07.16.09 PHIL IVEY MAKES *THE* FINAL TABLE AT WSOP

One of the better aspects of a slower news day in sports is that you can lead off with a poker story, and do we have one: Phil Ivey (left), who many consider the greatest poker player in the world, made it to the final table of the $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold’em even at the World Series of Poker, an event considered by all to be poker’s world championship. Ivey will join eight other players in comprising the “November Nine,” the nickname given to those filling up the nine seats at the final table as the tournament takes a three-month break for a second straight year.

“You have no idea, I can taste it now,” Ivey said. “I’m here and today was a very tough day for me. I lost a lot of tough hands early and I grinded back — now I’m right in the hunt.”

Ivey will start the final Nov. 7 with the second shortest stack among the players left in the tournament. [via]

Each player making the final table is guaranteed to win ninth-place money-$1.26 million, which is pretty cool until you have to pay taxes on it. First place will win over $8.5 million, which is pretty good dimp for sitting at a card table all week.

As for the Blogfrica poker scene, noted blogger Cousins of Ron Mexico won the first Carbon Poker sports bloggers’ poker tournament; you can replay the live blog here. I busted out first and, as determined by the field before yesterday, I will be paying the penance for that with a magical littany of unicorns on the site today. It worked for the monolith. Hey, it can’t be any worse than this, can it?