Only the ‘November Nine’ remain in the WSOP Main Event, and they will return in four months time to compete for a coveted World Championship bracelet and an $8 million first prize.

With play on Day 9 starting with 27 players, two thirds were eliminated. Phil Ivey fans will be delighted that he made the final table, although he’ll be holding a short stack.

Seat 1: Darvin Moon - 58,930,000
Seat 2: James Akenhead - 6,800,000
Seat 3: Phil Ivey - 9,765,000
Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel - 12,390,000
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter - 29,885,000
Seat 6: Eric Buchman - 34,800,000
Seat 7: Joe Cada - 13,215,000
Seat 8: Antoine Saout - 9,500,000
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman - 19,580,000

Other notable names include Las Vegas pro Jeff Shulman, known for his appearances on Poker Superstars, and British player James Akenhead, a regular on the Grosvenor UK tour.

Darvin Moon holds a formidable chip lead, thanks to a spectacular clash with fellow big stack Billy Kopp towards the end of the day. On a Kd 9d 2d 2h board, Kopp moved in for 20 million chips on the turn with 5d 3d – quite peculiar given such a deep stack, and there being a full house / higher flush on the board. Moon made the call with Qd Jd for a higher flush, and sent Kopp to the rails.

The four month, interim period will allow players to receive specialist coaching (Phil Hellmuth is sure to be on hand), soak up media attention, and perhaps receive professional poker room sponsorship.

Meanwhile Day 1B at the WPT Bellagio cup, which guarantees a first place prize of $1,187,670, attracted several pros hoping to make up for WSOP disappointment. The likes of Eli Elezra, Doyle Brunson (his queens coolered by kings), David Benyamine and John Juanda all hit the rails, where as Sam Farha, ElkY and Hevad Khan will advance to Day 2.