Some invitations are simply meant to be accepted. When the parents invite you for holiday dinner, you should probably accept. If your significant other invites you on a trip to a luxurious vacation destination, thinking twice might cause you some trouble. And when PokerStars.net invites you to play in the prestigious $25,000 buy-in Invitational Bounty Shootout, you just say yes.

The invitation-only event not only boasted of a $460,0000 first place prize, but $5,000 bounties were placed on every player, the fields were challenging and perfect to feed any player's need for a great game, and the event was set to be filmed by 441 Productions for broadcast on ESPN2. So when asked to play, whaddya say?

Yes.

So said the 49 players who accepted their invitations to this unique high roller event, and while it was fun for everyone involved, there were seven players especially excited about the final table because they won their seats by taking down their first heats on Tuesday, February 23 and each claimed $75,000 for doing so. In addition, players collected bounties from that first table, and several were in contention for the $100,000 bonus established for the ultimate bounty hunter, the one who personally handled the most eliminations.

And no one could be happier that he accepted that invitation than to play in the $25K Bounty Shootout than Ashton Griffin. He won his first day's heat, then took a day off before the final table but spent the night before playing online poker, putting him at an all-important final table with no sleep. But sleeping during breaks and staying focused took the young pro all the way to the winner's circle and $460,000, in addition to collecting $30,000 for bounties throughout the two day event.

Final table action got underway on Thursday, February 25, in a rather large ballroom at the Venetian with the following seven players, all starting with 150,000 in chips:

Seat 1: Joe Cassidy
Seat 2: Faraz Jaka
Seat 3: Peter Eastgate
Seat 4: Scott Seiver
Seat 5: Ashton Griffin
Seat 6: Hoyt Corkins
Seat 7: Brett Richey

Just over an hour into the action, Team PokerStars Pro Peter Eastgate was already one of the shorter stacks at the table. He took some hits early, and when he finally decided to push with pocket eights, Seiver was able to call with pocket jacks, and the board couldn't help Eastgate. He was the first to exit the table in seventh place.

Several hours later, Brett Richey had become the short stack and pushed with A-K, which held up to the A-8 of Cassidy. But on the very next hand, Richey tried it again, this time with A-Q. Griffin called with K-Q, and everything looked good for another double until he was three-outed by a king on the river, sending Richey out in sixth place.

It wasn't until after the dinner break that players got aggressive and action sped up. The first thing to happen was an all-in move from Faraz Jaka with [Qs][Td] and a call from Seiver and his [Ac][Jc]. The board came [Ah][9c][2c][Ad][2h], and the full house knocked Jaka out in fifth place.

Moments later, Corkins doubled through Seiver with pocket jacks over fives, and Scott Seiver was the shortest stack of the four. He was clearly looking to move and ultimately did so with [Qs][Th]. However, Corkins made the call with [Ah][Kc], and the board hit [6d][7d][Ad][Kh][7s] to eliminate Seiver in fourth place. However, Seiver took with him a $100,000 award for collecting the most bounties - eight in all - during the tournament. Not a bad consolation prize, indeed.

It took three hours to find an all-in and a call that changed the make-up of the table, and the hand happened with Joe Cassidy pushing from the small blind with [Ad][2d]and Ashton Griffin calling immediately from the big blind with [As][9d]. A nine came on the flop and solidified Cassidy's position as the third place finisher.

Corkins came in as nearly a two-to-one underdog in chips, and it was only two hands into it that he risked it all. The two went to see a raised flop of [4s][5d][9s], and a raising war ensued during which Griffin pushed all-in and Corkins insta-called for his tournament life with [9h][3h]. But Griffin showed [9d][8d] for top pair with the better kicker. And the [7h] turn and [Jc] river ended the tournament. Hoyt Corkins had to accept second place.

And Ashton Griffin became the first NAPT $25K Bounty Champion. He accepted the invitation to participate, and it paid off in spades...and hearts, clubs, and diamonds. Lack of sleep mattered none, and the experience of the competition did not dissuade him. He plowed through the table and made it worth every moment of his time.

Congratulations to Ashton Griffin and all of the prize winners in this exciting inaugural event!

For all of the double-ups, bustouts, struggles, triumphs, and even a nap story or two, check out the final table coverage.

