Prof's Vegas Poker Blog

2009 WSOP Main Event Final Table Plays Beforte Full House

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November Nine plays before a full house in the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio All-Suite Resort Las Vegas

WSOP Poker, play it and they will come by the thousands to watch and cheer for their favorites. The Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio resort is filled and a long lines of fans are waiting outside in the corridor for a seat to open.

The November Nine returned from the four month break and will play down to the final two players tonight. The two finalists will return on Monday evening to go heads-up for the $8.5 million reserved for teh 2009 WSOP World Champion Poker Player.

Short stacked James Akenhead was the first player eliminated from the table by Kevin Schaffel. Unfortunately, Kevin Schaffel was soon eliminated in 8th place. At teh dinner break 7 players remain including crowd favorite Phil Ivey.

Stop by PokerNews.com andf follow all the action as it happens. You can also catch more of Flipchips photos on PokerNews, the official and only live blog at the event.

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November Nine plays at the Final Table

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James Akenhead puts his head down as tyhe river eliminates him in 9th place

2009 WSOP Main Event Tonight on ESPN 9 PM ET

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Phil Ivey advances his quest to poker's undisputed championship

Most of the WSOP talk this week has been orbiting around Phil Ivey, poker's Superstar. Can he come from the back of the pack and charge to the lead to go heads-up with one of the other eight players? Chips and luck averaging out of a two-handed contest would make Ivey the favorite to take poker's biggest prize. That outcome would let it be known that a "King of Poker" had been crowned at a Coronation of Elimination in Las Vegas, the WSOP at the Rio All-Suite Resort. Hail! King Phil I.

Ivey fans are reminded that ESPN's award-winning primetime newsmagazine E:60 tonight at 7 PM ET will be taking a close look at professional poker superstar Phil Ivey. If you just can't get enough of poker's elusive king then grab a copy of ESPN The Magazine for the suitable-for-framing photo of Phil Ivey on the cover.

Tune into ESPN Sports TV tonight at 9 PM ET for two hours of WSOP Main Event March-to-the-Nine poker show. Viewers will finally get to meet the November Nine as the great tournament begins the evening with 18 players and concludes at the nine. Expect plenty of coverage of Phil Ivey.

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James Akenhead is the November Nine's short stack but a little early luck...

Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza IV Starts Friday

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Poker rules at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas

Deep Stack Extravaganza IV begins on Friday, October 30th, and runs through November 25th. These highly popular events will again have the Venetian's poker room filled with players from around the world vying for a piece of the prize money. Twenty-four events with buy-ins ranging from a low $340 up to $2,500 for the Championship event insures all players will find something that fits the budget.

Venetian's Deep Stack Extravaganza is the original, innovative tournament series original that changed the face of competitive poker forever. Built around lower buy-ins the Deep Stack Series features longer blind levels -- 40 minutes to 90 minutes -- and more starting chips -- 10,000 to 15,000. Entrants are provided with the same playing conditions as major tournaments with buy-ins costing thousands more. Another great feature centers around larger prize pools as a result of more players entering the popular events.

A promotional room rate is available for players and goes for $109 to $199 (based on availability) Check with the poker room or call The Venetian Room Reservations toll-free number at 877-444-3777 and reference group code #CP910L1.

Event registration begins at 9 PM the day before each tournament and all play begins at High Noon and continues until a final table or 2 AM, whichever is reached first. Final table play begins at 4 PM and continues until a winner is declared. Super Satellites for the Championship and daily single table are available. A Second Chance tournament runs nightly at 7 PM everyday. Check out the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza IV schedule/fact sheet or call the poker room direct at 702.414.7657.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas features a luxurious eleven thousand square foot poker room

2009 WSOP Tonight at 9 PM ET Meet November Nine Photos

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All that's left of the 2009 greatest poker show on Earth - last day before the fall break of the 2009 WSOP Main Event

Tune in tonight to ESPN at 9 PM ET for the exciting conclusion of the race to the WSOP November Nine. The final table will be set at the end of tonight's two hours of top flight poker. Poker Pro Phil Ivey stands apart from the field with thousands of hours of major tournament play and 7 WSOP bracelets. Poker pro Jeff Shulman has no WSOP bracelets but he has twice as many chips as Ivey. Chip leader Darvin Moon enjoying his first ever visit to Las Vegas has three times as many chips as Shulman.

