Final tables of big poker events are no longer dominated by those who claim poker as their profession on their IRS tax forms. Since the poker boom online and its population that plays on the internet holding steady despite the attempts by government via the UIGEA, we see a variety of people holding on to those bricks of cash when the final showdown is played.

The Asian Pacific Poker Tour wraps up its short but successful first run of which hopefully for PokerStars.net, its main sponsor, and players in China and surrounding countries will flock to the siren call of the green felt.

Today starts the final table of the APPT Sydney Grand Finale in which to this writer's eyes can't find a favorite or "brand name" player that has appeared on a World Poker Tour or World Series of Poker final table that I'd mark as the odds-on favorite to win.

No Jesus, Hachem, Raymer, Brunson, just players most of which qualified from their basement or laptop via PokerStars. This is what poker needs more of, the common man/woman making a splash on the big stage and showing those who are less educated about our game can learn about its equality and how skill lets you bend those odds in your favor.

Here's an example of one such final tabler from the PokerStarsBlog.com:

Seat X: Barry Kohlhoff, Wisconsin, USA (coolbear on PokerStars, 647,000 in chips):

The man who claimed the scalp of Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem midway through day 2 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final is having a great time on his first visit to Sydney. The married father of one has worked in the flooring business for 16 years and has run his own business for the past five years. He's been a serious poker player for about four years, and plays about 20-30 hours online. A huge NFL fan, he earned a seat to Sydney via an $11 rebuy event on PokerStars and said a top-three finish would make a big difference to life at his home in the northern US state of Wisconsin.