2011 World Series of Poker - LIVE and In-Depth WSOP 2011 Coverage

Pius Heinz Wins the 2011 WSOP Main Event!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

In the very late stages of Nov. 8, 2011, 22-year-old Pius Heinz became the first German to claim poker’s ultimate prize.

The Cologne resident outlasted 6,856 players and then beat a final table that included Sam Holden, Anton Makiievskyi, Bob Bounahra, Eoghan O’Dea, Phil Collins, Matt Giannetti, Ben Lamb and Martin Staszko to win the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

In addition to a world championship gold bracelet, Heinz also took down $8.7 million – one of the biggest payouts in the history of poker.

Heinz entered the final table with the third shortest stack but started winning early and, after winning a huge pot against Eoghan O’Dea, never really looked back.

One of the most aggressive players at the final table, Heinz won pot after pot without having to show his cards and he quickly became a contender as play went from nine-handed to three.

Heinz was the first player to break the 100 million-chip mark and by the time play got down to the last three players he was the chip leader with 107 million.

After nearly four months of waiting, players took one-day break after they reached three-handed, putting even more pressure on Ben Lamb, Martin Staszko and Heinz.

The final day didn’t go exactly as Heinz would have planned as Staszko knocked out Lamb very early and then took over the chip lead but the German was as resilient as a Panzer tank and refused to give up.

Finally Staszko made the mistake of shoving with T♣ 7♣ and Heinz called with A♠ K♣. Heinz successfully faded all of Staszko’s outs and his Big Slick became the winning hand of the tournament.

Heinz rockets up poker’s all-time winning list by taking down the $8,711,000 prize and all of Germany can take pride in his accomplishment.

Thanks for tuning into PokerListings coverage of the 2011 WSOP and be sure to check back for interviews and stories with the winner and runner-up.

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Falls Short! (Second)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Martin Staszko came into the 2011 WSOP Main Event as the chip leader and put in a performance that nearly won him a world championship.

Nearly.

After the stunning hand that saw Staszko and Pius Heinz essentially trade stacks, Staszko was playing from the short stack.

With about 40 million chips to his name, Staszko looked down at T♣ 7♣ and decided to ship it all in the middle.

Unfortunately for Staszko, Heinz woke up with a veritable monster in A♠ K♣ and made the quick call.

Staszko shook his head as he saw Heinz’ hand and knew that he would need some luck from the board if he wanted to swap stacks with the German at least one more time.

By this point the entire Penn and Teller amphitheater was rocking as fans realized this could be the final hand of the tournament.

The flop came 9♠ 5♣ 2♦ and the Heinz’ supporters went crazy as their hero was still ahead.

With tension so thick you could cut it with a knife the dealer flipped over a J♥ turn. That changed nothing and Heinz was officially within one card of winning the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

The river came… 4♦!

The Penn and Teller amphitheater literally exploded with confetti as Heinz ran to his friends and family and embraced them.

Staszko, who was the first player from the Czech Republic to make the final table, finishes in second place and will receive $5.4 million for his efforts.

Stay tuned for a complete final table recap.

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Stuns Staszko with Double

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It took more than five hours but we just had our first all-in and call of the heads-up match between Martin Staszko and Pius Heinz.

On the first hand of Level 43 Staszko completed and Heinz popped it up to 7.9 million pre-flop. Staszko called and the flop went down K♠ T♣ 7♣.

The German did not let up and moved 8.2 million in the pot. Staszko responded by pushing 17.5 million into the middle.

Heinz thought for a minute and announced quietly to the dealer that he was all-in. Staszko has acted fast for the majority of the final table and made a quick call.

The players revealed their hands and it turned out they were both drawing.

Pius Heinz: A♥ Q♥

Martin Staszko: Q♣ 9♣

The room was buzzing as Heinz’ tournament life was on the line and he definitely didn’t want to see any clubs.

The turn came 3♥ and then the river fell… 6♠!

Heinz successfully faded all of Staszko’s outs and is suddenly in command of the match with a huge chip lead.

Here’s how the chips looked after the gigantic hand played out:

Pius Heinz – 161,500,000

Martin Staszko – 44,400,000

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Slips

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Once again Martin Staszko has been unable to deal the killing blow to opponent Pius Heinz.

Heinz opened to 4 million and Staszko called. The flop came J♦ 5♥ 4♥ and Heinz immediately led out for 4.5 million.

Staszko thought he sensed weakness and threw 10.2 million into the pot. Instead Heinz re-raised all-in for his last 44.1 million.

Staszko carefully weighed his options for a few minutes but eventually decided he couldn’t make that call.

Heinz raked in that pot and, after adding a few more small pots, is gaining on Staszko. We've been heads-up now for close to five hours.

Here are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 126,000,000

Pius Heinz – 76,000,000

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2011 Main Event: Trouble for Heinz

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Martin Staszko has put together a nice string of wins and Pius Heinz is starting to dip into danger territory.

None of the pots were particularly big over the last 20 minutes but Staszko has been hammering the young German with a number of re-raises.

In perhaps the biggest pot of the last while both players checked their way to the turn of a K♠ J♣ 9♣ 7♣ board.

Heinz bet 3 million and Staszko made the call, which brought the A♥ river. Heinz fired again, this time for 6.5 million but Staszko wasn’t going anywhere and made the call.

Heinz immediately mucked and Staszko showed K♦ 8♥ to take the pot.

The German lost a few pots after that hand and these are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 161,000,000

Pius Heinz – 44,900,000

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Begins Slow Road to Recovery

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Don’t look now but Pius Heinz is once again on his way to evening up the chip stacks.

There hasn’t been a ton of action over the last 10 minutes but Heinz has been consistently winning.

After winning three hands in a row, Heinz added this slightly more significant pot.

Heinz opened for 4 million pre-flop and Martin Staszko called bringing a A♠ A♦ J♦ flop.

Staszko checked but Heinz threw 4 million more into the pot. Staszko flat-called and the turn came 9♠.

This time Staszko bet, putting 6 million into the pot. Heinz called and the board finished with the 4♦. Both players checked and Heinz showed 9-5, which was enough to win the pot.

So far neither player has shown the ability to close out an opponent and there’s no telling how long we could be here if Heinz re-takes the chip lead.

Here are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 129,000,000

Pius Heinz – 76,900,000

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Takes Heinz to the Brink

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The pressure is suddenly on Pius Heinz.

Martin Staszko called and Heinz checked his option to see a flop of J♥ T♣ 3♥. Both players checked and that brought the Q♥ turn.

That’s when the fireworks began and Heinz threw 3 million into the pot. Staszko raised to 7.5 million and Heinz went into the tank, pondering his next move.

Finally Heinz called and that brought the 6♠ river. This time Heinz checked but Staszko chucked 10 million into the pot.

Heinz spent several minutes planning his next move but eventually decided to call. Staszko immediately showed K♦ 9♣ for the king-high straight and that was enough to give Staszko the pot.

The Czech player now has a huge lead over Heinz. Here are the current chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 143,300,000

Pius Heinz – 62,600,000

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Strikes Back

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It seems like an understatement to call these two players evenly matched.

For the umpteenth time this heads-up match the chip lead has switched hands and Staszko is once again on top.

On the very first hand of Level 42, Heinz opened for 4.2 million and Staszko responded by raising to 11.5 million.

Heinz stared down his opponent but eventually opted to re-raise to 20.6 million. Staszko immediately moved all-in and the entire room was nervous as they waited for Heinz to make his choice.

In the end Heinz laid it down and the Staszko supporters went crazy. The Czech player once again has the chip lead and this how the chips currently look:

Martin Staszko – 109,900,000

Pius Heinz – 96,000,000

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Overtakes Staszko

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Apparently you can’t keep a resilient German down and Heinz has once again taken the chip lead here at the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

Heinz has had all the momentum in the last 10 minutes and finally won a big enough pot to give him the chip lead.

