In a week’s time the poker and mainstream media will be buzzing as the November Nine gather once again in Las Vegas to decide the winner of the $10,000 buy-in, multi-million dollar 2014 World Series of Poker main event.
The final table of nine, distilled from an entry field of 6,683 players earlier this year, will take their seats at the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino on the afternoon of November 10 to decide who wins the $10 million main event first prize, but every player at the table will take home a handsome reward.
Jorryt van Hoof from the Netherlands has the chip lead on 38,375,000 when play commences, but reporters and railbirds alike will be watching Mark Newhouse, an American professional player who has achieved the rare distinction of making two WSOP main event tables back-to-back.
That’s a feat equalled only by Dan Harrington back in 2003-2004.
Newhouse scored a final table seat in 2013 against an initial field of 6,352, and did it again this year against a field of 6,683, coming into the final table at position three – an improvement over 2013 when he started at position 9.
Another player the railbirds will cheer on is the personable and engaging Brazilian player, Bruno Politano who is expected to bring an enthusiastic retinue of rail supporters and provide plenty of entertainment at the table.
This year’s final table players hail from the United States, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Spain, and Brazil, and the chip counts look like this:
Jorryt van Hoof – 38,375,000
Felix Stephensen – 32,775,000
Mark Newhouse – 26,000,000
Andoni Larrabe – 22,550,000
Dan Sindelar – 21,200,000
Billy Pappas – 17,500,000
William Tonking – 15,050,000
Martin Jacobson – 14,900,000
Bruno Politano – 12,125,000
Average Stack: 22,276,667