Introduction
Levels 1-3
Levels 4-6
Levels 7-9

All photography © Joe Giron

1:30am: Ashton Griffin wins NAPT Venetian $25,000 Bounty Shootout
It took just two hands of heads-up play to find our champion.

Hoyt Corkins made it 18,000 to go and Griffin called. The flop came [4s][5d][9s]. Griffin led at it for 32,000. Corkins didn't hurry his decision and eventually raised to 100,000. Griffin waited ten seconds before moving all-in. Corkins didn't waste any time making his decision. He called and turned over his cards.

Corkins: [9h][3h]
Griffin: [9d][8d]

The turn was the [7h] and the river was the [jc]. Corkins was eliminated in second place and Griffin became the first NAPT $25,000 Bounty Shootout champion.

1:14am: Griffin Leads Corkins as heads-up begins
We are now down to two players. Their chip counts are as follows:

Ashton Griffin 6,910,000
Hoyt Corkins 3,590,000

1:11am: Joe Cassidy eliminated in 3rd place
Well that woke us up.

Cassidy open-shoved from the small blind and Ashton Griffin snap-called in the big blind.

Cassidy: [ad][2d]
Griffin: [as][9d]

Griffin flopped his nine and Cassidy was drawing dead by the turn. We're now heads-up.

1:06am: Welcome, Level 9
It seems that we have been transported to Level 9, where blinds are 4,000/8,000 and the ante is 1,000. Make yourselves at home.

1:00am: Dances with Wolves, Braveheart, JFK...
and the three-handed match we're currently watching. It's been three hours since Scott Sevier busted out.

12:48am: Griffin waking up-ish

Ashton Griffin is either waking up, or figuring he's going to have to win this thing before he passes out. He's just taken three consecutive hands off Joe Cassidy.

On the first, Cassidy raised out of the small blind and Griffin re-raised to 26,000 out of the big blind.

"That's your money right there!" called the crowd's most vocal commentator.

So it was. Cassidy folded and Griffin raked the pot.

On the very next hand, Cassidy opened for 14,000, Griffin re-raised to 43,000 out of the small blind. Corkins folded his big blind. Back over to Cassidy...and he folded.

Now Griffin's button, he raised to 14,000 and Cassidy called in the big blind. On the [3h][6c][4d] flop both players checked. The [Jd] came on the turn. Cassidy bet 17,000 and Griffin raised to 56,000. Cassidy once again put his cards in the muck.

12:39am: There's no school like the old school
Cassidy folded his button, Griffin raised to 24,000 from the small blind, and Corkins pushed 287,000 in from the big blind.

"Old school!" screamed a Corkins fan.

Griffin folded. He's from the new school. And he's sleepy.

12:32am: A pot finally develops
After a length period with little real action, we've finally seen something resembling aggression.

Griffin opened for 12,000 from the button, Corkins re-raised to 38,000 from the small blind, and Cassidy re-raised to 103,000 from the big blind.

"That's a raise!" someone screamed from the crowd.

Indeed it was. Griffin folded and Corkins went into the Corkins Suite (what we've come to call the place he goes in his head when he has to think). When he emerged, he folded.

So, sure, there was no flop, but it got us excited for a minute or two.

"Power poker, baby!" screamed another person from the rail.

12:05am: The things they carried
A quick review at what Ashton Griffin and Hoyt Corkins have beside them on little tables.

Griffin: Two boxes of Raisinets and two bottles of Fiji waiter.

Corkins: 3/4 of a bottle of Fiji water, a granola bar, his sunglasses case, three empty styrofoam cups, and half a cigar.

11:56pm: Chip counts
Here are the chip counts at the break.

Cassidy: 214,500
Griffin: 433,000
Corkins: 402,500

11:35pm: Right. Nothing happened
And so, what we're going to do is take a break and come back to see if the players are interested in finishing this thing before our flights leave in the morning.

11:06pm: Walk it out
Action slowed quite dramatically since we got to three-handed play. While there are a few flops and even the occasional turn card for kicks, most of the hands are raised and taken preflop...or just folded around to the big blind for the walk.

While there is a bit of a lull in the action, let us bring you a short video from our fourth place finisher, Scott Seiver from an earlier time (actually just a few hours ago) and brought to you by PokerStars.TV.

