Live updates from Day 4, level 21 of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Howard Swains, Brad Willis, and Simon Young.

Blinds: 8,000-16,000-2,000

1.20pm: Taking the double to the break
"Hey, I needed some chips," said Bernd Rygol as he stacked up a tower of them as the other players drifted off to the break. That was how he explained the reasoning behind an open shove under-the-gun with [ah][qh] that was looked up by Benjamin Zamani in the big blind. Zamani had [jd][jh] and Rygol's 199,000 was a mere fraction of his stack. The board came [3c][7s][qs][4s][7h], which was good for Rygol. He now has more than 400,000 as they enter level 22.

1.18pm: Don't mess with Mandy
Amanda Baker is closing in on the 2 million mark, and she's doing it without having to show her cards. Within one orbit of the table, she pushed players off two big pots. The first came when Darren Keyes came in for a raise and Alex Brenes re-popped it to 90,000 from the button. Baker moved all-in from the big blind with enough to cover both players. Both folded.

A few hands later, Baker led out on a [9h][[kc][qh] flop and then called a raise from Damien Rony. On the [8h] turn, Baker checked and Rony put out 200,000. Baker moved all-in and Rony folded.  

Baker is still stacking her chips...in the meantime, don't mess with her.

1.15pm: Duthie digs in
John Duthie opened on the button and saw a flop with Bryce Yockey in the small blind. It came [6s][9d][kd]. Yockey check-called Duthie's bet of 35,000 and both checked the [qc] on the turn. When the [7h] emerged on the river Yockey check-called again, 50,000 from Duthie this time who turned over [jh][qh] to take the pot.

1.05pm: Debut Duthie on top
On a flop of [th][2d][7c] Amit Makhija checked to Bryce Yockey who bet 43,000. Makhija called for a [qh] turn and checked again. Another 98,000 this time from Yockey, his cards protected by a sumo wrestler figurine. The 98k was enough weight to shove Makhija out of the way.

Yockey was in action again on the next hand, opening for 35,000 from under the gun. The action reached John Duthie in the big blind who raised another 51,000. Yockey called for a flop of [2d][4h][ah]. Now Duthie bet 95,000 which Yockey called. With a [3d] on the turn Duthie bet again, 300,000 this time. Yockey surrendered as new boy Duthie, playing his first ever EPT, moves beyond two million.

1pm: The Kenny Nguyen show
When it gets to this stage of a tournament, every table is an action table. But when it gets to this stage of a tournament and Kenny Nguyen is still involved, there is one action table with more action on it than the others.

Florian Langmann opened in early position to 37,000 and Bryn Kenney three-bet to 80,000 one seat to his left. Nguyen, in the big blind, moved all in for 260,000 and got the two aggressors to fold.

On the next hand, Benjamin Zamani opened for 34,000 and Nguyen called from the small blind. The flop came [7c][10h][4s] and as it was being dealt, Nguyen annouced: "Check blind to you!" Zamani checked blind right back at him, and so the dealer went all the way to the turn of [3d]. "Check blind to you," chirruped Nguyen again, but Zamani bet now, making it 46,000. Nguyen called. "Check blind to you," came the familiar refrain from Nguyen as the dealer exposed the [6h] on the river. Zamani checked too and Nguyen announced: "Ace king!" Zamani showed [jd][jh] to take it.

12:57pm: One of the best ROIs ever...
You know how we mentioned Darren Keyes just a moment ago? Well, even if he were to get knocked out right now, he would be cashing in one of the best returns ever.

For that story, we turn to special correspondent Bryan Slick, tournament guru for PokerStars.

The PCA Mega-Path was created as a way to give players an opportunity to get to an expensive event for a small buy-in, in some cases extremely small. This was accomplished by hosting a series of 4,300 MTTs which led to a final on December 20th, the direct buy-in cost for which was 321,000 FPP. A dozen players reached the PCA having started at a buy-in level of 200 FPP or less.

One of those, Darren 'Woodylord' Keyes, is still alive as I write this... having gotten in via a 75 FPP Round 1 satellite and working his way to and through the final. With 55 players remaining, he's guaranteed to win at least $45,000... a staggering ROI of 3.75 Million per cent.

Few things we do when setting up tournaments, especially satellites, are as thrilling as seeing players get the opportunity to live out a dream. Not only do tournaments like the PCA give players the chance to compete on an even playing field with the world's best, the satellites to the events provide an opportunity for just about anyone to make their way here.

