Rank Name Hometown Chip Count T/S               1 Esther Taylor Las Vegas, NV 139,475 41-3   2 Jacquelyn Scott Ft. Lauderdale, FL 138,800 31-3   3 Bobort Suer Dana Point, CA 118,125 23-3   4 Hevad Khan Las Vegas, NV 117,275 30-8   5 Gary Reed Cumming, GA 112,475 38-1   6 Bryan Devonshire Henderson, NV 110,700 35-9   7 Justin Dykes Albany, GA 108,800 20-1   8 Woody Vanstratum Cookeville, TN 100,425 41-6   9 Paula Halata Houston, TX 93,175 35-6   10 Jamie Rosen Las Vegas, NV 90,775 38-5   11 Bernard Lee Wayland, MA 89,050 29-7   12 Brandon Cantu Las Vegas, NV 88,600 37-7   13 Mike Gilbert Columbus, GA 88,200 31-9   14 Scott Dorin Medina, NY 87,550 21-4   15 Keven Stammen Celina, MS 87,200 19-5   16 Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler Philadelphia, PA 85,950 39-6   17 Jason Potter Tulsa, OK 85,350 40-6   18 Rick Basham Destin, FL 81,075 25-9   19 Andrew Batkin New York, NY 80,975 32-9   20 Greg "FBT" Mueller Vancouver, BC (Canada) 78,125 28-1   21 Nick Schulman New York, NY 76,500 22-5   22 Christopher Marsh Headland, AL 75,150 32-3   23 Jerry "Jitto" Nadeau Greenland, NH 74,675 42-3   24 Chuck Kelley Staunton, VA 73,700 38-9   25 Thomas Mixon Sumrall, MS 73,525 32-1   26 Curt Kohlberg Weston, MA 72,675 29-5   27 Donald D'Auria Palm City, FL 72,475 41-4   28 Matt Brady Havertown, PA 72,400 24-8   29 Jared Okun Las Vegas, NV 72,250 38-2   30 Neal Hemsarlins Lafayette, LA 71,750 30-3   31 Ben Tollerene Lubbock, TX 70,700 19-1   32 Marty Lowe Dallas, TX 70,275 28-9   33 Imad Samouna El Cajon, CA 69,650 31-8   34 Jeff Coutroulis Tampa, FL 69,225 25-8   35 Micah Raskin Long Island City, NY 68,800 23-7   36 Athanasios Kandris NA 68,575 36-5   37 Adam Lippert Brooklyn, NY 68,375 24-3   38 Ben Fineman Las Vegas, NV 67,950 24-9   39 Robert Mariano Pensacola, FL 67,325 29-2   40 Rand Hardy Houston, TX 66,950 39-1   41 Chris Bell Raleigh, NC 66,400 19-9   42 Alban Frasheri Tampa, FL 66,250 35-3   43 Edward R. Spears Ft. Worth, TX 65,650 22-9   44 Gavin Smith Las Vegas, NV 63,300 30-7   45 Steven Fung Walnut, CA 62,400 28-6   46 Patrick O. Jones Mobile, AL 62,200 25-3   47 Yuval Bronshtein Atlanta, GA 61,750 20-2   48 Kathy Lehne Houston, TX 61,175 42-5   49 Zac Corley Houston, TX 61,125 19-7   50 Herbie Montalbeno New Orleans, LA 60,300 28-8   51 Keith Lehr Bossier City, LA 60,000 23-1   52 Marty Benowitz Delray Beach, FL 59,775 22-8   53 Fred Berger Slidell, LA 59,675 41-2   54 Tyler Smith Smithdale, MS 59,000 22-3   55 Bobby Keller Biloxi, MS 59,000 25-7   56 Yair Alon Panama City, FL 58,900 39-2   57 Mike Leah Toronto, ON (Canada) 57,000 21-6   58 Miami John Cernuto Las Vegas, NV 56,875 21-5   59 Mohsin Charania Des Plaines, IL 56,875 36-3   60 Richard Fohrenbach Milford, CT 56,500 37-2   61 Timothy Miles Tallahassee, FL 55,900 39-3   62 Darren Elias Las Vegas, NV 55,050 28-2   63 Vanessa Rousso Las Vegas, NV 54,700 39-8   64 John Davidson Pensacola, FL 54,250 25-1   65 Peter Feldman Las Vegas, NV 53,825 22-2   66 Stewart Yancik Blue Springs, MO 53,600 32-8   67 Tom McCormick Fargo, ND 53,500 22-7   68 Jimmy Tran Las Vegas, NV 53,225 20-5   69 Ted Lawson Las Vegas, NV 52,350 40-8   70 Nick Machi Gulfport, MS 51,450 24-2   71 Bill Gazes Brooklyn, NY 50,650 39-5   72 Robert McLaughlin Washington, DC 50,350 32-6   73 Shawn Buchanan Abbotsford, MS 50,150 35-2   74 Justin Phillips Glodstone, OR 49,975 19-2   75 Mark Leonard Dallas, TX 49,750 38-8   76 Justin Allen Dallas, TX 49,600 40-2   77 Florian Langmann Dresden, Germany 49,600 21-4   78 Aaron Lasater Atlanta, GA 49,425 38-4   79 Kirby Brewer St. Louis, MO 49,275 21-3   80 Keith Walther GulfShores, AL 49,225 32-2   81 Danny Wong Las Vegas, NV 48,875 36-9   82 Thomas Milner Saucier, MS 47,700 39-4   83 Soheil Shamseddin Houston, TX 47,550 25-5   84 Dary Murrah Lucedale, MS 47,350 28-7   85 Dan Heimiller Plymouth, MI 47,000 42-4   86 Mark Eddleman Fayetteville, AR 46,575 37-5   87 Mark Wilds Biloxi, MS 46,500 23-4   88 David "Dell" Harville, Jr. Shreveport, LA 46,300 37-8   89 "B" Vu Marrero, LA 45,200 37-6   90 