Islander Jesse Sylvia has secured his spot at the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event. The 26-year-old West Tisbury native, now a professional poker player living in Las Vegas, beat out nearly 7,000 others for one of the seats at the final table in the October competition. He will compete against eight others for the $8.5 million top prize. Seven of the nine finalists are expected to win at least $1 million.

Mr. Sylvia enters the competition as the chip leader, with more than 44 million chips. His next closest competitor has just under 30 million chips.