How could you NOT be excited seeing someone like Darren with a mountain of chips in front of him deep into this event? I wish him the best of luck, especially after having met him.

12:55pm: Keyes loses a monster
Keyes lost a monster 1.4 million pot, doubling up French PokerStars qualifier Damien Rony in the process. On the [kd][js][6h][ks] board, Keyes checked, Rony made it 96,000 and Keyes re-raised to 300,000. Rony was having none of it, and pushed all in for around 500,000 more. Call!

Keyes: [ah][jc]
Rony: [kc][qh]

Trips were good, and the [3c] river did nothing to help

Keyes, who was left with around 410,000. "I just did not believe you," he told Rony, who was enjoying stacking up his new, sizeable stack.

12:41pm: Gimbel's gamble
It was three ways to a flop of [3d][7s][qh] that saw Eric Froelich and Damien Rony check to chip leader Harrison Gimbel's button. Gimbel bet somewhere in the neighborhood of 65,000. Froelich and Rony both called. All three players checked the [kc] on the turn. When the [3s] came on the river, Froelich and Rony checked again. This time, Gimbel bet 300,000. Froelich didn't think long before calling. Rony folded and Gimbel showed [Ad][3c]. Froelich's cards went into the muck--and not nicely--and Gimbel stacked a pot worth nearly 800,000.

12.40pm: News from the front
Danny Suied is out, victim of a kings against queens crash. He had the queens, Mike Chappus had the kings.

Praz Bansi, still assembling his stack, just pushed Matthew Haugen off an under-the-gun raise from his spot on the button. Haugen came out firing again on the next hand, opening for 40,000 before Bo Schultz pushed all-in from the small blind. Haugen called showing [ac][js]. Schultz had [7d][7s]. The board ran [3d][2d][kd][ks][5h] to double Schultz up.

12.38pm: Bansi has nothing to Karp about
Praz Bansi loses a quarter of a million, doubling up Ryan Karp in the process. We only caught the action at the end on a board of [ah][3h][as][8c][4s]. Bansi - still stacking his overnight chips into some sort of order - had the respectable [ah][qc] but PokerStars qualifier Karp, from the US, had better of it with [ac][ks]. He's up to more than 500,000 now.

12:36pm: Shulman shaking his head
Barry Shulman started the day sixth in chips. Now the winner of the 2009 World Series of Poker Europe is muttering and unhappy.

On the first hand and looking at a [ac][qh][qc][10s][4s] board, Schulman bet 200,000, but was met with a re-raise to 500,000 from Paul Knebel, who left just a 100,000 or so behind. That was too much for Schulman, and he let it go.

Seconds later, Richard Toth came in for a raise from the button and Shulman three-bet from the small blind. Toth shoved for a total bet of 531,000 and Shulman called. It was [2][2h] for Toth and big slick for Shulman. The board ran out [4d][6s][9d][qd][4c].  

Shulman shoved three stacks of red 10,000 denomination chips forward.

"I lost a million in two hands," he said. "Unbelievable."

12.35pm: Duthie moving along
Team PokerStars Pro John Duthie, the EPT founder who is playing his first EPT event here, open raised on the button to 37,000. It's folded around to Hafiz Khan on the big blind, who gives Duthie a knowing look before folding.

"I promise I won't do that again," Duthie says, certainly telling a fib.

"Sure," Khan replied. "Next time it will be 38,000."

12.30pm: Playing out of the bag
Praz Bansi has arrived late again, which is especially problematic when you have such an absolute monster pile of chips. It's now about half an hour into the first level and he still hasn't yet managed to get them into anything resembling an order. In fact, he was playing a hand almost the minute he sat down, at which point his chips were still in their bag. On a flop of [qc][8h][ks][kc][9h] Aaron Jones bet 85,000 and Bansi folded. One wonders what might have happened had he had a handful with which to raise.

12.25pm: Lodden joins the rush of eliminations
Johnny Lodden shoved with [kc][qh] on the button and was called by Peter Feldman's big stack and his [4d][4h]. There was nothing to help the Team PokerStars Pro on the flop and he departs.

