DON McDERMOTT / PVT Among the top finishers in the $50,000 buy-in the World Series of Poker H-O-R-S-E tournament were Phil Ivey, above, and Doyle Brunson, below. Advertisement

LAS VEGAS -- When the back and forth tussle was over early Saturday, Chip Reese won his first World Series of Poker event in 24 years and collected his richest tournament paycheck ever -- more than $1.78 million.

His last championship, in 1982, was worth $92,500.

Saturday's first-place prize was the highest pay-out in World Series of Poker history for any event other than the no-limit World Championship Texas hold'em match, which begins July 28.

The championship bracelet is the third in Reese's collection, each given for winning a tournament event in what has become the world's largest poker marathon.

``It's pretty nice,'' said Reese. ``This is the biggest payday I've ever had in tournament play.''

The three-day HORSE tournament, which had a record buy-in of $50,000 per player and attracted 143 players, consisted of five different poker games that rotated every 40 minutes, with the stakes increasing roughly every three hours. Other games in the tournament included Omaha high-low split, Razz, and seven-card stud.

No-limit Texas hold'em was the only game played during the 12-hour final table, which began with nine players just before 10 p.m. Friday.

When it came down to the final two, Reese, 55, went head-to-head against fellow pro Andy Bloch for a record 7 hours and 12 minutes. They played more than 300 hands, twice as many as it took to eliminate the previous seven players.

Spectators who had left the night before returned to the poker room again on Saturday morning to find the players hadn't moved.

Then, after 9 a.m., Reese pushed all his chips in holding an ace and a queen and Bloch called with a nine and eight. Five community cards gave both players a pair of sevens and a pair of fours, but Reese's high card won the day. Bloch received $1.03 million for second place.

``Being the best is not just about winning one day or two days -- it's every day,'' Reese said afterward. ``Doyle Brunson was once asked who he thought the best poker player was, and Doyle said, 'I don't know, come back and ask me again in 20 years.' Being the best is proving it over the long run.''

At the final table were Phil Ivey, third, $617,760; Jim Bechtel, fourth, $549,120; T.J. Cloutier, fifth, $480,480; David Singer, sixth, $411,840; Dewey Tomko, seventh, $343,200; Doyle Brunson, eighth, $274,560; Patrk Antonius, ninth, $205,920, and Robert Williamson III, 10th, $205,920.

The 11th- and 12th-place finishers -- Gavin Smith and Barry Greenstein -- also earned $205,920. Joe Cassidy, David Levi, Ralph Perry, and Cong Do each received $137,280 as only 16 of the 143 entries were paid off.

Seven of the top 16 live in Las Vegas; Bechtel is from Gilbert, Ariz.; Cloutier, from Richardson, Texas; Singer, from White Plains, N.Y.; Tomko, from Winter Haven, Fla.; Antonius, from Helsinki, Finland; Williamson, from Dallas; Greenstein, from Rancho Palo Verde, Calif.; Cassidy, from Costa Mesa, Calif., and Congo Do, from Brigantine, N.J.

Sports editor Don McDermott also contributed to this story.