My trip to Viña del Mar was one of the longest travel days I've ever had. The day after I finished covering EPT Madrid, I headed to the airport to begin my journey to Chile, which consisted of a 10-hour flight from Madrid to Atlanta, a six-hour layover, another 10-flight to Santiago, and then a 1.5-hour car ride to our hotel. Despite the exhausting travel, I was more than excited to be new a country, especially one with perfect weather and picturesque scenery. After unpacking and a quick nap, a few of us headed out to find food, and boy did we find it.

We came across an empanadas restaurant a few blocks from our hotel. Without a Spanish speaker in our group, ordering was more like empanada roulette. In the end though, it didn't matter because every empanada we had was so delicious. We went back three times during the trip.

The next day, we set out to enjoy the sights of the city and film our welcome video. Viña del Mar is really split into two areas: downtown and the beachfront. Though downtown has some really incredible tourist hotspots like Quinta Vergera and Reloj de Flores, I most enjoyed the gorgeous Renaca beach.

After soaking up some much-needed vitamin D, we regrouped and went out to dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant. It was there that I was introduced to Carmenere, a wine made from a grape that is almost exclusively grown in Chile. In fact, its nickname is, "The Lost Grape." In the mid-19th century, the Carmenere grape disappeared from European vineyards. It didn't reappear again for 100 years and was found on Merlot vines in Chile. A long-time red-wine lover, I thought it was divine and before the end of the trip, I made sure to buy a couple of bottles to take back home with me to Las Vegas.

Day 1a of the Main Event kicked off the next day. The turnout was 284. For Day 1b, we hoped we'd see another large number in hopes of beating last year's field of 621 players. By the time registration closed on Day 1b, there were 367 entrants that day, bringing the final count to 651. Unfortunately, none of the Team PokerStars Pros made it out of their starting days.

The biggest story to come out of Day 2 was that of Daniela Horno, who finished sixth in this very event last year. With 32 players remaining at the end of the day, she was chip leader. However, after a few big pots that didn't go her way, she was eliminated in 17th place on Day 3. For eight players though, the dream remained alive.

It was 40 minutes before the first player was eliminated from the final table. After one more competitor busted, the final six players stopped the clock to discuss a deal. Twenty minutes later, a deal was struck, and the cheap leader at the time, Felipe Valasquez, guaranteed himself $60,000 while the other five players locked up $40,000. The remaining prize pool was divided up into the following payouts: first -- $36,560; second -- $26,000; third -- $18,000; fourth -- $14,000; fifth -- $10,000; and sixth -- $7,000. With everyone happy, the cards went back in the air, and within two hours, we had a winner.

Here is the video we shot just after the deal was made which also includes a quick highlight reel from the week.

Aliro Diaz, from Chile, took home $76,560 and the title. During his winner interview, he became emotional and dedicated the win to his friend who had passed away the day before. It was a bittersweet accomplishment and one that he shared with a number of loved ones.

After wrapping up our work, a group of us headed to a restaurant just off the beach called Enjoy del Mar. I was a few minutes late, and apparently didn't feel the earthquake that shook the city. We'd just had one a few days prior with no ill effects, so no one thought much of the slight rumble. We ordered drinks and sat back to enjoy the stunning sunset.

Moments after the sun tucked itself under the ocean, we were told to pay the bill and to evacuate. At first, confusion set in. Discussions about what was happening were all in Spanish. When it was explained to me, I learned that there was a tsunami watch and we needed to leave because we were so close to the shore.

As a chronic worrier, I started to panic. Some people seemed quite laid back about the situation, while others, mostly locals, were very worked up. I can imagine they would be after the earthquake in 2010. Either way, in my book, it's better to be safe than sorry, so we headed to high ground.

About a mile away we learned that the tsunami warning had been called off. Our empty stomachs were screaming at us, so we u-turned and headed back toward the casino. With the threat of tsunami behind us, we found yet another Mexican restaurant, drank more bottles of Carmenere, and enjoyed each other's company on our last night Chile.

The next day, I hopped on another plane back to the United States. The plane ride leaving a gorgeous location is never as good as the one arriving.

This past week, the Latin American Poker Tour kicked off its fifth season with a stop in Viña del Mar, Chile, the first of five events that include Uruguay, Colombia and Peru.