12.20pm: Out, out, out
This is officially a flurry. Of eliminations. Alexsey Timashkov is the latest to take the walk, getting it all in pre-flop against Jeff Madsen. The only problem for Timashkov was that his [as][jd] was not nearly good enough to beat Madsen's [kd][kh]. The Romanian departs.

Also already on their way to the cash out table are Sergey Serafimov and Roger Teska. They can't get there soon enough.

12.18pm: Bentley battered
Wayne Bentley looks to be on the verge of elimination after two consecutive hands. He opened for 38,000 on the button but was pushed off it by Tamas Lendvai re-raising all in on the button. Bentley took some time but had to fold.

On the next hand Tyler Reiman opened for 37,000 under the gun. When the action reached Bentley he announced raise from the cut off, another 100k more. 208 then moved all in and Bentley called, turning over [as][ks] and saying "I can't fold that." Reiman had [qd][qc].

The board ran [5c][6c][8d][9c][3s].

"He's got me 'ant he?" asked Bentley to no one in particular. The answer was no but the Englishman, who led the event after day 1a, is left with less than 80,000.

12:14pm: Henning Gunby eliminated
Just a couple of minutes into the first level of the day, Henning Gunby ran into Mike Chappus' pocket tens, which were apparently good enough on a jack-high board for whatever Gunby put in the muck.

12.05pm: Seed germinates
Huck Seed got his entire stack in pre-flop with [qc][kh] against the [9h][9s] of Kent Lundmark. Seed shook his head, but liked the flop: [10d][3c][jd], which gave him plenty of extra outs. He didn't have to wait long until one of them appeared. The [as] on the turn was good enough to double him up early to 450,000. That's enough to keep growing.

12pm: No one knows
Apologies for the lack of updates on the prizewinners page. The tournament staff did not collate a master list of winners yesterday, meaning we're still chasing full, official information on who finished where. We will have it today. I hope.

11.45pm: Before we start
Consider it the programme before the show, an introduction to today is right here.

11.35pm: Pick you winner
Get the current scores now and all day on the chip count page which is updated relentlessly throughout the day.

11.30am: Back for day four
We're here early and if you're reading this you are too. Good job. It's 62 to 24 today, however long it takes. It could be a short one but this kind of day has a tendency to bite back when you least expect it. Joe Cada and Peter Eastgate have just concluded their sumo match, the wreckage from last night's amFAR final table has been swept away. We're ready to play.

"Poker players have the biggest hearts," Montel Williams said. To stress the point, Daniel Negreanu added: "Poker players are very generous people." It may not be the wider world's view of card players, but in the poker community, very few people would disagree. We've seen before how poker money is given back to good causes, and tonight was a thrilling example.

This was the amFAR and PokerStars.net Charity Tournament, held in the cavernous Imperial Ballroom in Atlantis, home for this and much of next week to the PCA. Stars of television, the music industry, glamour, sport and poker turned out, giving their money and their time to play an event to raise cash and awareness for amFAR's vital AIDS research program. None had a problem turning over the $5,000 entry fee. Team PokerStars Pro William Thorson even bought in twice after busting early.

The stars were joined by five PokerStars qualifiers who won their seats in various online satellites to be here. As it turned out one them, Spencer Benjafield, took the title, beating Team PokerStars Pro Alex Gomes after a sensational heads-up battle that turned the match on its head.

Benjafield got $37,500 for his first place, but the real winner was amFAR. With a total prize pool of $195,000, half was given straight to the charity, represented here by its chairman, and well-known designer Kenneth Cole. That means at least $97,500 will go to AIDS research. I say 'at least', because as is so often the case, much of the prize money won tonight will be quietly donated by the players as well.

So who was here? From music we had Kelly Rowland, Slash from Guns 'N Roses and Nelly, and from TV there was Montel Williams and Carlos Bernard, star of hit series 24.

From glamour there was 2008 Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole as well as supermodel-turned new PokerStars NAPT host Joanna Krupa, and from the world of sport Team PokerStars SportStars Boris Becker, Fatima de Melo and Mats Sundin. Also former soccer stars Teddy Sheringham and Poli Rincon, and French professional kick boxer Jerome Le Banner.

Then, of course, there was the poker community. From Team PokerStars Pro, a massive line up, including the current WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada, former champion Greg Raymer, Daniel Negreanu, Humberto Brenes and Vanessa Rousso. Cada summed up the goodwill when he said: "Playing here in this charity event means a lot to me, especially as it means I get to give something back after being fortunate enough to win so much myself at the WSOP Main Event. amFAR is a great cause and I hope we raise a lot of money as well as awareness for their work."

