Spotlight: Meet the 2014 World Series of Poker November Nine

The 2014 WSOP Main Event was the fifth largest in the tournament’s prestigious history and the final table will begin barely four days from today. Just nine players representing six diverse countries of Brazil, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United States will battle for the historic WSOP Gold Bracelet! The winner gets $10,000,000, while the remaining eight get a piece of the remaining $18,480,121 prize pool.

Billy Pappas, Felix Stephensen, Jorryt von Hoof, Mark Newhouse, Andoni Larrabe, Will Tonking, Dan Sindelar, Martin Jacobson and Bruno Politano are those lucky nine, who will meet up again, coming next Tuesday.

These nine overcame a humongous player field of 6,683 from 87 countries and will congregate at the Penn & Teller Theater at the plush Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino on Nov 10-11 for the last two days of the event.

ESPN has already begun broadcasting highlights of the event from Sept 28 and will continue every Sunday for two hours, until the start of the final table, when hand-to-hand coverage will be aired live (delayed).

As the moments tick by, the nine finalists will be preparing in their own unique ways for the upcoming finale. The November Nine will be sharing the agony of anxiety and thoughts about the upcoming final table, but the winner will face an additional hazard, one of being catapulted into the spotlight, with all eyes trained on him. Such a win means instant celebrity status for life, which can be a double-edged sword, bringing loonies out of the woodwork, besides handling the sudden influx of money!

The Final Table Journey!

Here are the famed November Nine of this year’s Main Event and how they managed to get here. Currently poker world is abuzz with bets on who will take the Main Event title and many sites are also offering odds on each of the nine. Read on to see, what the odds are and what to expect come next week…

Jorryt van Hoof (38.375 million in chips)

Odds to Win: 3/1

Will 32-year-old Hoof have a double celebration on his birthday, just days after the final on Nov 15? Only time will tell. However, the man who left the study of Industrial engineering after 1 year to turn pro made it into the November Nine with his valiant play. Hoof had staggering losses on Day 2 and on Day 4 of the Main Event; his was among the 10 lowest chip stacks. On Day 5, he made a miraculous recovery and went on to build his way up to emerge chip leader on Day 7. Hoof has 19.1% of the chips in play and this marks the first time, since 2008 that a chip leader has less than 20%! Hoof will be joining the final table fresh from his 3^rd place win in the 2014 EPT London £5,200 No-Limit Hold’em Six Max, where he won $43,040 on Oct 18. The same day he also took home $79,040 in the EPT £10,300 No-Limit Hold’em from his 8^th place finish. Currently Hoof’s live earnings stand at $358,580 but that is guaranteed to increase substantially next week.

Felix Stephensen (32.775 million in chips)

Odds to Win: 5/1

Oslo born and now London resident, Felix began his poker journey just 6 years ago and is well known in Norway as a cash games specialist. The 24 year old Felix has no record of cashes in WSOP and this is the second year in a row he entered the Main event. Felix has just $22,118 in live earnings, but has already attracted the attention of industry giants, such as Betsafe, which signed him up for a multi-year sponsorship deal this Aug and Felix will be wearing their badge at the final table. Felix is currently 2^nd in the final table chip stack count and got to this place after spending the first five days of the event literally stuck in lull. On Day 6, he suddenly emerged from his stupor and finished 9^th in chips Day 7 he made good of the advantage and has already stated that he will aggressively seek to bring the title to Norway.

Mark Newhouse (26.000 million in chips)

Odds to Win: 5/1

Newhouse is among those rare, who hold the amazing distinction of making back-to-back final tables, after he finished at 9^th place in the 2013 Main Event winning $733,224. The 29-year-old North Carolina resident, is single and now calls Las Vegas his home, with $2,776,172 in live tournament earnings. Newhouse has attended every WSOP Main Event since 2006 and has $906,093 in WSOP earnings. Newhouse had a rough patch for the last couple of years and has gotten over it with discipline and a healthy lifestyle. It certainly shows, because he was almost about to become bubble boy on Day 7 of the Main event, after playing a consistent game throughout the event. Newhouse however took matters in his own hands and called off bracelet winner Luis Velador’s bet on that crucial bubble hand, to have a compassionate board back his decision and Velador was the bubble boy.

