Poker on TV takes a fresh step forward this week.

ESPN’s coverage of the 2009 World Series begins tonight from 7-9 p.m. (Central) with the $40,000 40th anniversary tournament held two months ago. The event attracted a small (201 entries) but strong field, with several big names making the final table.

In coming weeks on Tuesday nights, ESPN will air the Champions Invitational, which brought together 20 former world champs in a best-of-the-best competition, and the Ante Up for Africa charity event, which once again drew a great mix of pros and celebs.

Then, starting Aug. 18, coverage switches to 13 straight weeks of the Main Event, concluding with a quick-turnaround showing of the final table on Nov. 10. (BTW — Don’t fret if you miss a show. They’ll re-air every episode throughout each week…and well into the future.)

Meanwhile, on Saturday (Aug. 1) at 8 p.m. Central, a brand new poker show launches on NBC that likely will appeal to a broader game-show audience as well as to die-hard poker fans.

“Face the Ace” puts online qualifiers at the felt heads-up against elite pros with a chance to win $1 million. All the qualifier has to do for the mil is win three straight matches.

Piece of cake, right? Well, the biggest names from Team Full Tilt — think Ivey, Hansen, Ferguson, etc. — won’t be easy to beat, that’s for sure. But the biggest catch is there’s no safety net. If a player wins the first match for $40K, he/she must risk it all to play again for $200K. Then it’s the same to win the mil — risk all $200K in a third match!

The qualifier will select the pros blindly from behind four smoked-glass doors, creating a game-show feel. The show’s host is Steve Schirripa (”The Sopranos”), with poker commentator Ali Nejad as tournament director and Megan Abrigo (Briefcase Model #6 on “Deal of No Deal) as hostess.

The remaining six episodes air Aug. 8 at 8 p.m., Sept. 12 at 1 p.m., Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m., Nov. 14 at 2 p.m., Dec. 12 at 2 p.m., and Jan. 2 at 1:30 p.m. (all times Central).

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Jim “J.T.” Thornton (formerly of Geneseo, IL), Lisa Hamilton, 2009 women’s WSOP champ, and well-known pro Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier enjoy a moment at a charity poker tournament Thursday in Las Vegas.

Joyce de Haas, tournament coordinator and J.T.’s sister, makes a new friend in Pam Brunson (daughter of the legendary Doyle Brunson), who wanted to help the cause (Alzheimer’s residents) because before becoming a poker pro, she was the director of assisted living facilities in California.

FORMER Q-C AREA MAN PLACES 4TH, KNOCKS OUT PAM BRUNSON

Nearly 20 poker pros came out for Thursday’s “Forget-Me-Not” charity tournament in Las Vegas for Alzheimer’s patients, but it’s safe to say none of them had more fun than former Quad-Cities area resident Jim “J.T.” Thornton.

Jim, a good friend of mine for many years, finished 4th in the event, which attracted a field of about 60 players to the new M Casino and raised about $15,000 for a handicapped-accessible van for the Alzheimer’s residents at the Homestead at Boulder City, an assisted living and memory care community where Jim’s sister, Joyce de Haas (also a dear friend), is residence director.

Joyce, who helped coordinate the tournament, was very pleased with the results.

“Our charity tournament was a great success, Russ,” she reported in an e-mail Friday. “We raised about $15,000 and everyone had a great time. Lots of fun and prizes were given out to everyone. Jim ended up at the final table after defeating the likes of Pam Brunson, and there were other pros at his table. We had 18 pros and they are the most generous people I’ve met. They really added a lot of excitement to the tournament.”

Here are the final table results: 10th place, Paul Taylor, LV; 9th, Karina Jett, LV; 8th, Justin Young, LV (host pro for the event); 7th, Tyler Nash, LV; 6th, Bob Mangino, Fort Lauderdale, FL; 5th, Jim Patterson, LV; 4th, Jim Thornton, LV, formerly of Geneseo, IL; 3rd, Maurice Keller, Stafford, VA; 2nd, Rob Grazie, LV, and 1st, Katie Meeks, AZ.

Joyce said prize money was paid to the top 6 players and the top two decided to call it a draw and split the $4,500 remaining prize money. They also received a $2,000 Rockwell sports watch.

