Play in the main event of the World Series of Poker wound down early today to the nine players who will play for the $8.25 million top prize at the no-limit Texas Hold 'em tournament's final table.

Steven Garfinkle, a 37-year-old history professor from Bellingham, Wash., pushed all-in with a short stack and an ace and three and was called by 62-year-old South African retiree Raymond Rahme, who held pocket queens.

The queens held up, putting Rahme in fourth with more than 16 million chips and sending Garfinkle home.

"I'd seen very few cards in the last hour and the time was coming where I needed to either pick up chips or go home," Garfinkle said. He busted out in 10th, winning $476,926.

With the final table set , Philip Hilm, a 31-year-old Dane making a living playing poker online in England, held the lead with more than 22 million chips followed by Toronto poker pro Tuan Lam, 40, with 21.3 million and British poker player Jon Kalmar, 34, with 20.3 million.

Kalmar said he was "nearly broke" before the $10,000 buy-in main event began play July 6, but he plunked down $500 in a satellite tournament to win a seat.

"Otherwise, I was thinking of taking a very long break from the game," the former Internet technology manager said. "I was thinking of going back to work for a bit, (but) maybe not for a while yet."

Others remaining in the hunt for the top prize were Lee Childs, a 35-year-old software engineer from Reston, Va., with 13.2 million; and Lee Watkinson, 40-year-old pro from Cheney, Wash., in sixth with 9.9 million.

Internet player Hevad Khan, 22, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was seventh with 9.2 million; Temecula, Calif.-based psychologist Jerry Yang, 39, was eighth with 8.4 million; and Russian poker pro Alex Kravchenko had 6.5 million.

The nine players were all that was left from a field of 6,358 who paid $10,000 in cash for a seat or qualified through satellite tournaments.

Those who busted out late Sunday and early Monday still went home with small fortunes.

Scotty Nguyen, "The Prince of Poker," ended his run through the main event, busting out two places short of the final table and ending hopes of a former champion repeating.

Nguyen, 44, the 1998 main event champion and the fan favorite as play wound down to a final table, had as many as 15.5 million in chips but lost three huge pots in a disappointing collapse.

"When you're playing good, you get too cocky and too confident and you give players no credit," he said after busting out in 11th with a $476,926 payday. "That's what happened. That's taking nothing away from all these players. They're great players. That's the reason they're here."

Later, he took the microphone and thanked the crowd for cheering him on.

One woman yelled out, "We love you, Scotty!"

The last person to repeat at the main event was the late Stu Ungar, who won the $1 million top prize in 1997 after back-to-back wins in 1980 and 1981.

This year John Armbrust, a 26-year-old high school teacher from Los Angeles, left in 18th place with $381,302.

Ron Kluber, a 46-year-old intelligence analyst for U.S. Forces in Seoul, South Korea, came in 29th. Kluber said his $285,678 prize would help put two teenage daughters through college.

"It's perfect timing," he said.

Jason Koshi, a 33-year-old certified public accountant, said his identical payday was "a big score" compared to his salary and what he made playing $10-$20 games in Los Angeles.

"This is more than I make in a year, definitely," he said.

The remaining players reconvene at noon Tuesday at the Rio hotel casino and play until there is a winner. Unlike previous years, when getting to the final table meant becoming an instant millionaire, ninth place this year will pay $525,934, and the millionaire's club does not begin until fifth place, which pays $1.26 million.

The U.S. crackdown on online gambling, which is believed to have shrunk the field from last year's record 8,773 entrants, and the flatter payout structure were seen as contributing to the more modest payouts.