On November 6, 2010, nine surviving gladiators will do battle in the Rio Casino, Las Vegas one more time as they set their sights on bracelet gold and the chance to become the 2010 World Series of Poker Champion.
Whoever leaves with that mantle will also take home a mouth-watering nine million dollars as well as their name etched into WSOP history with the likes of Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth and Stu Ungar.
After two weeks and 78 hours of play at the WSOP felt, the following players were the last nine standing from an initial field of 7,319. They are guaranteed a minimum payday of $811,823.
The November Nine
Seat 1: Jason Senti -- 7,625,000
Hometown: St. Louis Park, MN (USA)
Age: 25
Profession: Poker Pro
Jason is a former electrical engineer turned poker pro who is currently an instructor at online tutorial site BlueFire Poker where he mentors under the alias 'PBJAxx'.
Jason plays mostly online, predominantly No Limit Hold'em and Pot Limit Omaha. Live, he has just one other cash, a 32nd place finish in the 2009 $10,000 World Championship Heads-Up which earned him $17,987.
Jason is the short stack heading into the final.
Seat 2: Joseph Cheong -- 23,525,000
Hometown: La Mirada, CA (USA)
Age: 24
Profession: Poker Pro
Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Joseph is best known for his online prowess where he has excelled under the moniker 'subliime'. As well as winning an FTOPS event in May for $55,000, he also boasts six $100 tournament victories on PokerStars during just one month in 2009.
A psychology graduate from UC-San Diego, Joseph began playing in 2007 before turning pro and becoming one of the most dangerous players in the November Nine. He rarely frequents the live felt, but does possess a WSOP circuit victory after winning a $300 event in San Diego last March.
Seat 3: John Dolan -- 46,250,000
Hometown: Bonita Springs, FL (USA)
Age: 24
Profession: Poker Pro
Despite his age, John is perhaps one of the more experienced live players at the final table with six WSOP cashes to his name, the first of which was 91st in the 2007 Casino Employees event. In 2010, he cashed in three WSOP events including a final table where he finished sixth in a $1,000 freezeout for $82,804.
Born in New Jersey but now residing in Florida, John studied business at Florida State University but left before becoming a professional poker player and plying his trade at the virtual felt. His biggest win to date is a win in a Full Tilt $1,000 Monday event for $94,500.
John bought in directly for the WSOP Main Event.
Seat 4: Jonathan Duhamel -- 65,975,000
Hometown: Boucherville, Quebec (Canada)
Age: 22
Profession: Poker Pro
With five bracelets, Canada had a highly impressive World Series, but it could get even better as Jonathan looks to become the first ever Canadian Main Event Champion in history. With almost 20 million more than that of second placed John Dolan, Jonathan is the chip leader heading into the final after winning a gargantuan pot against Matt Affleck with two tables left.
The youngest player in the November Nine, Jonathan is mainly an online cash game player, but does make the occasional venture into the live scene. In December 2008 he bubbled the Prague EPT final table but took away €42,800 for his troubles. He also went deep in a WSOP event, finishing 15th in the $2,500 No Limit Hold'em Freezeout for $37,276.
Seat 5: Michael Mizrachi -- 14,450,000
Hometown: Miami, FL (USA)
Age: 29
Profession: Poker Pro
'The Grinder' is undoubtedly the most acclaimed player at the final table. With $9.6 million in live tournament winnings, he sits in 14th place in the all-time money list and will top the charts if he finishes in the top two in November. Michael was a formidable force during the mid 2000s where he captured two WPT titles: the 2005 L.A. Poker Classic and the 2006 Borgata Winter Open for $1,859,909 and $1,173,383 respectively.
Despite his success, Michael was facing financial difficulties heading into the 2010 World Series after being struck with a bill from the government for unpaid taxes amounting to $339,711. However, Michael proved both his talent and determination when he won the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event for $1,559,046.
Michael was a consistent short stack leading up to the final, but managed to survive to make his first ever Main Event final. Michael's three brothers also played the event, and all three cashed with older sibling Robert finishing in 116th.
