News: Meet the November Niners: Seats 4

Kevin Schaffel, aged 51, is the oldest of the 2009 November Niners. Steven Begleiter is the clear underdog, while Eric Buchman is considered the secret favourite at the table. Here are seats 4-6 of the final table in detail.

Even though the final table's participants are not as young this time
as in 2008, this much is obvious: the participants of the WSOP are
generally getting younger. Whereas earlier, well-established
gentleman's clubs made their way to victory regularly, today, you'd be
hard-pressed to find players today who're older than 50.

Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel

Seat 4

Name: Kevin Schaffel
Age: 51
Location: Coral Springs
Winnings: $1,930,996
Chip Stack: 12,390,000
WSOP voting: 0.75%

We're glad Kevin Schaffel is still around!
Aged 51, the American from Coral Springs is the grandpa in this round,
but presumably one of the most experienced players at the table as
well. He has been playing home games ever since his he was 11 years
old. He ran a print-shop for 30 years, before selling it to devote
himself to the poker game semi-professionally.

Until this year's main event, however, his successes in the major
events have been somewhat limited. Until now, his biggest win amounted
to $60,000 for 42nd rank in the WSOP main event of 2004. But ever since
he secured the $1.2 million for ninth place, the tide seems to have
turned.

For his fantastic second position directly behind Prahlad Friedman
at the $10,000 Legends of Poker event in August, he cashed out with
$471,670. In October, he played at the EPT in London and landed in the
money there as well. For his 19th rank, he was rewarded an equivalent
of roughly $27,000. He seems to know how to play poker, and with his
position on Ivey, he's got his main source of danger under control.
Schaffel will have to look out for the blinds, though.

His stack comes to just under 12 million in chips and roughly 40
BB for level 34. Considering the overwhelming chip lead of Darvin Moon,
who holds almost 60 million, Schaffel's stack seems rather small. With
the voting on the official WSOP homepage, Schaffel only received a
marginal 0.75%.

But maybe Schaffel's underdog role will turn out to be his great
opportunity, as he comes out from the shadows. As nobody is really
aware of Schaffel, his rivals will do well not to underestimate him.

Seat 5: Steven Begleiter

Seat 5

Name: Steven Begleiter
Age: 47
Location: New York
Winnings: $1,292,842*
Chip Stack: 29,885,000
WSOP voting: 1.10%

47-year old Steven Begleiter will take a
seat next to Schaffel. The final table is the first big success in a
major game for the former investment bank executive. The New Yorker
gained his initial experience at the WSOP last year, where he played in
the main event as well, but he was eliminated before reaching the
money.

Once again this year, Begleiter surreptitiously anticipated being
sent home at an early stage. He had not even informed his current
employer about his trip, but when he continually progressed in the main
event, he could no longer hide. The subsequent support and appreciation
of his colleagues was staggering, Begleiter said.

On Saturday, he will return to the final table holding 30 million
in chips and thus a good starting position. Only Eric Buchman and, of
course, the undisputed chip leader Darvin Moon have more chips. Also,
his position on Phil Ivey and on the other short stacks could turn out
to be beneficial.

On the WSOP homepage, however, only 1.1% of the voters trust him
to get the title, but it is just this one percent that Begleiter wants
to benefit from. It's not his main goal to receive the money or be the
champion, but instead, to be able to see his kids' facial expression
should he win the final table. That he would be $8 million richer
wouldn't be a bad thing either.

Seat 6: Eric Buchman

Seat 6

Name: Eric Buchman
Age: 29
Location: New York
Winnings: $2,222,224
Chip Stack: 34,800,000
WSOP voting: 2.34%

Eric Buchman from New York, born in 1980, is
considered one of the secret favourites to retain the title. With
almost 35 million in chips, he holds the second biggest stack at the
table and his previous successes speak for themselves.

This final table will be his tenth WSOP win. To this may be added
four ITM rankings at the WPT and a victory at the $2,500 main event of
the New England Poker Classics 2004 which rewarded him $275,400.
Placing second in the $5,150 WSOPC event in Atlantic City 2007,
rewarded him another $208,666.

At this year's WSOP, he additionally placed sixth at the $2,500
Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo event, as well as coming in tenth at the
$10,000 Limit Hold'em event. On the "All Time Money" list, Buchman is
ranked with $2,222,224 in tournament winnings.

Like the other finalists, the final table has already brought
Buchman roughly 1.3 million and the winner can look forward to another
$6.2 million. With his big stack and his extensive experience, Buchman
is on Phil Ivey's list of serious rivals. It remains to be seen, if
Buchman will manage to profit from his promising starting position.