Monday, Oct. 29, 2012 | 2 a.m.
Related content
The poker world will immortalize one of the nine players who take the stage at the Rio’s Penn & Teller Theater on Monday evening.
Winning the World Series of Poker Main Event means more than the jaw-dropping $8,531,853 payout. The victor also secures his place in the game’s history as a world champion.
The only question is, who will prevail this year? All nine members of the final table, which begins play Monday evening at 4:30 and airs on ESPN2, have a chance.
Meet them all below. Career earnings are taken from tournament poker database The Hendon Mob. The ninth-place payout of $754,798 that all the players received this summer are included in their lifetime earnings.
Seat 1: Russell Thomas
Chips: 24,800,000 (4th)
Age: 24
From: Hartford, Conn.
Odds to win: 4-to-1
Career tournament earnings: $891,997
Bio: Thomas is one of three players at the final table who didn't list poker as their full-time occupation before the Main Event began. He decided to take a lucrative job as an actuary after graduating from Temple University instead of pursuing poker as his lone source of income. Thomas has taken a leave for the Main Event, however, and may never return depending how much money he makes.
Seat 2: Jake Balsiger
Chips: 13,155,000 (8th)
Age: 21
From: Tempe, Ariz.
Odds to win: 8-to-1
Career tournament earnings: $756,682
Bio: If Balsiger wins the Main Event, he would surpass Joe Cada as poker's youngest champion. He's 75 days younger than Cada was when he prevailed in 2009. Balsiger is a senior at Arizona State University studying political science. The $10,000 buy-in Main Event is the biggest tournament Balsiger ever entered. He couldn't shake the desire to compete in the WSOP after growing up watching the action on ESPN.
Seat 3: Jeremy Ausmus
Chips: 9,805,000 (9th)
Age: 33
From: Las Vegas
Odds to win: 11-to-1
Career tournament earnings: $1,186,483
Bio: The eight-year poker pro moved to Las Vegas upon graduating from Colorado State University in 2005. Ausmus worked as a woodworker in college before he discovered he could make money at cards. He built a meager bankroll that grew exponentially after spending years at the local cash-game tables and the online felt.
Seat 4: Steve Gee
Chips: 16,860,000 (5th)
Age: 57
From: Sacramento, Calif.
Odds to win: 6-to-1
Career tournament earnings: $1,253,220
Bio: Gee worked in software for the state of California before stepping down four years ago to concentrate on poker. His main objective was winning a World Series of Poker bracelet, which he accomplished in $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament in 2010. He won $472,479 for that title, some 18 times less than what's at stake in the Main Event.
Seat 5: Greg Merson
Chips: 28,725,000 (3rd)
Age: 24
From: Laurel, Md.
Odds to win: 5-to-2
Career tournament earnings: $2,074,502
Bio: Almost unanimously, Merson is the best player left in the Main Event. "Gregy" won his first WSOP bracelet a week before the Main Event in the $10,000 buy-in six-handed no-limit hold'em event, which featured a stacked field of professionals. But he originally built his profile in online cash games. Chip leader Jesse Sylvia went as far as to say Merson was "completely out of my league."
Seat 6: Jesse Sylvia
Chips: 43,875,000 (1st)
Age: 26
From: Martha's Vineyard, Mass.
Odds to win: 3-to-2
Career tournament earnings: $813,276
Bio: Sylvia surged to gain the chip lead with an aggressive style of play in the final day this summer. It was no surprise to those who log long hours at local card rooms where Sylvia is a regular. He'll sometimes disappear for months at a time, though, because of his free spirit. Sylvia, for instance, once spent three months living in Costa Rica on $1,200. Someday, he wants to go to film school in Los Angeles.
Seat 7: Robert Salaburu
Chips: 15,155,000 (7th)
Age: 27
From: San Antonio, Texas
Odds to win: 7-to-1
Career tournament earnings: $817,386
Bio: With Salaburu to Sylvia's left, look for this part of the table to draw the most action — especially if Salaburu can get his hands on a few more chips early. Salaburu is the most aggressive player to make it this far. He held the chip lead for nearly two days late in the tournament but took a big hit in a pot against Sylvia — who else? — in the final round of the summer. He's been on the poker circuit for years, but this is his first major breakthrough.
Seat 8: Andras Koroknai
Chips: 29,375,000 (2nd)
Age: 30
From: Debrecen, Hungary
Odds to win: 3-to-1
Career tournament earnings: $2,595,811
Bio: After seven countries were represented at last year's final table, Koroknai is the only non-American to make it this far in 2012. He won a World Poker Tour event, the 2010 L.A. Poker Classic, for $1.7 million. That victory made him a recognizable face in the poker world, but not quite a widely known professional.
Seat 9: Michael Esposito
Chips: 16,260,000 (6th)
Age: 44
From: Seaford, N.Y.
Odds to win: 6-to-1
Career tournament earnings: $928,097
Bio: Esposito limits his poker to a tournament or two per year. The Main Event was the only tournament he entered at this year's World Series of Poker. The New York City commodities trader has a more conservative style than most of the players at the table. He'll patiently wait for his spots instead of taking risks in an effort to get more chips.
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy