World Series of Poker November Niner, Gordon Vayo, warmed up for his $8m date with destiny winning over half a million bucks in the River Poker Series; and Sean Yu, Erik Sagstrom and Josh Turner leave the World Series of Poker Circuit Festival in Planet Hollywood with reasons to be cheerful.

Gordon Vayo is set to skirr into the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event with more wind in his sails than most after picking up over half a million dollars in the $2.5m Guaranteed $2,500 buy-in River Poker Series at the Winstar Casino in Oklahoma.

Vayo is the first November Niner to pick up a significant live win since the summer, although Vojtech Ruzicka came close when he finished 24th in the recent European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event in Barcelona.

The organisers met the $2.5m Guarantee after 1,054 entrants paid their $2,500 dues. Despite the huge crowd, the final table was full of quality with the likes of Layne Flack, Grant Hinkle, Chino Rheem, Jeffrey Duvall and Danny Fuhs taking a pew.