Phil Ivey and the November Nine

Phil Ivey and the November Nine

Monday, 20 July 2009

There may be nine players returning to the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event in November, but name the other eight – I dare you. Phil Ivey is, let’s face it, the only man the world will be watching come November when the nine players settle down to compete for $8.5m.

Ivey has had the distinct honour of being known as The Best for quite some time now, and he has the resume to back it up – seven WSOP bracelets (two, of course, already coming this year and earning him a reputed $15m in sidebets), eight WPT final tables including one victory, the highest-recorded online cash game earnings of all time, a regular at the $4,000/$8,000 Mixed Game in Bobby’s Room and a conqueror of billionaire Andy Beal to the tune of $16,000,000. Phwoar.


The bracelet and title probably mean more to Ivey than to
James Akenhead, Moon and Schulman combined. Sure, for the other amateurs it’s a huge seven-figure payday and a stint of celebrity. For other pros like Akenhead it’s an image-booster and their biggest possible tournament win, but for Ivey, it’s history. And a shitload of money.


If he were to win the WSOP Main Event, not only would he claim the $8.5m first-place prize but also $2.5m from Andy Bloch after laying 100-1 on himself to win for $25,000.


In addition, the Two Plus Two forums report that he has a bet with Howard Lederer to the tune of $5m and Tom Dwan has confirmed that he “will lose $1m if [Ivey] wins.” In addition, Full Tilt Poker promise $10,000,000 to anyone who wins the Main Event wearing Full Tilt’s gear. Oh, plus Ivey is a shareholder in the site who’s income is set to go through the roof if they boast a WSOP Main Event winner.


As much as we Brits are rooting for you, James, there’s that poker fanboy deep down in all of us who wants Ivey to triumph. Let battle commence!



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