2007 World Series of Poker Final Table Set

The 6,358 players in the $10,000 Main Event of the 2007 World Series of Poker have been pared down to the final nine.  With competitors hailing from four continents and five different countries, this has shaped up to be a true “world” series.  The eventual winner will pocket $8.25 million. 

The festivities will begin at noon Pacific on Tuesday.  This year’s lineup: 

Seat 1: John Kalmar -- Chorly, Lancashire, UK ($20.32 million in chips) 

Married with one child, Kalmar is a 34-year-old professional poker player who primarily plays live games.  He almost did not play in the Main Event, as he intended to fly home before it started.  When he was told that it would cost him $600 to change his flight, he decided to stick around and proceeded to win a satellite to gain entry into the tournament. 

Seat 2: Lee Childs -- Reston, Virginia ($13.24 million) 

Lee Childs is a 35-year-old ex-technology professional who recently left his job to try his hand at player poker for a living.  He is married with no children. 

Seat 3: Philip Hilm – Cambridge, UK ($22.07 million) 

The chip leader going into play Tuesday, Hilm (31-years-old) is a true European.  Currently living in the UK, he is a native of Denmark and holds an economics degree from the Copenhagen Business School.  He also spent two years living in Poland before he moved to England so that he could get to know his mother’s family. 

Seat 4: Jerry Yang -- Temecula, California ($8.45 million) 

Jerry Yang, a psychologist and social worker, continues the parade of 30-somethings (Yang is 39).  The husband and father of six is originally from Laos and has only been playing poker for two years.  Yang will divide ten percent of his winnings amongst three charities: the Ronald McDonald House, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Feed the Children. 

Seat 5: Raymond Rahme -- Johannesburg, South Africa ($16.32 million) 

Rahme holds a special place at this final table.  Not only is he by far the oldest player remaining (at 62-years-old, he his 21 years older than the next oldest competitor), but he is also the first ever player from Africa to make the Main Event final table.  He has been playing poker for a long time, but until he picked up hold’em two years ago, he was primarily a stud player. 

Mr. Rahme placed fourth at the largest poker tournament in African history, the “All Africa Poker Championship.”  Part of his prize was his seat in the Main Event. 

Before embarking on his retirement, Rahme ran a bed and breakfast.  He and his wife have six children. 

Seat 6: Tuan Lam -- Mississauga, Ontario, Canada ($21.31 million) 

A Vietnam native, the 41-year-old Lam moved to Canada at age 19.  He is married with two children and currently plays poker professionally. 

Seat 7: Alex Kravchenko -- Moscow, Russia ($6.57 million) 

The short stack most of the day Sunday, the 36-year-old businessman currently sits as the short stack to start the final table.  The 2007 WSOP has been great for him, as he became the first Russian to win a bracelet, taking the title in the $1,500 Omaha High-Low event.  He has also cashed four other times in this WSOP, including missing the final table by one spot in the $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. event. 

Seat 8: Lee Watkinson -- Cheney, Washington ($9.92 million) 

Watkinson is a 40-year-old professional poker player who serves as one of Full Tilt Poker’s pros.  In fact, as a Full Tilt qualifier, he will receive an additional $10 million from the site if he wins the Main Event. 

Watkinson, owner of one WSOP bracelet (last year’s pot-limit Omaha World Championship) is an interesting guy.  He and his fiancée work with an organization, the Courtland Brandon Foundation, that rescues chimpanzees, which is how they met.  He also owns a clothing and jewelry line, employing many inmates as designers, as well as a record distribution company. 

He is widely regarded as one of the more friendly and unassuming professionals around. 

Seat 9: Hevad “Rain” Khan -- Poughkeepsie, New York ($9.02 million) 

At 22, Hevad Khan is the youngest player at the final table.  He graduated from SUNY-Albany and earns his living playing poker, primarily online.  He is renowned in the online poker world for being a massive mult-tabler, having played in as many as 43 games simultaneously.  In fact, PokerStars.com once believed he had a computer program (also known as a “bot”) playing on his account, as they did not believe it was possible to play as much as he did.  He proceeded to clear his name by sending the site a video of him playing 28 single-table tournaments at the same time.