10:56pm: Forget that thing about Griffin being refreshed
Ashton Griffin, the boy wonder who stayed up all night last night and all morning this morning playing cards, is back to napping while Corkins and Cassidy play back and forth at each other. We're pretty sure he drooled during the last hand.

10:51pm: Corkins gets Cassidy with ace-high
Hoyt Corkins came in for a raise to 12,500 and Joe Cassidy called. On a flop of [ts][kd][8s], Corkins bet 10,000 and Cassidy called. The [5d] moved Corkins to bet 40,000. Again Cassidy called. Both players checked the river. Corkins declared, "Ace-high." He turned over [as][qd] for the win.

His friend Shawn Rice said from the rail, "You just fine unless you make a hand.Just don't make a hand and you'll be fine."

10:44pm: Cassidy vs. Corkins, Pt. 2
Joe Cassidy raised from the button, and Corkins re-raised to 35,000 from the big blind. Cassidy immediately announced all-in. Corkins went again into his "I'm going to think about this for a bit" mode, but eventually re-emerged and folded. That's Cassidy 2, Corkins 0.

10:36pm: New blinds
We're now up to 2,500/5,000/500 blinds

Three players remain and the black chips have been removed from the table. Smart money says this should take another two hours or so. Then again, we've never been accused of being smart.

NAPT Venetian reporting comes courtesy of bloggers Brad Willis and Jennifer Newell, and photographer Joe Giron.

10:31pm: Color up
As we move up a level, it's time to color off the black chips. We'll also be moving to a new post on the homepage.

10:13pm: Cassidy forces big laydown from Corkins
On a flop of [9s][Tc][Th], Hoyt Corkins bets 4,500 and received a call from Joe Cassidy. After the [7s] showed up on the turn, Corkins bet 20,000 and received another call from Cassidy. But when the [5s] hit on the river, Corkins put in another bet, this time for 32,200. Cassidy raised all-in and put Corkins in the tank for quite a long time.

Corkins asked for a count on Cassidy's stack, which turned out to be 153,300. Corkins stared at his opponent. He moved his hat around on his head, wiping his scalp underneath. He commented that he thought Cassidy had a monster. And finally, with a wry smile, he folded [Ah][Ts] face up.

9:59pm: Scott Seiver eliminated in fourth place
Seiver was looking to move with his new short stack. From the button, he pushed all-in, and after Ashton Griffin folded his small blind, Hoyt Corkins didn't hesitate to call from the big blind with [Ah][Kc]. Seiver turned over [Qs][Th], and the board ran out [6d][7d][Ad][Kh][7s]. Any hopes for Seiver to double up were dashed, and he finished the tournament in fourth place.

9:53pm: Corkins doubles through Seiver
Scott Seiver started the hand with a raise, but Hoyt Corkins popped it to 30,000. Seiver responded with an all-in move, and Corkins quickly called for his tournament life. His last 138,800 chips were in the pot as the cards were revealed.

Corkins: [Jh][Jc]
Seiver: [5s][5d]

Board: [7c][4h][2h][Jh][Ts]

The set of jacks was good enough for the double-up for Corkins.

9:47pm: Faraz Jaka eliminated in fifth place
The hand happened quickly. Jaka pushed all-in from the small blind, and Scott Seiver called from the big blind, knowing that he had Jaka covered. Jaka turned over [Qs][Td] and Seiver showed a dominating [Ac][Jc]. The board came [Ah][9c][2c][Ad][2h], and that was all she wrote for Jaka. Faraz Jaka finished the tournament in fifth place.

9:42pm: Second wind?
Griffin came back from dinner with more vigor than we've seen from him today thus far. He took down a pot with an all-in move from the small blind and two pots from Hoyt Corkins that went far beyond the flop. For example, on the second one, it was after the [Kh][6c][7h] that Ashton bet 11,000 and Corkins called. And after the [9h] turn card, Griffin bet 28,000 and prompted Corkins to let his hand go.

9:40pm: Why so serious?
In case you're wondering why this little event has taken on such an air of importance, here's a reminder of what they're playing for.

At stake: $30,000 worth of bounties, a $100,000 prize for the most bounties collected, and $460,000 to the winner.

9:31pm: Griffin looking refreshed
Ashton Griffin (the guy who hasn't slept but a few minutes in the past 48 hours) has a commanding chip-lead right now. He's also looking a little bit more awake than he did before the dinner break. Perhaps he found a corner to catch a few Zs during the break.