Andoni Larrabe (22.550 million in chips)

Odds to Win: 8/1

Basque poker professional Larrabe at 22 years will be the youngest at the WSOP Main Event final table.

He schooled at San Viato in Spain, now resides in London, and enjoys reading, martial arts, meditating, and hanging out with his friends, besides poker. Larrabe began with online poker at 18, playing under the moniker “pollopopeye’ and already has an impressive All Time Money of $1,082,968. The pro has already cashed thrice earlier at WSOP last year, which was when he debuted at the festival. Larrabe played aggressively at the Main Event managing to survive Day 1b high up at 121^st place. By Day 3, he managed to triple his stack and reached 6^th out of the remaining 746 players, creating a record, which WSOP states, “Larrabe is just the third player in the past six years to end Day 3 in the top 10 and make the November Nine.”

The only challenge came for Larrabe, when he faced two-time Bracelet winner Luis Velador, but a benevolent board supported him and he was through.

Dan Sindelar (21.200 million in chips)

Odds to Win: 8/1

Sindelar originally from Nebraska, graduated and shifted to Las Vegas when he was just 22. Playing since junior year in college, he went on to cash 17 times in previous WSOP events. This year alone, he played 19 WSOP events, cashing in 4 of them. 31-year-old Sindelar has an impressive poker resume with Total Live Earnings of $1,066,687. Sindelar admits to taking it easy and playing more golf than poker the past few years. This Main Event was the first time he cashed, after playing it for six years. Sindelar entered on Day 1b and played steadily for the next few days, until he got a break on Day 4 making it to 17^th place out of 291 players remaining. On Day 5, Sindelar capitalized on his good run, reaching 7^th place and on Day 6, he had the third largest chip stack. Day 7 had him among the top chip counts, but by the time the two final tables converged into one, Sindelar was at 5^th place with 21.2 million chips.

William Pappaconstantinou (17.500 million in chips)

Odds to Win: 11/1

“Billy Pappas” as he is known is one of the best foosball (table soccer) players in the world. This is 30-year-old Pappas’ first time at the WSOP Main Event, in fact at WSOP for that matter. Pappas is a seasoned foosball player, but will be an amateur in poker at the November Nine table. He has worked as poker dealer at the Rockingham Park Poker Room in Salem to support his early foosball days and the game soon began to attract him. The son of a professional golfer, Pappas has gotten a few credits in poker to his name. At the Main Event, he doubled his chip stack on Day 1b itself. He continued to work his way up, until Day 5, when a crucial hand came his way. Pappas won a monster pot that took him sailing through to Day 7, where he finished sixth in chips. Admitting his shock at this win, Pappas will continue playing non-stop foosball tournaments, even as he takes a break for the Main event final.

Will Tonking (15.050 million in chips)

Odds to Win: 16/1

Tonking, 27, is a New Jersey online player and can be considered another inexperienced one at live tournaments. He began playing in the mid-2000`s and was one of those, who was affected by Black Friday and after this Tonking moved to cash games in real casinos. This is Tonking’s 3^rd time at the WSOP Main event and the first time that he has cashed. His Total Live Earnings stand at $824,031. Tonking began on Day 1c of the Main event and worked his way to Day 7, facing challenges every step of the way. Tonking and Jorryt van Hoof are the only two November Niners, who were never among the top ten chip counts on any day, except on Day 7. Tonking almost lost his Main Event life at Level 34 on the 6^th hand of the ten-handed play, facing Martin Jacobson, but the Gods of Poker supported him and he more than doubled his chip stack.