Given a few early breaks Phil Ivey might walk away with the big poker prize. Given the huge chip lead of Darvin Moon, he is favored to join the expanding ranks of unknowns scooping the poker's holy grail. Only a couple of weeks remain before we know the winner of the 2009 WSOP Main Event World Championship of Poker. Don't forget today's Noon ET installment of ESPN.com's Inside Deal featuring Kevin Schaffel.

A November Nine group photo and individual images of the field of nine after the jump. Click any photo for a gallery image. Use this link to the Photo Gallery.

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ESPN feature table is the center of the poker universe

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Outer table plays before a crowd of fans

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2009 WSOP Main Event November Nine, millions in cash, and the bracelet
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Seat 1 - Darvin Moon - 58,930,000
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Seat 2 - James Akenhead - 6,800,000
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Seat 3 - Phil Ivey - 9,765,000
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Seat 4 - Kevin Schaffel - 12,390,000
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Seat 5 - Steve Begleiter - 29,885,000
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Seat 6 - Joseph Cada - 13,215,000
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Seat 7 -Eric Buchman - 34,800,000
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Seat 8 - Antoine Saout - 9,500,000
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Seat 9 - Jeff Shulman - 19,580,000
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2009 WSOP Main Event final table Bubble Boy - Jordan Smith - $896,730
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2009 WSOP Main Event final table Bubble Boy Runner up - Jamie Robbins - $896,730

Poker Strategy Tips On How To Win The Bodog Poker Open IV

photo courtesy bodog.com

The Bodog Poker Open IV is a once in a lifetime opportunity for poker players to win big and become the next online poker superstar. Success in this tournament will require both strategy and luck, but because you can't control your luck, here are some poker strategy tips to help you come out on top.

Regular poker tournament strategy is all about the size of your stack and the size of the blinds. Playing a deeper stacked event affords the player more time to be selective in the early stages of online poker tournaments. Starting chip stacks are generous enough that players can play a tight game, while waiting for premium hands or strong position plays with medium strength holdings.

Hands that are in the lead for value are your best bets and keep bluffs to a minimum. Avoid getting all your chips in without the absolute nuts and try to win medium-size pots that don't jeopardize your poker tournament life.

Decisions to change your level of aggression should be determined by the size of your chip stack compared to the size of the blinds. If your chip stack shrinks to an amount where the blinds are taking 10% or more of your stack, then you should start to increase your level of action to increase your chip stack by either stealing small pots or doubling up through an opponent.

If you find yourself deep into the late stages of the Bodog Poker Open IV, you will have outlasted some of the best online poker players in the world. You would have either beaten out Bodog pros like Justin Bonomo, David Williams, and Evelyn Ng, or you'll possibly be seated at the final table with some of them.

Final table strategy dictates that you play your favorable position hands with aggression and you get out of the way when other players are battling aggressively for a pot. Any player that goes out before you pays you tens of thousand of dollars.

You could be the next big thing in poker if you stick to this general formula and if luck hands you winning cards. Whatever you do, don't miss out on playing the Bodog Poker Open IV and this opportunity to win big! Download poker software for free at Bodog and check out the Poker Open IV schedule for information on all the events.

November Niner Kevin Schaffel Meet Greet

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Kevin Schaffel playing the ESPN feature table

Kevin Schaffel will be featured on Tuesday's ESPN.com's 30 minute ESPN Inside Deal poker show at Noon ET. The Coral Springs, Florida poker pro will be interviewed by the Inside Deal crew about his preparations for the November final table and how he has made almost a half million since the summer WSOP Main Event's four month break. Fans can e-mail their questions for Kevin Schaffel to insidedeal@espn.com.

Sitting in the sixth spot on the leader board with 12,390,000 in play money, Kevin Schaffel will be in seat 4 to the left of Phil Ivey when the next WSOP "Shuffle Up and Deal" commands goes out. Bodog odds makers have him in the bottom three as a 12/1 shot to win the event. Fans can view previous episodes of ESPN Inside Deal with this link.

