EPISODE SUMMARY

Blame it on the setting. Every other poker tournament is about playing poker. Period. And while the poker itself was just as prevalent and top-notch at this event, this tournament was as much about what happened away from the table, as it was about what happened around the green felt.

You see, the PartyPoker.com Million tournament was held on a luxury ocean liner, with exotic ports-of-call. This year, the event was held on Holland America’s MS Zaandam, sailing from Port Canaveral, Florida to the Virgin Islands. It’s no wonder the event had more participants, one hundred seventy-seven, than any other stop on the World Poker Tour, creating a prize pool of $1,013,800.

There were a number of high-profile pros who paid for passage and put up the $10,000 buy-in, but most of the tournament's participants had qualified by winning online satellites, having invested as little as a buck. This made for an eclectic and interesting Final Table, that included both seasoned pros and rank amateurs.

One of those amateurs was a brash, young Canadian law school student named Dan Coupal. At 21, he was the youngest participant in the tournament. Earlier, he had made some stunning comments about how he and a number of other young players are changing the way poker is played. But today was not the day he proved his theory. Just four hands in, pro Howard Lederer put Coupal out of the final table when Lederer's K,J held up through the river against Coupal's 7,5. Coupal kicked back and enjoyed the rest of the cruise from a deck chair with nearly $44,000 in winnings.

Next to go was another of the other amateurs. Tim Lark had qualified and won his passage and buy-in by winning a series of satellites. His total investment...$1. Now, several hands into the tournament and severely chip challenged, he played a hand to the end when he was dealt an A,3 off suit. Both pros, Chip Jett, with a 9,10 suited, and Lederer, with a Q,8 suited, stayed with Lark through the river, 2,2,2,Q,5 giving Lederer the pot and Lark a 5th place finish and almost $53,000 in winnings. Not a bad net.

Last year, Kathy Leibert won the PPM event. This year, hoping the title would again go to the fairer sex, a grandmother from England took the challenge. Maureen Feduniak, having been coached by poker superstar T.J. Cloutier, knows her poker and is not a push over. While most top players will tell you of the importance of understanding the mathematical aspects of the game, Feduniak relies on her keen instincts and understanding of human nature – perhaps gained from her years as a mother and grandmother.

However, today she was simply outdrawn. After losing the bulk of her chips to several stronger hands, Feduniak, with an A,3 suited, got into a pot against Lederer, also with an Ace. By the river Lederer was the winner by virtue of his stronger kicker. The Grand Dame of tournament poker had to cede the title, but walked away with $79,155 in prize money.

This tournament was a Limit Hold'Em event, meaning there was going to be more action, more flops seen, than at No Limit events. Now down to three players, the play indeed became very fast with chip stacks rising and falling and the chip lead changing seemingly with every hand. At one point Lederer, who had come to the final table in second chip position with over $225,000, was down to less than $90,000. "Cowboy" Joe Simpkins, on the other hand, who started the day low stacked with a mere $27,000, was still in the hunt and going strong.

Simpkins was another online qualifier. He had exhibited the curious habit in the early rounds of reading a book while playing. A crowd favorite, Simpkins was finally forced "all in" in a three handed pot with a pair of deuces. He was bested by Jett's flush. The Cowboy rode into the sunset with an extra $105,540 in his saddlebags.

It came down to two pros fighting it out for the title. They waged a monumental battle, with the chip lead changing hands more than once, and both players playing virtually every hand to the river.

On the penultimate hand, Jett was beat on the river, giving Lederer an almost 8:1 chip lead and the writing was on the wall. On the next hand, Lederer was dealt a 10,8, and Jett a K,2. They saw each other's bet and watched a 10,8,K come on the flop. Jett bet the maximum, Lederer re-raised and was called. Then a 7 and Q came on the turn and river and Jett, now all in, finished in second place with $175,900 in winnings.

Lederer joined Gus Hansen as the only repeat champions on the tour and pocketed a cool $263,850 in winnings, giving his extra $25,000 seat in the WPT finals to second place finisher Jett.

This tournament is included in the World Poker Tour Season One DVD Collection.