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

11-07-2009 10:10 UTC-12

Hold the Action.

In the middle of the level, the players have retired for a 20-minute break. We'll be back shortly.

11-07-2009 10:11 UTC-12

Darvin Moon: 61,535,000
James Akenhead: 3,445,000
Phil Ivey: 10,035,000
Kevin Schaffel: 10,890,000
Steve Begleiter: 31,175,000
Eric Buchman: 39,820,000
Joe Cada: 11,835,000
Antoine Saout: 10,620,000
Jeff Shulman: 15,510,000

11-07-2009 10:29 UTC-12

Break Babble

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Donnie Peters

Lacey Jones took up some of the break by interviewing Daniel Negreanu on the stage for the crowd to view and listen to. She asked Negreanu who he thinks has the best chance to win and Negreanu said, "I'm going to have to go with my buddy Phil Ivey. He's a pretty good poker player."

Jones went on to ask Negreanu that if Ivey happens to bust, what advice he has for the eventual winner. Negreanu wanted to remind all of the players to "remember who your friends were before you won."

She next talked with Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, former Main Event champion. Ferguson talked about his new foundation that helps to support various schools and villages in Africa. He's really liking all the help that he's providing and hopes he can turn the idea onto other poker players.

11-07-2009 10:30 UTC-12

Raymer Optimistic

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Donnie Peters

Greg Raymer mentioned in an on-break interview that he'd like to see poker expand to where it's being played in football-sized stadiums with hundreds of thousands of fans there to view the action. It may be a stretch to think of numbers that large, but hey, you never know!

11-07-2009 10:39 UTC-12

Play Resumes

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Cards are back in the air. Fifty minutes are left in the level.

11-07-2009 10:41 UTC-12

Hand #30 - More Blinds and Antes for Buchman

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Phil Ivey has the button. Picking up right where he left off before teh break, Eric Buchman raises to 800,000 as he's prone to do. Action comes back around to Steve Begleiter in the big blind, and he looks like he's pondering something creative before finally slipping his cards back to the dealer. Buchman takes another round of blinds and antes.

Tags: Eric Buchman

11-07-2009 10:43 UTC-12

Hand #31 - James Akenhead

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Kevin Schaffel has the button. Action passes to the short-stacked James Akenhead, who open-shoves for roughly 3.45 million. Nobody is willing to try to take him out. He wins the pot.

Tags: James Akenhead

11-07-2009 10:46 UTC-12

Hand #32 - Joe Cada Three-Bets

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Steve Begleiter has the button. First into the pot from the cutoff seat, Kevin Schaffel raises to 750,000. Not having any of that, Joe Cada announces a re-raise to 1,800,000 from the big blind, and that's enough to earn him the pot.

11-07-2009 10:47 UTC-12

Hand #33 - Kevin Schaffel

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Eric Buchman has the button. Kevin Schaffel reaches for chips once the action passes to him and makes it 750,000 to play. That's enough to take down the blinds and the antes.

Tags: Kevin Schaffel

11-07-2009 10:49 UTC-12

Bits from the Break

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So while the action on the felt was paused the Penn & Teller Theater was still buzzing. Fans and Media swarmed the stage to get a closer look at the table, snapping pictures and asking for autographs.

The WSOP hostess Lacey Jones interviewed Daniel Negreanu while he was signing autographs. Daniel thinks the next level will be a lot more exciting.

I also bumped into WSOP Europe champion Barry Shulman who told me the players were still feeling each other out. He also expects the action to pick up in this second level of play.

Tags: Barry Shulman Daniel Negreanu Lacey Jones