The “November Nine” for the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event have been decided. After battling through a field of 7,319 players who each ponied up $10,000 for the chance to win the $8.9 million first prize, only nine players remain for the final table of the Main Event, which will be played on November 6th.
With about 7.6 million in chips, 25-year-old poker professional Jason Sentl will be the ultimate short-stack at the table, with 37-year-old Cuong Nguyen close ahead at 9.7 million. Next up is easily the most well-known player in the line-up, 29-year-old Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi with about 14.5 million in chips. Then we have 26-year-old Filippo Candio and 25-year-old Matthew Jarvis, both sitting around 16.5 million in chips, followed closely by 24-year-old John Racener with 19 million. WSOP Circuit gold ring winner Joseph Cheong is 24 years old and will start final table play with 23.5 million in chips, while the big stacks belong to 24-year-old John Dolan with 46 million and 22-year-old Jonathan Duhamel with a staggering 66 million.
The dreaded bubble boy at this year’s World No-Limit Hold’em Championship Event was a 36-year-old car dealer from Kansas named Brandon Steven, though he received $636,011 for his efforts. Steven lost a flip with Ace-King against pocket Queens to Matthew Jarvis to end his tournament run.
Of the remaining nine players, the only non-professional player is Cuong “Soi” Nguyen, who is in sales with a Medical Supplies company in Santa Ana, CA, who is also the only remaining player over the age of 30. Six of the remaining nine are American players, with two Canadians and the first Italian player to make the final table of the Main Event, Filippo Candio.
On Sunday July 18, each of these nine players were paid the ninth place $811,823 that they’re guaranteed to make on the final table. When November 6 rolls around, they’ll all come back together at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino to try to get a piece of the remaining $21,836,230, of which over $8.1 million will go to the first place winner. The final table payouts are $8,944,138 for first, $5,545,855 for second, $4,129,979 for third, $3,092,497 for fourth, $2,442,960 for fifth, $1,772,939 for sixth, $1,356,708 for seventh, $1,045,738 for eighth, and $811,823 for ninth.
While these payouts are nice, most of the players are expected to make additional money from sponsorship deals. The final table of the Main Event is broadcast on ESPN and gains international exposure for the poker companies that pay the remaining players to wear their brand.