The Cologne resident bet 2.7 million pre-flop and Staszko responded with a 9.5 million raise.

Heinz thought for a minute and then fired 19.9 million into the pot. Staszko thought for a couple minutes but, after some visible frustration, decided to lay his hand down. Heinz picks up a 20+ million pot without ever seeing a flop and he now has the chip lead.

We have yet to experience an all in and call in heads-up play.

Here how the stacks currently look at the final table:

Pius Heinz – 115,000,000

Martin Staszko – 92,800,000

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Wakes Up

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Pius Heinz seems to have survived the recent barrage of big Martin Staszko pots and just took down a big one of his own.

Staszko finally opened a pot for a standard bet and Heinz raised to 5.1 million. Staszko thought for a minute but then called.

The flop ran out 9♠ 4♣ 2♥ and Heinz bet 5.1 million. Staszko called and the turn came 3♥.

This time Heinz checked but Staszko bet 7.5 million. Heinz opted to make the call and the river fell 5♣.

Both players apparently lost their will to bet at this point and checked it down.

Heinz showed T♠ 9♦ and that was enough to prompt Staszko to throw his hand in the muck. The German won a few minor pots after that and is now closing in on Staszko’s chip lead. Staszko and Heinz have now been heads-up for nearly three hours.

Here are the latest counts:

Martin Staszko – 114,500,000

Pius Heinz – 91,400,000

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Drags Monster Pot

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We’ve been waiting for the next big hand for a while now and it feels like we just witnessed it.

The potentially tournament-defining hand began with Pius Heinz opening for 3.4 million and Staszko calling.

The flop came A♦ 9♠ 3♦ and Staszko checked but Heinz threw 3.8 million into the pot.

Staszko called and the turn brought the A♠. Once again Staszko checked but Heinz bet 8.4 million.

As he’s been doing all night, Staszko suddenly shifted gears and check-raised to 18.5 million.

Heinz called and the dealer flipped over a 6♦ river.

This time Staszko was the aggressor and he bet 20 million, leaving Heinz with a critical decision.

Finally Heinz shook his head and threw his hand into the muck. Staszko takes a 2-1 chip lead over the young German. Here are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 141,340,000

Pius Heinz – 65,750,000

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Up Then Down

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s turning into all-out war here at the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

Pius Heinz successfully battled back and re-took the chip lead when he forced a huge fold from Staszko on a Q♦ 5♦ 2♣ A♥ 3♦ board after a 16 million bet.

Shortly after that hand, however, Staszko won a monster pot to take the chip lead back.

Staszko opened for 3.5 million pre-flop and Heinz made it 10 million to play. Staszko called and the flop came T♠ 7♦ 2♥.

Heinz continued to pile on the pressure with a 9.8 million bet. Staszko immediately called and that brought the A♣ river.

Yet again Heinz bet and this time he poured 21.3 million chips into the pot. Staszko thought for a minute but then announced he was all in.

It didn’t take long for Heinz to fold and once again Staszko has the chip lead. The Czech player has won several pots after that hand and the chip counts are now:

Martin Staszko – 124,800,000

Pius Heinz – 81,100,000

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Fights Back

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Martin Staszko has successfully turned the heads-up match around and now holds the chip lead.

Heinz never let up in his pressure but Staszko found a couple good spots to fire back at the young German.

In one of the bigger hands Heinz, as usual, made an opening bet of 3.3 million and Staszko called.

The flop came Q♥ Q♣ 9♥ and both players checked. The turn came 3♥ and Staszko checked again but this time Heinz threw a 3.7 million bet into the pot.

The board finished with the 9♣ on the river and Heinz finally checked. Staszko followed suit and showed K♥ 8♣ for king-high, which was enough to win the pot as Heinz threw his hand into the muck.

About 10 hands later, Staszko successfully reclaimed the chip lead after the following monster hand.

Staszko had the button and completed while Heinz checked his option to see a flop of Q♠ 9♥ 2♣.

Heinz led out for 2 million and Staszko called. The dealer peeled a K♠ turn and Heinz fired for 4.5 million.

Once again Staszko called and the board finished with the 7♠. Heinz went for the triple barrel and threw 14 million in the pot.

Staszko pondered his decision for about two minutes but then called and showed Q♥ 7♣, which was enough to beat Heinz’ 7♦ 2♥.

After the hand the stacks looked like this:

Martin Staszko – 110,650,000

Pius Heinz – 95,250,000

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Takes the Lead

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Pius Heinz and Martin Staszko have only been heads-up for about 30 minutes but the German is causing all sorts of problems for Staszko.

Heinz, who we’ve been calling the German Raising Machine for the last couple days, has been putting an extraordinary amount of pressure on Staszko and has won several huge pots without showdown.

The biggest hand so far saw Heinz bet 3.7 million pre-flop and Staszko made the call to see a flop of 9♦ 8♦ 5♣.

Heinz made a continuation bet of 4.3 million and Staszko immediately called. That brought the Q♦ and Heinz kept the pressure on by betting 8.8 million.

Staszko called and the river came T♣. Heinz finally checked but Staszko had no intention of following suit and bet 14.5 million.

With nearly 50 million in the pot, Heinz thought for a few minutes before announcing he was all-in.

Staszko looked tormented by the play and carefully weighed his options. Finally he decided to throw his hand in the muck.

Heinz took the chip lead in the hand and has since added to his stack. Here’s how it looks at the moment:

Pius Heinz – 135,250,000

Martin Staszko – 70,650,000

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2011 Main Event: Lamb Sacrificed! (Third)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

There’s a good chance the last 15 minutes are going to haunt Ben Lamb for a very long time.

In less than five hands of three-handed play the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native went from second in chips to the rail paving the way for a heads-up match between Martin Staszko and Pius Heinz.

In his final hand Lamb open-shoved for his last 10 million with Q♠ 6♥ and Staszko woke up with J♦ J♣.

Lamb looked sick as the dealer prepared to put out the board.

The flop came 5♣ 5♥ 2♠ and that didn’t offer a whole lot for Lamb. The turn also changed very little when it came 2♣.

Lamb was left hoping for one of the three remaining queens in the deck. Considering the incredible WSOP Lamb's had, it wouldn’t have been a complete shock to see a queen peel off the deck on the river.

Instead the river came 7♠ and the pro-Staszko crowd thundered with approval.

Lamb is out in third place and will take home $4 million for his incredible performance here at the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

The crowd seems stunned here at the Main Event final table, as there was a huge contingent of Lamb supporters that have been silenced.

Our advice? Don’t blink! This event could be over in a matter of minutes.

Here are the stacks as Heinz and Staszko enter heads-up play:

Martin Staszko – 117,000,000

Pius Heinz – 88,600,000

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2011 Main Event: Boom! Staszko Doubles on First Hand

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Apparently the three remaining players have no intention of messing around. We just had a double up on the very first hand of three-handed play.

Pius Heinz, Ben Lamb and Martin Staszko had just received their official introductions and UFC announcer Bruce Buffer had just finished the official shuffle up and deal when Staszko and Lamb got into a pre-flop raising war.

Lamb opened for 3 million chips and Staszko raised to 7 million. Lamb thought for a minute and then shoved. It didn’t take long for Staszko to call as he flipped over 7♣ 7♠.

It turned out that we were in for one heck of a coin flip as Lamb had K♥ J♦. The entire crowd was on their feet as there was a chance of an elimination on the very first hand of the session.

The dealer quickly threw down a 9♠ 3♥ 2♦ flop, which gave nothing to Lamb. The turn came 3♠ and Lamb was down to six outs to win the hand.

