Congratulations to Dana Castaneda, Winner of Event #54: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($454,207)
It was a short day for the remaining players in Event #54. Players dropped off the map quick in the early levels after a few moments of stagnant action at the start of the day. At the end of it all, Dana Castaneda was crowned the champion, becoming the first female open event winner other than Vanessa Selbst since 2007. According to Castaneda, the only reason she even played the event was because of her 94th place finish and cash in Event #51: $10,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship.
Action began the day with 14 players left, and very quickly there were only nine left. First to fall was Orjan Skommo who shoved his 
into Joseph Wertz's 
. Skommo didn't catch up and he was the first casualty of the day. Next to go was Thomas Hall who started near the top of the chip counts. Hall lost several races in a row and ended up getting his money all in against Michael Zucchet. Hall flopped a set but a runner-runner straight sent him packing in thirteenth place. Next to go were Rupesh Pattni and Molissa Farber who both began the day short stacked. That brought players to the unofficial ten handed final table.
It was Nicco Maag who fell just short of the final table when his 
couldn't outrun pocket fours. This brought the players to the final table where the first to fall was Kenneth Gregersen. Gregersen got his money all in for a race with Barry Hutter. Hutter hit the river hard to send Gregsen home with ninth place pay. Then, in a stunning turn of events Jason Bigelow eliminated both Joseph Wertz and Jacob Bazeley. Bigelow woke up with aces over a shove, and a reshove and they held through the runout to take him into the chip lead while scoring a double knockout.
Going out in sixth was Barry Hutter, who began the day, and the final table as the chip leader. Hutter had lost a lot of traction and doubled up several players including Dana Castaneda, the eventual winner. In his final hand, Castaneda made a tough call against Hutter with a pair of threes on a 
board. Hutter held 
for an airball and Castaneda notched the knock out. She also picked up the chip lead which she would never relinquish. Philippe Clerc was eliminated in fifth place when he moved in with a straight draw against Michael Zucchet's aces. Clerc didn't catch up and that was the end of his tournament.
The final four players were very close to evenly stacked when four handed play began, but one by one they dropped until only one was left. First to go was Michael Zucchet who shoved all in with a semibluff, and couldn't catch up to Castaneda's made hand. Going home in third was Matthias Bednarek. Bednarek got it all in preflop with 
but it was no match for Castaneda's . Castaneda flopped a and it was off to heads-up play.
Jason Bigelow looked as if he might turn the tide of the match in his favor after stringing together several pots in a row, but in the end, he got his money in with a flush draw against Castaneda's two pair. The flush never came and Bigelow was eliminated. Castaneda was able to lock up the victory and the bracelet with that hand. We are sure to see Castaneda again soon as she informed PokerNews.com reporters yesterday that she would be using her winnings to play in Event #62: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event.
That does it for us at PokerNews.com. Thanks for staying with us through it all and make sure you stay tuned for updates through the rest of the 2013 World Series of Poker.