Travis Erdman is a 37-year-old investment manager. If Travis seems like a familiar face to those of you here at Harvey's that's because he made it all the way to the final table of this same championship event last year. In the 2006 Harvey's Lake Tahoe championship, Travis took fifth place.

However, Travis has the biggest test of any of the nine finalists here as he begins play lowest in chips. Travis Erdman will take his $36,500 in chips and try to stage what would be an incredible comeback victory.

George Saca is a salesman from Folsom, California. He wouldn't tell us his age but he's certainly going to feel a lot younger if he wins today's championship event. George took eighth place in the main event here at Harvey's Lake Tahoe two years ago. So this is his second championship final-table appearance. He's also cashed at other major poker tournaments including the WPT Shooting Stars.

George has a big challenge ahead of him today as he begins eighth in the chip count, with $75,500.

Mark Bonsack is a 47-year-old private contractor. His poker nickname is Bonsai, given to him for his fearless style of play. Bonsai has several tournament cashes on his poker resume including two in-the-money finishes at this year's WSOP in Las Vegas. He's also cashed previously here at Harvey's Lake Tahoe and at Bally's Las Vegas.

Bonsai arrives at this final table ranked second in chips. He hopes to win his first major tournament today and is well on his way to a major breakthrough victory. Mark "Bonsai" Bonsack begins with $252,000 in chips.

Coming to us all the way from the great nation of Ireland is Sylvester Geoghegan, aka Vesty. He is a 33-year-old casino owner. Vesty owns The Crane Club Casino, which is located on the outskirts of Dublin.

He has come all the way to Harvey's Lake Tahoe to play in this championship event here on the World Series of Poker Circuit. And why not? - he's done well in WSOP events in the past. Vesty took 122nd place in the WSOP main event earlier this year. He was also 13th in the Pot-Limit Omaha championship. Vesty was also 21st in a recent event on the European Poker Tour.

Today, we shall see how the luck of the Irish holds up. Vesty comes to the final table with $131,000 in chips.

Dustin Fox is a 25-year-old investment banker from right here in Lake Tahoe. In fact, he was born and raised here making him the only real "local" player of today's nine finalists. Dustin has won multiple poker tournaments in the past, ranging from $100 to $1,000 buy-ins. However, Dustin still says he prefers playing in cash games.

He also loves to play golf and played on the golf team while in college. At some point in the near future, Dustin plans to return to school and get his M.B.A. Today's top prize is over $200,000, which would help to pay the tuition. Dustin has a long way to go, as he begins with $95,000 in chips.

Gabriel Testa is a 38-year-old sales representative at Network Appliance. He says he is proud to be an Italian-American. He also loves soccer. Gabriel says he has a great family, including a wife and one daughter. Gabriel's best tournament finish up to this point was second place at a tournament recently held at the Bay 101 Casino, near his home in San Jose. He arrives at this final table ranked fifth in the chip count with $128,500.

Frank Lee is a 43-year-old business consultant from Los Gatos, California. He is married and has two children. Frank loves playing poker. But he also knows something firsthand about facing everyday challenges far more meaningful than what he sees in a card game. His loving wife was diagnosed with cancer and she is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

Frank has never appeared at a final table of a major tournament before, but he's certainly going to be getting a little extra inspiration from someone special today. Frank enters this final table with $120,500 in chips.

Michael Banducci is a 22-year-old professional from Traverse City, Mich., who already has an impressive record of tournament cashes. With eight money finishes at the WSOP in the last two years, including a final-table appearance in 2007, he has also made two final tables on the Heartland Poker Tour. At $158,800 in chips, Banducci is one of the biggest obstacles on Chris Ferguson's road to victory.

A player who needs no introduction, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson was the 2000 World Champion of Poker and has won four other WSOP bracelets. With 51 cashes at the World Series and two Circuit championships already under his belt, Jesus has accumulated a staggering $5.9 million in career earnings to date. A card-carrying member of Team FullTilt and one of the true legends of poker, Ferguson enters this final table as the dominant chip leader with $426,500.

It's that time again ladies and gentlemen, as the final nine survivors in this tournament take to the final-table felt to see who will walk away with this Circuit championship title and the first-place cash prize.

Chris Ferguson is running the show at the moment with a decisive chip lead and is poised to add a third Circuit ring to his already heavily adorned fingers. Unfortunately for Jesus there are eight other players at the table who will do everything they can to stop him. Here is the seating plan for today's festivities, along with each player's respective chip count.

Seat 1	Chris Ferguson	$426,500
Seat 2	Michael Banducci	$158,800
Seat 3	Frank Lee	$120,500
Seat 4	Gabriel Testa	128,500
Seat 5	Dustin Fox	$95,000
Seat 6	Sylvester Geoghegan	$131,000
Seat 7	Mark Bonsack	$252,000
Seat 8	George Saca	$75,500
Seat 9	Travis Erdman	$36,500

Action is slated to get underway at 2 p.m. (PST), which is less than an hour away, so clear your schedule and get ready for a nice little afternoon of poker action, brought to you by your big homies at PL.com.