We think he was one of the Big Winners of the last two weeks of October 2009, too:

Luca Pagano
EPT Warsaw (Casinos Poland)
Poland

Italian pro Luca Pagano suffered a bad beat to finish 4th. And though Pagano has found full-on wins elusive on the EPT, his $128k run in Warsaw was enough to push him past Bertrand Grospellier (“Elky”) as the top player (in terms of Tournament Leaderboard Points) on the EPT in history, with 12 cashes and five final tables.

See the real EPT’s all-time Tournament Leaderboard

Believe it or not, there are some hot boys in poker who, with just a glance across the table, can make us drop our, ummm, chips. It is true that many of them, while looking good with their rock-hard abs and chiseled upper arms, do have poker “performance issues” (most of my hot boy picks didn’t exactly show positive results at the WSOP), but sometimes poker is hard! Even without final tables or gold bracelets, they still to stand out from the masses – at least 6 to 8 inches, I assume. Here are a few:

Chad Brown
Now that is what the gym is for. Not only is he in shape but he shows it off with his tight-fitting shirts. And he’s well-spoken and intelligent. Go on witcha bad self. Turn-ons: playing poker and traveling the world with wife Vanessa Rousso, donating to various charities, and working out.

Erick Lindgren
Not sure if he has rock-hard abs because his shirts aren’t tight enough, but he is athletic and good-looking. Best of all, he’s got a fantastic dry sense of humor. Turn-ons: playing poker tournaments, engaging in a little one-on-one on his home (basketball) court, and remembering reporters’ names (hi, Erick!).

Patrik Antonius
A list of hot boys would not be complete without Patrik, who likely was just born looking so amazing. His model good looks make everyone’s heads turn when he enters a room. Turn-ons: playing the highest stakes poker games in the world, living in Monte Carlo with wife Maya, and being a hot dad to his baby.

Luca Pagano & Marco Traniello
This one is a tie of the Italian kind. Luca knows how to dress like he’s straight out of a Euro fashion magazine, and Marco has more muscle, not to mention an adorable family, but the two are equally Italian and deserve a spot on this list. Turn-ons: playing poker in far-off lands, speaking English with a heavy Italian accent, and enjoying soccer games.

Nelly
Like this one is a surprise? He raps, dances, works out, and knows how to rock a concert and rock those diamond earrings. And he’s from my hometown of St. Louis. E.I., E.I. – uh-oh! Turn-ons: learning to play poker, reppin’ his hometown, and wearing a wifebeater like nobody’s business.

Honorable mentions: Paul Wasicka, Phil Ivey, Nenad Medic, Brian Townsend, Gus Hansen, Joe Sebok, David Singer, Scott Clements, and most men who know how to use their, er, thick wallets. No matter what men like to think, the size of the roll really does matter; am I right ladies?

(This post was more fun to write than I thought! I’m starting to see why my adorably beastly male colleagues spend so much time championing the lowest common denominator.)

Some of my players have done well and could very well tear up the Main Event, but I could have possibly done better than, for example, picking my dentist’s nephew. Here’s a little rundown of my eight players through the end of the preliminary events:

Daniel Negreanu – Clearly the best of the picks, Daniel had an excellent series, though possibly not by his own high standards. With eight cashes, two of which were in world championship events and two of which were final tables, he cashed for more than $330K in the series.

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – One of the favorites in many player pools this year, ElkY cashed twice during the series but could not quite pull a final table. He did make the cover of Bluff Magazine, though, with the article written by fellow Frenchman Benjo.

Terrence Chan – He came into the WSOP with a hot online poker streak that simply didn’t translate into WSOP bracelets, only walking away with one cash in the preliminary events.

Kara Scott – Besides being a talented and professional EPT hostess, the woman can play some poker as well. She played one preliminary event – a $1,500 NLHE – prior to the Main Event and cashed in 58th place.

Luca Pagano – My favorite Italian player did not cash. Viva Italia next year and all that.

Jonathan Dull – My dentist’s nephew had one cash in a $1,500 NLHE event, but, well, I won’t have much to report to my dentist in July.

Dwyte Pilgrim – After 13 cashes in WSOP Circuit events over the past year, Dwyte ran cold at the WSOP in Vegas and wasn’t able to cash in the prelims. But his record over the past year doesn’t lie, so it’s just a matter of time, guy I’ve never met buddy.

Whit Blanton – Pokerati player Whit made a run at one event and didn’t find his way to the money. But he still loves Pokerati, and isn’t that what matters?

Bonus pick Mekhi Phifer – Ummm, where was he?

