JULY 21, 2010 – 7:34:41 AM PST
THE 2010 WSOP MAIN EVENT NOVEMBER NINE IS SET! by: Nolan Dalla – Photo by Rob Gracie
2010 World Series of Poker Presented by Jack Link’s Beef Jerky
Official Report No-Limit Hold’em World Championship Buy-In: $10,000 Number of Entries: 7,319
Number of Players Starting Day Eight: 27 Total Players Remaining: 9 Total Net Prize Pool: $68,798,600
Number of Places Paid: 747 First Place Prize: $8,944,138
July 5th to November 9th, 2010
DAY EIGHT
2010 November Nine is Set!
Down to Nine: All Remaining Players Guaranteed at Least $811,823
Jonathan Duhamel Holds Chip Lead Going into Long Recess Will Duhamel Become the First Canadian WSOP Main Event Champion?
110-Day Recess Begins – Final Table Begins November 6th Out of 7,319 Total Starters – Only Nine Dreams Remain Alive Canada, Italy, and the United States
Represented Among Final Nine Note: For the tournament portal page for the 2010 Main Event

OVERVIEW
Two weeks ago, 7,319 poker players took their seats in the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event. Among the many hopefuls were 18 former world champions, nearly 150 gold bracelet winners, in addition to professional and amateur poker players from 92 different nations and territories — all united by one common dream.

That dream — winning the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event championship — can and will come true for only one. Indeed, there can be only one world champion. After 78 grueling hours of poker played over eight days, nine players remain.

This year’s November Nine are:

SEAT 1: Jason Sentl Hometown: St. Louis Park, MN (USA) Age: 25 Profession: Poker Pro Note: This is Sentl’s first time to ever cash in a WSOP event. He picked the right tournament and the right year to achieve a poker breakout. Chip Count: 7,625,000

SEAT 2: Joseph Cheong Hometown: La Mirada, CA (USA) Age: 24 Profession: Poker Pro Note: Cheong won a WSOP Circuit gold ring and earned a degree in psychology from UC-San Diego. When Cheong won his victory three months ago, he promised himself he would play in the Main Event. Here he is, competing on poker’s grandest stage. Chip Count: 23,525,000

SEAT 3: John Dolan Hometown: Bonita Springs, FL (USA) Age: 24 Profession: Poker Pro Note: Dolan has six WSOP cashes, including three at this year’s series. He has been one of the more consistent performers on this tournament, hanging around the leader board much of the way. Chip Count: 46,250,000

 SEAT 4: Jonathan Duhamel Hometown: Boucherville, Quebec (Canada) Age: 22 Profession: Poker Pro Note: This is Duhamel’s third time to cash at this year’s WSOP. This has been a big year for Canada, with five gold bracelet winners. Duhamel hopes to become the sixth. Chip Count: 65,975,000

SEAT 5: Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi Hometown: Miami, FL (USA) Age: 29 Profession: Poker Pro Note: “The Grinder” is among the most successful tournament performers since the poker boom began. He won his first WSOP gold bracelet and $1,559,046 in this year’s Poker Players Championship. Chip Count: 14,450,000

SEAT 6: Matthew Jarvis Hometown: Surrey, BC (Canada) Age: 25 Profession: Poker Pro/Student Note: Jarvis is primarily an online player. This marks his first time to cash in a WSOP tournament. Jarvis would become the first Canadian world champion should he win the Main Event. Chip Count: 16,700,000

 SEAT 7: John Racener Hometown: Port Richey, FL (USA) Age: 24 Profession: Poker Pro Note: Racener is one of the stars of the national WSOP Circuit, with more than $500,000 in earnings, including the 2007 Main Event championship victory at Harrah’s Atlantic City. Chip Count: 19,050,000

SEAT 8: Filippo Candio Hometown: Cagliari, Sardinia (Italy) Age: 26 Profession: Poker Pro Note: Candio is the first Italian player ever to make it to the Main Event final table. He has a number of cashes at major tournaments held in Europe. Chip Count: 16,400,000

SEAT 9: Cuong “Soi” Nguyen Hometown: Santa Ana, CA (USA) Age: 37 Profession: Sales (Medical Supplies) Note: Nguyen is the senior player at this final table, at the advanced age of 36. He is also the only amateur sitting among the final nine. Nguyen has been near the chip lead during the past three days of competition. He cashed in the 2008 Main Event (614th place). Chip Count: 9,650,000

The championship final table, also known as the November Nine, will be played starting on November 6th, 2010. The initial session of play will whittle the nine finalists down to the last two survivors.

They will return two days later to play heads-up for the 2010 world championship. This year’s winner will receive $8,944,138 in prize money, the coveted WSOP gold bracelet, and designation as the official 2010 world poker champion.

Each player who made this year’s November Nine will be paid out the guaranteed prize money which amounts to $811,823 (each). When the Main Event resumes play on November 6th, players will compete for all additional money in the prize pool, plus interest on the withheld funds.

The prize money payouts are as follows:

1st place – $8,944,138

2nd place – $5,545,855

3rd place – $4,129,979

4th place – $3,092,497

5th place – $2,442,960

6th place – $1,772,939

7th place – $1,356,708

8th place – $1,045,738

9th place – $811,823

Stay tuned. The best is yet to come.

Sharing tournament action (Form 5754 or 1099)

Swapping or selling action is a common practice among tournament players. This means that a player has agreed in advance to share with others any winnings he earns. For example, Chris Moneymaker (2003 WSOP winner) sold 20% chunks of his tournament equity to his father and a friend for $2,000 each, financing his trip to Las Vegas. This arrangement raises a tax issue in offline casinos because the casino would normally issue a W-2G to the winner for the full amount. In order to avoid this, the winning player presents the casino with Form 5754. The casino is required to then issue multiple W-2Gs to the people listed on Form 5754 according to their respective share of the winnings.

Since online poker rooms don’t generally issue W-2Gs at all, there isn’t any use for Form 5754 in the online poker world. However, to let the IRS know what is going on, some winning players issue Form 1099 to those people sharing in the prize. It’s unclear whether this is the correct way to file, but there doesn’t seem to be a better alternative.

(Remember, the information here is not tax advice. For advice you will need to see a tax professional.)