“Everyone at the final table received Volunteer of America jackets and a gift bag with items donated by Poker Net.com and ‘Doyle’s Room’ shirts” courtesy of Pam Brunson’s legendary dad Doyle Brunson, Joyce said.

“Several of the winners donated back at least half of their prize money to our charity,” she added. “Thanks to all who played and donated their time and $$$.”

Charity poker tournament are known for their fun even moreso than the competition, and this one was no exception.

Here’s J.T.’s report:

“My highlight was a warm hug from beautiful Pamela Brunson after I knocked her out, calling her all-in bet on K-10 with my pocket jacks. The tourney was great fun for about 60 players. Five players to my LEFT had participated in this year’s WSOP and there were at least 6 more “pros” at the other tables.

“It was great fun, and I did use your gold-flake vial card protector for good luck. Many players were impressed with my ‘Lucky Dog Poker’ trinket. It blew them away….! Take care, JT”

The day ended with some smiles for Joyce, too.

“Lisa Hamilton, this year’s WSOP women’s champ, was seated next to my husband, which didn’t help his game any,” she said in her message to me. “Everyone was so nice and was already asking about when the next event would be. I’ll let you know so you can come and join in the fun, too. Thanks for your help promoting this, Russ.”

You are most welcome! Congrats!

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THE NOVEMBER NINE FOR 2009: (l-r) James Akenhead, Jeff Shulman, Phil Ivey, Antoine Saout, Darvin Moon, Joe Cada, Steven Begleiter, Kevin Schaffel and Eric Buchman. Photo by IMPDI for 2009 WSOP.

Phil Ivey seeks 8th bracelet

7-TIME BRACELET WINNER THREADS WAY TO ‘NOVEMBER NINE’

Crowd-favorite Phil Ivey dodged and weaved his way into the World Series of Poker Main Event final table Wednesday night, assuring that November’s final-table fireworks will attract maximum interest around the poker world.

Ivey started Wednesday’s action in 4th place out of 27 contenders for poker’s biggest prize, but never was able to build a stack to match his intimidating table persona. Ivey, considered by many to be poker’s best player, mostly avoided major confrontations and played patiently.

It was a great strategy.

His chip stack dropped as low as 5.5 million and was just 7.3 million when the 14 remaining players broke for dinner after six hours of competition. That was good for 10th place at the time, and he hovered around that spot for the rest of the evening.

He held on until the turning point came on his bustout of Jamie Robbins in 11th place. Robbins was one of the few players Ivey had covered in chips, and his A-10 prevailed over Robbins’ K-Q.

That elimination sent the remaining 10 players into new seats at the final table, with Ivey in a virtual tie for 8th place with 9.7 million chips and James Akenhead the shortest stack with 5.5 million.

But Akenhead survived, too, when Jordan Smith played pocket aces for all of his relatively safe stack against chip leader Darvin Moon on a harmless-looking flop of 8-4-2. Unfortunately for Smith, Moon had hit lightning on the flop holding pocket 8’s when all the money went in. Nothing changed on the turn and river, Moon’s set of eights was best, and the final-table bubble had burst. Smith’s 10th-place finish was worth $896,730.

That last hand pushed Moon’s leading stack to a formidable 60 million or so, but it also guaranteed a million-dollar-plus payday for everyone left.

The nine survivors reassemble Nov. 7-10 to play for the world championship title and an $8.5 million first-place prize.

Although Ivey is short-stacked compared to the leaders, he will command most of the attention during the next four months of hype and discussion. Ivey has 7 WSOP bracelets — two of those coming this year in preliminary events. Interestingly, none of Ivey’s bracelets were won playing hold’em.

Ivey is easily the most well-known player among the November Nine, but the hoopla leading up to November will acquaint everyone with the rest of the finalists.

And here’s that very strong lineup, with chip counts:

Seat 1: Darvin Moon (Oakland, MD) - 58,930,000
Seat 2: James Akenhead (London, England) - 6,800,000
Seat 3: Phil Ivey (Las Vegas, NV) - 9,765,000
Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel (Coral Springs, FL) - 12,390,000
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter (Chappaqua, NY) - 29,885,000
Seat 6: Eric Buchman (Valley Stream, NY) - 34,800,000
Seat 7: Joe Cada (Shelby Township, Mich.)- 13,215,000
Seat 8: Antoine Saout (Paris, France) - 9,500,000
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman (Las Vegas, NV) - 19,580,000

Payouts at the final table will range from $1.2 million for 9th to more than $8.5 million for the champion. The event drew 6,494 entries, making it the third-largest poker tournament in history.