Once they got down to business there were four tables playing a shootout format. With 5,000 starting chips we played each table until just two players were left. Those two survivors would then progress to the final. Some big names fell early. William Thorson flopped a set of kings, but ran into a flopped set of aces. Out soon after, he was allowed to buy in again. It was for charity, after all. Raymer did not make it through, nor did Rousso, Cada, Slash, Rowland, Nelly and a whole lot more.

When the dust had settled, these were the final eight:

Montel Williams, TV star
Carlos Bernard, star of hit show 24
Mats Sundin, Team PokerStars SportStar
Fatima de Melo, Team PokerStars SportStar
Leo Fernandez, Team PokerStars Pro
Alex Gomes, Team PokerStars Pro
Luis Medina, Team PokerStars Pro
Spencer Benjafield, PokerStars qualifier

On the TV stage, the eight were given another 5,000 chips to start with and the action was furious. Bernard, even though he was to go out in sixth place, was by far the star of the show in the early levels. His play was so aggressive that his constant raising and taking of pots became comedic. The tournament director developed a new catchphrase.. "And Carlos takes the pot" .... while Fatima de Melo was reduced to near hysterics.

First out was Medina, killed off by Sundin. Then Fernandez bit the dust; his chips heading in the direction of Williams. In sixth was Bernard, while in fifth we lost de Melo - the last lady standing. Both those two lost their chips to Alex Gomes, who was by now building a huge chip lead. That lead extended when Gomes accounted for Sundin and Williams, leaving himself with just Benjafield to deal with.

At the start of heads-up, Gomes had 36,000 to Benjafield's 4,000. A formality, you may think. You'd be wrong. A succession of quick double ups, and Benjafield, a Brit who works on the North Sea oil rigs, took the lead for himself. Finally, he clinched it. All in pre-flop, Benjafield had [8h][6h], behind Gomes' [ad][4s]. But the board ran [9d][jh][6c][qs][jd] and it was all over.

Benjafield was gracious in victory, befitting of the event. "I just can't believe it," he said. "I never thought I would win, and when we got heads up who would have guessed I could turn the chip stacks around. It's been such a great day meeting and playing with the celebrities and the pros. It will take some time to sink in."

Kenneth Cole had started the day by saying amFAR's work could be compared to a poker player. It takes calculated risks in order to try new ways of research into AIDS, he said, and if the gamble works, then it's many lives that will be saved.

If you'd like to find out more about amFAR's important work, then you should visit their website, www.amfar.org

You can catch up with our live reporting of the tonight's excitement right here:

Stars out for charity extravaganza
Round one
The final table

So it's good night from me, and thanks to Neil Stoddart for his usual excellence behind the camera. We'll leave the last words to the stars of the show...

Today promised and today delivered; a full bodied blend of excitement, surprise and intrigue, laced with a shot of Bahamian spirit and served in six 75 minute portions, each with a new twist and with a little extra sauce around bubble time. That was your day three at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

At the end of it four names stirred the adrenaline the most with stacks poised to wreak havoc when play resumes tomorrow.

Harrison Gimbel may sound like the name of the hero in some children's magical adventure story, but he is in fact the chip leader tonight, having ventured through the looking glass late tonight to amass a stack some 2,625,000 strong.

Harrison Gimbel

Ryan D'Angelo always threatened to finish big and did just that. His 2,092,000 came from aggressive play that stopped for no one and the PokerStars qualifier was relentless in his pursuit of chips.

Ryan D'Angelo

Englishman Praz Bansi arrived late this afternoon, a prerogative enjoyed by anyone whose million chips have to be packed into two bags and fastened together with duct tape. He'd only just unpacked them when he sent a large chunk to Phil Ivey, nearly 300,000, which restored balance between two players who would embark on an almost day-long duel.

Praz Bansi

It seemed whenever Ivey had the button he took on Bansi's big blind, back and forth until tournament gods declared their table the next to break. Bansi thrived at his new table but Ivey's day turned sour fast, a crushing hand against Bill Gazes leaving him two yellow chips. Ivey was gone on the next hand while Bansi finished tonight with 2,003,000. He'll need that second bag again.

More subtle was the third of the chip leading trio. Mathew Haugen's rise to second place was a gradual process rather than the shock and awe operation that Gimbel performed. The American PokerStars qualifier rests tonight as Gimbel's closest rival, 2,149,000 to the good.

Matthew Haugen

Their stacks were powered by the full force of chips let loose with the bursting of the bubble.

That came, and went, with the usual delays encountered when corralling 225 poker players and press into a confined space. But today their fall guy was PokerStars qualifier John Leathart, who triggered a surge of all-ins. As one player, Dave Gutfreund, admitted to table mates, after surviving a hellish hour white knuckle riding the bubble, your range tends to change dramatically once you're guaranteed a payday. And so it went. Within minutes tables were being broken, within hours we were left with just 62 players.

Bubble boy John Leathart

Among those departing were Daniel Negreanu, Dennis Phillips, Victor Ramdin, Dario Minieri, Ivan Demidov, Vicky Coren, Luis Medina and PokerStars SportStar Orel Hershiser. Steve Paul-Ambrose was also eliminated, unable to take his run towards a second PCA title any further than the last level of the day. Justin Bonomo was also a late casualty, losing control of a stack that had gone up, then down, then up again before going down for good.

Steve Paul-Ambrose

It wasn't all a tale of woe. From the ranks of Team PokerStars Pro remain Johnny Lodden and Florian Langmann, both hanging on with 286,000 and 304,000 respectively. Then there's John Duthie, creator of the EPT, playing his first tour event. With 1,210,000 he's on course for a deep finish; six seasons of pent up poker energy unravelling at last and working wonders.

John Duthie

Chip leader from day 1a William Bentley suffered, losing large chunks of his stack, but rallied at the end of the day to return to where he'd started. Barry Shulman, Eric Froelich, Hafiz Khan and Huck Seed all return tomorrow, as do Jeff Madsen, Liz Lieu and Bryce Yockey. There are others, and their counts and identities can be found on the chip count page.

We wait now for tomorrow when we'll play down to 24 before attention turns to the PokerStars Party where their success will be toasted whether they know it or not. In the meantime if you missed anything from today you'll find it all in the links below; all accurately reported and complete with grammar, spelling and punctuation. Knock yourself out.

Intro
Level 15
Level 16
Level 17
Level 18
Level 19
Level 20

As part of the service we can offer you everything from today in five, count them, five languages - Swedish, German, Italian, Spanish and Brazil's Portuguese. If you've read this far and need another, then it might not be worth worrying about. Our thanks also to photographers Joe Giron and Neil Stoddart.

Dario Minieri waiting at the cash desk

So as R&B star Kelly Rowlands poses for pictures with a long line of admirers, and blog hero Nelly re-raises again on the TV table with nothing, on his way to a place in round two, we bid you good night, and point you towards live coverage of the amfAR charity tournament broadcasting now on EPTLive in seven (count them) languages. You can also follow our blog reports right here.

Heroes of stage, screen and sport

Tomorrow promises another day or drama, more celebrities and a food stall special of fish and chips. From 62 players to 24. It should be great. Don't miss it.

The amFAR and PokerStars Charity Tournament is a shootout event. With four tables in play, this post will cover the first round, with two players from each table going through to the final. Players start with 5,000 chips and will enjoy 20-minute levels. Click refresh for latest updates.

See here for more about amFAR and its work in AIDS research, and here for live TV coverage.

10pm: Final table set
Our last outer final table has finished, with Team PokerStars SportStars Fatima de Melo and Mats Sundin both getting through to the final at the expense of Jimmy Wahlberg. While everyone takes a break for a breather, this is how the final table will look:

Montel Williams, TV host
Carlos Bernard, star of hit show 24
Mats Sundin, Team PokerStars SportStar
Fatima de Melo, Team PokerStars SportStar
Leo Fernandez, Team PokerStars Pro
Alex Gomes, Team PokerStars Pro
Luis Medina, Team PokerStars Pro
Spencer Benjafield, PokerStars qualifier

9.50pm: Two more through
Team PokerStars Pro Leo Fernandez and PokerStars qualifier Spencer Benjafield are through to the final. Only the threesome of Mats Sundin, Fatima de Melo and Jimmy Wahlberg remain. Once one of those goes, our final eight is set.