Instead the river finished with the T♣ to give Staszko the pot and cripple Lamb. Here’s how the stacks look after the hand:

Pius Heinz – 107 million Martin Staszko – 85 million Ben Lamb – 12 million

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2011 Main Event: The Final Lap

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s November 8th and after nearly four months of waiting we will have finally have a new world champion either tonight or early tomorrow.

Pius Heinz, Ben Lamb and Martin Staszko have already outlasted 6,862 players but will have to bring their A-game one more time if they want to claim the title and the $8.7 million that goes along with it.

Heinz will carry the chip lead into the final three with 107 million and is looking to become the first German Main Event winner in the history of poker.

Lamb is second in chips with 55 million and has the chance to top off a WSOP where he won Player of the Year with a championship title.

Finally Staszko enters third in chips with 42 million but has been a formidable opponent throughout the final table. He has a shot at becoming the first Main Event winner from the Czech Republic.

Barry Greenstein and Linda Johnson have just been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame after rousing speeches by Mike Sexton and Doyle Brunson.

We’re now just 30 minutes from getting the final shuffle up and deal and fans are getting downright antsy as they prepare for the conclusion to one of the biggest poker tournaments ever held.

All we can say is get ready. It should be one hell of a night.

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2011 Main Event: Lamb Ends Giannetti, Final Three Set

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

In the end it could happen no other way.

Ben Lamb, the 2011 WSOP POY and one of the hottest players in recent memory, simply would be not be denied a seat in the final three here at the Main Event.

Matt Giannetti, who played well at this final table but got unlucky against Lamb, finally made an ill-timed shove with A♦ 3♠ and smacked right into Lamb’s monster K♦ K♠.

The air in the Penn and Teller amphitheater was electric, as it’s been for most of the night, and it truly seemed something momentous was about to happen.

That feeling was justified when the flop came a stunning K♠ K♦ Q♠ to end Giannetti’s tournament in dramatic fashion. The board finished with a meaningless 4♥ and then the Q♦.

Giannetti crashes out in fourth place but on the plus side picks up $3 million for his efforts in the tournament.

The Texan’s elimination leaves just three players – Pius Heinz, Ben Lamb and Martin Staszko – still chasing poker’s ultimate prize.

It’s been an interesting day down here at the Rio as action shifted gears more times than the average Formula 1 driver.

The day started very tentatively as no player wanted to end their Main Event run with the minimum payout. Finally Sam Holden, the short stack to enter the final table, crashed in ninth place.

Holden’s elimination heralded a rapid succession of bustouts. Anton Makiievskyi (8th), Bob Bounahra (7th) and the aforementioned Holden all hit the rail in the same level.

Eoghan O’Dea (6th) and Phil Collins (5th) weren’t far behind and both bowed out just before dinner at 6:45 p.m.

That’s when action slowed and it took several hours to find the final elimination of the evening. Giannetti got unlucky against Lamb and then ended up on the rail in fourth place.

The final table will now go on break for one entire day as the ESPN production crews scramble to edit their footage for the final broadcast.

Action resumes on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Las Vegas time so be sure to check back for the exciting conclusion to one of the biggest tournaments in the history of poker. In the meantime be sure to check our news section for interviews with eliminated players and a preview of the final three.

Here’s a look at the chip counts of the final three players heading into action on Tuesday:

Pius Heinz – 107,800,000 Ben Lamb – 55,400,000 Martin Staszko – 42,700,000Matt Giannetti Phil Collins Eoghan O’Dea Bob Bounahra Anton Makiievskyi Sam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Lamb Scores Massive Double Against Giannetti

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The Ben Lamb heater lasted an entire summer, so what's a couple more days?

Matt Giannetti opened for a standard bet and Ben Lamb, who had been the shortest stack at the final table for the last while, decided to ship it all-in.

Giannetti thought for a minute but then called and tabled J♣ J♦ while Lamb showed A♥ 7♥.

Lamb was in a scary place, with his tournament life on the line, but the poker gods have been extraordinarily kind to the Las Vegas resident and you had to wonder if what the board would bring.

The dealer flipped over a K♥ 9♦ 5♥ and suddenly Lamb had picked up a massive draw. The crowd was thrilled and went into an absolute frenzy when the turn came 4♥, completing Lamb’s flush.

Yet again, Lamb dodged a bullet and in the process crippled the popular Giannetti down to 6.7 million.

Shortly after the hand Giannetti doubled up with Q-T suited against Staszko’s Q-2 but he is still on life support with 14 million.

Stay tuned.

Here are the latest chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 93,400,000Ben Lamb – 54,200,000Martin Staszko – 43,950,000Matt Giannetti – 14,400,000Phil Collins Eoghan O’Dea Bob Bounahra Anton Makiievskyi Sam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Doubles through Heinz

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Short stack Martin Staszko finally found the double-up he’d been looking for in Pius Heinz.

Staszko open-shoved for the third time in the last hour and Pius Heinz finally decided to see what the Czech was messing around with.

It wasn’t a bad call as Staszko flipped over A♠ 8♣ to Heinz’ 6♠ 6♥. Staszko was in for approximately 20 million and in danger of becoming our final elimination of the evening.

The dealer flopped 8♥ 8♠ 5♠, which put Staszko firmly in the lead. The turn brought the 4♦ and Heinz had picked up an inside straight draw.

Fortunately for Staszko the river was a safe Q♣ to give him the checkmark. Ben Lamb is now the short stack at the final table.

Here are the latest chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 73,800,000 Matt Giannetti – 56,000,000 Martin Staszko – 44,550,000 Ben Lamb – 31,600,000

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2011 Main Event: Who Will Blink First?

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Outside of a couple uncalled Staszko shoves, action has gotten downright tentative over the last 30 minutes of play.

It’s understandable as the stacks have gotten significantly deeper compared to the previous three hours of play and the final three players are no slouches when it comes to final table strategy.

Every remaining player seems focused intently on making it to the final day of the 2011 WSOP Main Event and considering every player that makes it to Tuesday will receive at least $4 million its easy to see why everyone wants to hang on.

Pius Heinz has done a fantastic job as the chip leader over the half our and is a serious threat to break the 100 million chip mark soon.

Here’s the latest chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 96,625,000 Matt Giannetti – 55,775,000 Ben Lamb – 29,750,000 Martin Staszko – 23,775,000

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2011 Main Event: One Must Fall!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We’re once again live from the 2011 WSOP Main Event and the four remaining players now set about ousting one of their own to set the three-player final day of the event.

Pius Heinz, Ben Lamb, Matt Giannetti and Martin Staszko all of chips now but by the time the evening is complete one of them will hit the zero mark.

Interestingly Guy Laliberte, the founder of the One Drop foundation and, co-creator of the $1 million buy-in Big One tournament at the WSOP this summer, stopped by to share some information on the upcoming event.

According to Laliberte 24 players have already expressed their interest in playing the event and he’s planning taking a trip to Russian and Macau to recruit more businessmen who enjoy high stakes poker.

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and Jonathan Duhamel both confirmed they would play the tournament.

Finally Laliberte wished the remaining November Nine players luck and gave the official shuffle up and deal.

We're officially in Level 40 and blinds are 600,000/1,200,000 with a 200,000 ante. Here are the chip counts as we head into what should be the final portion of the evening:

Pius Heinz – 85,500,000 Matt Giannetti – 50,325,000 Ben Lamb – 46,300,000 Martin Staszko – 23,900,000Phil Collins Eoghan O’Dea Bob Bounahra Anton Makiievskyi Sam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Dinner for Four

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Another level is down here at the 2011 WSOP Main Event and the action simply refuses to let up.

Over the last level we’ve seen Eoghan O’Dea and Phil Collins hit the rail as Pius Heinz continues to build his massive stack.