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Kevin Schaffel responds to a comment

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Kevin Schaffel offers his hand to Eric Buchman moments after making the final table

2009 WSOP Main Event Tonight 8PM ET-ESPN-

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Poker wise guys are saying this is the year of the Ivey

Two hours of 2009 WSOP Main Event poker tonight on ESPN Sports. Tune in to ESPN at 8PM ET for two hours of exciting poker. The original 6,494 players swapping $10,000 in cash for a seat in the game has been cut to just 64 runners with chips. They are deep into the prize money with a guarantee of $90,344 for tonight's first outer. And all that $10,000 entry money collected? It's now in a giant prize pool totaling $61,043,600 + Interest.

By the end of tonight's second hour the field will be reduced to 27 players each guaranteed at least $352,832. One in every three of the 27 remaining players will become a millionaire in a few days. Leo Margets is the sole female survivor in the field of 26 men as she presses to become the first woman at a WSOP Main Event final table since 1995 when Barbara Enright finished 5th.

More photos from the 2009 WSOP Main Event's final days on the shrinking tournament floor located within the Rio All-Suite Resort...after the jump.

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Leo Margets is last woman with chips

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Antonio Esfandiari playing at the outer table

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Warren Zackey (center,in red) plays at an outer table

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Germany's Marco Mattes plays at the feature table

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Jordan Smith studies the action at the feature table

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Phil Ivey and Jeff Shulman on their way to a November Nine berth

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Darvin Moon counts chips at the feature table

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Tommy Vedes plays at an outer table

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Francois Balmigere watches the early action

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Ian Tavelli playing the ESPN feature table

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Blair Rodman making a run for the 2009 WSOP final table

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Outer table at the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event

Play The Bodog Poker Open IV Championship Series Starting November 1

photo courtesy bodog.com

The search for the next online poker superstar is on! Starting November 1st, Bodog is offering players the best in poker tournament action in the Bodog Poker Open IV Championship Series. This event will include two series of tournaments for different types of poker players.

The Championship Series is comprised of 7 events, 6 tournaments and 1 championship event. The buy-ins will range from a $50+5 (re-buy), to the $470+30 championship event. This series kicks off on Sunday November 1, and will run until the following Sunday.

The Contender Series will consist of 8 events, and runs over the same time period. This tournament is more suited for up and coming players with buy-ins starting as low as $5+0.50 (re-buy) and culminates in the Contender Series championship event at $46+4.

The winner of the Championship Series will instantly become a Bodog Poker celebrity. Aside from the largest share of the prize pool, the winner will get a spread in Card Player Magazine, feature articles in the Bodog Beat poker news, and a new blog where they can write about their experiences.

Bodog is also adding on their usual huge layovers to these online poker tournaments. Between $2,500 and $25,000 extra will be added to each tournament depending on the event that's being played.

To get into the championship event, players can buy in direct or play in numerous satellite options. All Contender Series Main Event final table members win an automatic seat into the championship event, while the winner of each Contender Series tournament will also get a seat to the championship event.

Don't miss your chance to win big bucks and become an instant poker star! Start by getting the free Bodog poker download and then check the Bodog Bodog Poker Open IV schedule for all tournament times and buy-in costs so you can play in the tournaments that best suit you.

WSOP Main Event November Nine Finalist Joseph Cada on ESPN.com

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Joe Cada began his 2009 WSOP November Nine journey with the chip lead for Day 1C

Tuesdays are WSOP days on ESPN beginning at Noon ET with ESPN.com's Inside Deal. Tuesday's 30-minutes will be spent with November Nine finalist, Joseph Cada, and his poker coach, Greg Raymer, 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion. Stop by on Tuesday at Noon to meet this young poker phenom. Submit your questions for Cada and Raymer via e-mail to insidedeal@espn.com.

