November Nine Final Table Day 1 | 2009 WSOP Main Event - The Final Table

11-07-2009 11:10 UTC-12

The Crowd Gets Rowdy

Matthew

The chanting for the various players took control of the Penn & Teller theater. It started with an "E-ric Buch-man" chant and somehow got slightly out of control from there. Tournament Director Jack Effel asked the crowd to quiet down as a big hand was in progress.

With a full bar in the lobby of the theater, it will be interesting to see if the booze will fuel the crowd even further into a frenzy as the final table progresses.

11-07-2009 11:09 UTC-12

Hand #41 - Joe Cada

[user75032]

Steve Begleiter has the button. Action folds to Eric Buchman, who makes it 900,000 from the small blind. Joe Cada is in the big blind. He re-raises to 2.4 million and takes down the pot.

Tags: Eric Buchman Joe Cada

11-07-2009 11:08 UTC-12

Hand #40 - Phil Ivey

[user66118]

Kevin Schaffel has the button. First into the pot from the cutoff seat, Phil Ivey makes it 800,000 to go. Schaffel and the blinds give it up, bringing on the, "Ivey! Ivey! Ivey!" chants from his cheerleaders.

Tags: Phil Ivey

11-07-2009 11:06 UTC-12

Hand #39 - Jeff Shulman

[user75032]

Phil Ivey has the button. The gallery erupts in competing cheers, starting with Eric Buchman's fans, who are drowned out by Joe Cada's fans, who are then drowned out by James Akenhead's fans. Once Effel gets everyone settled down, chants of "Ivey! Ivey! Ivey!" break out.

While all that is going on, Jeff "Happy" Shulman slips in a raise to 1.25 million from middle position. Everyone folds.

Tags: Jeff Shulman

11-07-2009 11:04 UTC-12

Hand #38 - Buchman Strikes Again

[user66118]

James Akenhead has the button. Under the gun, Steve Begleiter opens the pot to 800,000. Next door, his neighbor Eric Buchman begins stacking out a re-raise. He slides out 3,000,000 of his chips, and the table folds back to the original raiser. Begleiter sits statue-still for a few moments, resting his chin on his hands. He finally makes a move to reach out and fold his cards, and Buchman picks up another pot.

He's been easily the most active player so far, and his stack has benefitted to the tune of 40,630,000 chips.

Tags: Eric Buchman Kevin Schaffel

11-07-2009 11:00 UTC-12

Hand #37 - Antoine Saout

[user75032]

Darvin Moon has the button. It's Kevin Schaffel's turn to open-raise. He chooses 750,000 as the price of poker. The suddenly frisky (and seemingly bored?) Antoine Saout re-raises to 2.75 million. Schaffel tanks for about a minute before releasing his hand. Saout's fans stand and roar their support as their man's chip count climbs to 11,420,000.

Tags: Antoine Saout Kevin Schaffel

11-07-2009 10:57 UTC-12

Hand #36 - Joe Cada

[user66118]

Jeff Shulman has the button. Joe Cada starts with a raise to 750,000, and the table folds around in turn, forfeiting their blinds and antes.

Tags: Joe Cada

11-07-2009 10:55 UTC-12

Hand #35 - Saout All In

[user75032]

Antoine Saout has the button. Eric Buchman opens to 800,000 from the hijack. That allows Saout to re-raise from the button, which he does by moving all in. Both blinds fold; Buchman squeezes his cards one last time and then folds as well.

Tags: Antoine Saout Eric Buchman

11-07-2009 10:53 UTC-12

Big Time Payday

donpeters

So how much really is $8,547,042? Well to put that number into perspective, let's break it down a little bit.

Out of all the individual sporting events, the champion of the 2009 WSOP Main Event will win the most. Here's how some of the top individual sporting events' first-place prize break down:

Indianapolis 500: $3,048,005
Daytona 500: $1,530,390
U.S. Open (Tennis): $1,600,000
U.S. Open (Golf): $1,350,000

That's right, the WSOP champion will be taking nearly three times the amount of Helio Castroneves who won the Indianapolis 500. In fact, the winner here will take home more than all four of those winners took home combined! And who says poker's not big time?

11-07-2009 10:52 UTC-12

Hand #34 - Cada Stands His Ground

[user66118]

Joe Cada has the button. The table lets him open the pot, and he makes it 750,000 to play. Antoine Saout comes along with the call from the small blind while Shulman ducks out of the way from the big.

Heads-up then, the flop comes out {5-Spades}

, and Saout immediately reaches for chips. He slides out a bet of 1,000,000 straight. Cada thinks it over for a brief moment before making the smooth call.

On the turn, the {Q-Spades}

draws a check from Saout. Cada takes the opportunity to fire 1,475,000 in position, and Saout spends some time in the think tank. After two or three minutes, he releases his cards, and the pot gets pushed to Cada.

Tags: Antoine Saout Joe Cada