© July 15, 2009
By Daniel L. Cox
Editor, Poker Insider Magazine

Las Vegas - The Final Table of the Final Event of the 40th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) has finally been set. On July 3rd, the first of 6,494 players began their quest for poker's ultimate championship. When Day Eight of the $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold’em World Championship Main Event began, 27 players were still alive in this year's hunt for poker's penultimate gold bracelet. Included in the final three tables (each player gauranteed a minimum of $352,832) were seven-time bracelet winner, Phil Ivey (see article), Spanish native Leonor Margets (the sole female player remaining), Card Player Magazine Associate Publisher Jeff Shulman, as well as former bracelet winners Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari and Jordan Smith.

The first casualty was a short twenty minutes past noon when Leo Margets was knocked out, assuring that Poker Hall of Fame member Barbara Enright would remain the only woman to reach the Main Event Final Table in the forty years of the tournaments existence. It seemed that this action was the catalyst for a rapid exit by the players. Faster than any Main Event in recent memory, the field began dwindling as player after player shoved their chips into the middle and the dealer would call "All-in and a Call on Table."

After less than 11 hour elapsed time (slightly more than 8 hours table time) the final table was set when Darvin Moon's pocket 8s cracked Jordan Smith's pocket Aces a few minutes before 11:00 PM at the Rio Suites and Casino in Las Vegas.

The most controversial innovation at the 2008 World Series of Poker, the November Nine^SM, returns in 2009. The groundbreaking format change for the Main Event allows ESPN to televise the 40th Annual WSOP final heads-up battle on the same day. The November Nine^SM now  have over four months to secure sponsorships,  study their opponents' play and prepare game plans to battle their opponents and find coaches to hone their skills before they return. On July 16th, each player will be given ninth place money of over $1.2 million. They will return on November 7^th to battle for the remaining $7.3 million plus first place prize.

With the field reduced to the final nine, we near the conclusion of poker’s richest and most prestigious poker tournament. The November Nine are vying for the most coveted prize in poker – the WSOP Championship Bracelet – and the winners share of the $27,219,668 in prize money, with the first place winner collecting $8,546,435. The 57-event schedule has conveved for the last fifty days. The total number of entrants for this year's Main Event was fewer than last year, largely because of an estimated 500 players that missed signing-up when Day 1d of the tournament sold out with more than 2,800 entrants (nearly equaling Day 1a, 1b and 1c totals). Name players such as tournament championship leader T.J. Cloutier and 28 year WSOP entrant and NYC cash game specialist Mickey Appleman missed the final day of signups. Even in these trying fiscal times, the 2009 World Series of Poker attracted a record 60,875 entrants from 115 different nations who put up more than $174 million towards the record breaking prize pool. One milestone reached this year was the crossing of the one billion dollar mark for total prize outlays over the last forty years.

This year's schedule has the November Nine meeting at The Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio® All-Suite Hotel and Casino. The Rio will host the Final Table on November 8^th. When they reach the heads-up stage, expected in the wee morning hours of the 9^th, the two remaining players will take a day off to rest and recuperate before beginning to play the final battle on the Monday, Novenber 10^th. The final table is slated to complete ESPN's four months of televised, primetime Tuesday airings of the 40^th Annual WSOP. Then on Tuesday, ESPN will air the final table, concluding with awarding of the WSOP World Champion bracelet.

Each player of the November Nine will be paid out the guaranteed prize money. This amounts to $1,263,602 each.  When the Main Event resumes play on November 7^th, players will compete for additional money in the prize pool, plus interest on the withheld funds.  The total prize pool for the November Nine is $27,219,668. The breakdown of payouts is:

1^st place –  $8,546,435
2^nd place – $5,182,601
3^rd place – $3,479,485
4^th place – $2,502,787
5^th place – $1,953,395
6^th place – $1,587,133
7^th place – $1,404,002
8^th place – $1,300,228
9^th place – $1,263,602

With former gold bracelet winner Jordan Smith's elimination, play was stopped late in Level 33. Blinds will be T$120,000 - T$240,000 with a T$30,000 ante. When play resumes in 115 days, James Akenhead will have an 'M' factor¹ of just slightly less than 10.