The Main Event is just kicking into gear, so at least one of my picks still has a chance to go deep. (Go Kara!)

The purpose of picking a team of players at the 2009 WSOP is that it gives me a variety of players to stalk follow and track results. Some of them are well-known on the poker tournament circuit, while others are just beginning to make their marks and may not garner much publicity from the major media outlets. Here? They’re all stars because I dub them so. I’ll be trying as best I can to keep up with them.

Daniel Negreanu – While some argue that he is not particularly focused this year due to the health of his mother and other factors, I contend that the grind will lock him into place at the WSOP and that he will be looking to score big to bring some extra smiles to his mom’s face.

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – He is a given. He has been on fire for several years and will undoubtedly be a force at the Series as he looks to add a WSOP bracelet to his list of serious poker accomplishments.

Terrence Chan – Not only is he a friend of friends of mine, but he caught my eye when he won two PokerStars SCOOP tournaments on the same night a few months ago. It was impressive, and with his motivation to do well this summer, his momentum/skill combo might be enough to get him there.

Kara Scott – She recently placed second in the 2009 Irish Open main event, and her list of tournament successes is growing consistently. Add to that a relationship with a certain poker pro, with whom intimate discussions of flops and raises can only help. And after a deep run in the 2008 WSOP main event, I look for her to do well in numerous events this year.

Luca Pagano – My favorite Italian player has also had some significant finishes, though 2008 was a better year for him than 2009. Even so, his game has been improving, and he appears due for a big finish this summer.

Jonathan Dull – His record shows that he has accumulated nearly $455K in his career. The young player has potential, but how did he make my coveted list? He is my dentist’s nephew, and my dentist is awesome.

Dwyte Pilgrim – The guy is on fire. Over the past year, he came onto the poker scene and began tearing up WSOP Circuit events, posting 13 cashes overall over the past season, many of which were final tables and one – Harrah’s Rincon – championship victory. Seems he does well in any tournament with WSOP in the name.

Whitney Blanton – Not only is he a faithful Pokerati reader and patch-wearing “preferred player”, but also he’s my Facebook friend and has been having a good poker year. He hopes to bring a WSOP bracelet back to Texas this year, and providing he gets out to Vegas soon to play some events, he has a good chance.

For good measure, in addition to my top eight players, I will add Mekhi Phifer as a bonus pick. What fun is stalking without the man who feared my very presence at the 2008 WSOP? (Just kidding; security was never actually called.)

Antonio Esfandiari made himself disappear in 8th place, with a little help from Luca Pagano, but received $266,004 for a grand showing. Luca then went out in 6th for $533,601 and his ninth EPT cash. And Isaac Baron left in fourth place for $932,692.

All of the final ten payouts, courtesy of PokerNews, are as follows:

1 $ 3,198,500 Glen Chorny
2 $ 1,866,790 Denes Kalo
3 $ 1,132,107 Maxime Villemure
4 $ 932,692 Isaac Baron
5 $ 666,606 Michael Martin
6 $ 533,601 Luca Pagano
7 $ 400,590 Valeriy Ilikyan
8 $ 266,004 Antonio Esfandiari
9 $ 199,533 Henrik Gwinner
10 $ 199,533 Stig Top Rasmussen

In other EPT news, Kara Scott may be the best hostess/interviewer on any poker tour. I took some time to listen to some of the EPT final table broadcast, and when she sat in, I was so impressed with the intelligent and witty commentary. Most of all, she seems to truly understand how to interview poker players without being insensitive or oblivious to their experiences. Here is her interview with Isaac Baron upon his exit yesterday:

Glen Chorny – 3,370,000
Isaac ‘westmenloAA’ Baron – 2,365,000
Michael Martin – 1,579,000
Maxime Villemure – 1,220,000
Denes Kalo – 957,000
Antonio Esfandiari – 735,000
Luca Pagano – 705,000
Valeriy Ilikyan – 650,000
Stig Top Rasmussen – 590,000
Henrik Gwinner – 466,000

Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari is doing quite well, and this comes on the heels of his recent sponsorship deal with the World Poker Tour. The WPT Poker-Made Millionaire is representin’ over in Europe!

Isaac Baron is reportedly one of the most respected online players in the game and has been doing relatively well on the live tournament circuit.

The only other name I recognize is Luca Pagano – PokerStars player and Italian guy. Be still my part-Italian heart.

First place will get nearly $3.2 million. Wheee! (Note to the eventual winner: Can I borrow a few bucks?) Live updates can be found at PokerNews and PokerListings.