The resurgent Ben Lamb also looks very dangerous as we get ever closer to crowning a champion.

Once we hit one more elimination, however, the entire final table will go on break for one day to give the ESPN production crews some time to catch up.

Right now the shortest stack is Martin Staszko with 23 million as Ben Lamb snapped him off just before the level ended. Staszko still has some room to wiggle so he doesn’t need to get too crazy just yet.

As we mentioned above, players are officially on their dinner break. Check back here at the 8 p.m. local time for more red-hot poker action live from the Rio.

Here are the updated chip counts at the dinner break:

Pius Heinz – 85,500,000Matt Giannetti – 50,325,000Ben Lamb – 46,300,000Martin Staszko – 23,900,000Phil CollinsEoghan O’Dea Bob Bounahra Anton Makiievskyi Sam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Denies Collins One More Night (Fifth)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

They certainly haven’t wasted much time here at the 2011 WSOP Main Event final table.

With Eoghan O’Dea’s seat still warm Phil Collins decided to make his big move.

Pius Heinz initially opened for 2.1 million but Collins decided to shove for 18 million. Heinz eventually decided to make the call with 9♣ 9♥ while Collins could only muster A♦ 7♦.

The flop came 6♠ 5♣ 4♦ and, although Heinz was still in the lead, Collins had picked up a ton of outs with his up-and-down straight draw and backdoor flush draw.

The turn came 9♦, which gave Heinz a set but more importantly gave Collins even more outs with the flush draw in play. The dealer finally flipped… 7♠!

Collins missed his outs and Heinz knocks out yet another player.

On the bright side Collins does pick up $2.2 million for coming in fifth place and his crew seemed to understand this as they broke into “In the Air Tonight” for one more time in the Penn and Teller amphitheater.

Just one more player must fall before this final table goes on a one-day recess.

Here are the updated chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 82,350,000Matt Giannetti – 53,175,000Ben Lamb – 39,650,000Martin Staszko – 30,850,000Phil CollinsEoghan O’DeaBob Bounahra Anton MakiievskyiSam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Sends O’Dea Packing (Sixth)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Irish pro Eoghan O’Dea was in a very unique position at the 2011 WSOP Main Event final table.

He was the only player that had a relative who also made the Main Event who also made the final table.

Way back in 1983, Eoghan’s father - Donnacha O’Dea - made the WSOP Main and eventually finished in sixth place. In 1991 Donnacha made the final table again, this time finishing in ninth place.

As luck would have it, O’Dea finished in the exact same spot his father did, in 1983.

O’Dea was crippled in an earlier hand against Lamb and decided to ship it with Q♥ 6♣ and Martin Staszko called with 8♥ 8♦.

The board came T♥ 9♣ 5♥ J♦ 2♥ and that was enough to end O’Dea’s run here at the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

Fortunately for O’Dea he’s taking home a lot more than his father did (Donnacha took $43k in 1983) as he’ll earn $1.7 million for finishing sixth.

Here are the latest chip counts after the huge hand:

Pius Heinz – 67,500,000Matt Giannetti – 49,875,000Martin Staszko – 40,750,000Ben Lamb – 28,700,000Phil Collins – 18,150,000Eoghan O’DeaBob Bounahra Anton MakiievskyiSam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Lamb Cripples O’Dea

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Ben Lamb has been a shell of his former self since getting unlucky against Phil Collins but the poker gods finally shined on the pro in a recent hand against Eoghan O’Dea.

O’Dea opened for 1.6 million from the cutoff and Lamb decided to just ship his last 14 million in the middle.

The play seemed to torment O’Dea and the Irish pro was unsure of his next move. Having about 16 million, O’Dea barely covered Lamb and was essentially making the decision for his tournament life. After carefully calculating his decision, O’Dea finally decided to make the call with A♣ 9♦.

On paper it looked like the right call as Lamb flipped over a miserly Q♦ 8♦. The poker gods, as we mentioned earlier, had other ideas.

It was a quite a sweat as the board came J♠ J♦ 6♦ 4♣… 8♥! The rivered pair of eights were enough for Lamb to take the pot.

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen much emotion from Lamb but this time he ran to his fans and enthusiastic high-fived them. After the hand Lamb moved up to 29 million while O’Dea moved all the way down to 2.6 million and is in serious danger of going out in sixth.

Players just went on a 15-minute break but you’ll see the updated chip counts below. When they return they’ll have to deal with Level 39 and blinds of 500,000/1,000,000 and a 150,000 ante.

Pius Heinz – 65,200,000Matt Giannetti – 51,675,000Martin Staszko – 38,250,000Ben Lamb – 29,450,000Phil Collins – 18,750,000 Eoghan O’Dea – 2,600,000Bob Bounahra Anton MakiievskyiSam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Against All Odds Collins Doubles Up

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Phil “USCPhildo” Collins just survived a heart-wrenching close call.

Collins had been getting short over the last 30 minutes and with 13.5 million chips left finally looked down at Q♥ J♦ and decided it was go time. Collins open-shoved and everyone folded… except for Ben Lamb.

Lamb decided to call and it was easy to see why. The 2011 WSOP POY flipped over A♣ Q♣ and Collins was in a very rough spot.

The flop came K♦ 5♦ 3♠, which meant Lamb was still in the lead but Collins picked up a backdoor flush draw. The turn was an intriguing T♦. The card gave Collins a metric ton of outs as he had straight and flush draws.

With the entire room on it’s feet the dealer finally flipped over the hand-defining Q♦! Collins takes the pot with a queen-high flush.

All the Collins fans immediately broke into a delirious rendition of “In the Air Tonight” as he raked in the pot.

Here’s how the stacks looked after the hand:

Pius Heinz – 53,500,000Matt Giannetti – 49,875,000Martin Staszko – 45,750,000Phil Collins – 28,150,000Ben Lamb – 15,325,000Eoghan O’Dea – 13,325,000Bob BounahraAnton MakiievskyiSam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Strikes Bounahra (Seventh)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Bob Bounahra may have been the most beloved player at the final table today but even that couldn’t save him from hitting the rail in seventh place.

Bounahra was extremely short-stacked for the last 10 minutes and, after a 1.7 million bet from Martin Staszko, he moved all-in with A♥ 5♣.

Unfortunately for him Staszko called with A♠ 9♦ and all of Belize was suddenly gasping for air.

The flop came 7♣ 6♥ 2♣ and that changed nothing. The turn was an eventful K♥ and all Bounahra could do was pray for one of the three remaining fives in the deck.

Finally the dealer peeled off… the 6♦! It gave Staszko fans a scare but it wasn’t good enough to give Bounahra the checkmark.

Bounahra is out and we’re assuming he’s going to take his small army of Belizean fans with him. He picks up $1.3 million for his efforts in the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

Here’s a look at the updated chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 52,300,000 Matt Giannetti – 47,175,000 Martin Staszko – 39,875,000 Ben Lamb – 32,900,000 Phil Collins – 15,375,000 Eoghan O’Dea – 11,625,000Bob BounahraAnton MakiievskyiSam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Hits Makiievskyi (Eighth)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

When it rains, it pours.

Just a handful of hands after Holden became our first elimination from the final table, Ukrainian Anton Makiievskyi followed him to the rail.

In the end Makiievskyi open-shoved for around 10 million chips. Heinz thought for a minute but then made the call, having Makiievskyi easily covered. Both players flipped over their hands:

Makiievskyi: K♣ Q♣

Heinz: 9♦ 9♥

The Ukrainian contingent of the crowd was on their feet as their horse’s tournament life was in dire straights.

They had to like the flop when it came K♠ J♥ J♠ giving Makiievskyi a pair of kings and the lead.

