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MEET THE NOVEMBER NINE

Racener is 24 years old and will turn 25 in December.

Racener is pronounced “Race-ner.”

Racener was born in Dunedin, Florida.

Racener grew up in and now lives in Port Richey, FL.  He graduated from Ridgewood High School.

Racener was involved in sports from an early age.  He had ambitions of being an athlete.  He played sports year around – including baseball, basketball, tennis, and soccer. 

When he was about 20-years-old, Racener turned to poker to satisfy his competitive instincts.

Racener started out playing poker at an early age with family, including his mother and father.  He enjoyed playing for fun with his family.  Later, Racener was introduced to online poker by a close friend.  He initially began with a $50 investment and turned his bankroll into $30,000 over a year’s time.

Racener is now a professional poker player.  He has never held a regular, full-time job – other than playing poker.

Racener began playing in major tournaments around the country when he turned 21.  A few days after his 21st birthday, he entered the WSOP Circuit Main Event championship at Harrah’s Atlantic City.  The top three finishers made a deal and split up the money.   

The following year, Racener won the WSOP Circuit Main Event championship at Harrah’s Atlantic City.  First place paid $379,392.

Racener has $701,165 in combined WSOP and WSOP Circuit earnings – not counting his cash in the Main Event.

Racener had three cashes at this year’s WSOP.  Prior to this tournament, his best finish was 21st place.

Racener has more live cashes than anyone at the final table, other than Michael Mizrachi.

Racener goes into the Main Event final table ranked fourth in chips out of nine players.

Below is a brief Q&A with Racener, taken just hours after he made it to the November Nine.

Question:  Discuss making the leap from cashing in several previous tournaments to making the final nine in the Main Event.

Racener:  Obviously, this is my dream.  I am very appreciative of the opportunity.  I am going to give this 100 percent and hope I get the best possible result out of it.  The spotlight on all this has already been amazing.  When we got down to 27, and then to 18, and then to 9 – the television cameras and all that were just fabulous.  It was like a dream come true to be in this spot.  Once I get there in November, I think it’s going to be even more amazing.

Question:  Do you expect to have a big cheering section, come November?

Racener:  The number of people who are going to come is going to be unbelievable.  Everyone back home told me they stayed up all night long watching what was happening (here in Las Vegas) online.  I mean, hundreds of people – family, friends, and their families.  I had my friends’ parents watching this.  I heard some people were watching back in Florida that I had not even met before.  Some people were late for work.  Some did not go to work.  I’m expecting hundreds of people to come, so I don’t know how it’s going to work out.  But, we’ll figure something out.

Question:  Have you given any thought to what it would be like to win $8,944,138 for first place?

Racener:  I have actually thought about it.  That would be about as good as it gets.

Question:  You are friends with Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi.  What’s it like to be at the final table with a friend of yours?  

Racener:  He’s a very good friend.  We are both from Florida.  I have always looked up to him.  I have even mimicked my game after him, a bit.

Question:  What if a genie were to pop out of a bottle and make you an offer.  Right now, the genie offers you second place.  You get $5.5 million as the runner up.  You get plenty of face time on television.  But, you do not get the win.  Would you take the deal?

Racener:  I would have to say no.  Why not?  Because, my dream is to be the world champion.  It’s as simple as that.

The Main Event championship final table, also known as the November Nine, will be played starting on November 6th, 2010.  The initial session of play will narrow the nine finalists down to two survivors.  The final two players return two days later on November 8th 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 2010 world poker champion.

To see a full list of all players who cashed in this year's Main Event, click here.