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WORLD SERIES OF POKER MAIN EVENT

UPDATE (12:55 a.m. Central): The November Nine is set! Darvin Moon cracked Jordan Smith’s pocket aces when he flopped a set of 8’s! Moon will take roughly 60M chips into the Final Table come November. And Phil Ivey will be there!

UPDATE (12:23 a.m. Central): Here is the seat redraw and chip counts for 10-handed play at the final table. Blinds still at 120K-240K with 30K ante for 41 more minutes. One more elimination and the November Nine is set!

Cards in the air!

Seat 1: Darvin Moon — 44,300,000
Seat 2: Jordan Smith — 15,430,000 (OUT 10TH)
Seat 3: James Akenhead — 5,100,000
Seat 4: Phil Ivey — 10,210,000
Seat 5: Kevin Schaffel — 13,080,000
Seat 6: Steven Begleiter — 26,495,000
Seat 7: Eric Buchman — 36,780,000
Seat 8: Joe Cada — 13,400,000
Seat 9: Antoine Saout — 10,200,000
Seat 10:Jeff Shulman — 17,900,000

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WORLD SERIES OF POKER MAIN EVENT

UPDATE: Here is the seat redraw and chip counts for 10-handed play at the final table…

Seat 1: Darvin Moon — 45,700,000
Seat 2: Jordan Smith — 15,000,000
Seat 3: James Akenhead — 5,550,000
Seat 4: Phil Ivey — 9,710,000
Seat 5: Kevin Schaffel — 10,800,000
Seat 6: Steven Begleiter — 30,300,000
Seat 7: Eric Buchman — 35,000,000
Seat 8: Joe Cada — 13,200,000
Seat 9: Antoine Saout — 10,055,000
Seat 10:Jeff Shulman — 22,600,000

UPDATE: PHIL IVEY KNOCKS OUT ROBBINS IN 11TH PLACE; STACK MOVES TO 9M; AKENHEAD IS THE SHORTEST STACK AS THE FINAL 10 REDRAW FOR SEATS AT LAST TABLE. ONE MORE ELIMINATION AND THE NOVEMBER NINE IS SET!

UPDATE: SHOCKER! BILLY KOPP ELIMINATED IN 12TH PLACE BY DARVIN MOON, WHO JUMPS TO 45M AND THE CHIP LEAD. IVEY MOVES UP A SPOT TO 9TH.

UPDATE: Buchman increases chip-leading total to 33.8M; Ivey still 10th but has slipped to about 6M.

UPDATE: JAMES CALDERARO ELIMINATED IN 13TH PLACE.

UPDATE: BEN LAMB ELIMINATED IN 14TH PLACE.

Players are back from their dinner break. They’re playing Level 33 with blinds of 120K-240K and an ante of 30K.

Here are the chip counts heading into the homestretch to determine the November Nine:

Main Feature Table

Seat 1: Phil Ivey — 7,325,000
Seat 2: Ian Tavelli — (OUT 17TH)
Seat 3: Steve Begleiter — 27,260,000
Seat 4: Antoine Saout — 12,420,000
Seat 5: James Akenhead — 5,090,000
Seat 6: OPEN (Eric Buchman moved to second table)
Seat 7: Joe Cada — 19,465,000
Seat 8: Jamie Robbins — 1,340,000 (OUT 11TH)
Seat 9: Nick Maimone — (OUT 15TH)

Secondary Feature Table

Seat 1: Ben Lamb — 5,200,000 (OUT 14TH)
Seat 2: Kevin Schaffel — 10,630,000
Seat 3: Jordan Smith — 18,840,000
Seat 4: Andrew Lichtenberger — (OUT 18TH)
Seat 5: Jeff Shulman — 13,800,000
Seat 6: Darvin Moon — 23,800,000
Seat 7: Eric Buchman — 28,670,000 (moved from main table)
(Out of Seat 7): James Calderaro — 5,000,000 (OUT 13TH)
Seat 8: Billy Kopp — 13,500,000 (OUT 12TH)
Seat 9: Ludovic Lacay — (OUT 16TH)

PAYOUTS: 16th-18th = $500,557; 13th-15th = $633,022; 10th-12th = $896,730. Playing down to the final 9 tonight. Final-table payouts in November will range from $1.2M for 9th to $8.5M for 1st.

