KevMath (the Snopes.com of Poker?) challenged my facts on the easy-to-prove number of eligible players for the WSOP Main Event Champions Invitational. I say there are 27, he says there are 25. So, going through the list … here’s who may or may not be playing:

There have been 39 main event bracelets.
Seven winners are deceased:

Johnny Moss ’70 ’71 ’74
Puggy Pearson ’73
Stu Ungar ’80 ’81 ’97
Hal Fowler ’79
Jack Strauss ’82
Jack Keller ‘84
Bill Smith ’85

That leaves 28 bracelets still in play … hmm … and two are repeat winners … so 26?

Those eligible:

(unconfirmed attendance in italics)

1.    Amarillo Slim ’72
2.    Sailor Roberts ’75 — also deceased
3.    Doyle Brunson ’76 ’77
4.    Bobby Baldwin ’78 – can’t make it
5.    Tom McEvoy ’83
6.    Berry Johnston ‘86
7.    Johnny Chan ’87 ’88
8.    Phil Hellmuth ’89
9.    Mansour Matloubi ’90
10.    Brad Daugherty ’91
11.    Hamid Dastmalchi ’92
12.    Jim Bechtel ‘93
13.    Russ Hamilton ’94 – snubbed
14.    Dan Harrington ’95
15.    Huck Seed ’96
16.    Scotty Nguyen ’98
17.    Noel Furlong ’99
18.    Chris Ferguson ’00
19.    Carlos Mortenson ’01
20.    Robert Varkonyi ’02
21.    Chris Moneymaker ’03
22.    Greg Raymer ’04
23.    Joe Hachem ’05
24.    Jamie Gold ’06
25.    Jerry Yang ’07
26.    Peter Eastgate ’08

OK, crap, math … KevMath … 25 it is.

So how do you call it? I guess we kinda split the difference? I’m considering both Hamilton and Baldwin as eligible, albeit expected no-shows.

CORRECTION: Sailor Roberts also deceased … OK, crap, Mathers wins.