For a college dropout that turned 21 last year, Joe Cada, isn't doing too bad. His first foray into the mine field of a WSOP Main Event has already earned him $1,263,602 plus a November Nine finalist seat with a shot at a total of $8,546,435 and a very rare gold bracelet. On the leader board Cada is fifth with 13,215,000 in play money, more than enough for a ride to the top.

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Greg Raymer seen playing in the 2009 WSOP $40K Anniversary Event

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Joseph Cada playing at the ten-handed final table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event last summer

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Joseph Cada studies the table

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Joseph Cada looks at friends after making the 2009 WSOP November Nine

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Joseph Cada stacks chips after taking another pot at the feature ESPN table

Mike Sexton inducted into Poker Hall of Fame

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Mike Sexton playing in the 2009 WSOP Main Event

Poker pro and Las Vegas resident Mike Sexton is now the 38th member of the Poker Hall of Fame.

Sexton, 62, is well known for being ambassador and commentator of the World Poker Tour, but he also has had a 30-year career as poker player, racking up $3.7 million in winnings.

Even as recently as this year, Sexton came in 420 out of 6,500 players in the main event of the World Series of Poker.

He will be honored Nov. 7 at Rio Las Vegas, which happens to coincide with the playing of the WSOP main event final table.

Watch And Learn Online Video Poker Tips For FREE At Bodog!

photo courtesy bodog.com

Get ready to sharpen your skills at the felt! Bodog now offers free online poker tips on video that are easy to learn and available at the click of your mouse. Now you can improve your game by watching video poker tips made by Team Bodog Professionals.

These video poker tips are for beginner poker players who want to elevate their game to an intermediate level. The strategies are designed to give new players a fighting chance against skilled players who use these strategies often.

Evelyn Ng and Team Bodog narrate short video clips explaining basic poker strategy tips. The videos are five minutes long or less, and each one covers a common topic that every player should learn about.

There are videos on cash games vs. tournaments and poker hand rankings as well as the rules of Texas Holdem and table position. Future videos from Justin Bonomo and David Williams are also a work in progress.

Most video poker tools are in the form of a DVD and come with a hefty price tag. Why pay hard-earned money for this information when you can get it online for free from experienced poker professionals?

Learn how to play poker the smart way, for free and online at Bodog Poker.

WSOP November Nine Countdown Continues Tonight

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Playing for the WSOP bracelet

We continue our journey to the 2009 World Series of Poker final table coming up in November. Tonight, at 8PM ET, we find four of poker's biggest names seated around the ESPN feature table. JC Tran, Peter Eastgate, Dennis Phillips, and Joseph Hachem remain in the hunt for the November Nine seats. Around the outer tables we see Phil Ivey, Elky Grospellier, Kenny Tran, and Antonio Esfandiari playing their best game as they pursue tournament poker's greatest prize, the WSOP Main Event Championship.

Two hours of top flight poker tonight on ESPN at 8PM ET. Schedules vary so check listings in your locale for exact times. Tune in to follow your favorite players in their quest to win a bracelet and millions of dollars in cash.

More Flipchip photos after the jump.

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Defending Champion, Peter Eastgate

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JC Tran, Joseph Hachem, and Peter Eastgate all in a row at the ESPN feature table

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JC Tran and Joseph Hachem chat while playing at the feature table

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Joe Hachem at the ESPN feature table

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Phil Ivey makes a run at the November Nine

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Dennis Phillips plays at the ESPN feature table

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Antonio Esfandiari racks his chips

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Antonio Esfandiari waits for the payoff

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Antonio Esfandiari plays the last hand of his run at the 2009 WSOP Main Event and leaves in 24th place with $352,832 in cash

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Outer table

Win A Seat In Bodog's 100K Guaranteed Playing Bodog Twitter Trivia!

photo courtesy bodog.com

Poker players now have the opportunity to win BIG at Bodog simply by playing Bodog Twitter Trivia (BTT)! If you play online poker, have a Twitter account and are good at Trivia, then the Bodog Twitter Trivia contest is for you.

Starting Monday, October 5th 2009, @Bodog will send out a trivia question in a tweet once a day and the first person to answer will win T$162 to buy into Bodog's Sunday $100K Guaranteed online poker tournament.