Unfortunately what the poker gods giveth they can also taketh away and that’s just what happened when the 9♣ spiked on the turn. Suddenly Heinz had a stranglehold on the hand with a set of nines.

Makiievskyi needed a minor miracle on the river and it didn’t come as the dealer flipped over the 7♥.

Makiievskyi’s dream of becoming the first Ukrainian Main Event winner is over. He does pick up $1.01 million for coming in eighth place.

Here are the updated chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 61,150,000Martin Staszko – 43,075,000Matt Giannetti – 34,625,000Ben Lamb – 34,400,000Eoghan O'Dea – 13,325,000 Phil Collins – 12,875,000Badih Bounahra – 6,475,000Anton MakiievskyiSamuel Holden

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2011 Main Event: Lamb Hooks Holden (Ninth)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Sam Holden entered the final table as the shortest stack and despite a valiant effort has officially been relegated to the rail in ninth place.

After several shoves without getting any action, Holden finally picked up A♠ J♠ and decided to move the last of his 11 million stack in the middle while facing a 1.7 million-chip Ben Lamb bet.

Unfortunately for Holden, Lamb had A♥ K♣ and was not willing to make that laydown.

To make matters worse the flop came A♣ 9♣ 8♣ which gave Lamb a pair of aces and the nut-flush draw.

As luck would have it the turn spelled disaster for the U.K. pro when it came K♣, giving Lamb the flush and eliminating Holden.

Holden is the first player to bust at the final table but does pick up $782,115 for his efforts. Expect play to loosen up somewhat as the remaining players have the relief of knowing they won’t go out first.

Here’s a look at the updated chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 49,050,000Martin Staszko – 43,425,000Ben Lamb – 34,400,000Matt Giannetti – 26,425,000Phil Collins – 15,675,000Badih Bounahra – 13,925,000Eoghan O'Dea – 12,925,000Anton Makiievskyi – 10,100,000Samuel Holden

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Takes Charge

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We just finished Level 37 and what a level it was for German Pius Heinz.

Heinz went from zero to hero as he climbed from the bottom of the chip counts to the overall chip lead.

The German stunned Eoghan O’Dea in the biggest hand of the tournament and then went on to win significant hands against Phil Collins, Bob Bounahra and numerous others.

Although he gave up the chip lead, Martin Staszko still has 43 million and might be the only serious competition for Heinz at the moment.

Meanwhile Anton Makiievskyi, Sam Holden, Eoghan O’Dea and Bob Bounahra are all picking up the rear and just one big hand away from going home. After about three hours of play we’re still waiting for our first elimination.

Updated blinds are 400,000/800,000 with a 100,000 ante.

Here’s a look at the most recent chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 49,950,000Martin Staszko – 43,525,000Matt Giannetti – 26,525,000Ben Lamb – 21,675,000Phil Collins – 15,775,000Badih Bounahra – 14,025,000Eoghan O'Dea – 13,025,000Samuel Holden – 11,225,000Anton Makiievskyi – 10,200,000

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2011 Main Event: Heinz on Fire

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Pius Heinz just went into beast mode.

The aggressive German won a big hand against Phil Collins pre-flop and then played what turned out to be the biggest hand of the tournament thus far against Eoghan O’Dea.

Heinz opened for a standard bet from middle position and Lamb called from late position.

O’Dea raised to 4.1 million from the big blind and Heinz called while Lamb immediately got out the way.

The flop came 8♣ 8♦ 4♣ and O’Dea kept the pressure on by throwing 4.6 million into the pot. Heinz thought for a minute but then called, which brought the 2♣ turn.

O’Dea made a huge bet of 8.2 million. This sent Heinz deep into the tank. The German carefully weighed his options but after what felt like an eternity he moved all-in for the last of his chips.

O’Dea snap-folded and all of a sudden Heinz is near the top of the chip counts with 44 million while O’Dea stumbles into the danger zone with 11 million.

We've since learned from the ESPN live stream that O'Dea folded A♦ Q♦ while Heinz held Q♣ Q♠.

Here are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 47,850,000Pius Heinz – 44,175,000Matt Giannetti – 26,675,000Ben Lamb – 21,075,000Phil Collins – 16,975,000Badih Bounahra – 15,750,000Anton Makiievskyi – 12,825,000Eoghan O'Dea – 11,500,000 Samuel Holden – 9,100,000

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2011 Main Event: Bounahra Bounces Back

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Losing that big hand against Martin Staszko seems to have woken the beast in Bob Bounahra.

The Belize-native has been involved in almost every pot over the 10 minutes and has been climbing back up the leaderboard.

He won a massive pot with pocket sevens against Staszco who had A♣ 5♣ on a K♠ K♦ 9♥ 5♠ 3♥ board.

Shortly after that hand Bounahra won big hands off Phil Collins and Sam Holden. He’s out of the danger zone and back up to around 18 million chips.

In other news both Sam Holden and Anton Makiievskyi have open-shoved but everyone else got out of the way.

Here’s a look at the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 42,200,000Eoghan O'Dea – 34,250,000Matt Giannetti – 25,175,000Pius Heinz – 21,575,000Phil Collins – 20,850,000Ben Lamb – 19,250,000 Badih Bounahra – 17,400,000 Anton Makiievskyi – 14,475,000Samuel Holden – 10,750,000

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2011 Main Event: Staszko vs. Bounahra

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Martin Staszko and Bob Bounahra just can’t seem to avoid each other at this final table.

The two international players just played what appears to be the biggest hand of the final table thus far.

Bounahra bet 1.3 million from early position and Staszko called from the big blind.

The flop came J♥ 5♦ 3♠ and Staszko checked but Bounahra c-bet to 1.85 million. Staszko called and the turn came 8♥. Both players checked and that brought the 9♣ river.

Suddenly Staszko became the aggressor as he threw 2.35 million into the pot. Bounahra spent a couple minutes pondering his decision but eventually folded, much to the delight of the Staszko fans.

The Czech player is showing no signs of giving up the chip lead any time soon. Here are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 44,425,000Eoghan O'Dea – 37,350,000 Matt Giannetti – 26,300,000Phil Collins – 24,550,000Ben Lamb – 19,475,000 Pius Heinz – 16,650,000Badih Bounahra – 13,675,000 Anton Makiievskyi – 12,525,000 Samuel Holden – 10,975,000

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2011 Main Event: Giannetti, Collins Make Moves

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It hasn’t taken long for the final table contestants to start testing each other. Matt Giannetti and Phil Collins have been the two most active players in the early stages

Giannetti won a minor pot off Collins when he led out for 1.3 million on a Q♦ 7♥ 2♣ 8♠ board while Collins won a decent pot off German Pius Heinz with Ace-high on a T♥ 6♣ 6♦ K♠ K♦ board.

It hasn’t changed the chip counts significantly but Heinz did drop down to 14,850,000 and is in danger of becoming the shortest stack at the table.

We just hit level 37, which means blinds are cranked up to 300,000/600,000 with a 75,000 ante.

Here are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 39,875,000Eoghan O'Dea – 35,120,000 Matt Giannetti – 26,455,000Phil Collins – 24,175,000Ben Lamb – 20,675,000 Badih Bounahra – 17,750,000 Pius Heinz – 14,425,000 Anton Makiievskyi – 13,375,000 Samuel Holden – 13,125,000

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2011 Main Event: Here. We. Go.

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The biggest final table of the year has officially begun.

Players just made their official entrances to the 2011 WSOP Main Event and fans were literally on their feet screaming for their heroes.

The shouting continued for a good five minutes after the final table began and organizers finally had to try and calm the frenzied crowd down.

Play begins in Level 36 with blinds of 250,000/500,000. We’ll play down to the last three players and then take a one-day break. We’ll find the new world champion on Tuesday.

