It was a night for the Porters, and we’re not talking about the guys that carry luggage.

Poker players named Porter have finished first and third at Event #9 of the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

The event was a six-handed, no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament that drew 1,236 participants and had a total prize pool of about $1.7 million.

The top 126 finishers ended in the money. Coming in first was Ralph E. Porter of Woodinville, Washington, USA, who picks up $372,843.

The win gives him over a million dollars in tournament earnings for his career.

He finished in 39th place in the Main Event of last year’s WSOP and earned about $238,000.

“I’m on cloud nine right now,” he said after his latest victory. “I’ve been trying to win a gold bracelet for three years.”

Runnerup in 2008 WSOP Event #9 was Nathan Templeton of Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, who cops $231,982.

Coming in third was Devin Porter of Riverton, Utah, USA, who snags $151,843.

He and Ralph Porter are not related.

Fourth was John Conkright of Lexington, Kentucky, USA, who pockets $101,228.

Fifth was Anatoly Shilyuk, hometown unknown, who garnered $70,860.

Sixth was Michael Brummelhuis of the Netherlands, who picks up $53,314.

Seventh was Dave Zand of Weston, Florida, USA, who earns $36,442.

Eighth was Kevin MacPhee of Couer D’Alene, Idaho, USA, who collected $36,442.

Ninth was Andrew Fegan of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, who cops $28,006.

Tenth was Jared Okun of Las Vegas, who took in $19,570 .

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