It marked the third time the LAPT has visited the Viña del Mar Enjoy Casino & Resort, and the second time since a tragic earthquake forced the cancellation of the event back in 2010.

The new season kicked off in a big way as the Chilean contingent turned out in full force. Day 1a attracted 284 players, including 203 Chileans, while Day 1b saw 367 players enter, bringing the total to 651 and making it the second largest tournament in LAPT history behind Season 4's stop in Colombia.Among the players to take part in the tournament were Team PokerStars Pros Freddy Torres, Leo Fernandez, Andre Akkari, Nacho Barbero and Humberto Brenes.The former pros were both eliminated on Day 1a, while the latter three tried their luck the following day.

"I'm really excited about the LAPT's new season because it's growing," Akkari said the PokerStars Blog. "Poker in Latin America is like a fever now. This season is probably going to be bigger than the last one, and the next one is going to be bigger than this one I'm pretty sure. In Brazil, we're doing great things with poker. I think it's going to affect all the LAPT stops. People are playing much more online and studying a lot. I think it's going to be a great season."

While he wasn't in his homeland, Akkari was more than excited to be in Viña del Mar.

"Chile is great. The most important thing for me in Chile is the people," Akkari explained "The people here are amazing, they're like people in Brazil that are open, talk a lot and are nice people. I love to be here because people take care of me."

When asked about poker in Brazil, Akkari lit up with excitement: "It's incredible what's happening there. Some media companies are concentrating on poker and putting it on their schedule, something we didn't believe would happen three years ago, but it's happening now. I'm really happy that there are a lot of jobs being created by poker, a lot of people making money playing poker, and I think we're in really good shape. I can't even imagine what's going to happen with poker in the next three years."

Likewise, Brenes was excited for what the new season has in store. "I think this is going to be the best season because the tour has been consolidated over the years and David Carrion has done a very good job, organizing it very well," Brenes said. "For me, the best stop, obviously, is Costa Rica. We have a lot of fun in the Dominican Republic. I also like Brazil."

In regards to the Chile stop, Brenes added: "The vineyards are very nice, and the people (are nice too), not just the Chilean people, but the Chilean girls!"

Brent Sheirbon, who moved from the U.S. to Panama qualified for the Viña del Mar stop.

"I qualified for this event in a $10 rebuy satellite on PokerStars," Sheirbon said. "A great way to qualify, as over half the players choose not to rebuy and get eliminated before the huge add-on bonus, and the tournaments are relatively quick and don't consume a lot of time."

Sheirbon is no stranger to the LAPT, having finished in third place in the 2008 LAPT San Jose Main Event for $109,913, which accounts for less than 25 percent of his $490,416 in career tournament winnings.

"I like the LAPT events for a few reasons," Sheirbon expounded. "I live in Panama, so they provide an excuse to travel to great locations in Central and South America that aren't too far away. Also, the poker player culture in Latin America is very friendly. Poker is still growing and emerging here so there is definitely a passion and excitement for the game that you see with a lot of new blood. Ultimately, I've had a lot of success in Latin America with great fortune in Panama and previous LAPTs, so that makes it enjoyable."

While the other LAPT stops have treated Sheirbon kindly, he was quick to point out the benefits of Season 5's first stop: "My favorite thing about Chile so far is the beauty of Viña del Mar. You can really see the effects of a strong economy as the city parks and beaches are in great shape. I also like the feel of the Enjoy Casino, with it's big rotundas, well-dressed guests, and casino chip plaques. It feels like it could be in a James Bond movie."

Our first level of play brought us two eliminations, the second brought none.

While not much was going on, we did manage to see one showdown last level.

It was the only one.

Javier Venegas raised to 100,000 and Felipe Velasquez called.

The flop came [6s][3h][4h] and both players checked. A [js] came on the turn and Venegas led out for 50,000, the minimum bet. Velasquez made the call and a [4s] came on the river.

Venegas led out again, this time for 150,000. Velasquez made the call and showed king-high. Despite not hitting the board, he still beat Venegas's queen-high.

What followed was a series of pre flop raises followed by all ins, followed by folds.

When the break came around the chip counts looked like this:

Javier Venegas - 1,415,000
Sergio Escobar - 1,140,000
João Lopes - 830,000
Leandro Olivares - 1,105,000
Felipe Velasquez - 3,785,000
Aliro Diaz - 1,455,000

When the players returned from break, they decided it was time to cut a deal.

