800,000
Seat 7 - Joe Cada - 13,215,000
Seat 8 - Antoine Saout - 9,500,000
Seat 9 - Jeff Shulman - 19,580,000

Sixty-four players returned to unbag their chips and do battle at the felt and with the blinds now a significant 25,000/50,000 and a 5,000 running ante, it was no surprise that the first couple of hours saw no fewer than ten players eliminated.

First elimination of the day

The first player to exit on Day 7 was high-stakes cash game player Prahlad Friedman who moved all-in for 840,000 from the cut-off with KhQc only to see his bet snap-called by Bradley Craig in the big blind. Craig was in great shape with his AdKs and when the board ran out 9d7h2d8d9s, Friedman headed to the rail. Craig would later exit the tournament in 50th position after his AK could not outflop his opponents pair of Kings.

British pro James Akenhead started the day with just over 1,600,000 but soon found himself closer to 4,000,000 when his Kings flopped a set on a 4cKsJc board. Akenhead lead out for 420,000 prompting his fellow countryman, Adam York to move all-in with his Ace-Jack, a call which Akenhead instantly called. There was no help for York and Akenhead scooped a substantial pot.

The third Brit still in contention for the bracelet, Jeff Duvall was moved to the secondary feature table just before the players went on a break but he would not get much TV time as he busted out soon after the restart. Duvall thought his Ace-Jack was good on a AhTc2c board and moved the remainder of his stack in, only to find he had run into a set of two's held by Jeff Shulman. The miracle turn and river of 5s and 8s failed to alter things and Duvall was eliminated in 42nd position, picking up $178,857 for his troubles.

Joe Ward then seemed to be involved in some key hands, the first of which when he won a three-way all-in against Gabriel Vezina and Martin Lapostolle. In a hand made for the internet, Ward's Kings were up against the Queens of Lapostolle and the Jacks of Vezina. Ward's opponents were drawing dead by the turn as the board read 9sKh4d6s, taking Ward to 9,800,000 and busting his opponents in 38th and 37th place.

Phil Ivey cracks Ward's Kings

Ward then found Kings again, only to have them cracked by the 9c7c held by Phil Ivey. After checking the 7h4cQs board, Ivey fired out, and was called, on the arrival of the 7d on the turn and 4d on the river, catapulting him to 11,300,000 chips.

Unbelievably, Ward was again dealt KK and was all-in preflop against Jamie Robbins who woke up to find a pair of Aces in the hole and then went on to flop an un-needed Ace to knock Ward all the way back down to 6,000,000.

In total, 14 players were eliminated during level two but the bubble went on for almost two hours. It finally burst when that man Ward was again all-in preflop, and again he was called by Jamie Robbins. Ward held AK against his opponent's AQ and looked sure of a double up. This look even more certain as the board read AdTc8d2d but a cruel Qh was dealt on the river to send him to the rail in 28th place but also with $253,929 to console himself with.

Play resumes at 1200 Las Vegas time (2000GMT) and sees Darvin Moon return as chip leader with a staggering 20,160,000 stack. Hot on his heels are Billy Kopp (15,970,000), Steven Begleiter (11,850,000) and the ever-dangerous Phil Ivey (11,885,000), the latter still in the hunt for his third bracelet of the series.

Best of luck to everyone still involved, especially the last British player standing, James Akenhead (8,615,000) and the very short stacked last remaining female player, Leo Margets who returns with just over 1,500,000 when the average is 7,200,000.

Amongst those returning for Day 7 of the World Championship No-limit Hold'em Main Event is none other than Phil Ivey who has a monster stack of 6,345,000 and will be most people's favourite to claim his first Main Event title and his eighth WSOP bracelet of his career.

Day 6 did not last long for British pro, Michael 'Beppe' Greco as he pushed his last 520,000 chips into the middle of the table preflop with AcKh only to run into Scott Bohlman's pocket Aces. He caught a King on a Ks5h4d board but running Tens on the turn and river saw him heading for the rail.

Another British hopeful then lost a huge pot in a battle of the blinds. After the action folded to him, James Akenhead put in a standrd raise from the small blind, only to be called by the big blind, Steven Begleiter. Both saw a flop of 9c8cQh which saw Akenhead check-raise Begleiter's 85,000 bet to 190,000.

Begleiter called then lead out for a big bet of 850,000 when Akenhead checked the 3s on the turn. Akenhead eventually made the call and once again checked to hi opponent when the 7s came on the river. Begleiter announced he had two-pair before tabling 9d7c to show he hit two pair on the river prompting Akenhead to stare at the ceiling in disbelief before mucking his hand.