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WORLD SERIES OF POKER MAIN EVENT

UPDATE: BEN LAMB ELIMINATED IN 14TH PLACE.

UPDATE (9:15 p.m. Central): Players are now on a 90-minute dinner break. Eric Buchman holds a slim lead over Steve Begleiter; Phil Ivey is hanging on in 10th place. (Updated chip stacks show below.)

When the 14 players return, they’ll face Level 33 with blinds of 120K-240K and an ante of 30K.

Here are the chip counts at the dinner break:

Main Feature Table

Seat 1: Phil Ivey — 7,325,000
Seat 2: Ian Tavelli — (OUT 17TH)
Seat 3: Steve Begleiter — 27,260,000
Seat 4: Antoine Saout — 12,420,000
Seat 5: James Akenhead — 5,090,000
Seat 6: Eric Buchman — 28,670,000
Seat 7: Joe Cada — 19,465,000
Seat 8: Jamie Robbins — 1,340,000
Seat 9: Nick Maimone — (OUT 15TH)

Secondary Feature Table

Seat 1: Ben Lamb — 5,200,000 (OUT 14TH)
Seat 2: Kevin Schaffel — 10,630,000
Seat 3: Jordan Smith — 18,840,000
Seat 4: Andrew Lichtenberger — (OUT 18TH)
Seat 5: Jeff Shulman — 13,800,000
Seat 6: Darvin Moon — 23,800,000
Seat 7: James Calderaro — 5,000,000
Seat 8: Billy Kopp — 13,500,000
Seat 9: Ludovic Lacay — (OUT 16TH)

PAYOUTS: 16th-18th = $500,557; 13th-15th = $633,022; 10th-12th = $896,730. Playing down to the final 9 tonight. Final-table payouts in November will range from $1.2M for 9th to $8.5M for 1st.

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WORLD SERIES OF POKER MAIN EVENT

UPDATE (9:15 p.m. Central): Players are now on a 90-minute dinner break. Begleiter still has the chip lead at about 28M; Ivey hanging on in 10th place with about 7.2M. (Updated chip stacks coming in a little while.)

UPDATE (5:50 p.m. Central): Here is the two-table seat redraw for the remaining 18 players, plus chip counts:

UPDATE (6:50 P.M. CENTRAL): With 15 players left, the competitors are on their second full break. When they return, Level 32 blinds will be 100K-200K with a 30K ante. Updated chip counts are shown after the slashes in bold:

Main Feature Table

Seat 1: Phil Ivey — 5,550,000 / 7,840,000
Seat 2: Ian Tavelli — 10,500,000 (OUT 17TH)
Seat 3: Steve Begleiter — 16,800,000 / 27,890,000
Seat 4: Antoine Saout — 9,900,000 / 8,625,000
Seat 5: James Akenhead — 9,600,000 / 10,215,000
Seat 6: Eric Buchman — 16,000,000 / 16,480,000
Seat 7: Joe Cada — 9,500,000 / 14,340,000
Seat 8: Jamie Robbins — 7,200,000 / 6,430,000
Seat 9: Nick Maimone — 11,700,000 / 10,520,000 (OUT 15TH)

Secondary Feature Table

Seat 1: Ben Lamb — 5,650,000 / 6,715,000
Seat 2: Kevin Schaffel — 11,700,000 / 13,485,000
Seat 3: Jordan Smith — 7,200,000 / 18,350,000
Seat 4: Andrew Lichtenberger — 6,850,000 (OUT 18TH)
Seat 5: Jeff Shulman — 8,300,000 / 12,800,000
Seat 6: Darvin Moon — 17,800,000 / 21,285,000
Seat 7: James Calderaro — 4,700,000 / 2,940,000
Seat 8: Billy Kopp — 26,200,000 / 16,520,000
Seat 9: Ludovic Lacay — 2,700,000 (OUT 16TH)

UPDATE (5:30 p.m. Central): With just 19 players left, another big money bubble is at hand. Whoever busts out 19th gets the same as all other bustouts so far today — $352,832. But players finishing 16th-18th receive $500,557, 13th-15th is worth $633,022, 10th-12th finishers get $896,730. Final-table payouts in November range from $1.2M for 9th to $8.5M for 1st.

