The Final Goodbye From Las Vegas

After 11 grueling days of deep-stacked tournament poker, a near-record field of 6,844 hopefuls has been reduced to just nine players. As was first reported on or about May 1st, the final table will be played in early November in an effort to, "Add a new element to a very successful and popular event."

Each player takes home the $900,670 that he is guaranteed, and the rest will be awarded this fall at the final table.

The unprecedented decision to postpone the final table was a joint one, made by the WSOP, ESPN, and the WSOP Players Advisory Council who, "Look forward to documenting all of the exciting stories that make the Main Event the seminal competition in all of poker."

WSOP commissioner Jeffrey Pollack, who has had a constant presence at this year's events, added, "Our intent is to provide an even stronger tournament for all poker players and the entire poker industry. Now fans will ask 'who will win' our coveted championship bracelet and millions of dollars instead of 'Who won?' The excitement and interest that will surround our final nine players will be unprecedented."

With that said, and after 55 events in a span of 46 days, the 2008 World Series of Poker has, the Main Event final table notwithstanding, drawn to a close. Some 54 gold bracelets (with the Main Event bracelet still to be decided) and over 180 million dollars were awarded in the last few weeks and it’s hard to believe that it’s finally come to an end.

When all the lights, tables, banners, and other props are finally carried out of the Amazon Room in the upcoming days, there will be nothing left but a frigid open space, some dirty carpet, and the faint memory of what thousands of poker players live for – the World Series of Poker.

For some, it was “business as usual.” For others it was a lifelong dream realized, or perhaps one cut painfully short. Literally thousands of players, media, and fans called the Rio their home over the last six weeks. The atmosphere here on any given day cannot be accurately described, even by the most colorful of illustrators -- it must be experienced. A simple photograph of the enormous Amazon Room and the hundreds of tables it shelters cannot do it justice. One must enter, and experience with their own eyes, the sheer magnitude of this series of tournaments.

We thank you for following our coverage of the 2008 World Series of Poker. While it may not have been evident from an occasional glance at a computer monitor, dozens of PokerNews team members ate, slept, and breathed tournament poker for the last six weeks, literally making this work their livelihood in an effort to provide the best coverage in World Series of Poker history.

We hope you’ll join us on November 9th and 10th when the final nine players duke it out for the over 9.1 million dollar top prize, a coveted WSOP Main Event gold bracelet, and a place in the history books. Until then…good night, and good luck.