Elsewhere a 'Table of Doom' was being created as 2008 World Champion, Peter Eastgate found himself at the same table as November Nine member Dennis Phillips, JC Tran and Joe Hachem, with on Dennis Phillips having chips left as play drew to a close.

Two more Brits exited the tournament, Karl Mahrenholz and popular blogger Chuck Clark, also known as ex-Snowman online. Both players picked up $40,288 for their 114th and 115th respective finishes.

Meanwhile, Phil Ivey was busy adding to his rapidly growing chip stack and he claimed a major scalp in the form of Hac 'Trex313' Dang, which took him to 3,260,000 in chips. All the money went in preflop with Ivey holding Jacks and Dang a pair of Queens but a Js9s4c5c7c board saw Ivey outdraw the high-stakes cash guru and move up the leaderboard.

As play ended for the day, it was announced that Darvin Moon was the overnight chip leader with 9,745,000 closely followed by Billy Kop with 8,245,000 and Phil Ivey in third with 6,345,000. With Ivey running well, combined with a big stack he could be unstoppable as the players return for the seventh day where it is rumoured they will play down to the last 27 players.

Mentions must also go to the three remaining British players, Adam York, Jeff Duvall and the aforementioned James Akenhead. A special mention also for Leo Margets who has the honour of being the last woman standing at this years World Series of Poker.

Back home, re-packing my suitcase as I prepare for my holiday in Spain/ Ibiza starting tomorrow, I still cannot stop thinking about Sin City and my great trip there. The twenty hour, tiresome journey from Vegas to Malta did can't even dent my positive mood and review. Nine days flew by so quickly and I once again have to thank Betfair for the amazing opportunity to experience the wonders of the place which topples any other.

Team Betfair has been knocked out of the Main Event after Day 5 but a massive congratulations has to said for their efforts. Well done to Sorel, Kevin ( E V V O), Diogo and TC Moreira who also managed to cash in some well-deserved money along the way! Whilst John and Peter were unlucky to exit, I honestly believe that Sorel will get his Bracelet soon; having again finished runner up at the Pot Limit Omaha Event whilst there in Vegas.

Personally, I believe that the trip could not have gone better for me. I got to experience Vegas for the very first time, watch a lot of the Main Event, spend time with our Pro's and met some of the Betfair qualifiers. To top it off, my colleagues Richard, Amy, Paul and Robert ensured I had the best time possible and helped me make the most of my trip since they are all Veterans. Before my journey started, all I had was stories, the internet, TV references and my imagination to picture what Vegas must be like but now I know firsthand that Sin City is really magical.

The shows, the hotels and casinos, the lights and parties are just some of the many things that set Las Vegas apart from anywhere else in the world. I was actually told this is the worst time for the City, facing a loss of turnover of about 27% so I can only hope that more people visit as it would be a shame to let the recession start to affect it. I still remember landing at McCarran Airport, seeing Las Vegas for the first time ever through the plane window. From being picked up in a limousine to riding on a helicopter tour, Vegas has been the place for me to tick off a lot of "firsts" in my life. I learned how to play Craps and the strategies behind Blackjack, win some poker, laughed my head off at the Hypnotist show and experienced the disappointments from players being knocked out of the WSOP.

It is hard to get back to real life after such a good time over there. This trip for me has been mind blowing and also made me realize how much life has to offer. Malta is a small island and a very nice place to live, but there is so much more out there and Las Vegas was the perfect place to show me that. In my introduction to the Blog, I wondered if all that glittered was really gold and in my most honest opinion, I have to say yes! Of course there are bad things such as people losing their money or ending up in crime, but these things are everywhere and the good factors in Vegas definitely rise much, much higher than the bad when compared to one another.

In terms of Betfair Poker itself, I really do think that we got as much exposure as we could and really pushed the Free Million Dollar Game and Caesars Cup; all happening at the World Series of Poker Europe. People genuinely took interest to the concept and I am glad to have been involved in all this. Annette, John, Peter and Sorel did their best to give out as many interviews as they can and the Cardstacker, Bryan Berg, really did pull off another work of art by building replicas of the Big Ben and Houses of Parliament.

For those of you readers who have been to Vegas, trust me, it is well worth another visit, especially in a few months' time when the City Centre project is finished. For others who have not been there yet, save some money and go there! There really is no other place like it and whoever built the world famous sign was not lying when they wrote "Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas"!