9:25pm: Dinner done
We're back from the dinner break. Five players remain.

8:08pm: Dinner break
With the end of Level 5, players have been released for for a dinner break. Action will resume at approximately 9:20pm. The chip counts are as follows:

Cassidy: 193,400
Jaka: 172,900
Seiver: 143,900
Griffin: 445,500
Corkins: 199,300

8:05pm: Corkins careful, but good
Hoyt Corkins wasn't about to get crazy with his ace-queen, but when Scott Seiver led into him on the river of a [kc][ac][6d][kh][8h] board for 19,000. Corkins made the call and was way good. Seiver simply slipped his hand in the muck and looked for the next hand.

7:40pm: Griffin wants a nap or all the chips
When Joe Cassidy came in for a raise and Scott Seiver called from the small blind, Ashton Griffin pushed all-in from the big blind. It was an obscene overbet that forced a quick fold from Cassidy. Seiver, however, slipped into a fit of manic decision-making. After several minutes of thought he disgustedly mucked his cards. Seiver currently sits second in chips to Griffin. Had that pot gone to showdown, this game would've been one of the those players' to lose.

7:27pm: Brett Richey eliminated in 6th place
On the very next hand, Richey looked to double again. He woke up with [Ac][Qh] and pushed all-in. Ashton Griffin, who was the original raiser, asked for a count of Richey's chips, and the dealer came up with 75,600. Griffin called and showed [Kc][Qc]. The board ran out [4s][4d][4c][7h][Kh], and Griffin caught his king on the river to take it down.

Brett Richey was eliminated in sixth place.

7:22pm: Low confidence Richey doubles up
Brett Richey just moved all-in from the button and got a call from Joe Cassidy in the small blind. Richey was in good shape with [ac][kc] against Cassidy's [ah][8d]. Feeling no confidence at all, Richey tossed his bounty chip over to Cassidy. Cassidy had to give it back after the [6d][3c][9d][qc][2s] board. Richey doubled to close to 80,000.

7:15pm: Ashton Griffin's real problem
It would be one thing if Ashton Griffin had only stayed up all night last night playing cards (which, apparently he did). It's another thing that we're expecting to be here very, very late tonight. We'll be taking a dinner break in about 45 minutes. We won't get back from that until close to 9:30. The current O/U on finishing time right now 2am Friday morning. It may well be that Griffin never sleeps again. We're going to try to find him a Snuggie during the dinner break.

7:10pm: Wakey wakey!
"Anybody wanna tap Ashton and wake him up?"

That question from the tournament director just now.

As we noted earlier, Ashton Griffin is a little sleepy. During the last tournament break, he laid out on a row of chairs and took a 15-minute power nap.

7:05pm: And we're back...with new chip counts
The players are slowly returning from their break, and they will be starting Level 5 with the following chip counts:

Joe Cassidy 288,200
Faraz Jaka 82,300
Scott Seiver 208,500
Ashton Griffin 300,800
Hoyt Corkins 126,500
Brett Richey 44,500

6:47pm: Pause
With the end of Level 4, the clock is paused for a 15-minute break.

6:33pm: Jaka doubles through Corkins
Faraz Jaka and Hoyt Corkins just got it all-in pre-flop. It was pocket tens for Jaka and sevens for Corkins. The board was a sick one, [7d][6d][td][ac][kh], giving both players sets. Jaka is back up near 80,000 in chips.

6:13pm: Woops
Faraz Jaka and Ashton Griffin saw a flop of [2d][5c][8c]. Jaka check-called a 12,200 bet, and then did the same thing for 29,000 on the [3d] turn. Then, on the [6d] river, Jaka led out for 80,000. Griffin almost immediately announced all-in. Jaka tanked for three minutes, and then folded.

6:09pm: Measuring
Curious about our remaining players' live tournament records? Here they are.

Joe Cassidy: $ 1,164,336
Faraz Jaka: $1,941,563
Scott Seiver: $1,268,005
Ashton Griffin: $53,520
Hoyt Corkins: $5,069,984
Brett Richey: $ 436,270

5:45pm: New level
We are beginning a new level with six players remaining.

The blinds now sit at 1,200/2,400/300.

