Laura Rauch / AP

Phil Ivey talks to other players during the World Series of Poker. Ivey made the final table in poker's main event.

Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., the private casino operator that owns the series, paid each player the $1.26 million for ninth place on Thursday. The rest goes into an interest-bearing account until the day before the final table starts Nov. 7. By then, the prizes will likely be a little richer.

“I have no idea what I’m going to do in the next four months,” said Steven Begleiter, the former head of corporate strategy for Bear Stearns who now works at a private equity firm. “I have a vacation planned with my wife, I got to get to Europe with her — she deserves a trip — decompress a little and not see a flop for a long time.”

Bear Stearns, the investment firm, was bought out by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in March last year in a deal orchestrated by the Federal Reserve and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Begleiter, 47, of Chappaqua, N.Y., said he played in the first starting day July 3, went back to New York and came back for his second session July 7.

“I hoped to have a run. How long’s a run? Well, I never really dreamed I would be at the final table,” he said. “So I hoped to cash maybe. I don’t really know what I hoped. I hoped to play well.”

Officials brought in last year’s third place finisher Dennis Phillips to talk to the nine players on Thursday about what to expect in the next four months. The trucking account manager from a St. Louis suburb was the chip leader heading into the final table but eventually lost to Peter Eastgate, who won the tournament and $9.15 million.

“It’s our expectation that each member of the November nine recognizes that in some way they’re now an ambassador for the game,” said Jeffrey Pollack, commissioner for the World Series of Poker.

Last year was the first year the world series delayed its final table until November — a move to generate buzz and television ratings for ESPN, which airs most of the tournament weeks after it is completed.

The other players at the final table include Card Player Publisher Jeff Schulman, 34, of Las Vegas; Joseph Cada, 21, of Shelby Township, Mich., who would be the youngest main event champion if he wins; Antoine “Tonio” Saout, 25, of Saint Martin des Champs, France; James Akenhead, 26, of London; and Eric Buchman, 29, of Valley Stream, N.Y.

“Everybody here knows what they’re doing and they have good tournament strategy,” said Ivey, who said he did not want to discuss publicly how he would specifically prepare for his opponents.

“To me it’s a poker game,” he said. “I love to play so I’m just going to do my best, trust my reads and perform the best I can.”

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