The deal guaranteed $40,000 for the five smaller stacks and $60,000 for Velasquez. The remainder of the prize pool would be divided up like so:

1st - $36,580
2nd - $26,000
3rd - $18,000
4th - $14,000
5th - $16,000
6th - $7,000

Now that everyone's guaranteed a nice chunk of change, we'll see if action picks up.

The day started off fairly tight, but before the end of the level, we'd have our first two eliminations.

Some players folded some big hands early on. We started the day off in Level 25, with 20,000/40,000 blinds and a 5,000 ante.

In one of the first hands of the day, our start-of-day chip leader, Sergio Escobar, raised to 100,000.

Aliro Diaz re-raised to 240,000 and action was folded back to Escobar. Escobar acted fairly quickly and open-folded ace-king.

We didn't see a flop for a while, as all hands were settled preflop.

Then there were a few all ins and no calls. Javier Venegas raised to 90,000 one hand and was faced with an all-in re-raise from João Lopes. Venegas look conflicted for a bit but eventually folded.

"I'd call anybody else," Venegas said. "But not him."

The next hand Venegas moved all in but got no callers.

But the third hand would bring more action.

Nicholas Batt raised to 100,000 and was faced by a 250,000 re-raise from Venegas. Batt moved all in and Venegas called, flipping over [as][ad].

Batt sighed and showed [ah][qd].

The flop, [10h][ac][10d], gave Venegas a full house and the double up, putting him at 1,600,000. Batt, meanwhile, was left with 700,000.

"I'm back," Venegas said.

Batt moved his short stack all in the next hand and got one caller, Felipe Velasquez.

Batt held a pair of jacks and was up against Velasquez's ace-king.

Velasquez won the flip and Batt became our first elimination of the day. For his eighth place finish, Batt will take home $13,040.

While Batt would go home, Velasquez would get the chip lead with 2.8 million.

The next elimination would come a few minutes later. Aliro Diaz raised to 95,000 and Halysson Sala made his move.

Sala started the table as the short stack, and was chipped down even more. When he moved all in, it was worth 505,000 and he showed [ad][jc].

Diaz called and showed a pair of eights. In the previous race, the overcards hit, but here, the pocket pair would be prevail.

Sala was eliminated in seventh place for $17,470 and Diaz saw his stack grow to just over 1.5 million.

João Lopes is now our last Brazilian standing while Chileans represent 50 percent of the final table.

We're entering Level 26 with 25,000/50,000 blinds and a 5,000 ante. Follow all the action with our live updates and take a peek at our final table intro:

We're here, the first final table of LAPT Season 5.

We saw 672 players sign up, 651 actually showed up (21 no-shows), and they've all been eliminated except for eight.

And while majority of the 104 players who've cashed have already been paid out, our remaining eight are fighting for the majority of the prize pool.

The total prize pool here in Viña is $651,840, but there's still $402,070 up for grabs.

Players at the final table are guaranteed $13,040 and another day of poker. The last player standing after this day of poker will be receiving $129,470 and the first trophy of the season.

The person in the best position at the moment is Sergio Escobar, he leads the field with 1,845,000.

But he's not ahead by much. In fact, he only holds the lead by one ante, Felipe Velasquez is in a close second with 1,840,000.

Velasquez is one of three Chileans at the table, they'll be fighting for the chance to be the first Chileans to win on home soil.

It's been an eventful trip so far. We've found out how to help children and solved some mysteries. We learned a little bit about Chilean wine and Viña nightlife. We saw one player turn FPPs into the trip of a lifetime and another almost pull a repeat final table.

We've already seen a little bit of commotion in the room today. Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes, who will be playing in the high roller event, showed up early today to spend some time with our dealers.

If you recall, we spotted Brenes on Day 1B with some sharks and visors, now we know why. As an act of generosity, Brenes raffled away the visors and sharks to the dealers and took pictures with them.

The high roller event is already under way but we have yet to see a single player from the final table show up. If this pace continues for the rest of the day, then there will be no pace.

We'll keep waiting, but in the meantime, check out or video recap of Day 3:

The final table bubble burst at an unusual time.

Level 24 had just come to an end -- signaled by the "Jaws" theme song -- and a few players ran out to do whatever it is they do during breaks.

But while they were out and about frolicking across the Enjoy Hotel, we'd get our final eight.

