Associated Press - November 7, 2009 2:15 PM ET
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nine cardplayers have returned to the World Series of Poker with their sights set on winning a gold bracelet and $8.55 million in the world's most prestigious gambling event.
The players returning to Las Vegas on Saturday had each already turned a $10,000 buy-in into at least $1.26 million, and each came to the felt hoping for even greater returns.
Tournament officials, who call the no-limit Texas Hold 'em tournament poker's biggest stage, transformed a theater at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino to give nearly 1,500 fans a fitting venue to watch its finale.
Among the returning players are amateur Darvin Moon, a 47-year-old self-employed logger from Oakland, Md., with about 30 percent of the tournament's chips.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