In just a few weeks time the WSOP Europe will commence and the excitement starts all over again in London. Although the Vegas main event has thousands of players, the Bracelet won in Leicester Square has to be the hardest to win as only the best of the best, along with some hopefuls and internet qualifiers have a go at the £10,350 Buy In Main Event. What's even greater is that next year's WSOP will introduce American Poker Rooms to the European poker sensation, Annette Obrestad, which is quite exciting!

From my home back in Malta, I thank you all for following my posts and I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing them!

This is the Vegas Ex-Virgin signing out!

Mizzi started the day with a healthy 305,000 in chips, more than enough for the young Canadian to grind away with. Unfortunately for Mizzi, he suffered a big loss during the first couple of levels which basically left him in push or fold mode.

He ended up shoving with Ace-Jack offsuit and was eventually looked up by Scott Cook who held 9s9d. Team betfair have had horrendous luck when facing all-in bets against pocket nines and this hand would be no different as Cook flopped a set on a board reading 9c6c3d.

The turn brought a glimmer of hope as the King of clubs meant any club, apart from the 3c would give him a winning flush but it was not meant t be as the Th fell on the river to eliminate him in 366th place from 6,494 runners, worth $27,469 This was Mizzi's fifth cash of the 2009 World Series of Poker, a cash which took his winning for the series to a few dollars shy of $370,000, not bad for a few weeks poker playing.

Meanwhile tcmoriera was busy trying to add to his 253,000 starting stack and did so when he called a 22,000 raise from middle position in the big blind with a pair of black fives. Both players checked the flop of Ts9s7s but tcmoriera lead out for 27,000 when the Ks arrived on the turn. The initial raiser flat called and both checked again when the As was dealt on the river. Somehow tcmoriera won the pot with his baby flush to take him to around 325,000 chips.

He was then unlucky to lose with a full house to a bigger full house when the board ran out 8x2xQx2x8x and his opponent showed Jx8x whilst tcmoriera opted to show one of his cards, a two. This left him with around 175,000 and in need of a double up sooner rather than later.

His exit hand occurred very close to Mizzi's departure when he decided to shove his Jack-Two offsuit over the top of a player who had been habitually raising preflop. This time the raise woke up with Ace-Jack and made the call. Tcmoriera was in bad shape when the first two cards dealt were Aces and the remaining three were not the required 222 and he headed for the cashier's office with a slip for $29,911, the biggest live cash of his career.

Despite there no longer being any remaining members of Team Betfair still standing, there are still plenty of big name pros left in the field including Phil Ivey and last year's winner Peter Eastgate, so we will still be following with great interest over the next couple of days. There is also a splattering of British and European players left in with James Akenhead currently sitting in ninth place with 2,692,000 chips.

The best of luck to each of the remaining 185 players.

As the sun slowly started to disappear, the lights on the other hand were glowing even brighter. Traffic starts to increase and from the window in my room, I could see the once empty pavement starting to move as the crowds get bigger and bigger.

They were joined by 784 other hopefuls, 151 of who would end the day having not made any money on their $10,000 outlay.

From the off Sorel Mizzi took a couple of blows and was down to 150,000 chips from his 297,000 starting stack but we all know Imper1um is capable of grinding at the tables and bny the time the tournament director ended play for the day, the young Canadian was back up to 305,000.

As the money bubble approached, oversleep found himself all in with QdTd on a flop reading Jd5d9c against Michael Jansen's 9s9h. His open-ended straight and flush draw meant he was a 60/40 underdog but these odds widened as 6s fell on the turn and his WSOP was over when the 3s came on the river. A valiant performance from the man from Portugal.

E V V O found himself seriously short-stacked with just 38,000 chips with blinds at 2,500/5,000 and a running ante of 500 but he somehow miraculously survived to make the money before getting it all-in with AK against 99. Unfortunately for E V V O a nine spiked on the flop leaving him drawing extremely thinly and there was no help from the board and he was sent to the rail

In the meantime tcmoriera was busy chipping up and was over 570,000 chips at one point giving Betfair a small but welcomed dilemma as his flight was booked for today! After ending the day with 253,000 it looks like another flight will have to be booked, along with a hotel room as he is through to Day 5 of the biggest poker tournament on Earth.

Shortly after E V V O busted, DMSPSB joined him to rail his team-mates when his Kings ran squarely into pocket Aces. A cruel way to be eliminated but this can be a cruel game as we all know too well.

