BY TOM SOMACH

Who are these guys?

The spotlight is on the nine men who beat the odds–and 6,349 other poker players–to advance to the coveted final table of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event in Las Vegas.

One of these men will win the event and be crowned “winner” of the WSOP–even though the main event is just one of 55 separate tournaments at the WSOP. In addition, the man who wins the main event will receive a special gold-and-diamond championship WSOP bracelet and $8.25 million, plus instant worldwide fame that will likely translate into millions of dollars more in endorsement and other business opportunities.

Regardless of which one of the nine wins the main event title, that person will be paid big bucks to write a book about his life story, spout his poker philosophy on a DVD, speak before corporate audiences, and, of course, shill for an online poker room.

And if the winner has any personality at all, look for him to make the rounds on television, starting with the late-night shows in America.

So who are these guys?

Here’s a thumbnail sketch of each of the nine players who made the 2007 WSOP main event final table and will compete for the title:

PHIL HILM–A 31-year-old professional poker player from Denmark who now lives in Cambridge, U.K., he finished in 33rd place in a tournament at the 2005 WSOP and earned $6,930.

TUAN LAM–A 41-year-old poker pro from Vietnam who now lives in Toronto, Canada, he finished in 76th place in a tournament at the 2005 WSOP and earned $3,290. He also finished in 46th place in a tourney at the 2006 WSOP and earned $7,153.

JON KALMAR–A 34-year-old professional poker player from Chorly, U.K., he finished in 82nd place at the 2005 WSOP main event and earned $91,950, his biggest poker payday to date. He also finished in 88th place in a tournament at the 2006 WSOP and earned $4,311.

RAY RAHME–A 62-year-old retired innkeeper from Johannesburg, South Africa, he is the oldest player at this year’s final table. He is also the first person from Africa ever to make a WSOP main event final table. Although he has had some success playing in poker tournaments in Africa, including one in which he won a seat to this year’s WSOP main event, he has never finished in the money at a WSOP tourney before.

LEE CHILDS–A 35-year-old professional poker player from Reston, Va., USA, he has never finished in the money at a WSOP event before. He recently retired from a job in the high-tech industry to pursue poker full-time.

HEVAD KHAN–A 22-year-old professional poker player from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., USA, he is the youngest player at this year’s final table. He has already finished in the money at two WSOP events this year: an 88th-place finish in one netted him $5,547 and a 41st-place finish in the other won him $14,708.

LEE WATKINSON–A 40-year-old poker pro from Cheney, Wash., USA, he is one of two players at this year’s final table to have previously captured a gold bracelet for winning a WSOP tournament. He won a pot-limit Omaha tourney at the 2006 WSOP, earning $655,746. In addition, he finished in the money in another event at the 2006 WSOP. He also finished in the money at two other events at this year’s WSOP. Before that, he moneyed at three events at the 2004 WSOP and at two events at the 2005 WSOP.

DR. JERRY YANG–A 39-year-old psychologist from Laos who now lives in Temecula, Calif., USA, he won entry into this year’s WSOP main event by winning a $225 buy-in satellite tournament. He has never finished in the money at a WSOP event before. Contrary to some reports, he is not the same Jerry Yang who co-founded the Internet website Yahoo!

ALEX “THE MAD RUSSIAN” KRAVCHENKO–A 36-year-old businessman from Moscow, Russia, he is one of two players at this year’s final table to have previously captured a gold bracelet for winning a WSOP tournament. Earlier at this year’s WSOP, he won a limit Omaha tournament and earned $228,446. He also finished in the money in four other tourneys at this year’s WSOP, and in two tourneys at last year’s WSOP.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)