27 left as WSOP heads toward final nine
A Maryland logger and a University of Kentucky student are atop the leader board as the World Series of Poker heads toward the finish line.
The remaining 27 players competing in the $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event will play today at the Rio for a spot at the final table of nine, which will be determined sometime tonight. If play is anything like in previous years, the final nine won’t be seated until early Thursday morning.
The nine players will return to the Rio in November to play for competitive poker’s ultimate title. The winner will take home $8.55 million while all nine players are guaranteed at least $1.26 million.
Darvin Moon of Oakland, Md., held onto the chip lead Tuesday for the second straight day.
Moon owns and operates a small logging company with other family members. Most of his days are spent in pine forests scattered throughout the Maryland panhandle. He is married and was cheered on by his wife, who was sitting in the crowd. This is Moon’s first time in the World Series of Poker and is also a first-time Las Vegas visitor.
Moon lost his lead early Tuesday, but won a few big hands and stayed near the top of the leader board.
Billy Kopp of Erlanger, Ky., is currently in second place. A full-time student at the University of Kentucky, Kopp is nearing a degree in hospitality management and tourism.
Moon enters play Wednesday with nearly 20 million in tournament chips while Kopp has almost 16 million. The other rivals are at 12 million in chips or less.
Seven-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Ivey, who has never won the main event, remains the most recognizable name left in the competition. Ivey is in fourth place with 11.3 million in chips.
Card Player Magazine editor Jeff Shulman is in seventh place with 10.3 million in chips. Shulman finished seventh in the 2000 World Series of Poker main event.
One woman remains alive in the main event. Leo Margets of Barcelona, Spain is currently in 26th place with 1.5 million in chips. She will need some help if she hopes to match Tiffany Michelle’s 17th place finish from a year ago.
Darvin Moon