The starting chip count, home town and seat position for The November Nine:

Name City State/Country Chip Count Seat Darvin Moon Oakland MD T$58,930,000 1 Eric Buchman Valley Stream NY T$34,800,000 6 Steven Begleiter Chappaqua NY T$29,885,000 5 Jeff Shulman Las Vegas NV T$19,580,000 9 Joseph Cada Shelby Township MI T$13,215,000 7 Kevin Schaffel Coral Springs FL T$12,390,000 4 Phil Ivey Las Vegas NV T$9,765,000 3 Antoine Saout Saint Martin France T$9,500,000 8 James Akenhead London United Kingdom T$6,800,000 2

Darvin Moon, 45, of Oakland,Md.: 58,930,000
Moon, who heads into November as the chip leader, is the Everyman of the November Nine. A self-employed logger from Western Maryland, Moon learned to play poker with his friends and won his Main Event seat in a satellite (qualifying) tournament. This is Moon’s first appearance at the WSOP.

Eric Buchman, 28, of Valley Stream, NY: 34,800,000
Buchman, second in chips, is an accomplished poker pro with nine career WSOP cashes. He made a final table in this year’s WSOP, placing sixth in Event 25. His best WSOP finish was second place in a 2006 Limit Hold’em event, which paid nearly $175,000.

Steven Begleiter, 47, of Chappaqua, NY: 29,885,000
Begleiter is familiar with large numbers, having worked previously in high finance at Bear Stearns. Married with three children, Begleiter played in last year’s Main Event but was unable “to dance between the raindrops” to make it deep into the tournament. When he isn’t playing poker, Begleiter enjoys watching and coaching his kids’ sports teams. He heads into November third in chips.

Jeff Shulman, 34, of Las Vegas: 19,580,000
Shulman made himself known in the poker world at the age of 25, when he went deep in the WSOP Main Event. Nearly a decade later, the Assistant Publisher of Card Player Magazine has more than $1 million in career poker winnings. Shulman is fourth in chips.

Joseph Cada, 21, of Shelby Township,Mich.: 13,215,000
Cada, fifth in chips, has played in some 16 WSOP events and boasts nearly $500,000 in poker winnings. The 21-year-old’s hobbies include playing sports and spending time on the water. He was introduced to poker by friends who play professionally.

Kevin Schaffel, 51, of Coral Springs, Fla.: 12,390,000
Schaffel has been playing poker since he was 11 years old and regularly participates in family games. He owned and operated a printing company for 30 years and considers himself “semi-retired” after having recently closed the business. The 51-year-old plans “to play a lot of golf” in the coming days and weeks. He is sixth in chips.

Phil Ivey, 33, of Las Vegas: 9,765,000
Ivey, seventh in chips, is considered by many to be the world’s greatest poker player. At 33, he already has seven WSOP bracelets – two of which he won at this year’s WSOP. Often referred to as the Tiger Woods of poker, Ivey is a fierce competitor who has won over $10 million in tournament play and untold millions (maybe the IRS knows) in cash games around the globe.

Antoine Saout, 25, of Saint Martin des Champs, France: 9,500,000
Born in Morlaix, France, Antoine now calls Saint Martin des Champs home. One of three Frenchmen to make the final 27 of the Main Event, he won his seat into the tournament through an online satellite. He enters November eighth in chips.

James Akenhead, 26, ofLondon,England: 6,800,000
Akenhead is a former railroad conductor and current poker pro who boasts a previous second-place finish at the 2008 WSOP, where he collected $520,000. His total winnings total some $700,000. He will be the short stack when play resumes at theRio.

ESPN WSOP Broadcasts

• ESPN has been broadcasting its WSOP coverage since 2003.  This year, four events will be featured.  These events include the $40,000 buy-in 40th Anniversary No-Limit Hold’em Championship, the World Champions Invitational, the third-annual Ante-Up for Africa charity tournament, and the Main Event.  
• Although the number of WSOP events receiving broad coverage has been reduced to four, the total number of broadcast hours is actually the same as last year.  More coverage will be given to the Main Event, since the world championship receives the greatest amount of viewer interest.
• The total amount of time the WSOP will be broadcast this year is 32 new and original hours of coverage.
• Debut WSOP broadcasts on ESPN will remain in their customary Tuesday night time slot.
• The 2009 WSOP broadcasts will begin on July 28th.

¹ The 'M' Factor is named after the developer of the concept, computer simulation guru and excentric poker player Paul Magriel (X22). The process involves dividing your chip stack by the amount of pre-flop chips (blinds and antes in one round) on the table. The importance of the 'M' Factor is to judge your chip stack's strength in relation to the blinds.
Example: You have a chip stack of T$3,500 and the blinds are T$250/T$500, with an ante of T$25. With 10 players at the table the total antes equal T$250, and the blinds equal T$750, for a total of $1,000.  The calculation takes your chip count of T$3,500 divided bt the pre-flop number of chips on the table of T$1,000 for an 'M' Factor of 3.5.