Probably the only guy at the World Series of Poker final table with a LinkedIn page, Neil Blumenfield is a software executive by day and a poker player by night. After getting back into poker seriously eight years ago, the 61-year-old from San Francisco has made a magical run to the final table; now he sits third in chips ahead of the November Nine.

President of Elastic Intelligence Inc., Blumenfield has taken some time off to do more of the things he loves: travel, brew beer, and (mostly) play poker. Heading into this tournament with only two WSOP cashes and $130,468 in lifetime earnings, poker is about to become a very profitable endeavor for him. Blumenfield is guaranteed to leave with no less than $1 million (and the relatively inexperienced player should be able to massage his stack into something better than a ninth-place finish).

Before this year’s magical run, his best finish in a live event was 285th at the 2012 WSOP. His goal this time around was to just make it past Day 4; as he told Pokerlistings, he’s “been free-rolling” since then.

Blumenfield would have set the record as the oldest player to ever play the final table, were it not for 72-year-old Pierre Neuville also qualifying this year. Blumenfield knows that the grind of long days at the table can take its toll on the older players, and he’s prepared to slow down his game when that happens to avoid making mistakes.

Blumenfield will be in seat nine when the final table begins on November 8. He’s currently going off at 13/2 odds to win the Gold Bracelet.

(Photo credit: Photos by flipchip / LasVegasVegas.com [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.)