Glynn Beebe Austin, TX 45,100 20-8   91 Brain Cospolich New Orleans, LA 44,925 41-7   92 David Diaz Memphis, TN 44,100 40-5   93 Charles Ford Marshall, TX 43,550 24-1   94 Tony Hatley Mobile, AL 43,425 25-6   95 Galen Kester Senatobia, MS 43,150 37-1   96 Toby Tatum Gulfport, MS 43,000 36-6   97 Brent Carter Oak Park, IL 42,000 40-4   98 John Lewis Arlington, TX 41,650 35-1   99 Ron R. Leary Washington, DC 41,200 31-7   100 Jeff Littlefield Greenville, TX 41,100 24-5   101 David Farber Heathrow, FL 40,950 35-5   102 Mac Wolf Ft. Worth, TX 40,725 41-8   103 Dustin Bailey Center, TX 40,225 36-8   104 Samuel Whitt Lima, OH 39,800 23-2   105 Robert Quin New Orleans, LA 38,550 36-2   106 Amelio Amal Sarasota, FL 38,475 35-8   107 Anna Wroblewski Las Vegas, NV 37,875 42-1   108 Phillip Reed Washington, DC 36,550 42-6   109 Will "the Thrill" Failla Smithtown, NY 36,000 29-1   110 Ken Harbaugh Atlanta, GA 36,000 31-2   111 Jolyne Thompson Houston, TX 35,575 36-7   112 Chuck Kim Simpsonville, MS 35,025 29-9   113 David Singer Las Vegas, NV 35,000 21-1   114 Evan McNiff San Diego, CA 34,800 21-7   115 Katie Lee Elliott Florence, SC 34,025 41-5   116 Billy Long Springfield, MO 33,850 28-4   117 Rodney Skows Hattiesburg, MS 33,625 30-4   118 Barry Greenstein RPV, CA 33,550 29-4   119 Richard Palter Atlanta, GA 33,450 20-9   120 Paul Smith Poway, CA 32,725 28-3   121 Lamberto Flores Ruston, LA 32,100 31-4   122 Jim McCrink Las Vegas, NV 31,600 42-1   123 Kenny Milam La Place, LA 31,375 20-7   124 Bill Edler Las Vegas, NV 30,950 37-4   125 Yosh Nakano Long Beach, CA 30,925 19-6   126 Devin Porter Salt Lake City, UT 30,300 20-6   127 Michael Mulligan Ocala, FL 29,900 30-5   128 Kenny F. Smith Roark, KY 29,150 29-6   129 Joe Dean Lewis Tifton, GA 28,950 30-1   130 Alan "Doug" Cordin Houston, TX 28,900 21-8   131 Scott Clements Mt. Vernon, WA 28,600 35-7   132 John Spadavecchia Lighthouse Point, FL 27,525 25-4   133 Blake Purvis Montgomery, AL 26,400 35-4   134 Lee Markholt Eatonville WA 26,350 25-2   135 Owen Bradley New Orleans, LA 26,275 68-7   136 Ryan Young Torrance, CA 26,225 38-6   137 Glynn Banks Smithville, TN 24,425 19-8   138 Vineet Pahuja New York, NY 24,175 29-8   139 Clonie Gowan Dallas, TX 23,825 22-1   140 Jordan Morgan Tulsa, OK 23,650 42-2   141 Rodeen Talebi Los Angeles, CA 23,500 42-8   142 Ozgur Kizil San Diego, CA 23,425 22-6   143 Clyde Hinton Odessa, TX 23,400 31-1   144 Bob Woods Santa Rosa Beach, FL 23,175 40-7   145 Ray Allen Carter Carrollton, TX 22,875 30-6   146 Donna Blevins Inverness, FL 22,875 24-6   147 Jacobo Fernandez Hollywood, FL 22,825 32-4   148 Paul Taylor Las Vegas, NV 22,200 23-5   149 Mohammad Moeini Gulfport, MS 22,075 38-7   150 Barry Thomas Boykin Waynesboro, MS 21,550 30-2   151 Hoyt Corkins Glenwood, AL 21,450 40-3   152 Gene Bauerlein St. Petersburg, FL 21,450 23-6   153 Tony Cousineau Daytona Beach, FL 21,000 41-1   154 Hilbert Shirey Winter Haven, FL 20,725 38-3   155 Jordan Smith College Station, TX 20,375 23-8   156 Darrell Hopkins Midland, TX 20,050 36-1   157 Ken Blanton Caddo Mills, TX 19,750 21-2   158 Michael Binger Las Vegas, NV 19,700 24-4   159 Brent Norris Texas City, TX 18,800 19-4   160 Patrick Walsh St. Louis, MO 17,575 21-9   161 Ryan Welch Nashville, TN 16,450 20-4   162 Brant Hale Moore, OK 15,025 39-9   163 Joshua Wilcox Atlanta, GA 13,175 40-1   164 Tiffany Michelle Los Angeles, CA 12,725 37-3   165 Jena Delk Merritt Island, FL 12,200 19-3   166 Fred Siour Arabi, LA 12,050 20-3   167 Randy Landry Thibodaux, LA 11,675 36-4   168 Nick Ceci Peachtree City, GA 11,325 40-9   169 Josh Mancuso Mandeville, LA 11,075 29-3   170 Stuart Paterson Boca Raton, FL 10,750 39-7   171 Joe Leisure St. Louis, MO 9,225 28-5   172 Tony Hartman NA 7,025 30-9   173 Tim Hebert Lafayette, LA 6,750 24-7   174 Hans Winzler Miami, FL 6,725 32-7   175 John Humphries Taylorsville, GA 4,975 32-5                             (Day Two Continues at Level 6, with Blinds at 300/600 and a 75 ante)   (Starting Time is 12 Nooon on Thursday, January 15th)

