It all started on July 5th and with 6,240 players all vying for the same thing – a spot in the 2015 November Nine. After 7 days, there were 9 left standing. Let’s take a look at who they are and how they got to this point.
Zvi Stern
Zvi Stern is from Israel, marking the second November Nine poker player from this country. Stern is just 32-years old and as it stands right now, he has only cashed out once in the World Series of Poker. Stern is known as the least experienced player at this year’s table, but he does travel the world to attend various poker tournaments.
Pierre Neuville
Pierre Neuville is making a name for himself in the World Series of Poker not only by making the November Nine, but by being the oldest player to ever play in the series at 72-years old. Neuville is also making a statement by being only the second player from Belgium. Neuville has quite a few more cash-ins than Stern, with 20 already under his belt as well as many European poker tournament wins to showcase.
Josh Beckley
Josh Beckley is among one of the younger players at the World Series of Poker at just 24-years old. He has 5 World Series of Poker cash-ins to speak of; each of which took place in 2015. Josh is from New Jersey, but what makes him amazing is the fact that he started his poker career just this year and has already made it to the November Nine.
Max Steinberg
Max Steinberg has a unique position in this year’s November Nine – he is the only player to have a previous WSOP bracelet. Max is 27-years old and from Fairfield, Iowa. Steinberg has quite a history in the world of poker but also dabbles in the world of fantasy sports, giving up the game of poker for a little while before coming back to this year’s tournament.
Thomas Cannuli
Thomas Cannuli is the youngest player in the November Nine, coming in at just 23-years old. This tournament promises to be a turning point for Thomas as this is the largest live tournament of his young career. He is not the player you would consider a “threat” but coming in under the radar might be just what gave him the success he has had thus far, leaving him with the ability to walk away with a seven figure payout.
Joe McKeehen
Taking the last seat is Joe McKeehen, the most experienced player in this year’s November Nine. Joe is just one year older than the youngest player, yet has a large history of poker playing to back him up. McKeehen has a large history of winnings behind him, yet still managed to make his way through college at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania, where he is from. McKeehen credits his success to the amount of live experience he has playing poker and hopes for big things during this tournament.
Patrick Chan
Patrick Chan sits in the 7th seat this year. He started his poker playing career online in 2010, making enough money to support himself without any other income. Since Black Friday he has turned to live poker tournaments. This November Nine, Chan is looking at a guaranteed income of $1 million, not a bad way to make a living.
Federico Butteroni
In the 8th seat is Federico Butteroni, another player in his 20’s that is guaranteed a payout of $1 million this year. Butteroni is only the second player from Italy to make the November Nine. Butteroni has cashed in two other times in the WSOP, but both occurrences were this year. He has high stakes at this year’s November Nine because if he comes in first or second place, he will become Italy’s top money leader.
Neil Blumenfield
The 9th and final seat is taken by Neil Blumenfield, a 61-year old poker player. Poker is not Blumenfield’s only career – he also holds the position of President and COO at Elastic Intelligence, Inc. Blumenfield has two prior WSOP cash outs, of which the largest was $38,000.