ESPN Poker’s Norman Chad provided the shuffle up and deal, although it was difficult to hear the TV presenter through the all the fans, and we are once again live at the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

If you're looking for even more coverage be sure to check our @PokerListings Twitter account.

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2011 Main Event: The Beginning of the End!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s been 111 days since the last hand was played in the 2011 World Series of Poker but at long last cards will once again be in the air in little more than an hour.

For nearly four months Martin Straszko, Eoghan O’Dea, Matt Giannetti, Phil Collins, Ben Lamb, Badih Bounahra, Pius Heinz, Anton Makiievskyi and Sam Holden have been dreaming about this moment and it’s finally here.

The PokerListings crew has set up in the orchestra section of the Penn and Teller amphitheater and, as expected, the air is positively electric in the room.

There are a huge number of poker fans in the room but the support for Badih Bounahra is incredible. There looks to be over 100 Belizean poker fans in the room and they’re already chanting Bounahra’s name.

There’s no final table like the November Nine and that’s certainly true this year with music blaring over the PA, hundreds of poker fans filing into the theater, a 6’5 Jack Links Sasquatch mascot wandering around, attractive girls with t-shirt guns and one of the shiniest poker tables we’ve ever seen.

It’s going to be one hell of a day so be sure to keep checking this page for non-stop action from the 2011 WSOP Main Event final table.

The plan is to play down to three players today and then take a one-day recess and crown a champion on Tuesday.

Here’s a look at the player’s chip counts to start the day:

Seat 1 – Eoghan O'Dea – 33,925,000 Seat 2 – Martin Staszko – 40,175,000 Seat 3 – Ben Lamb – 20,875,000 Seat 4 – Phil Collins – 23,875,000 Seat 5 – Pius Heinz – 16,425,000 Seat 6 – Anton Makiievskyi – 13,825,000 Seat 7 – Samuel Holden – 12,375,000 Seat 8 – Badih Bounahra – 19,700,000 Seat 9 – Matt Giannetti – 24,750,000

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Your November Nine is Set!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It's over.

It's finally over.

After a speedy start of the day, the November Nine bubble took a long, long time to burst. After more than four hours, we've finally lost that one player we needed to put this tournament on hold until November.

The bubble boy for the 2011 November Nine is John Hewitt.

Hewitt came into the 10-handed table fourth in chips with 22,300,000. Hewitt then proceeded to not play a hand for a whole level.

He managed to lose around 4.5 million during those two hours.

When he did decide to play a pot after the break, things didn't work out so well for him.

Hewitt doubled Matt Giannetti up when he and Giannetti went all-in preflop. Giannetti showed a pair of jacks and they held against Hewitt's ace-ten.

That brought Hewitt down to around the 10 million mark.

Hewitt then proceeded to double up another player, Badhi Bounahra.

In a preflop all in, Bounahra showed a pair of kings and Hewitt was drawing slim with king-queen.

The kings held up and Hewitt became the table short stack with around 4 million.

THE FINAL HAND

Hewitt would find himself all in again soon enough. This time, it would be his tournament life at risk.

Eoghan O'Dea raised to 1.1 million and Hewitt moved all in for his remaining chips. O'Dea called and the final showdown of the day occurred.

O'Dea: K♠ J♦

Hewitt: 3♠ 3♣

The flop came Q♣ 10♦ 7♠ and the crowd gasped. O'Dea didn't pair any of his cards, but he flopped a straight draw.

“Ace! Ace!” The crowd started screaming.

Turn: A♥

The crowd exploded.

Every rail besides Hewitt's began jumping up and down in celebration. They cheered even harder when the K♦ came on the river to make it official.

We had our November Nine.

Hewitt was eliminated in 10th place, taking home $607,882.

The rest of the players bagged up their chips and made the pay jump to $782,115. One of them will take home 8.7 million, and the title of World Champion.

Come November, we'll find out who.

YOUR NOVEMBER NINE

For now, we know that the final table will look like this.

Many of these players are fairly unknown, but one player who has managed to blow the poker community's collective mind is Ben Lamb.

Lamb has won his first bracelet this year. Before that, he got a runner up finish in a $3,000 PLO event. Lamb also made the final table of the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship.

Now he's leading the Player of the Year race – by a hefty margin – and is in the 2011 November Nine.

Lamb defies all odds and continues to impress.

We'll see if his summer run good can last until November.

A LONG TIME AWAY

But November seems like a long time away right now. Players are currently surrounding the feature table and taking pictures that will go down in history.

They're still not worried about who the next world champion will be, right now they're too concerned about being the November Nine.

Just a few weeks ago, we couldn't pick out most of these players in a crowd, but in the next couple of months everyone will know who they are.

Poker players everywhere will want a picture with them, their autograph, their secrets.

They also go on to uncharted territory.

Every November Nine before this has had the support and financing of large online poker sites.

That won't happen anymore.

There's not a site patch in sight among these final nine.

But that too, is nowhere near the front of the mind of any of these players. They've just accomplished what ever poker player dreams of doing.

In the spirit of Phil Collins (the singer) and Phil Collins' (the player) rail. These first few lyrics that Collins' rail has been singing all night sum up these nine players' feelings.

I can feel it coming in the air tonight, Oh Lord

I've been waiting for this moment, all my life, Oh Lord

Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, Oh Lord, Oh Lord

From Las Vegas, Nevada, this is Team PokerListings, signing off.

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Day 8: The Comeback of Matt Giannetti

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

After not playing a single hand during the first full level, John Hewitt played the first two hands after the break. He took the first one with an under-the-gun raise to win the blinds and antes.

The second hand didn't work out nearly as well for him.

MATT GIANNETTI DOUBLES THRU JOHN HEWITT

Matt Giannetti moved all in under the gun for 5.5 million, and John Hewitt called from the big blind with A♠ 10♥.

But short-stack Giannetti turned over a real hand -- J♣ J♠.

The board came K♥ 8♣ 4♥ 5♣ 6♠, and Giannetti won the pot with his pocket jacks to double up to nearly 12 million in chips.

Hewitt dropped down to about 10.4 million.

MATT GIANNETTI DOUBLES THRU BEN LAMB

Pius Heinz raised from middle position to 1.1 million, Ben Lamb reraised from middle position to 3.1 million, and Matt Giannetti moved all in from the button for 8.35 million.

Heinz folded, and Lamb called with K♥ 9♠. Giannetti turned over J♦ J♠, and he was a big favorite to double up.

The flop came 10♥ 6♦ 3♥, and the 7♥ on the turn gave Lamb a gutshot straight draw with a flush draw.

At that point, it seemed like most of the crowd was chanting with Lamb's friends, "Eight-king-heart! Eight-king-heart! Eight-king-heart!" Said quickly, it sounded like "aching heart."

Of course, Lamb wanted to win the pot, but everyone who wasn't rooting for Giannetti wanted to see the bubble bust too. So the chant took over the entire ESPN arena.

The river card was -- the A♠.

Badih Bounahra

Giannetti's pocket jacks held up to win the pot and double him up to more than 19 million. Lamb dropped down to

BADIH BOUNAHRA DOUBLES THRU JOHN HEWITT

John Hewitt raised from middle position to 1.1 million, Badih Bounahra moved all in from the cutoff for 9.4 million, and Hewitt thought for a bit before calling.

Bounahra turned over K♠ K♥, but he was a huge favorite over Hewitt's K♣ Q♠.

The board came 9♦ 2♦ 2♥ Q♥, and Bounahra won the pot with his pocket kings to double up to nearly 20 million.

That knocked Hewitt down to the short stack with just 4,125,000 -- eight big blinds.

