2009 World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table Fact Sheet
WHO:
Player Name Age Town Chip Count
DARVIN MOON 45 OAKLAND, MARYLAND 58,930,000
ERIC BUCHMAN 29 HEWLETT, NEW YORK 34,800,000
STEVEN BEGLEITER 47 CHAPPAQUA, NEW YORK 29,885,000
JEFF SHULMAN 34 LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 19,580,000
JOSEPH CADA 21 SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN 13,215,000
KEVIN SCHAFFEL 51 CORAL SPRINGS, FLORIDA 12,390,000
PHIL IVEY 33 LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 9,765,000
ANTOINE SAOUT 25 SAINT MARTIN DES CHAMPS, FRANCE 9,500,000
JAMES AKENHEAD 26 LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM 6,800,000
WHERE: The Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio® All-Suite Hotel and Casino.
WHEN: Saturday, November 7th and Monday, November 9.
Play on the 7th will begin with all nine participants.
On November 9, the final two players face off.
ESPN will carry coverage of the final table on Tuesday, November 10th at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT.
PRIZE
The final nine will play for a total of $27,219,668, plus interest
added and accrued from July 16 until the time they return in November.
The payout schedule is as follows:
POOL:
1st Place: $8,546,435 4th Place: $2,502, 787 7th Place: $1,404,002
2nd Place: $5,182,601 5th Place: $1,953,395 8th Place: $1,300,228
3rd Place: $3,479,485 6th Place: $1,587,133 9th Place: $1,263,602
The Main Event total prize pool in 2009 is $61,043,600. A total of 648 players cashed in the event; payout for 648th place was $21,365.
2009 The 2009 World Series of Poker attracted a record 60,875 entrants from 115
WSOP: different nations competing for more than $174 million prize pool over the 57-event, 50- day extravaganza.
www.worldseriesofpoker.com
Contact:
Seth Palansky, WSOP Director of Communications, (702) 407-6344
Final Table Set at 40th Annual World Series of Poker® Main Event
November Nine Will Compete for More than $27 Million
LAS VEGAS (July 16, 2009) – The massive field of 6,494 players who entered the World Series of Poker® (WSOP) Main Event has been narrowed to just nine competitors who will return to Las Vegas in November to compete for a top prize of more than $8.5 million and the most coveted prize in poker: the WSOP champion’s gold bracelet.
Main Event play began July 3; the field was trimmed to just 27 players from seven countries at the start of play on July 15. The nine players who survived the day to advance to November’s final table, along with their chip counts, are:
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 editor of
Card Player magazine has more than $1 million in career winnings and
finds himself at the final table. 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 millions in
both tournaments and 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, of London, 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 the Rio.
The “November Nine” – as those who make the final table have been dubbed – will resume play at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino on Nov. 7. When the final two players are identified, play will stop, resuming again on Tuesday, Nov. 10. ESPN will provide same day coverage of the winning hand and the awarding of the champion’s bracelet.
Each of the November Nine already has received ninth-place prize money of more than $1.2 million. This marks just the second time in WSOP history that each member of the final table will win at least $1 million.
Official prize money for the November Nine is as follows:
1st place: $8,546,435 6th place: $1,587,133
2nd place: $5,182,601 7th place: $1,404,002
3rd place: $3,479,485 8th place: $1,300,228
4th place: $2,502,787 9th place: $1,263,602
5th place: $1,953,395
About the World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world awarding millions of dollars in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major online poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2008, the event attracted 58,720 entrants from 124 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and awarded over $180 million in prize money. The creation of the new delayed Main Event final table more than doubled ratings on ESPN year over year. The WSOP in December 2008 was named the 7th most admired sports brand in North America by the Turnkey Sports Survey, trailing only the older and more established NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and PGA Tour among sports properties. In addition, the WSOP has experienced groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker EuropeSM. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit our website at www.worldseriesofpoker.com or www.twitter.com/wsop.
40th Annual World Series of Poker
2009 Main Event – By the Numbers
Total # of Entries: 6,494
Game: No Limit Texas Hold’em
Entry Fee: $10,000
Net Prize Pool: $61,043,600
Entries by Day: 1A: 1,116
1B: 873
1C: 1,696
1D: 2,809
2A: 1,476
2B: 2,924
Total Day 2 Players: 4,400
Total Day 3 Players: 2,044
Total Day 4 Players: 789
Total Day 5 Players: 407
Total Day 6 Players: 185
Total Day 7 Players: 64
Total Day 8 Players: 27
Players in the Money: 648
1st Place Prize: $8,546,435
2nd Place Prize: $5,182,601
3rd Place Prize: $3,479,485
4th Place Prize: $2,502,787
5th Place Prize: $1,953,395
6th Place Prize: $1,587,133
7th Place Prize: $1,404,002
8th Place Prize: $1,300,228
9th Place Prize: $1,263,602
*Note: Final 9 players will receive 9th place prize money on July 16 and the rest of the money will be placed in an interest-bearing account to be added to the prize pool on a percentage basis for the final 8 finishers.
648th Place Prize: $21,365
Last Year’s Key Stats
Defending Champion: Peter Eastgate
2008 1st Place Prize: $9,152,416
2007 Net Prize Pool: $64,431,779
2007 No. of Entries: 6,844