Bodog Beat

Poker pro Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari is still in the mix at the 2008 EPT Grand Final. (Bodog Beat Image)

After a marathon 12 hour day at the 2008 EPT Grand Final yesterday, tournament officials called it a night when 2005 WSOP champion Joe Hachem was eliminated in 11th place, leaving them two shy of the eight needed to make up the final table.

To stay on schedule and still finish the tournament today, officials told the players to come back a little bit earlier today to play from 10 down to eight and then straight through to the final table. That is where they currently stand.

The two unfortunate players who got out of bed this morning only to be sent straight back home were Stig Top Rasmussen (10th – $199,533) and Henrik Gwinner (ninth – $199,533). We're sure they're disappointed, but that kind of cash will make a nice pillow.

The chip leader heading into the final table is Canadian Glen Chorny, who has had some mild success on the tournament circuit, finishing 13th at the WPT Caribbean Adventure. However, even if he were to somehow magically lose all of his chips and bust out first, he would still walk with more than he's ever seen before at one time.

Right behind him is U.S. online poker pro Isaac "westmeloAA" Baron, who is from Menlo Park, Calif., and an…. alcoholic? That's gotta mean something else.

The one player who could magically make chips disappear is Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari, but he usually sticks to chip tricks with his own stack. If Esfandiari can hold onto his chips long enough to make it to third place, the face of the WPT's Poker-Made Millionaire would become the newest EPT-made millionaire.

Irony? Frought with. The only other name player (well, the one's that we recognize) at the final table is Italian poker pro Luca Pagano, who lost his father yesterday. Claudio Pagano finished in 22nd place for $73,325.

Here are the full final table chip counts as they currently stand:

1. Glen Chorny – 3,613,000
2. Isaac 'westmenloAA' Baron – 2,853,000
3. Valeriy Ilikyan – 1,396,000
4. Michael Martin – 1,320,000
5. Maxime Villemure – 1,206,000
6. Denes Kalo – 1,119,000
7. Luca Pagano – 688,000
8. Antonio Esfandiari – 501,000

Stay tuned to the Beat for more updates from the 2008 EPT Grand Final and if you fancy joining these poker players in some of Europe's most-hoppingest destinations, then check out the Bodog "Player's Choice" tournaments and the $12,000 prize package. WPT, EPT and WSOP qualifiers are running daily for as little as $1.

Charles Simmons is a regular poker news contributor to the Bodog Beat.