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's an updated look at the chip counts, with the blinds still at 250,000-500,000 and a 50,000 ante:

1. Martin Staszko - 40,025,000 (80 bb)

2. Eoghan O'Dea - 33,150,000 (66 bb)

3. Phil Collins - 22,775,000 (45 bb)

4. Ben Lamb - 21,825,000 (43 bb)

5. Badih Bounahra - 19,900,000 (39 bb)

6. Matt Giannetti - 18,900,000 (37 bb)

7. Pius Heinz - 18,475,000 (36 bb)

8. Anton Makievskyi - 14,125,000 (28 bb)

9. Samuel Holden - 12,825,000 (25 bb)

10. John Hewitt - 4,075,000 (8 bb)

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Day 8: John Hewitt Hasn't Put a Chip in a Pot

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The first full level at the almost-final table is complete, and John Hewitt hasn't voluntarily put a single chip into the pot -- he's lost nothing but blinds and antes.

Hewitt has lost about 4.5 million over the course of 49 hands so far.

Eoghan O'Dea is still the chip leader, though he is less than a big blind ahead of Martin Staszko in second place.

Matt Giannetti is the short stack at this point, with just 11 big blinds in his stack.

Here are a few of the big hands from the end of Level 35:

MARTIN STASZKO vs. PHIL COLLINS

Martin Staszko raised from middle position to 950,000, and Phil Collins called from the button.

The flop came 10♦ 8♠ 3♦, Staszko bet 1,425,000, and Collins called. The turn was the 6♠, Staszko checked, and Collins thought for a while before raising to 3.1 million, and Staszko thought for about 30 seconds before he called.

The river card was the 9♠, Staszko checked, and Collins checked behind. Staszko showed J♥ J♠ to win the pot, and Collins mucked.

That took Staszko up to about 39 million, putting him in contention for the chip lead, while Collins dropped to about 16 million.

PHIL COLLINS vs. BEN LAMB

Phil Collins limped from middle position for 400,000, Ben Lamb raised from the button to 1.3 million, and Collins called.

The flop came 8♣ 6♠ 3♦, Collins checked, Lamb bet 1.5 million, and Collins check-raised to 3.5 million. Lamb called.

The turn card was the K♠, and Collins thought for a bit before raising to 3.5 million. Lamb tanked for a minute and a half before folding, and Collins took the pot.

That took Collins to about 21.7 million, while Lamb dropped down to about 23.4 million.

UPDATED CHIP COUNTS

Here's a look at the chip counts at the break, with the blinds increasing to 250,000-500,000 with a 50,000 ante:

1. Eoghan O'Dea - 40,400,000 (80 bb) 2. Martin Staszko - 39,975,000 (79 bb) 3. Ben Lamb - 26,725,000 (53 bb) 4. Phil Collins - 21,425,000 (42 bb) 5. Pius Heinz - 18,825,000 (37 bb) 6. Anton Makievskyi - 15,325,000 (30 bb) 7. John Hewitt - 14,775,000 (29 bb) 8. Samuel Holden - 13,725,000 (27 bb) 9. Badih Bounahra - 9,150,000 (18 bb)

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Day 8: The November Nine Bubble Continues

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Eoghan O'Dea has a huge chip lead as the final 10 players battle for the nine seats at the official final table -- the November Nine.

For the record, Eoghan O'Dea pronounces his name as if it were "Owen O'Dee." That's just how the Irish roll.

The short stack is Matt Giannetti (18 big blinds), though Badih Bounahra isn't far behind with 21 big blinds. Neither is in immediate jeopardy, and this structure is slow, so they can be patient for a while longer and pick their spots.

There have been some pretty good-sized pots, but there wasn't even a flop until Hand #18. There has yet to be an all-in situation.

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's a look at the leaderboard about halfway through the level, with blinds at 200,000-400,000 and a 50,000 ante:

1. Eoghan O'Dea - 43,050,000 (107 bb) 2. Martin Staszko - 32,700,000 (81 bb) 3. Ben Lamb - 28,225,000 (70 bb) 4. Phil Collins - 20,850,000 (52 bb) 5. Pius Heinz - 20,325,000 (50 bb) 6. John Hewitt - 16,475,000 (41 bb) 7. Anton Makiievskyi - 14,875,000 (37 bb) 8. Samuel Holden - 13,025,000 (32 bb) 9. Badih Bounahra - 8,700,000 (21 bb) 10. Matt Giannetti - 7,250,000 (18 bb)

Obviously, action will continue until one more player is eliminated, no matter how long it takes. (They will continue to take breaks between levels, of course.)

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Day 8: The Unofficial Final Table

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We have a final table.

Yeah, it happened.

This doesn't mean we have our November Nine though. We've dropped to 10 players and we've redrawn to the ESPN arena.

There's only one table your 2011 World Champion can come from now.

We heard the floor announce a lot of all ins after the dinner break. Some got called others didn't.

Some players doubled up, but only two couldn't.

Here's the tale of 12 players, spread across two tables and the journey they took to reach one money-making table.

PIUS HEINZ DOUBLES THRU JOHN HEWITTJohn Hewitt raised under the gun to 650,000, Pius Heinz moved all in from the button for 8.1 million (27 big blinds), and Hewitt called. Heinz turned over K♣ J♣, but he was dominated by Hewitt's A♥ K♠. Heinz would need to improve to stay alive. The board came 10♣ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 9♦, and Heinz filled a jack-high gutshot straight on the river to suck out and stay alive. Heinz doubled up to about 16.77 million, while Hewitt dropped down to about 17.84 million.

Bryan Devonshire

BRYAN DEVONSHIRE OUT IN 12TH

Khoa Nguyen was the tournament short stack and he was looking for a spot to double up. Bryan Devonshire raised to 700,000 and Nguyen moved all in for around 3.6 million.

Devonshire called and showed K♥ Q♦, trailing behind the short stack's A♥ 7♦.

The board ran 4♣ 9♦ 3♠ 10♦ 10♣ and Nguyen got the double up, leaving Devonshire as the short stack.

This time, it was Devonshire's turn to make a mobe.

Eoghan O'Dea raised to 650,000 and Devonshire moved all in. O'Dea made the call.

O'Dea: A♦ Q♥

Devonshire: K♦ Q♦

Board: J♣ 2♥ 4♥ Q♣ 7♠

Both players paired their queen, but O'Dea had the better kicker and Devonshire hit the rail in 12th place. Devonshire made the last pre November Nine pay jump and earns $607,882.

KHOA NGUYEN OUT IN 11TH

We were on the bubble, for the final table bubble.

There was no pay jump at risk, but there was the risk of not being able to play on the fancy ESPN stage for all your friends and ESPN viewers.

It was at this point that Martin Staszko raised to 675,000 and Khoa Nguyen re-raised to 1.75 million. Staszko moved all in and Nguyen made the call, putting his tournament life at risk.

Nguyen: 10♠ 10♣

Staszko: K♥ K♦

Nguyen was going to need some help to stay alive, but the board came A♥ 4♦ 5♦ 6♣ 6♥ instead.

The crowd begged and cheered for a 10, but no upsets came and Nguyen was eliminated in 11th place. He too will earn $607,000 and will walk away while his tablemates join the feature table.

FINAL TABLE SEAT DRAW

Here it is, with some chip counts, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

1 – Matt Giannetti – 9,535,000 2 – Badih Bounahra – 12,985,000 3 – Eoghan O'Dea – 40,540,000 4 – Phil Collins – 19,475,000 5 – Anton Makievskyi – 19,475,000 6 – Samuel Holden – 13,125,000 7 – Pius Heinz – 16,080,000 8 – Ben Lamb – 24,260,000 9 – Martin Staszko – 27,965,00010 – John Hewitt – 22,300,000

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Day 8: Back in Action!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

And we're back. Players have now returned from their dinner break and will continue playing until we hit 10 levels.

Wait. That's not right.