Seat 6: Matthew Jarvis -- 16,700,000
Hometown: Surrey, BC (Canada)
Age: 25
Profession: Poker Pro/Student
Matthew is an online pro from Canada who was responsible for the bubble bursting when he eliminated Brandon Steven in 10th place with queens versus ace-king. This marks his first WSOP cash after entering, and falling short in five events prior.
A business student turned poker pro, Matthew plies his trade online and claims his biggest win to be just over the $100,000 mark. Matthew wasn't going to play the Main Event after his father, former pro golfer Norm Jarvis, contracted cancer. However, his father insisted he participated, and the decision proved lucrative as Matthew will be bringing home a minimum of $811,823.
Seat 7: John Racener -- 19,050,000
Hometown: Port Richey, FL (USA)
Age: 24
Profession: Poker Pro
Behind Michael Mizrachi, John is likely the best known player at the table having played the circuit for the last few years with considerable success. In total, he has a near two million dollars in live tournament winnings to his name, including $500,000 on the WSOP circuit where he won a main event in Atlantic City for $379,392.
At the World Series, John has cashed a total of eleven times including four in 2010. In previous Series, John has made two other final tables: sixth in a 2008 Omaha/Seven-Card Stud High-Low, and seventh in a 2009 Pot Limit Omaha High-Low, showing that he possesses skills in games outside of Hold'em.
John has been playing poker with his family for a number of years, but turned pro around four years ago. John's opening bankroll was $50, which he managed to turn into $30,000 within a year of playing online.
Seat 8: Filippo Candio -- 16,400,000
Hometown: Cagliari, Sardinia (Italy)
Age: 26
Profession: Poker Pro
Filippo is the only European in the November Nine, and if he wins, would become the first ever Italian player to become WSOP Main Event Champion.
Filippo has played the circuit sporadically, but mostly boasts results in his home nation with his most impressive being a win in the 2009 Campianato Italian in San Remo for €140,000.
Filippo is fluent in both Italian and English, and also speaks Latin after studying it at college where he specialised in classical literature. For a while, he considered going into law, but eventually turned to poker where he has obviously excelled. Before the Main Event, Filippo was sponsored by PokerStars, but began wearing Full Tilt patches as the week progressed.
Seat 9: Cuong Nguyen -- 9,650,000
Hometown: Santa Ana, CA (USA)
Age: 37
Profession: Sales (Medical Supplies)
At 37, Cuong is the oldest player at the poker table, but, ironically, the player with the least experience after admitting to rarely playing poker, either live or online. In fact, Cuong is the only amateur to have made it into the November Nine.
Cuong's day job is as a manager for a major company that makes and distributes products related to orthopedic surgery, and patients' recovery from surgery. As he got deeper into the event, he had to ring back to ensure that he could take the time off work to play the latter stages.
Cuong originally hails from South Vietnam, but moved his family to America when Saigon fell in 1975. He spent a few years in Pennsylvania, but later settled in Southern California where he currently resides.
Cuong is more commonly referred to as Soi (modified from Soy), as a result of his passion for Soy sauce as a child.
images courtesy of WSOP & Rob Gracie
Previous WSOP Reports:
Employee of the Month
Fairytale Endings
Must Be Nice
Make Mine a Double
Blonde on Blonde
Summer of Sam
Chuft to Bits
Under the Radar
Taking Notice
BBP Braced for WSOP Main Event
WSOP Main Event - Day 1A
WSOP Main Event - Day 1B
WSOP Main Event - Day 1C
WSOP Main Event - Day 1D
WSOP Main Event - Day 2A
WSOP Main Event - Day 2B
WSOP Main Event - Day 3
WSOP Main Event - Day 4
WSOP Main Event - Day 5
WSOP Main Event - Day 6
WSOP Main Event - Day 7
WSOP Main Event - Day 8
Vegas Blog:
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May 31: Welcome to America; Let the Institutionalising Begin
June 1: Pleasure & Pain
June 5: 100% British Beef
June 9: Alphabetti Spaghetti & Giant Meatballs
June 13: Colour Me Up
June 14: The Crying Game
June 20: Last Gasps
June 25: Dancing With the Devil
June 30: The End of a Streak
July 6: Tournament of Famous People
July 10: Running on Empty
July 15: An Excuse to Party
July 16: Food for Thought
July 25: Taxi From the Dark Side
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