Just months after Daniel Negreanu took the title from long time holder Jamie Gold, the record for the top money winner has changed hands to none other than Phil Ivey.

It has been a long four months for the November Nine finalists of the 2009 World Series of Poker. Many believed that with Phil Ivey making the final table, he would be extremely helpful in publicizing the event. So far that hasn’t been the case as Ivey has been pretty quiet for the past few months. That is all about to change tomorrow when his interview will be aired on ESPN. The interview will air on the television show “E:60.”

Poker Superstar Reinforces His Status as the Greatest Player of All Time

DUBLIN, July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Team Full Tilt's Phil Ivey has made the final table of the most prestigious live poker tournament in the world, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

Battling through eight days of play and a field of 6,494 players, Ivey earned a spot at his first-ever Main Event final table and a shot at the US$8.55 million top prize.

Presenting the public's top ten nominations for the 2009 class

After a five-week process that saw hundreds of votes cast weekly on WSOP.com, the public has made clear who they think should be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.  It will now be up to the current Hall of Famers and a panel of media members to determine who actually does join this exclusive club.

The following represents the Top 10 nominated individuals at WSOP.com from May 26-July 2.

Although predictions are already pouring in when it comes to WSOP Player of the Year, it’s unsure if those players will transform their success into a main event win.

For instance, the 2009 WSOP odds to make the final table (played on November 7) don’t list Jeff Lisandro or Ville Wahlbeck, even though both men top the leaderboard this week.

The 2009 World Series of Poker Player of the Year race can be followed by visiting the WSOP official website.

Ville Wahlbeck
- This 33-year old Finnish poker player has won nearly $850,000 thus far at the 2009 World Series of Poker.  The total was acquired in four different events.  He finished 1st place in Event #12 - WSOP World Championship Mixed Event and collected just shy of $500,000 there.  Wahlbeck won another $172,000 at Event #23 - WSOP No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball World Championship.

Phil Hellmuth, the World Series of Poker bracelet record holder, recently released a new book entitled Deal Me In. The book is considered a “must read” for any poker player due to its nature. Hellmuth gathered 20 of his professional poker playing friends to reveal all of their secrets.