WSOP MAIN EVENT CHAMPIONSHIP:
THE FINAL 27 PLAYERS
Photo Caption: Here’s what’s at stake….the most prestigious prize in poker – the WSOP gold bracelet. Actually, this special memento is encrusted with diamonds and made of platinum. But it still counts as a WSOP gold bracelet. There are 27 players remaining in the world championship. One of the survivors will receive the prize, in addition to more than $8 million for first place. -- Photo by Joe Giron
Here’s a look at the final 27 players still alive in the WSOP Main Event Championship. Play resumes on Monday at 1 pm PST.
TABLE 410:
Seat 1: Greg Merson -- Laurel, MD -- with 7,400,000, is a 24,year-old professional poker player. He won his first career gold bracelet at this years WSOP, which paid over $1.1 million.
Seat 2: Jesse Sylvia -- Las Vegas, NV -- with 7,385,000, is a 26-year-old professional poker player.
Seat 3: Percy Mahatan -- Rockville, MD -- with 6,750,000, is a 32-year-old government contractor who works in finance. He won a satellite tournament hosted by his company which enabled him to come and play in the Main Event.
Seat 4: Jamie Robbins -- South Lake Tahoe, CA -- with 8,750,000, is a 37-year-old poker player and business investor. He finished 11th in the WSOP Main Event Championship in 2009.
Seat 5: Wilfried Harig -- Hamburg, Germany -- with 2,665,000, is a pro poker player who also enjoys chess. He previously finished 217th in the 2011 WSOP Main Event Championship. He is one of three German players in the final 27.
Seat 6: Cylus Watson -- from the San Francisco Bay area -- with 8,500,000, is 24-year-old and earned a college degree from the University of New Hampshire.
Seat 7: Elisabeth Hille -- from Bergen, Norway -- with 9,770,000, is a 26-year-old waitress. This is her second time to play at the WSOP. She is one of two females remaining in the field.
Seat 8: David Balkin -- from Sydney, Australia -- with 6.330,000, is a 38-year-old security consultant to a large online poker site. He has one child and has another on the way.
Seat 9: Marc-Andre Ladouceur -- from Montreal, Quebec Canada -- with 15,875,000, is a 29-year-old accoutant and nightclub owner. He is also a high-stakes online poker player. Ladouceur is the current chip leader.
TABLE 414:
Seat 1: Daniel Strelitz -- from Torrance, CA -- with 12,790,00, is a 22-year-old college student and semi-pro poker player. He is currently ranked second in chips.
Seat 2: Russell Thomas -- from Hartford, CT -- with 9,985,000, is a graduate of Temple University. He is a 24-year-old actuary.
Seat 3: Jake Balsiger -- from Tempe, AZ -- with 7,330,000, is a 21-year-old junior attending Arizona State University. He is the youngest player in the field.
Seat 4: Jan Heitmann -- from Munich, Germany -- with 6,390,000, is a 36-year-old poker player, commentator, and author. He has won major titles in Europe. Heitmann is married and has two children.
Seat 5: Michael Esposito -- from Seaford, NY -- with 7,045,000, is a 43-year-old commodity broker.
Seat 6: Robert Buckenmayar -- from Poway, CA -- with 4,410,000, is a 67-year-old retiree. He is married and has four children. He is the most senior player remaining in the field.
Seat 7: Roland Israelashvili, a.k.a. "Speedy" -- from Queens, NY -- with 5,525,000 is a former race car driver and pro poker player who has been plauing full-time for about four years. He is among the leaders in cashes at the WSOP and on the WSOP CIrcuit since 2008.
Seat 8: Scott Abrams -- from Henderson, NV -- with 8,080,000, is a 24-year-old poker pro and a graduate of Stanford University with a degree in management science.
Seat 9: Nico Maag -- from Karlsruhe, Germany -- with 1,300,000, is a 27-year-old part-time poker player and college graduate. He had the chip leader during Day SIx, but is now the 27th-ranked player of the final 27.
TABLE 416:
Seat 1: Andras Koroknai -- from Debrecen, Hungary -- with 3,125,000, is a 30-year-old professional poker player who hopes to become the first Hungarian to ever make a Main Event final table. He is a college gradiate. Koroknai also won last year's Hungarian Poker Championship.
Seat 2: Steven Gee -- from Sacramento, CA -- with 4,830,000, is a 56-year-old poker pro who was born in China. He holds a B.S. in accounting. Gee won a WSOP gold bracelet in 2010.
Seat 3: Danny Wong -- from Las Vegas, NV -- with 6,360,00, is a 27-year-old poker pro. He was born in Hong Kong and has a colege degree in business administration.
Seat 4: Paul Volpe -- from West Chester, PA -- with 2,650,000 is a 31-year-old top-ranked online poker pro. He has been near the chip lead since Day Three.
Seat 5: Robert Salaburu -- from San Antonio, TX -- with 10,915,000 is 27-year-old poker pro. He is ranked third in the chip count at the start of Day Seven.
Seat 6: Jeremy Ausmus -- from Las Vegas, NV -- with 8,300,000 is a 32-year-old poker pro. He is a graduate of Colorado State University. He is married with one child and another on the way.
Seat 7: Gaelle Baumann -- from Strasbourg, France (now residing in Malta) -- with 5.530,000 is a 29-year-old professional poker player. She has a Masters Degree, as well.
Seat 8: Yuval Bronshtein -- from Charleston, SC (and Tel Aviv, Israel) -- with 9,735,000, is an Israeli-born poker pro and a graduate of the University of Maryland.
Seat 9: Robert Corcione -- from Bellingham, MA -- with 8,745,000, is a 34-year-old poker player who hopes to make enough money in this year's Main Event to "start a non-profit organization and help as many people as (he) can."
-- Nolan Dalla