NAPT Venetian reporting comes courtesy of bloggers Brad Willis and Jennifer Newell, and photographer Joe Giron.

5:46pm: Level 3 ends, new blog post begins
The third level of the final table has come to an end, and as we move into Level 4, we also move to a new blog post. Please join us there for the latest final table updates.

5:37pm: Peter Eastgate eliminated in 7th place
Faraz Jaka opened to 5,000 and Peter Eastgate pushed all-in for around 50,000. Scott Seiver looked at his cards and then announced he, too, was all-in. Jaka got out of the way. Eastgate held [8c][8d] to Seiver's pocket jacks. Eastgate never caught up and was out in seventh. Meanwhile, Seiver picked up another $5,000 bounty to go along with the six he scored in the preliminary round.

5:30pm: A king and a knave walk into a bar...
Or in this case, the king-jack walked right into aces. Scott Sevier and Peter Eastgate just got it in pre-flop with Eastgate's [kd][jd] versus Seiver's pocket aces. Eastgate managed to turn a jack, but missed on the river and is down to around 50,000 in chips.

5:14pm: Cassidy climbs
Joe Cassidy is always one of the quietest players at the tables, but that also makes him one of the most feared. Since the last break, he has been a bit more involved in hands. For example, he decided to tangle with Faraz Jaka preflop on a hand that led them to a [Ad][6d][Jc] flop. Cassidy continued to lead the betting, this time for 8,000, and Faraz continued to call. The [8s] turn brought another 13,500 into the pot from each player, and 18,000 from each went in after the [2h] river card showed up. And when Cassidy showed [As][Qs] for top pair, Jaka simply folded and shipped the chips to Cassidy.

4:56pm: Word on the street...
is Ashton Griffin may be winning this thing right now in spite of a very long overnight session that has left him a little light on the sleep. He looks at the moment like he might like a cup of tea and a Snuggie.

4:41pm: Chips
As we return from break, here are how the stacks size up at the 1,000/2,000/300 level.

Cassidy: 167,600
Jaka: 217,900
Eastgate: 85,800
Seiver: 77,200
Griffin: 220,500
Corkins: 171,100
Richey: 109,900

4:26pm: First break of the afternoon
As we conclude Level 2, everyone is given a 15-minute break to stretch. We shall resume shortly.

4:21pm: Jaka hurts Seiver
It was only a few minutes ago that Scott Seiver was chatting happily to kill the idle time. In the last few hands, he's lost a big portion of his stack. Moments ago, he saw a [4s][3c][5h] flop with Faraz Jaka. Jaka bet 8,500 and Seiver raised to 27,000. Jaka called.On the [8s] turn, Seiver checked-called a 45,000 bet. Both players checked the [6h] river. Jaka's [as][2[s] was good for the flopped wheel and eventual six-high straight.

4:15pm: Seiver turns it back on Eastgate
Faraz Jaka opened for 4,000, and Peter Eastgate, Scott Seiver, and Brett Richey called to see the [2s] [8s] [Ac] flop. Eastgate came out betting with 8,700, and Seiver was the only caller. The [Qc] on the turn brought checks from both players, but the [7s] on the river induced a 25,000 bet from Eastgate but an all-in retaliation from Seiver. Eastgate got out of the way, and the all-in push worked on Seiver's behalf this time.

4:08pm: Griffin puts Seiver to the ultimate test
Scott Seiver started the hand with a preflop raise to 5200, and Ashton Griffin and Brett Richey went along to check out the [Ad][Jd][7h] flop. Richey checked, but Seiver bet 6,500. Griffin bumped it up to 23,000, and Richey quickly got out of the way. Seiver asked for a chip count from Griffin but eventually just decided to call. The [2s] on the turn prompted a 38,500 bet from Griffin and check-call from Seiver.

But it was the appearance of the [6s] on the river that caused action to take a turn. Seiver checked, and Griffin bet all-in. Seiver then took his time to contemplate the situation, consider his options, and ask for an exact count of the all-in, which was 83,500. Seiver looked pained to do it but finally folded.

3:58pm: Combined experience
With the action bordering on...sleepy...Scott Seiver and Hoyt Corkins just got into a discussion on whether the Alabama cowboy has more years at the poker table than the rest of the table combined. Corkins said he's been playing for 32 years. That's almost enough to cover everybody else at the table. Most of these youngsters have six years of poker experience or less. The veteran among the kids is Joe Cassidy. His first recorded live tourney cash came in January 2002.

