The line stretching into the Amazon Room is as long as it as has been. Despite there being only nine players left in this championship event, it seems a crowd has developed from nowhere. In the past, tournament directors and ESPN have actively recruited spectators to watch–something akin to a carival barker pulling people into the House of Mirrors. In the line stand a motley crew. One man is wearing a t-shirt with a picture of Charles Manson and the subtitle, “Role Model for America’s Youth.” Another guy is wearing a hat fashioned from a case of Milwaukee’s Best Light.

Today, nine people will vie for the $8.25 million first prize. Among them are three PokerStars players, each of whom have a legimate shot at the title (see “Three PokerStars Players at Final Table” for more information on the players).

Tuan Lam

Raymond Rahme

Hevad “RaiNKhaN” Khan

Here’s how the players stack up going into the first hand (PokerStars players listed in bold).

Philip Hilm 22,070,000
Tuan Lam 21,315,000
Jon Kalmar 20,320,000
Raymond Rahme 16,320,000
Lee Childs 13,240,000
Lee Watkinson 9,925,000
Hevad Khan 9,205,000
Jerry Yang 8,450,000
Alex Kravchenko 6,570,000

Here are the prizes they are fighting for.

1. $8,250,000
2. $4,840,981
3. $3,048,025
4. $1,852,721
5. $1,255,069
6. $956,243
7. $705,229
8. $585,699
9. $525,934

This is the moment we’ve been leading up to for the past six weeks. While media rules prohibit us from covering the final table hand by hand, we will have regular posts here throughout the day, so be sure to check back for all the news on the PokerStars players left in the big one.

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