A software engineer from Virginia and a psychologist from California are among the nine players remaining in the main event of the World Series of Poker.

Play wound down early Monday to the group that will compete for the $8.25 million top prize at the no-limit Texas Hold ’em tournament’s final table.

Raymond Rahme, who held pocket queens, called Steven Garfinkle, a 37-year-old history professor from Bellingham, Wash., who had pushed all-in with a short stack and an ace and three. The queens held up, putting Rahme, a 62-year-old South African retiree, in fourth with more than 16 million chips and sending Garfinkle home.

"I’d seen very few cards in the last hour and the time was coming where I needed to either pick up chips or go home," Garfinkle said.

He busted out in 10th, winning $476,926.

With the final table set, Philip Hilm, a 31-year-old Dane making a living playing poker online in England, held the lead with more than 22 million chips, followed by Toronto poker pro Tuan Lam, 40, with 21.3 million and British poker player Jon Kalmar, 34, with 20.3 million.

Kalmar said he was "nearly broke" before the $10,000 buy-in main event began play July 6, but he plunked down $500 in a satellite poker tournament to win a seat.

"Otherwise, I was thinking of taking a very long break from the game," the former Internet technology manager said. "I was thinking of going back to work for a bit. Maybe not for a while yet."

Others remaining in the hunt for the top prize were Lee Childs, a 35-year-old software engineer from Reston, Va., with 13.2 million; and Lee Watkinson, a 40-year-old pro from Cheney, Wash., in sixth with 9.9 million.

Online poker player Hevad Khan, 22, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was seventh with 9.2 million; Temecula, Calif.-based psychologist Jerry Yang, 39, was eighth with 8.4 million; and Russian poker pro Alex Kravchenko had 6.5 million.

The nine players were all that was left from a field of 6,358 who paid $10,000 in cash for a seat or qualified through satellite tournaments.

Those who busted out late Sunday and early Monday still went home with small fortunes.

Scotty Nguyen, "The Prince of Poker," ended his run through the main event, busting out two places short of the final table and ending hopes of a former champion winning again.

The 44-year-old Nguyen, the 1998 main event champion and the fan favorite as play wound down to a final table, had as many as 15.5 million in chips but lost three huge pots in a disappointing collapse. Play route 66 poker.

"When you’re playing good, you get too cocky and too confident and you give players no credit," he said after busting out in 11th with a $476,926 payday. "That’s what happened. That’s taking nothing away from all these players. They’re great players. That’s the reason they’re here."

Later, he took the microphone and thanked the crowd for cheering him on.

One woman yelled out, "We love you, Scotty!"

The last person to win more than once at the main event was the late Stu Ungar, who earned the $1 million top prize in 1997 after back-to-back victories in 1980 and 1981.

This year, John Armbrust, a 26-year-old high school teacher from Los Angeles, left in 18th place with $381,302. Women poker.

Ron Kluber, a 46-year-old intelligence analyst for U.S. Forces in Seoul, South Korea, came in 29th. Kluber said his $285,678 prize would help put two teenage daughters through college.

"It’s perfect timing," he said.

Jason Koshi, a 33-year-old certified public accountant, said his payday, also of $285,678, was "a big score" compared with his salary and what he made playing $10-$20 games in Los Angeles.

"This is more than I make in a year, definitely," he said.

The remaining players reconvene at noon Tuesday at the Rio hotel casino and play until there is a winner. Unlike previous years, when getting to the final table meant becoming an instant millionaire, ninth place this year will pay $525,934, and the millionaire’s club does not begin until fifth place, which pays $1.26 million. Download poker wallpapers.

The U.S. crackdown on online gambling, which is believed to have shrunk the field from last year’s record 8,773 entrants, and the flatter payout structure were seen as contributing to the more modest payouts.

Last year’s champion, Jamie Gold, won $12 million, but had to share an undisclosed amount with an acquaintance after a brief court battle.

Poker News source: Boston Herald