3:45pm: Flop-sick
Being flop-sick is a lot like being homesick. It's been so long since we've seen cards on the board, we're starting to romanticize community cards a little bit.

3:30pm: Eastgate takes early hits
He looks deeply concerned over every hand, but he's likely a little more concerned after the last two hands. One involved a pre-flop raising war, and it started as Faraz Jaka opened for 3,300 from the button. Peter Eastgate made it 11,200 to go from the small blind. But Jaka came back over the top with a reraise to 26,300, which prompted Eastgate to fold.

Next it was an involvement with Ashton Griffin that involved a raise and reraise that took them to a [Ad][8s][4d] flop. Griffin led out for 11,300, and Eastgate called, but after the [Ts] came on the turn, a 27,800 bet from Griffin induced a fold from Eastgate.

Trouble ahead, Mr Eastgate?

3:25pm: Level up
After an hour of play in which we didn't see much crazy movement, the players are now working with 800-1,600-200 blinds.

2:51pm: Seiver starts strong
Scott Seiver's strong start in this event was evidenced by his performance on Day 1, where he single-handedly eliminated every person at his table. And today Scott Seiver is already showing a solid start at the final table.

Example 1: He took to a [3d][Jd][Ts] flop with Faraz Jaka, Brett Richey, and Ashton Griffin. The [Kd] turn and [Qs] were both checked around, and Seiver calmly turned over [Qd][Td] for the winning hand.

Example 2: The hand found Seiver taking to a [6d][6h][Jh] flop with Peter Eastgate, after which Seiver bet 6,200 and Eastgate check-called. Both players checked the [Kd] turn, but on the [Qd] river, Seiver bet 16,500 and Eastgate check-folded.

Example 3: Brett Richey started the hand with a raise, but Seiver reraised to 11,500. Richey went along to see the [3h][5c][5d] flop, which was checked by both players. Richey was the bettor on the [7h] turn, but Seiver bet out 40,000 after the [7s] on the river, and Richey folded. Seiver took another one.

3:01pm: Bryan Micon in the house
We figured if it was worthy of an announcement over the PA, it was worthy of an announcement here. Plus, it's about the most action we've had in 15 minutes.

2:43pm: Corkins aggressive early
Hoyt Corkins is clearly the elder statesman at the table today, and he is not shy about making his presence known among a young, aggressive group of players.

Case and point: a hand started with Faraz Jaka opening for 3,300, and Ashton Griffin tried to call from the small blind. But Corkins reraised it to 16,200 from the big blind, and when his two competitors folded, Corkins flipped over the [Ad][Kc].

2:36pm: Community cards make their debut
After several hands of raise it and take it preflop, we did establish that community cards were a part of the game, courtesy of a hand between Joe Cassidy and Ashton Griffin. A raised flop of [Qd][6d][2s] was checked to the [Th] turn and again to the [Ts] river. Griffin bet out 9,100, and Cassidy folded to give the pot to Griffin.

2:35pm: Careful now...
While this isn't a turbo event, we're not as deep here as we were in the main event. A three-bet at the start of this final table generally represents 10% of a the starting stack. Anyone who gets to jiggy with it could get themselves in some trouble.

2:24pm: First blood to Faraz
When action finally got underway at the final table, it was Hoyt Corkins making the first move by opening for 3,200. But Faraz Jaka popped it up from the big blind to 11,200, and Corkins let it go.

Jaka took the first pot of the day, and is now our chip leader...by a few chips.

2:12pm: Shuffling and dealing
Alright, folks. Here we go. The final table is underway.

2:19pm: Nearly underway
The final table of the $25,000 Bounty Shootout is about to get started. We're starting with 600-1,200-100 blinds and 150,000 stacks. Here's the table line-up.

Seat 1: Joe Cassidy
Seat 2: Faraz Jaka
Seat 3: Peter Eastgate
Seat 4: Scott Seiver
Seat 5: Ashton Griffin
Seat 6: Hoyt Corkins
Seat 7: Brett Richey

NAPT Venetian reporting comes courtesy of bloggers Brad Willis and Jennifer Newell, and photographer Joe Giron.