Benjafield from Great Yarmouth in the UK, who works on the oil rigs in the North Sea, will now look forward to playing on the TV table.

"This is wonderful to be here," he said. "What a place to come and play poker! I'm looking forward to playing these guys. I was a big fan of Nelly, so it would have been cool to be play him, but I hear he is out."

9.40pm: SportStar split
We're three-handed on both of the remaining two outer tables. On one, Team PokerStars SportStars Fatima de Melo and Mats Sundin get all in on the river - both both have pocket aces and the pot is split!

On the other table, Team PokerStars Pro Leo Fernandez from Argentina locks a lock for a final place. He just took a monster off Frank Calo when his [ad][10h] overtook Frank Calo's [qh][qc] on a [9s][4h][9h][ah][5c] board.

9.35pm: Nelly out
Nelly is busted in third place on the feature TV table - and that means TV Montel Williams and 24 star Carlos Bernard join Alex Gomes and Luis Medina in the final, with two tables still in play.

Nelly got all in on a 7-3-8 flop holding 2-3, but he was behind Bernard's 7-7. Another 8 on the river changed nothing, and the 7 on the turn filled up Bernard's full house.

Farewell, Nelly. Pack your trunk.

9.20pm: First pair through to final
Team PokerStars Pros Alex Gomes and Luis Medina are the first two players to progress to the final.

One of those they beat along the way was Jules Manos, 43, a construction estimator from Bellingham, Washington, who has been playing poker for 15 years and won his seat into the amfAR tournament in a PokerStars freeroll.

Before the start of play he said: "Just being here is great. I've been to Jamaica once but nowhere like this. It's very exciting. I don't have a special strategy - I'm just going to play my normal game and hope I can keep my hands from shaking.!"

News also reaches us of Poli Rincon's departure.

9.05pm: Bust outs quicken
As the blinds start to bite, so the eliminations increase. Boris Becker and Jayde Nicole are the latest to take their leave. Becker revealed he had been card dead all night, and once down to 1,000 chips pushed with [kd][2d] and was called by the table chip leader, 24's Carlos Bernard with 9-7. Bernard hit a pair, and Becker was off to the locker room.

Before the start of play, Nicole told me how she was looking forward to playing tonight. "I've been playing poker for four months, but in that time I've learnt a lot, and actually lasted eight levels of the PCA Main Event this week, which included time at the table with WSOP Champion Joe Cada.

"I'm so pleased to be here helping amFAR. It's so important for any celebrity to give their time and do their bit for charity, and I can't think of many better causes than AIDS research. In fact, the first ever charity event I did was on behalf of AIDS charities - we did a bikini car wash!"

Cool down, boys.

8.55pm: Kelly Rowland busted
Carlos Bernard has eliminated the short-stacked Kelly Rowland. The feature table, now down to just four players, will not be such a pretty place now. Sitting there still is Nelly, Boris Becker, Montel Williams, and Carlos Bernard.

8.47pm: Sheringham, Raymer no more
Teddy Sheringham is missing from his seat - and as he is now being interviewed by the TV cameras it's safe to assume he is busted. Hang on, Greg Raymer is queuing to be interviewed as well. The Fossilman is out.

8.45: Rincon on thin ice
Poli Rincon, after losing a big pot to Carlos Bernard a short while ago, is all in every other hand. While he wins some he loses some. And they all seem to be against singing star Kelly Rowland, who initially shot to fame with Destiny's Child but is now a full-on solo star. She's just as short stacked and neither of them is able to knock each other out.

8.40pm: Double for Fossilman
Greg Raymer moves all in with [ad][jd] and entices a call from fellow Team PokerStars Pro Leo Fernandez, who has [ac][5c]. The board ran an uneventful [6d][8s][9h][8c][qc] and Raymer moves close to the 10,000 mark. Fernandez down to a thousand or so.

8.35pm: The downfall of Poli Rincon
Carlos Bernard, who playes Almeida in the hit FOX show 24, dealt a cruel blow to Poli Rincon. On the [as][10d][4h] flop Bernard made it 500, but Rincon raised to 2,000. Kelly Rowland sense danger and got out of the way, but Bernard moved all in - called by Rincon.

Rincon: [ad][10c]
Bernard: [ac][kd]

Bernard's top pair, top kicker was behind Rincon's two pair, but poker is never a simple game. So it was that the [qd] came on the turn and the [jh] on the river, filling up Bernard's unlikely straight.