Martin Jacobson (14.900 million in chips)

Odds to Win: 8/1

Jacobson is a professional poker player, who holds the distinction of finishing Day 1 of the Main event as chip leader and went on to make it to the November Nine. Joe Cada and Ben Lamb are the only other two to share that record. The 27 year old is also the only November Niner this year, with more than $1 million in WSOP earnings. The Swedish born, London resident went full time into poker, when his ambitions to be a Michelin Chef did not materialize. His All Time Money is $5,564,457 and this is his first cash at the WSOP Main event. Jacobson began his Main Event campaign on Day 1 and maintained his strong position all throughout, never straying from the Top 30 chip counts. On Day 6, he regained chip lead, but Day 7 saw him losing, until he finally finished in 8^th chip position.

Bruno Politano (12.125 million in chips)

Odds to Win: 18/1

Known as “Foster”, Politano is a shop owner and is the first Brazilian to make it into the November Nine. All through the Main event, Politano had a huge crowd of Brazilians supporting him and has promised that at least 200 will come back with him to cheer him at the final table. Politano’s is the smallest stack at the table, though it is the biggest smallest stack at the November Nines, since 2008. The 32 year old has just three previous cashes at WSOP and his total earnings stand at $110,054. Politano began the Main Event on Day 1c and spent the next three days playing an arduous slow game. On Day 4, his perseverance paid and he doubled his stack by almost 20 times to reach 4^th position in chips. He continued to hold the top position until Day 6. The last day found him making just 50,000, failing to win a crucial hand opposite Velador. Politano is also the only one to confidently state that the bracelet is already his!

This is what some WSOP Greats had to say:

Phil Hellmuth: With 13-time WSOP bracelets, including the 1989 Main Event win, Phil Hellmuth can safely be considered an expert on WSOP. Hellmuth predicts that the match will be intense and calculative, rather than aggressive and hurried. Poker brat suggests, “My tip is everybody is going to be playing a lot more patiently than they think, but I predicted that the last three years. Everybody argued with me, and they all came out playing super tight, which is not surprising because moving up means something. It may be mathematically correct to play a little tighter, so I would say expect people to be playing a little tight.”

Hellmuth also said that the one winning the championship would need to keep a check on his ego and his bankroll. He reminded players that after winning, many champions lost a lot of money and added, “We’ve had a history of Main Event champions losing a lot of that money back, a history of it. I think they need to be a little more conservative, pick their spots a little bit better, and know that when you win the Main Event it’s awesome, but it’s just the beginning.”

Greg Merson: 2012 WSOP Main Event winner Greg Merson advises the 9 players to stay physically fit and stick to simple strategies, instead of getting confused with other people’s ideas. He says, “Probably just not to get over coached to the point that other people’s strategies are entering your mind. Just keep it as simple as possible and don’t change too much because whatever you were doing worked, so try to keep it the same.”

He added, “Anyone who is not in good shape, I would definitely consider getting in good shape because if you’re going to play for so long it’s really important.”

In advice to the winner, Merson suggests taking a break from poker. He reminds that just as a losing streak can create a “tilt”; winning could also lead to imbalance. “Take time off of poker,” says Merson.

Jonathan Duhamel: 2010 WSOP Main Event winner Jonathan Duhamel reiterated Merson’s advice about staying fit and added that sleep was important. Responding to what the champion should be careful about, Duhamel said, “Surround yourself with good people. People are really going to come out of all walks of life, whether it be to be your agent, borrow money, or just be around you more, and you have to be sure to not give into everyone that tries to come back into your life. You’ll have won a lot of money, so it’s important you really look out for yourself.”

Daniel Negreanu: Two-time WSOP Player of the Year and six-time gold bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu advises the winner, “Use the money towards something that is going to enhance their life long term. Think about what it is their passion was when they were young. Now they have life-changing money and they have a dream, whatever that is, chase it.”

Joe Hachem: 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Hachem sums it up aptly saying, “Be true to yourself. Be true to who you are. Don’t let money or fame or anything change you, and enjoy it. Being true to who you are I think is the most important thing. Once you lose sight of that, you lose everything.”

Keep watching this space for the latest updates from WSOP 2014.