It's definitely a nice surprise to come back from break and realize you've made a final table.

On the last hand of the level, Leandro Olivares raised to 120,000 from the cutoff. Action was folded to Pedro Frankel in the big blind. Frankel looked at his cards, then at his stack, then at Olivares.

"All in," Frankel said.

He pushed his remaining pile of white chips past the betting line. It was worth about 425,000.

Olivares made the call and showed [ks][jc]. Frankel flipped over a pair of sevens.

Race time.

The flop came [9d][kh][4c] and Olivares jumped into the lead. The turn and river wouldn't change that and Frankel became our ninth place finisher, earning $10,690 and the title of "final table bubble."

That would leave our final eight, led by Colombia's Sergio Escobar, with 1,845,000.

But he's only a blue chip ahead of Felipe Velasquez. Velasquez has 1,840,000 and will be representing Chile at the final table.

But he's not alone, two more of his countrymen made the final table, making Chile the most represented country at the final table.

Brazil and Colombia are tied for second, with two players from each country making it to the final table.

The only one at the table without a compatriot is Argentina's Javier Venegas.

When they come back tomorrow, they'll sit down at the table in the following way:

Seat 1: Nicholas Batt (Colombia) - 1,470,000
Seat 2: Javier Venegas (Argentina) - 855,000
Seat 3: Halysson Sala (Brazil) - 660,000
Seat 4: Sergio Escobar (Colombia) - 1,845,000
Seat 5: João Lopes (Brazil) - 755,000
Seat 6: Leandro Olivares (Chile) - 1,100,000
Seat 7: Felipe Velasquez (Chile) - 1,840,000
Seat 8: Aliro Diaz (Chile) - 1,235,000

Play will start up again tomorrow at noon. We'll be on level 25 with 20,000/40,000 blinds and a 5,000 ante.

We'll see you then. Stay in school kids.

Ten players are left and action has dropped a gear or two. It's hard to keep the blistering pace we started the day off with.

Stacks are getting big and so is the money. The final ten are guaranteed $9,130, but that's only a fraction of the $129,470 that awaits our winner.

Table talk has dropped and you can feel the tension in the last two tables.

They all want to win.

While they do their thing, we're doing ours. Here are a few of the faces* that help bring what happens here to the world of the internet.

These photos are brought to you by our sneaky candid photographer, Carlos Monti.

Contrary to what my byline insinuates, not all our coverage is done by monkeys. Fully-trained reporter monkeys are quite expensive.

The man staring into the camera suspiciously is our spanish blogger, Reinaldo Venegas. The other man looking pensively into the distance goes by "Zumba" and writes for Codigo Poker.

This man here is in charge of all things Portuguese. Sergio Prado is our Portuguese blogger who specializes in beer, Brazilians and beer. His shirt advertises his love of bluffing, but we think that might be a bluff.

Here's Sergio again, sharing some top secret poker information with Chad Holloway. Holloway is one of the two people rushing around the tournament area providing our live updates.

The other person in charge of live updates is a fearless, slicked-back daredevil that goes by the name "Mojito Mickey." He's manage to elude our photographer's lens so far, but we'll get him soon enough.

This is a side of Kristy Arnett you don't usually see on PokerStars.tv. Check out all the videos she's been pumping out for PokerStars.tv. If you want a laugh, take a look at her poker lingo in real life video.

And this of course is the most sought after object in Viña.

But only one person can have it.

We'll narrow the field of potential owners down to eight today.

Stay tuned.

And just like that, we're down to 12.

But Daniela Horno is not among the final dozen. The start-of-day chip leader had quite the roller coaster ride on the chip counts page. She started up top, but then rushed to the bottom. She fought her way back to average stack and then she dipped once again. Then she found herself all in for her tournament life.

Horno made her move with [as][4s] and got called by Nicholas Batt. Batt had a pair of nines and Horno was going to need some luck to survive.

There was no such luck on the [3d][4h][10h][8h][2d] board and Horno was eliminated in 17th place, becoming our bubble girl for the last two tables. For her finish, Horno earned $4,180, but would miss out on a second shot at the final table here in Viña.

We saw Horno go off to the second-chance tournament area to seek consolation from her boyfriend, Marcelo Bustamante.

If that name sounds familiar it's because Bustamante also made it to Day 3. He was eliminated earlier on when he moved all in on a [qh][10c][5d] flop.