That set Rincon back to only a handful of chips, but Bernard up to a more healthy 5,775.

Blinds are currently 150-300.

8.16pm: Quick break
The remaining players are having a quick ten-minute break.

8.15pm: Negreanu explains himself
Daniel Negreanu took time to explain his bust out to PokerStars Blog HQ. He had pocket sixes, bet the 9-4-3 flop and was called by Jayde Nicole. She also called Negreanu on the [Ks] turn, and on the [10s] river - the fourth spade. Negreanu was holding [6s] and made a bet, but was met with an all-in re-raise from Nicole. "I did not believe her, so I called. But she had A-Q with the ace of spades!

"But the poker was irrelevant. The important thing was making money and raising awareness for amFAR. It's why I enjoy working with PokerStars so much - PokerStars makes sure money goes to the right places, and it's money that goes to help less fortunate people than us. Poker players are great at helping charities and are very generous people."

8.10pm: State of play
Here's where we are in this shootout. On William Thorson's table, six are left, with Team PokerStars Pros Alex Gomes and Luis Medina leading the way. Hang on, wasn't Thorson busted earlier? Well, yes, but he persuaded the tournament boss to let him buy back in. It's all for a good cause after all.

Greg Raymer's table has lost no one at all. Nine of them still sit there, looked in battle. They include world champion Joe Cada and Humberto Brenes.

Former Manchester United and England soccer star Teddy Sheringham survives on his table with five others. Chip monster here is Team PokerStars SportStar Mats Sundin on more than 10,000. "He's winning lots of little pots", said fellow Team PokerStars SportStar Fatima de Melo.

On the feature table we are down to six. Nelly leads the way, Montel Williams is also nicely stacked, but Kelly Rowland, Boris Becker and Poli Rincon have more work to do.

8.05pm: Nelly ups
Nelly survives and gets a nice double up through former footballer Poli Rincon. Nelly had 9-10 on a [8s][9s][6c] flop, Rincon had K-7 for the open-ender. The turn was excellent for Nelly, coming [7c] and filling his straight, and the [3s] river secured the pot. It put him on more than 10,000, while Rincon slumps to around 1,500.

8pm: Celebs on the spot, part II
More quickfire video questions with the celebs...

7.55pm: Negreanu flushed out
Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu has been busted by 2008 Playboy Playmate Jayde Nicole. Details to follow.

7.50pm: Montel dumps Martin
Martin Muursepp, the Estonian NBA star, has been bounced out, his K-J no match for Montel Williams' A-K. The main TV feature table is now down to six players. Two will progress to the final.

7.40pm: Slashed and burned
After that earlier hand against Poli Rincon that cost him his chips, Slash is now out. He had Q-J and a few hundred chips, but was up against Nelly's K-10. A king on the river sealed it, and the former Guns 'N Roses guitarist was on his way.

"This has been wonderful to be here," he told me. "amFAR is a great cause, and to come here to the Bahamas in a TV event is not a bad way to play poker. I've played a bit before, online when I am on the road or with my mates when I'm at home, but this has been something special." So long, Mr Slash. And that's a name that strikes a chord.

7.30pm: Krupa out
Joanna Krupa, the supermodel who recently starred in Dancing With the Stars on US TV, is out after running her A-Q, with an ace on the board, into Boris Becker's two pair. "A round of applause for Joanne Krupa," Neil Johnson announced through the mic. "A round of boos for Boris Becker," replied Nelly, not impressed that Joanna, who will soon host the new PokerStars.net NAPT tour, would no longer be sitting opposite him.

Team PokerStars Pro and world champion Joe Cada is also out. He told PokerStars Blog HQ: "Playing here in this charity event means a lot to me, especially as it means I get to give something back after being fortunate enough to win so much myself at the WSOP Main Event. amFAR is a great cause and I hope we raise a lot of money as well as awareness for their work.

"I'm excited to be playing with the celebrities. I met Slash from Guns 'N Roses here a few days ago, and he was great."

7.20pm: Slash's stack, er, slashed
Guns 'N Roses star Slash lost a big pot to former Real Madrid and Spain footballer Poli Rincon. He had jacks but got it in bad on a [qd][9c][4s][3h] board against Rincon's Q-6. The [ac] river changed nothing. Slash down to 550.

