The participants at the final table of the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker event in Los Angeles will get their chance at the US$1,000,900 first prize.

One of those fortunate finalists is “November Nine” member Kevin Schaffel. Mr. Schaffel leads the final six players with 2,234,000 chips. He will be sixth in chips when the World Series of Poker Main Event final table reconvenes on 10 November.

Since the inception of the “November Nine” format last year, Mr. Schaffel is the first player to make both the November Nine and a World Poker Tour final table. Last year, Russian poker pro Ivan Demidov finished third at the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event, and then finished second behind eventual champion Peter Eastgate at the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas.

Mr. Schaffel’s closest rival is Day 3 chip leader Todd Terry with 2,219,000, followed by online poker pro Prahlad Friedman with 1,476,000. Mr. Friedman is probably best known for his altercation with Jeffrey Lisandro during the 2006 Main Event, as well as the “rap” he performed for a segment of the ESPN television coverage. He also made a deep run in this year’s Main Event, finishing 64th and earning US$90,000.

The short stack at this table is poker pro Toto Leonidas with 580,000 chips. Mr. Leonidas won the 2003 United States Poker Championship in Atlantic City, New Jersey, earning US$388,000. He also has a WSOP bracelet from winning the US$1500 buy-in Seven Card Stud event in 2003. Although he has won several preliminary WPT events, he has never been on the TV table.

Another November Nine member and former chip leader in this event, Steven Begleiter, made the final nine, but missed the TV table when he finished in ninth place. He attempted to bluff off Todd Terry with king-three of hearts. Mr. Terry called with ace-queen of clubs, neither player connected with the board and Terry’s hand held up. Mr. Begleiter earned US$39,240 for his efforts.

In an interesting twist, none of the six players who will compete for the title have ever made a WPT final table before. The combination of familiar faces in new places, along with amateur players Sam Stein and Mike Krescanko, will make for entertaining viewing when the episodes air early next year. The final table will start 26 August at 4pm PDT.

In addition to such Las Vegas landmarks as Bally’s, Caesars Palace and the Rio, Harrah’s Entertainment has expanded their casino empire across the American Midwest. Harrah’s casinos can be found in states such as Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana. Now the gambling giant has its sights set on expansion into Ohio. An e-mail that Harrah’s marketing department sent to customers in Ohio asked them for their opinions on a potential new casino site near the city of Cleveland.

Gaming options are expanding at an accelerated pace in the state. In addition to the seven horse race tracks and the state lottery, Governor Ted Strickland authorized a bill allowing for slot machines at the racetracks. A recent amendment to the state’s constitution up for a vote this November could bring as many as four full-scale casino gaming sites to the state.

Harrah’s spokesman Gary Thompson said that the e-mail approach is a normal part of new market research. He also stated that, while such an approach does not mean that plans to build a new casino are imminent, it is a method the firm uses to get a better idea as to how full-scale casino gaming will be received by customers, as well as if those customers would prefer the site to be built in a certain area of the city. Two of the areas under consideration would include racetracks Thistledown and Northfield Park.

The moves by both the state and by Harrah’s have not been met with unanimous approval. One industry expert claims that the introduction of slot machines to the state’s horse tracks will make them more lucrative targets for out-of-state companies such Harrah’s to buy out or partner with the track owners. In addition, a group of conservative activists has filed a motion with the state Supreme Court questioning whether either the legislature or the governor has the legal power to authorize slot machine gaming without a referendum.

Dan Gilbert, owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, also opposes Harrah’s entry into the state. He, along with one of the racetrack owners, has a stake in potentially building casinos all over the state if a different amendment receives voter approval. Both ballot measures go to the voters on November 3.