NOTE: Tommy Vedes is the 19th-place “bubble boy.” The remaining 18 will redraw for new seats.

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UPDATE (5:50 p.m. Central): Here is the two-table seat redraw for the remaining 18 players, plus chip counts:

Seat 1: Ben Lamb — 5,650,000
Seat 2: Kevin Schaffel — 11,700,000
Seat 3: Jordan Smith — 7,200,000
Seat 4: Andrew Lichtenberger — 6,850,000
Seat 5: Jeff Shulman — 8,300,000
Seat 6: Darvin Moon — 17,800,000
Seat 7: James Calderaro — 4,700,000
Seat 8: Billy Kopp — 26,200,000
Seat 9: Ludovic Lacay — 2,700,000

UPDATE (5:30 p.m. Central): With just 19 players left, another big money bubble is at hand. Whoever busts out 19th gets the same as all other bustouts so far today — $352,832. But players finishing 16th-18th receive $500,557, 13th-15th is worth $633,822, 10th-12th finishers get $896.730.

NOTE: Billy Kopp still leads with 26.2M chips with 18 players remaining. Ivey is in 14th place with 5.435M.

UPDATE (4:30 p.m. Central): Phil Ivey has lost nearly one-half of his chip stack in the early going, and Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari disappeared from the competition in 24th place when his pocket 5’s lost to K-10 suited.

The new chip leader after about two hours of play is Billy Kopp. His stack has exploded to 27.8M, well ahead of overnight chip leader Darvin Moon’s stack of 16.8M in second place. Ivey, meanwhile, is down to 6.3M at the first break.

(NOTE: SCROLL DOWN FOR CHIP COUNTS, FINAL-DAY SEAT ASSIGNMENTS & ELIMINATIONS)

(Earlier story, with updates)

Just 27 players remained late Tuesday night with a chance for poker immortality in the 2009 World series of Poker main event.

The two best-known players who will be battling for a final-table spot Wednesday are Phil Ivey and Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari. Ivey’s in 4th place with a solid chip stack but Esfandiari, in 20th place, has some work to do to make the November Nine lineup. (UPDATE: Esfandiari is eliminated in 24th place.)

Leo Margets of Spain, the lone woman left in the field, is short-stacked in 26th place. (UPDATE: Margets was the first player eliminated today, earning $352,832. That’s a record for the most money ever won by a woman in the main event. Tiffany Michelle finished 17th last year, but received $334,534 in a different payout structure.)

Notable eliminations Tuesday included Dennis Phillips (45th place), last year’s third-place finisher in this event, and pro Joe Sebok (56th). The event drew 6,494 entries.

Play resumes Wednesday at noon Vegas time. Once the final nine are set, the tournament will be put on hold until Nov. 7-10 when play will resume and a champion crowned.

Here are the unofficial chip counts heading into the final WSOP action for the summer:

1. Darvin Moon — 20,160,000
2. Billy Kopp — 15,970,000
3. Steven Begleiter — 11,885,000
4. Phil Ivey — 11,350,000
5. Kevin Schaffel — 11,245,000
6. Antoine Saout — 11,135,000
7. Jeff Shulman — 10,170,000
8. Eric Buchman — 10,005,000
9. Jamie Robbins — 9,795,000
10. Ben Lamb — 9,410,000
11. James Akenhead — 8,615,000
12. Joseph Cada — 6,565,000
13. James Calderaro — 6,475,000
14. Andrew Lichtenberger — 5,625,000
15. Ludovic Lacay — 5,610,000
16. Warren Zackey — 5,485,000 (OUT 22ND)
17. Marco Mattes — 5,285,000 (OUT 23RD)
18. Tommy Vedes — 5,070,000 (OUT 19TH)
19. Jordan Smith — 4,510,000
20. Antonio Esfandiari — 4,470,000 (OUT 24TH)
21. Ian Tavelli — 4,385,000
22. Jonathan Tamayo — 3,300,000 (OUT 21ST)
23. Jesse Haabak — 2,750,000 (OUT 26TH)
24. George Caragioragas — 1,615,000 (OUT 20TH)
25. Nick Maimone — 1,545,000
26. Leo Margets — 1,530,000 (OUT 27TH)
27. Francois Balmigere — 1,440,000 (OUT 25TH)

