Hello Celebritys

I felt like I haven’t showed enough love to my poker fans out there, so I hope this makes up for it.

2009 40th ANNUAL WORLD SERIES OF POKER

(Presented by Jack Link's Beef Jerky)

Rio Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas, Nevada

May 26 - July 15, 2009

(Coverage on ESPN beginning July 28)

Compiled by Matt Willis and Pete Newmann

DEFENDING MAIN EVENT CHAMPION

Peter Eastgate (youngest Main Event winner in WSOP history)

TOP THINGS TO KNOW

1. The 40th annual World Series of Poker will start May 26 in Las Vegas, and will finish with the $10,000 buy-in Main Event beginning on July 3rd. For the 2nd straight year, the final 9 players will return in November to crown a Main Event champion. The 2009 WSOP will feature 57 events in a variety of games, with the winner receiving a bracelet. 54 of which are "open" events, meaning anyone can enter. There will be 10 World Championship events and the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship. The $50,000 event is also known as the Players' Championship and will feature the high-rollers playing 5 different games.

2. Last year, Peter Eastgate became the youngest Main Event champion in WSOP history and made nearly $9.2 million. That puts him 2nd all-time on the WSOP money list, behind only Jamie Gold, the 2006 Main Event champion. Nobody has won back-to-back Main Event titles since Johnny Chan in 1987-88. Eastgate is also the 3rd foreign-born winner in the last 4 years.

3. Despite the large number of players that come to the WSOP, in each of the last 5 years at least one player has defied the odds and won multiple bracelets. Last year it was John Phan who won two bracelets, but he finished 4th in the Player of the Year race, behind winner Erick Lindgren.

4. After peaking at 8,773 entrants and a $12M 1st-place prize in 2006, numbers dipped in the 2007 WSOP. But despite the state of the economy, the number of entrants grew from 6,358 in the 2007 Main Event to 6,844 in 2008, pushing the winner's share of the purse back over $9 million.

5. But the Main Event isn't all that's going on at the 2009 WSOP. Erick Lindgren will try to defend his 2008 Player of the Year title, and Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson will both try to match Phil Hellmuth's record of 11 WSOP bracelets. With extra events this year, a player could also match Nikolay Evdakov's record of 10 cashes, set last year.

TOP THINGS TO KNOW NOTES & GRAPHICS

1. The 40th annual World Series of Poker will start May 26 in Las Vegas, and will finish with the $10,000 buy-in Main Event beginning on July 3rd. For the 2nd straight year, the final 9 players will return in November to crown a Main Event champion. The 2009 WSOP will feature 57 events in a variety of games, with the winner receiving a bracelet. 54 of which are "open" events, meaning anyone can enter. There will be 10 World Championship events and the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship. The $50,000 event is also known as the Players' Championship and will feature the high-rollers playing 5 different games.

2008 WSOP Main Event

Final Table- Winnings

1^st- Peter Eastgate: $9.2M

2^nd- Ivan Demidov: $5.8M

3^rd- Dennis Phillips: $4.5M

4^th- Ylon Schwartz: $3.8M

5^th- Scott Montgomery: $3.1M

6^th- Darus Suharto: $2.4M

7^th- David Rheem: $1.8M

8^th- Kelly Kim: $1.3M

9^th- Craig Marquis: $900K

2. Last year, Peter Eastgate became the youngest Main Event champion in WSOP history and made nearly $9.2 million. That puts him 2nd all-time on the WSOP money list, behind only Jamie Gold, the 2006 Main Event champion. Nobody has won back-to-back Main Event titles since Johnny Chan in 1987-88. Eastgate is also the 3rd foreign-born winner in the last 4 years.

3. Despite the large number of players that come to the WSOP, in each of the last 5 years at least one player has defied the odds and won multiple bracelets. Last year it was John Phan who won two bracelets, but he finished 4th in the Player of the Year race, behind winner Erick Lindgren.

Won Multiple Bracelets in a Year

WSOP Since 2004

2008- John Phan: 2

2007- Tom Schneider: 2

2006- William Chen: 2

2006- Jeff Madsen: 2

2005- Mark Seif: 2

2004- Scott Fischman: 2

2004- Ted Forrest: 2

Most Bracelets Won- In Single WSOP

2002: Phil Ivey- 3

1993: Ted Forrest- 3

1993: Phil Hellmuth- 3

1973: Walter "Puggy" Pearson- 3

4. After peaking at 8,773 entrants and a $12M 1st-place prize in 2006, numbers dipped in the 2007 WSOP. But despite the state of the economy, the number of entrants grew from 6,358 in the 2007 Main Event to 6,844 in 2008, pushing the winner's share of the purse back over $9 million.

5. But the Main Event isn't all that's going on at the 2009 WSOP. Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson will both try to match Phil Hellmuth's record of 11 WSOP bracelets. With extra events this year, a player could also match Nikolay Evdakov's record of 10 cashes, set last year. And after Erick Lindgren won a bracelet last year, the debate will restart as to who is the best player to never win a bracelet.

Most Bracelets- WSOP History

Phil Hellmuth: 11

Doyle Brunson: 10

Johnny Chan: 10

Johnny Moss: 9