Seat 7: Matt Yates, New Zealand - 523,500 in chips

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No matter what happens to Matty Yates, his family and friends will be already preparing for a hero's welcome at his bar in Arrowtown, just a stone's throw away from Queenstown. The 34-year-old Kiwi has been playing poker for six years, starting in home games before turning a profit online in tournaments and sit and go's. Yates has been pleased with his form leading up to this final table, but there's no question that he'll be determined to surpass his fifth-place finish in a NZD $500 No Limit Hold'em side event at the 2007 New Zealand Poker Championships, as he returns second in chips overall with 523,500.

Bio courtesy of PokerStars