So 25 Betfair qualifiers have now become just two, two who are guaranteed to take home $27,469 but two who will be looking to go as deep as they can in this amazing tournament. Play resumes at noon Las Vegas time (2000BST) where 407 players will take to their seats

Sorel Mizzi will start at table Orange 92 as will be fourth in chips there and tcmoriera will begin play at Orange 85 where he will be eighth from nine in chips although there are plenty of similar sized stacks around him. Thankfully, out Team Betfair member have avoided the big-name pros, although I am sure neither are bothered by that fact either way.

Good luck guys!

Team Betfair at WSOP 2009 started amassing at the Encore lobby around 20:00 where Paul, Rob and I greeted a group of around eight players for a treat. As soon as everybody was accounted for, we took a taxi and headed towards Paris in order to see "Hypnotist of the Year", Anthony Cool.

Oversleep started the day with 70,500 chips but was soon armed with a 142,000 stack after doubling up with Aces versus Kings. However, by the close of play he would be just above what he started with, 76,500 and in approximately 700th position.

Another player who doubled up relatively early was Sorel Mizzi. Mizzi got all his chips in the middle with ThTd on a 6c7hTs board against his opponents pocket Queens. The dealer burned and dealt the 5h on the turn followed by the 9s on the river and Mizzi was up to an impressive 355,000 chips.

Mizzi then ended up sat at the same table as his team-mate ponyboy. Also seated with them was Dave 'DevilFish' Ulliot though it is not clear if they mocked his wig, sorry hair!

Whilst two of Team Betfair slogged it out with Hull's finest, Peter Jepsen was having a roller-coaster ride of a poker tournament having started with 119,500 chips he found himself down to 45,000 then back up to 60,000 before being eliminated. The aggressive Dane will have to wait until September and the World Series of Poker Europe for his chance of winning some poker jewellery.

Three other Team Betfair players ended the day at the wrong side of the rail, Pburress, ponyboy and Hedger43 all of whom can be extremely proud of their performance on poker's biggest stage.

Day 4 is already under way and six Team Betfair players started but how many will be in the final 648 and guaranteed to make the money? Best of luck to each and every one of them.

The starting chip counts, in order of size are as follows:

tcmoriera - 404,000
DMSPSB - 345,500
Sorel Mizzi - 297,000
oversleep - 76,500
E V V O - 59,500

The vast majority of poker players treat dealers well, but a small minority seem to constantly go out of their way to bully or abuse dealers - something which can frequently make both the dealer and players feel very uncomfortable.

By the close of play, almost 1,500 players had lost all of their chips but six defiant members of Team Betfair survived with their stacks in tact and as a result are still in the hunt for the $8,500,000 first prize.

Whilst a total of nine players will return for Day 3 representing Betfair Poker, spare a thought and give a round of applause to those who fell during Day 2b. C Jakob was extremely unlucky to be heading to the rail when he managed to get his entire stack into the middle with a pair of Kings, only to run into his opponent's pocket Aces, just one of those cooler hands.

TILTMONSTER also ran into a monster hand when he was eliminated. His opponent had pushed him off three or four pots in previous hands so he must have thought his Ace-Queen was good this time. Alas it wasn't as his opponent held Kings and he couldn't hit any of the three remaining Aces in the deck to stay alive.

To win tournaments you have to win your coinflips and unfortunately for bifta he couldn't quite manage this. After getting all-in with a pair of sixes against his opponent's Ace-King, bifta was a slight 55/45 favourite but when an Ace arrived on the flop this made him around a 90/10 dog. No miracle six appeared and Team Betfair lost another player.

Whilst all this was going on, Peter Jepsen, DMSPSB and oversleep were busy adding to their stacks, as too were E V V O, ponyboy and pburress, all of who survived the day to take their place at the tables for Day 3.

Congratulations to each player who made it through and commiserations to those who did not.

In order of chip stacks, here are the Team Betfair members playing in Day 3:

DMSPSB - 186,500
Sorel Mizzi - 166,400
tcmoriera - 141,300
Hedger43 - 140,500
Peter Jepsen - 119,500
pburress - 104,000
oversleep - 70,500
E V V O - 70,300
ponyboy - 54,300

I rolled out of bed and dragged myself into the bathroom and the shower worked wonders as I felt like a new person; recharged and ready for action!

First order of business was a repeat of Monday morning which has been the only sad thing on my trip - saying goodbye to my friends. This time, Richard was next to go back across the pond (probably still is) to good, old Europe.