The tweet will be tagged with #BTT (Bodog Twitter Trivia) and the answer must be sent in a direct message (DM) to Bodog's Twitter account at @Bodog. Contest entrees must also include their Bodog player account number.

In order to send a DM to @Bodog, you must have a Twitter account and be following @Bodog on Twitter. It's that easy. The contest is FREE to enter and you can win up to $25,000 for taking down the $100K Guaranteed.

Be sure to keep your eyes open for Monday's #BTT tweet and get your answer in quickly. After all, how often do you get the chance to play free poker simply by winning at Trivia!

Tuesday Night is WSOP Poker Night on ESPN

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Player's chip stacks are climbing into the 8 figure range

Going into tonight's episode, ESPN at 8 PM ET, of the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event finds 230 players remaining from the 6,494 that began the contest many days ago. Plenty of interesting players and a small group of the sport's superstars have chips and chairs. Seven bracelet man, Phil Ivey, continues to play mistake free poker as he sets his sights on one of the November Nine berths. Last year's November Nine alumni, Dennis Phillips, hopes his quest for a repeat appearance at the 2009 November final table is realized.

2005 Main Event champion, Joseph Hachem, holds court around the ESPN feature table along with 2008 Main Event champion, Peter Eastgate. 2007 WSOP Player of the year winner, Tom Schneider, stakes his claim to some of the prize pool and looks for more. Jeff Shulman shows the crowd he's much more than a another pretty face as he stacks chips. And finally, the unknown chip leader, Darvin Moon, continues to add chips to his already towering stacks. Don't miss a single minute of this year's best televised big-time poker action, the 2009 WSOP, all on the ESPN Sports Network.

More of Flipchip's 2009 WSOP Main Event photos after the jump.

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Crowd favorite, Phil Ivey, builds his chip castles on his journey to a final table seat with 9,765,000 in play money

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Last woman standing, Leo Margets -- Barcelona Spain, 27th place $352,832

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Nicole Peppe finished in 75th place and collected $68,979 for being the next-to-last woman eliminated in the 2009 WSOP Main Event

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Antonio Esfandiari left with $352,832 for 24th place

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Jeff Shulman headed for a November Nine final table seat with 19,580,000

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Tom Schneider, 2007 WSOP Player of the Year, finished in 52nd place for $138,568

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James Akenhead rests his head while playing the 2009 WSOP Main Event on his way to a final table berth with 6,800,000

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Darvin Moon, 2009 November Nine final table chip leader 58,930,000

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Warren Zackey, South Africa, was eliminated in 22nd place for $352,832

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Dennis Phillips wears his trademark red hat and white shirt as he plays to a 45th place finish with $178,857 in prize money

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Jeff Duvall, returns to the UK with 42nd place money, $178,857

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Steve Begleiter has his name on one of the 2009 November Nine final table seats with 29,885,000

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Ludovic Lacay, Cornebarrieu France, was paid $500,557 for his 16th place finish

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ESPN/Bluff #1 ranked poker player in the world, Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier went out in 122nd place for $40,288

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Peter Eastgate, WSOP Main Event defending champion, received $68,979 for 78th place

Meet WSOP November Nines' Steve Begleiter

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Steve Begleiter plays at the 2009 WSOP Main Event feature table

Steve Begleiter is one fortunate poker player with good positioning at the 2009 WSOP Main Event scheduled for November 7 - 10 at the Rio resort in Las Vegas. Now's your opportunity to meet the man courtesy of ESPN Sports. ESPN.com's new half hour poker show, ESPN Inside Deal, features Begleiter on this Tuesday's show, Oct 6 at Noon ET.

Steve Begleiter is a former high ranking Bear Sterns executive and will be taking questions via e-mail with this link. He's number three in chips and expected to make a good showing. Begleiter entered the Main Event with a buy-in won from a poker league in Westchester, NY.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Steve Begleiter plays the 2009 WSOP Main Event feature table

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Steve Begleiter at the 2009 WSOP Main Event feature table

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Phil Ivey and Steve Begleiter playing the 2009 WSOP Main Event feature table last summer