The chant oft heard ’round Dixie is, “The South will rise again!”

In this case, it’s a Southerner who’s risen to the top.

Cagey poker veteran Hoyt Corkins has won the World Poker Tour’s Southern Poker Championship.

The annual event, a no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament with a buy-in of $10,000, was held at the Beau Rivage casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, USA.

For the victory, Corkins, who’s from Alabama and uses the nickname “The Alabama Cowboy,” earned a tidy $739,486.

It was the first Southern Poker Championship of his storied career.

Finishing runnerup in the tourney was Jonathan Kantor, who earned $366,643.

Taking third was Jerry Vanstrydonck, who earned $196,829.

Fourth was Jared Jaffee, who earned $135,079.

In fifth place was James Reed, who earned $106,134.

Finishing sixth was Tyler Tydean Smith, who earned $86,837.

The next event on the World Poker Tour will be the Celebrity Invitational, which is scheduled to begin on February 20, 2010, at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, California, USA.

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