7.10pm: Nelly aggression
We've seen him at EPT Monte Carlo, the WSOP and here at the PCA, so it's no surprise to see hip hop star Nelly on the feature table in this event. And he's playing an aggressive game as he tries to build a stack.

On a [qs][9d][kd] flop he and Boris Becker checked. On the [7h] turn Becker made it 500, Nelly re-raised to 1,600 and Becker called. On the [6c] river Becker slowed down with a check and was then forced to fold when Nelly fired out 2,000.

7.05pm: Cooler for Akkari
Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari got it all in with Frank Calo on a [6h][8c][10c] flop. But he was not too pleased to see the hands:

Calo: [8d][8h]
Akkari: [6d][6s]

The [4s] turn and [4h] river changed nothing, and the Brazilian was left with just 800 chips.

6.55pm: Raymer doesn't bluff
Greg Raymer bets 2,000 on a [kd][jh][7d] flop and the only other person in the hand, Kasey Thompson, folds.

"Good fold," Raymer said. "I never bluff - I gave that up years ago." With that, he turned over [7c][7h] for the flopped set.

6.50pm: The celebs on camera
Here's a look at some of the celebs and the pro earlier, in an 'On the Spot' feature (part one)...

6.45pm: Thorson crippled, then eliminated
Team PokerStars Pro William Thorson is the first to go. First he was cut down to just a sprinkling of chips in a nasty hand. He had pocket kings and enjoyed the fact a king came on the flop. He got it all in, but was aghast to find his opponent had aces - and there was an ace on the flop too!

Thorson's last few chips went in the middle a few hands later. With [10s][8s] he was up against Friend of PokerStars Darus Suharto's [as][qs]. The board ran [ac][2c][10h][6d][3c], and that, as they say, was that.

Here's the group shot. What a lovely bunch...

6.35pm: Ready to roll
Our players are taking their seats. Four tables are filled, but only two from each will make it through to the final.

Kenneth Cole, the chairman of amFAR is making an introductory speech, outlining the foundation's important work in AIDS research.

Here's how our four tables are expected to shape up....

Table 1
Martin Muursepp, Estonian NBA star
Kelly Rowland, R&B star, Destiny's Child founder
Nelly, Hip hop legend, Grammy Award winner
Carlos Bernard, "Tony Almeida" in 24
Slash, Guns 'N Roses lead guitarist
Boris Becker, tennis legend, Team PokerStars SportStar
Montel Williams, US talk show host
Joanna Krupa, supermodel and future host of new PokerStars NAPT
Poli Rincon, Spanish football legend

Table 2
Jimmy Wahlberg, brother of actor Mark Wahlberg
Jayde Nicole, 2008 Playboy Playmate of the Year
Jérôme Le Banner, French kick box champion
Luis Medina, Team PokerStars Pro, Portugal
Teddy Sheringham, former England soccer player
Erik Adielsson, Harness racing champion
Daniel Negreanu, poker legend, Team PokerStars Pro
Mats Sundin, NHL legend, Team PokerStars SportStar
Fatima de Melo, Dutch hockey pro, Team PokerStars SportStar

Table 3
Spencer Benjafield, PokerStars qualifier, UK, offshore engineer
Diko Shoturma, Adrian Grenier's friend
Joe Cada, world champion, Team PokerStars Pro
Constantinos Psalidas, PokerStars qualifier, USA, professional player
Leo Fernandez, Team PokerStars Pro Argentina
Andre Akkari, Team PokerStars Pro Brazil
Pieter de Korver, Team PokerStars Pro Netherlands
Humberto Brenes, Team PokerStars Pro Costa Rica
Greg Raymer, former world champion, Team PokerStars Pro

Table 4
Chad Brown, Team PokerStars Pro USA
Jose Miguel Royo Garcia, PokerStars qualifier, Spain, retired
Roland Loranger, PokerStars qualifier, Canada, construction worker
Vanessa Rousso, Team PokerStars Pro USA
William Thorson, Team PokerStars Pro Sweden
Hevad Khan, Team PokerStars Pro USA
Pierre Neuville, EPT Vilamoura runner-up, Belgium
Jules Manos, PokerStars qualifier, Canada
Alex Gomes, Team PokerStars Pro Brazil

While we get going, here's a pic we thought you might appreciate. It's 2008 Playboy Playmate Jayde Nicole.