Over the last few years, celebrities have become increasingly interested in competing in gambling events.  Playing not just for charities to earn publicity for themselves, celebrities now are taking part in blackjack, poker, and other tournaments to win jackpots for even personal gain.

Competing in the 2009 World Championship World Series of Poker were notables including Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond), Lou Diamond Phillips (Young Guns, Numbers, The Cleaner), Marlon Wayans (Wayans Brothers), and Jennifer Tilly (Bride of Chucky).

The 40th annual World Series of Poker tournament ran from May 27 to July 15, 2009 and was held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The finalists of the Main Event will return on November 7th for more play.

Some of these celebrities, Jason Alexander and Jennifer Tilly, also played in the 2008 World Series of Poker.  That year, we also saw Nick Cannon, Larry Flynt, Mekhi Phifer, Angi Griggs, Kara Scott, Shane Warne, Shannon Elizabeth, and Ray Romano as participants.

The World Series of Poker featured 57 bracelet events culminating in a $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event.  The four day one events fluctuated from 873 to 2,809 participants. This year, more than 500 players were denied entry into the event because it was already at capacity.

In previous years’ tournaments, players started with 20,000 chips; however, players were given 30,000 chips at this year’s start.

On November 7th, the Final Nine tournament will resume as players complete for their shares of over $27m. First, they play until only 2 players remain and then the showdown between the final 2 players will be held on November 10th.   None of this year’s celebrities made the Final Nine.  The final table players consist of D. Moon, E. Buchman, S. Begleiter, J. Shulman, J. Cada, K. Schaffel, P. Ivey, A. Saout, and J. Akenhead.

The World Series of Poker is the most popular set of poker tournaments because of the status of the poker players who attend and the prize money available. The Main Event winners receive platinum and diamond bracelets along with large cash prizes.  The World Series of Poker events began in 1968 and were created by Tom Moore as an invite-only event held at the Holiday Inn and Casino in Reno.

Along with celebrities who flock to the World Series of Poker tournament are poker professionals of celebrity status.  Poker pros are people who play poker for a living. Among the well-known high profile poker players are Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow.

Doyle Brunson is a favorite of poker fans and has been playing professionally for more than 50 years.  He is the first person to win the World Series of Poker two years in a row and also, the first play to earn $1m in poker tournaments.  He has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets throughout his career, which is a tie with Johnny Chan and one fewer than Phil Hellmuth.

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