A look at the final 9 players in the WSOP



The final table in the World Series of Poker main event was determined in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. These nine men beat out a field of more than 6,000 in the annual $10,000 buy in no-limit Texas Hold 'em contest at the Rio Hotel-Casino off the Las Vegas strip.

The final table in the World Series of Poker main event was determined in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. These nine men beat out a field of more than 6,000 in the annual $10,000 buy in no-limit Texas Hold 'em contest at the Rio Hotel-Casino off the Las Vegas strip. They will meet again on Nov. 4, when play begins to determine who will take home the $8.4 million top prize and golden bracelet. The other eight players will share $18.3 million.

Players are in order of their finish.

JC Tran (38,000,000 in chips)

AGE: 36

HOMETOWN: Sacramento, Calif.

OCCUPATION: Poker pro

PRIOR SERIES ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 44 cashes totaling $2.25 million

FACTOID: Won back-to-back WSOP gold bracelets in 2008 and 2009

Amir Lehavot (29,700,000 in chips)

AGE: 38

HOMETOWN: Weston, Fla.

OCCUPATION: Poker pro

PRIOR SERIES ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 12 cashes totaling more than $800,000

FACTOID: Originally from Israel

Marc McLaughlin (26,525,000 in chips)

AGE: 25

HOMETOWN: Brossard, Quebec, Canada

OCCUPATION: Tattoo artist

PRIOR SERIES ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Five consecutive year playing in the main event championship, and six main event cashes for a total of $639,128

FACTOID: Ping pong fan

Jay Farber (25,975,000 in chips)

AGE: 28

HOMETOWN: Doylestown, Pa.

OCCUPATION: Host at the megaclub Hakkasan on the Las Vegas Strip

PRIOR SERIES ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None

FACTOID: Entered the WSOP for the first time last year; sees poker as just a hobby

Ryan Riess (25,875,000 in chips)

AGE: 23

HOMETOWN: Poker pro

OCCUPATION: East Lansing, Mich.

PRIOR SERIES ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 13 cashes for $296,918

FACTOID: First time entering the WSOP main event

Sylvain Loosli (19,600,000 in chips)

AGE: 26

HOMETOWN: Toulon, France

OCCUPATION: Poker pro

PRIOR SERIES ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Zero career WSOP cashes

FACTOID: Claims more than $1 million in winnings from online poker

Michiel Brummelhuis (11,275,000 in chips)

AGE: 32

HOMETOWN: Amsterdam, Netherlands

OCCUPATION: Poker pro

PRIOR SERIES ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Seven cashes totaling $174, 179

FACTOID: Expecting his first child in September

Marc Newhouse (7,350,000 in chips)

AGE: 28

HOMETOWN: Chapel Hill, N.C.

OCCUPATION: Poker pro

PRIOR SERIES ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Seven cashes for $162,386

FACTOID: Finished in 207th place in the 2011 WSOP main event

David Benefield (6,375,000 in chips)

AGE: 27

HOMETOWN: Fort Worth, Texas

OCCUPATION: Poker pro

PRIOR SERIES ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 12 cashes totaling $455,713

FACTOID: Studying Political Science at Columbia University

This is a reprint from bigstory.ap.org. To view the original, click here.


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