Who wants to be a Millionaire? Seven-Figures Up For Grabs in Biloxi's World Poker Tour Championship

2009 Southern Poker Championship Main Event Underway at Beau Rivage

Esther Taylor is the Chip Leader at End of First Day

Two Ladies Currently Hold the Top Two Spots

Biloxi, MS (January 14, 2009) - The Main Event of the 2009 Southern Poker Championship is underway at the fabulous Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. The early chip leader is Esther Taylor, from Portland, OR. She currently leads the star-studded field of 175 players who still remain alive in the first World Poker Tour competition of the new year. Jacquelyn Scott is currently in second place, which means ladies own the top two spots entering day two.

The $10,000 buy-in championship event started off at noon with 283 entries. The size of the field is up slightly from last year (a 8.4 percent increase), when 259 players entered the WPT championship event. A whopping $2,662,747 in prize money is up for grabs, with only the top 27 finishers receiving a share of the payout.

The winner will be paid one-million dollars. In a surprise announcement, Beau Rivage management decided to supplement the winner's share with $24,219 in additional money, so the top figure would hit the seven-figure milestone. The winner also receives a custom-designed white gold and diamond bracelet as well as a $25,500 buy-in into the annual World Poker Tour championship event, to be held at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas in April, 2009.

Tournament participants included several world-class players and poker superstars, including Brandon Cantu, Brent Carter, "Miami John" Cernuto, Scott Clements, T.J. Cloutier, Hoyt Corkins, Bill Edler, Layne Flack, Ted Forrest, Clonie Gowen, Barry Greenstein, Bernie Lee, Erick Lindgren, Men "the Master" Nguyen, David "Dragon" Pham, Mark Seif, Hilbert Shirey, David Singer, Gavin Smith, and others. The defending champion is Brett Faustman, from Fowlerville, MI. He won $892,413 in last year's championship. A large percentage of the field (108 players) qualified at a discount prize, by winning tournament seats in on-property satellite qualifiers. Eight more players earned their way in by winning preliminary tournaments which were part of the schedule which began on Jan. 3rd. The field included 17 women, which amounts to six percent of the field - the two chip leaders among them.

The Main Event continues over the next three days. Day two is expected to play down to 36 players. Then, the survivors will play down to the final six players on day three. On Saturday, January 17th, the final table (six players) will be played to its conclusion. The action will be televised by the World Poker Tour, now in its seventh season. Seating to watch the final table action is free and open to the public. The finals will take place on the second floor of Beau Rivage. Play will begin at 4 pm.

The 15 combined tournament events at this year's Southern Poker Championship have attracted a total of 4,680 players. The total prize money amounts to $5,257,942, making it one of the most successful poker tournaments ever held in the South.

-- by Nolan Dalla

2009 Southern Poker Championship