2008 WSOP Circuit: Caesars Palace, Las Vegas - The Final Table
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A savage field -- perhaps the toughest in WSOP Circuit history -- was comprised of players hailing from both near and far. Vegas pros Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Todd Brunson and Lee Watkinson went to bat for the home team, while Italy's Dario Minieri, Australia's Sarah Bilney, Ireland's Alan Smurfit and Russia's Alex Kravchenko provided some international flair.
Now, just nine players remain and each had to endure 18 hours and 75 minutes worth of grueling tournament play to get to this point, though they'll be rewarded today with a chance to play for a cash prize of $499,162, a gold circuit championship ring and a $10,000 buy-in to this summer's WSOP Main Event. Here are your nine finalists and their Day 3 starting stacks:
Seat 1: Motoyuki "Moto" Mabuchi - 142,000
Seat 2: Kelly Samson - 385,000
Seat 3: Ben Fineman - 828,000
Seat 4: Ralph Perry - 319,000
Seat 5: Thomas Hover - 407,000
Seat 6: Blair Hinkle - 382,000
Seat 7: Justin Bonomo - 272,000
Seat 8: Allen Cunningham - 296,000
Seat 9: Doug Lee - 324,000
Ben Fineman is the overwhelming chip leader heading into the final table with a 2:1 chip advantage over his closest opponent; his aggressive playing style will certainly make life difficult for a few of the smaller stacks. Seasoned veterans Ralph Perry and Allen Cunningham bring invaluable final table experience with them to this afternoon's contest, which could potentially aid them in cutting into Fineman's lead. Infamous Internet pro Justin 'ZeeJustin' Bonomo also knows his way around a final table and will certainly be a force to be reckoned with.
Doug Lee could join the ranks of Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson and Peter 'Nordberg' Feldman with a win here today as the only players to have won multiple circuit championships (Ferguson owns three and Feldman, two); Lee won the $10,000 buy-in Rio Las Vegas Poker Festival back in 2005.
Rounding out the field are Motoyuki "Moto" Mabuchi, Kelly Samson, Thomas Hover and Blair Hinkle, each looking to score the biggest wins of their tournament poker careers.
The stage has been set for what should be a very entertaining day of poker. Tune in to PokerNews.com at 2:00 p.m. PT for our continued coverage of the 2008 Caesars Palace Circuit Championship; a winner will be crowned today!
