Written By: RSSPoker.com Staff

What started back on July 3rd has finally come down to it’s final nine players. The 2008 World Series of Poker is officially over, with the exception of the Main Event. The final table is set, but it won’t be played until November 9th, just before the final table is set to air on ESPN.

The idea behind the 117 day layoff is to help generate interest and excitement to boost television ratings. While many will argue that the layoff ultimately changes the outcome of the event, it is also hard to argue the thinking behind the concept. Instead of knowing the outcome months before the final table airs, the event will be aired only hours after the action ends. If you want to be surprised you’ll only need to stay away from sites like RSSPoker.com for about 24 hours, instead of 117 days. The WSOP has already started hyping the final players, calling them the ‘November Nine’.

On the other side of this issue, what happens if one of the players were to die between now and November 9th? Does it seem fair that the family get 9th place money if your husband/father was the chipleader going into the event? Death may seem extreme, but what about an illness that forces hospitalization? Incarceration? What if your wife was in the hospital? Do you play in the event to try and make more money to take care of her, or do you stay with her and get blinded out? There are scenarios where something like this could become a reality.

Like I mentioned above, the outcome of the final table is sure to be different as well. Weaker players will seek professional tutoring and players can watch each other on TV before the final table is played out. Stronger players will lose some of the advantages they had, while weaker players will be given the chance to improve their skills. While a higher quality of play will improve the quality of the game, is this fair? Regardless, this is how they’re doing it and ultimately it’s good for the game.

After last years lackluster win by Pokerstars sponsored player Jerry Yang, the WSOP is making a smart move. Online forums will see a boost in discussion, prop betting will be more interesting, and the final nine players will have a chance to get their names and stories out there to help generate fan support. Without any big names left in the field, the WSOP needs to create personal interest in the final nine players. It’s really no different than watching a movie where you don’t care about the characters. When you care about certain players you’ll have players to root for and against. Good move!

Here are the final 9 players and their chipcounts as reported on WorldSeriesofPoker.com.

• Seat 1: Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000 (Chip Leader)
• Seat 2: Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
• Seat 3: Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
• Seat 4: Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
• Seat 5: Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
• Seat 6: Chino Rheem - 10,230,000
• Seat 7: Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
• Seat 8: Kelly Kim - 2,620,000 (Short Stack)
• Seat 9: Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000

Total Chips In Play: 136,865,000 | Average Chip Stack: 15,207,222

Here are the payouts for the final table:

1. $9,119,517
2. $5,790,024
3. $4,503,352
4. $3,763,515
5. $3,088,012
6. $2,412510
7. $1,769,174
8. $1,286,672
9. $900,670

Other Notable Finishes: 

17th Place: Tiffany ‘Hot Chips’ Michelle - $334,534. Tiffany is the hottie that does interviews for Pokernews.com. Third in chips with 9.75 million, we were hoping Tiffany would make the final table. That would’ve been good for poker, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. Regardless, Tiffany had a great tournament and was the final woman standing.

30th Place: Mike Matusow - $193,000

41st Place: Kido Pham - $154,400

45th Place: Phil Hellmuth - $154,400

61st Place: Thomas ‘Thunder’ Keller - $115,800

64th Place: Victor Ramdin - $96,500

Subscribe to the RSSPoker feed!