Las Vegas, NV July 13, 2008 -- With just 474 players left from the original starting field of 6,800, Frenchman Sylvain Couer, who paid just $500 as an entry fee playing online at Everest Poker and has no live poker table experience, is within striking distance of the World Series of Poker final table.

Couer is now heading into Day 4 of the tournament with 300,500 chips to his name. The total puts him at 183rd in the list of remaining players. This same placing last year would have earned him $190,000.

With his strong chip stack, however, he could make considerably more with a place on the final table, and the $9,000,000 first prize becoming a genuine reality.

Sylvain Coeur is from Grenoble, France, and has never played in a live poker tournament.