The final 9 players in marquee no limit-Texas Hold’em main event of the WSOP is all geared up to start their competition for $8.8 million in Las Vegas post beating several competitors. The players representing France, Australia, Ukraine, and the U.S. will take home a minimum of $1 million. The plan is to outsmart one another until 3 players move ahead in the other round of play at Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino on Friday. Nic Manion is the chip leader who is a small stakes poker champion of Muskegon, Michigan. His previous cash in a series event was worth $5,769. Now, he is reaching the final table with over 112.7 million chips.

The main event rookie, Manion rode pocket aces to the pot which made him become the chip leader on Wednesday. He flipped over his hand when he got both calls and he did not stay to see what others had. Manion headed straight to his rail and began to look up at the TV. He realized they had set up pocket kings and his aces. Now, the only solution to lose the hand was a flush and fortunately, the turn card had no flush draw on board and hence it was a finished game. There is no monetary value for chips in a tournament as each player loses all their chips before elimination from the final table. The popular tournament drew players and some took a risk of $10,000 or won a seat via satellite competitions with cheaper buy-ins. On the whole, the series has over 120,200 entrants till now, and organizers are under the belief that the weeklong event can be the biggest ever.

The main event champion of 2009 Joe Cada has returned to the final table with over 23.6 million chips. Cada already has 3 series bracelets and if he becomes the main event winner once again, he would be the first poker player to do it since 1997.