And here are the seat assignments for the start of today’s action (with 7:17 left in the 50,000/100,000/10,000 level, moving to 60,000/120,000/15,000):

(Table 1)
Seat 1: Jesse Haabak - 2,750,000
Seat 2: Ian Tavelli - 4,385,000
Seat 3: James Calderaro - 6,475,000
Seat 4: Jonathan Tamayo - 3,300,000
Seat 5: Warren Zackey - 5,485,000
Seat 6: Eric Buchman - 10,005,000
Seat 7: Leo Margets - 1,530,000
Seat 8: Tommy Vedes - 5,070,000
Seat 9: James Akenhead - 8,615,000

(Table 2)
Seat 1: Phil Ivey - 11,350,000
Seat 2: Jeff Shulman - 10,170,000
Seat 3: George Caragiorgas - 1,615,000
Seat 4: Nick Maimone - 1,545,000
Seat 5: Andrew Lichtenberger - 5,625,000
Seat 6: Marco Mattes - 5,285,000
Seat 7: Joseph Cada - 6,565,000
Seat 8: Darvin Moon - 20,160,000
Seat 9: Jordan Smith - 4,510,000

(Table 3)
Seat 1: Jamie Robbins - 9,795,000
Seat 2: Antonio Esfandiari - 4,470,000
Seat 3: Francois Balmigere - 1,440,000
Seat 4: Ludovic Lacay - 5,610,000
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter - 11,885,000
Seat 6: Ben Lamb - 9,410,000
Seat 7: Antoine Saout - 11,135,000
Seat 8: Kevin Schaffel - 11,245,000
Seat 9: Billy Kopp - 15,970,000

NOTE: An all-U.S. final table is possible, although perhaps not too likely. French players are the surprise at this point, with three remaining — Antoine Saout, Ludovic Lacay and Francois Balmigere, all under the age of 25. The only French player to ever make a main event final table was Marc Brochard, who finished 8th in 1998.

Here are the nations represented among the 27 survivors:

US – 19 players
France – 3 players
UK – 1 player
Canada – 1 player
Germany – 1 player
Spain – 1 player (out 27th)
South Africa – 1 player

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The “Forget-Me-Not” charity tournament later this month in Vegas is shaping up nicely. Joyce de Haas, a good friend of mine, sends along this update:

“Hi Russ, just wanted to update you on the confirmed poker pros for our tournament on 7/23: Linda Hamilton (2009 WSOP women’s champion), Pat Callahan, Jennifer Harman, Doyle, Todd & Pam Brunson, James Van Alstyne, Jeff Madsen, Marco Traniello, Andy Bloch, Hoyt Corkins and Justin Young (so far!). It’s going to be fun!”

That’s an impressive lineup of poker stars, to be sure! If you can play in the event that day, you’ll have a good time for a great cause — raising money for a handicapped-accessible van to transport Alzheimer’s residents at the Homestead at Boulder City, an assisted living and memory care community where Joyce is residence director.

Click “Read the rest” for the registration form and contact info.
(more…)

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Day 6 of the 2009 World Series of Poker main event is firing up at this moment, with 185 contenders still in the running for the $8,546,435 top prize and the most coveted bracelet in the game.

Action is expected to continue today until only 63 players remain. By late Wednesday night, we’ll have the “November Nine” and the WSOP will take a break until Nov. 7-10 when the final table will be played.

A number of well-known players remain in contention, including Phil Ivey, Tom Schneider, Fabrice Soulier, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Blair Hinkle, Jeff Shulman, Antonio Esfandiari, Dennis Phillips, Peter Eastgate, Joe Sebok, Blair Rodman, David Benyamine, J.C. Tran, Kenny Tran, Prahlad Friedman, Chris Bjorin, and Joe Hachem.

Eastgate is making a strong defense of his title in this event last year. Hachem (2005) is the only other former world champ still in the running. Phillips finished third last year.

Actor Lou Diamond Phillips busted out in 186th place on the last hand of the night Sunday.

This year’s main event drew 6,494 entries, creating a prize pool of $61,043,600. All players have completed 40 hours of competition heading into today’s play and at this point are guaranteed $36,626 in prize money. All nine final tablists will receive at least $1 million.

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