He got one caller, Pedro Frankel.

Bustamante had top pair with [qc][9c] but so did Frankel. Frankel held the better kicker with [qs][jh] and eliminated Bustamante in 30th place.

The couple actually had some table time together for about thirty minutes, but their stacks didn't clash as their table broke before they had a chance.

Javier Venegas still leads the field with a dominating 1,850,000. Although he's comfortably ahead of the entire field, he has a few new partners in the tournament millionaire's club.

Joao Lopes, our Day 1 leader, now finds himself with 1,050,000. Lopes has made an impressive comeback, he started the day near the bottom of the field with only 147,000.

He caught his first break when he doubled up with ace-king against Luis Montano's pocket kings. Lopes wouldn't hit an ace on the river, but he would get a flush for the double up.

Lopes would then go on to finish Montano off. Montano moved all in pre flop and Lopes made the call with a pair of kings of his own. Montano held a pair of tens and would not be able to outdraw kings.

He was eliminated in 18th place.

Halysson Sala and Pedro Frankel are also in the millionaire's club. They both have just over 1 million.

With big stacks come big chips. The floor has now put shiny new white chips into play, they're worth 25,000.

We're now entering level 23 with 12,000/24,000 blinds and a 3,000 ante. Follow our live updates and stay tuned for more action as we inch our way towards the final table.

It's been a massacre.

We're 90 minutes into Day 3 and we're already down to our last 20 players.

Players are now guaranteed $3,860, but they have bigger goals in mind, we're almost down to the final two tables.

And that means we're getting closer to the final table.

We've also seen a new chip leader emerge, Javier Venegas has passed the 1 million mark and sits atop the leader board.

He took a big chunk off of Horno's stack when he hit a set of threes on the river.

Venegas has also been one of the more vocal players of the tournament.

The most recent table talk was about the small quake that woke a few people up this morning.

We here at the PokerStars Blog weren't woken up though, it takes more than a 5.5 to bring us out of our post-reporting comatose state.

But Nicholas Bradley Batt isn't used to seismic movement. "I never felt anything like it in my life," Batt said. "I couldn't sleep."

"I liked it," Venegas said. "It was fantastic."

The table burst into laughter and Venegas further explained how he enjoyed the little morning rumble.

But today's underground activity doesn't compare with the amount of poker activity we've been seeing.

We're about to hit our final two tables and start playing down to our final eight.

For more on Day 3, check out our intro video where Kristy Arnett also delves into the world of Chilean empanadas.

Another shot.

Every player has one tournament where they wish things had gone differently.

Maybe it was a bad call, a failed bluff or a bad beat, but you replay the hand in your head night after night. It tortures you to sleep.

If only you had another shot...

One player here is getting that chance. Daniela Horno made the final table last year but failed to take home the title.

Horno made it to second in chips in last year's final table, but one key hand ruined her morale.

She had ace-king with a king on the flop. It was a good hand, made even better by the fact that her opponent held ace-deuce. But her opponent would hit a straight on the river and after that, things just went down hill.

Horno would end up finishing in sixth place.

She's been thinking about that day ever since.

Horno says she's been waiting for this tournament all year. When she isn't thinking about the LAPT, she works as a graphic designer here in Chile.

This 24-year-old has over a decade of poker experience and is going to use it all to try be the first Chilean to win on home soil.

She's put herself in a good position to do so, she currently has the chip lead with 767,000.

But if Horno doesn't bring the trophy home, one of the other 14 Chileans might. Chileans showed up in dominating numbers in Day 1A and 1B, and now they make up almost half of the remaining field.

While we don't know if Chileans will take it home, we know the trophy will stay in Latin America. The field is now 100 percent Latin American, with most being from South America. Only two Mexicans remain to represent the North.

Play is about to get started here and we'll be playing down to a final table.

The prediction is six to eight levels, and it's a prediction that we're hoping comes true.

But this is poker, so, when in Rome.

Wait, that's not right.

A bird in hand is worth 100,000 tournament chips.

No, that's not it either.

You never know what's going to happen in poker.

Good enough.

We're going to finish out the last three minutes of level 18 and then we'll be playing with 5,000/10,000 blinds and a 1,000 ante.

The average stack is 315,000 and the money is about to get big. Follow all the action on our live updates page and stay tuned for more LAPT action.