They'll be playing down to the November Nine. Yes, the time has come. The World Series Of Poker kicked off May 30th and now, almost two months later, we'll finally find out who the 2011 November Nine will be.

We reported that Eoghan O'Dea was the chip leader at the dinner break, that was true. But he had even more chips than we expected.

O'Dea has 36,225,000 and the chip lead.

He's followed by Ben Lamb with 27,875,000. Lamb won a huge pot before dinner that barely put him in second place in front of Anton Makievskyi.

Makievskyi started the day with the chip lead, but now he sits in third with 27,275,000.

We're coming back to level 34 with 150,000/300,000 blinds with a 40,000 ante.

Cards are now in the air and – save for a few breaks in between levels – they won't stop being dealt until we have ourselves a final table.

Stay tuned for more action from the 2011 WSOP Main Event, right here at PokerListings.

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Day 8: The Dirty Dozen Goes to Dinner

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We're down to 12 player and they've all been released on a two-hour dinner break.

They're now free to feed on things besides chips and flush draws for a while.

The final dozen are led by Eoghan O'Dea with 33,000,000.

Ben Lamb also managed to chip up near the end of the level, propelling into second place.

Players are now guaranteed a total of $607,882, this will be the final pay jump until the November Nine.

Those lucky nine will be guaranteed $782,115, but they'll have to make it their first. After we lose two players, we will redraw to an unofficial final table. Then we'll play out the largest final table bubble in the world.

DIRTY DOZEN: KONSTANTINOS MAMALIADIS OUT IN 13TH

Eoghan O'Dea raised and then action was folded to Konstantions Mamaliadis. He decided this would be a good moment to move all in for around 4 million.

O'Dea made the call and the cards were turned over.

O'Dea: 7♣ 7♥

Mamaliadis: 8♥ 2♣

Yes, 8-2 offsuit.

The board came 5♥ J♥ 9♦ 6♣ 8♣ and O'Dea hit a nine-high straight.

With this, Mamaliadis became our 13th place finisher and was the last person to earn $478,174.

BEN LAMB WINS A POT WORTH 11 MILLION WITH TRIPS

The featured table has seen some big pots, and this one took more than ten minutes to play out.

Ben Lamb raised from the cutoff to 675,000, and Matt Giannetti called from the big blind.

The flop came A♥ 9♥ 2♦, Giannetti checked, Lamb bet 700,000, and Giannetti called.

The turn card was the 7♦, and both players checked. The river card paired the board with the 2♥, Giannetti checked, and Lamb bet 4,000,000.

Giannetti tanked for a long time. A looong time. More than five minutes. The side table was cheering and having fun with Phil Collins' songs, while the main table was silently waiting for Giannetti to do something.

Giannetti eventually called, and Lamb turned over 3♣ 2♠ for trip deuces. Giannetti mucked, and Ben Lamb won the pot worth 11.14 million in chips.

That pot catapults Lamb up near the chip lead once again, though he is still behind Eoghan O'Dea.

CHIP COUNTS

Here are chip counts for the final 12 players, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Eoghan O'Dea – 33,000,000 Ben Lamb – 27,875,000 John Hewitt – 26,095,000 Anton Makievskyi – 26,095,000 Phil Collins – 18,430,000 Martin Staszko – 18,430,000 Pius Heinz – 12,395,000Badih Bounahra – 12,205,000 Matt Giannetti – 9,490,000 Samuel Holden – 8,795,000 Bryan Devonshire – 6,755,000 Khoa Nguyen – 4,550,000

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Day 8: Schwalich Out, 13 Left

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We're now down to our final 13 players.

One more player in the field will cash for $478,174 and then the field will make a hefty pay jump to $607,882.

As we inch ever closer to the November Nine, things start to get weird in the Amazon. All the lights in the Amazon Room have been shut off except for those on the feature and secondary table.

One section of rail birds has started filling up on Miller Lite. They've gotten to a point of inebriation where they are singing Phil Collins songs.

That's a level of inebriation unprecedented in the WSOP.

Semi-live ESPN coverage has also started. So if you're interested in watching some of the action with a 30-minute delay, tune in to ESPN2 and you'll find it.

DOWN AND OUT: SCOTT SCHWALICH OUT IN 14th PLACE

After an initial raise from Scott Schwalich, Bryan Devonshire re-raised to 1.525 million. Schwalich then moved all in for more than 7 million and Devonshire made the call.

Schwalich showed A♠ 5♠ and was up against Devonshire's pocket 10s.

The board ran 4♠ 4♦ 4♣ 7♦ Q♦ and Schwalich was standing up to leave. But the dealer counted out the stacks and found out Schwalich had Devonshire covered.

Just by a little.

Schwalich was left with around 600,000 and was in dire need of a double up.

A short time later, Phil Collins raised to 550,000 and Scott moved all in for his remaining chips. Martin Staszko called but then Eoghan O'Dea re-raised to 2 million.

Both Collins and Staszko folded, leaving O'Dea and Schwalich heads up.

Schwalich: J♦ 10♣

O'Dea: A♣ 10♥

The board came Q♠ 2♠ 6♠ 5♦ 10♦ and Schwalich became our 14th place finisher, earning $478,174.

Konstantinos Mamaliadis

BACK AND FORTH

Konstantinos Mamaliadis and Khoa Nguyen have been trading custody of their chips like a bitterly divorced couple.

Soon after the players came back from break, Nguyen and Mamaliadis went all in preflop and Nguyen was flipping for his tournament life.

Nguyen: 10♠ 10♥

Mamaliadis: A♠ K♠

The flop came J♥ 4♦ 4♥ and the crowd stayed silent. Then a 10♦ came on the turn. Nguyen threw his arms up in celebration and his rail exploded.

But there was still one card to go, a queen could give Mamaliadis a straight.

But the river was a 3♥.

Nguyen crossed the 7 million mark while Mamaliadis was down to around 3.5 million.

But that was all about to change.

Soon after Mamaliadis raised to 550,000 and Nguyen moved all in. Mamaliadis made the call and showed a pair of fives. He'd be flipping against Nguyen's A♠ Q♥.

The board ran in favor of Mamaliadis this time and he got the double up. Their chip counts were almost exactly reversed.

Both players are now the tournament short stacks.

John Hewitt is almost at 30,000,000.

JOHN HEWITT WINS A 17.8 MILLION POT vs. PIUS HEINZ

There was a huge hand at the feature table that required a big call on the part of John Hewitt. He made the call, and … well, read the rest of this.

Hewitt raised from early position to 525,000, Pius Heinz reraised from the button to 1,175,000, and Hewitt called. There was already 2.92 million in the pot at this point.

The flop came K♣ 4♥ 2♣, Hewitt checked, Heinz bet 950,000, and Hewitt called. (4.82 million in the pot.)

The turn card was the 6♦, and Hewitt check-called a bet of 2,125,000 from Heinz. (9.07 million in the pot.)

The river card was the 10♣, and Hewitt checked for the third time. Heinz bet 4,400,000, and Hewitt tanked for a while before he called with Q♣ Q♦.

Heinz mucked his cards and John Hewitt won with his pocket queens to pick up a pot worth 17.87 million.

That hand knocked Pius Heinz down to about 15.7 million and catapulted John Hewitt up near the chip lead with 27.7 million.

CHIP COUNTS

Here they are, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Anoton Makievskyi – 29,380,000 John Hewitt – 27,710,000 Eoghan O'Dea – 27,710,000 Phil Collins – 19,900,000 Pius Heinz – 16,285,000 Badih Bounahra – 15,550,000 Martin Staszko – 13,600,000 Bryan Devonshire – 13,300,000 Ben Lamb – 13,140,000 Matt Giannetti – 10,965,000 Samuel Holden – 9,635,000 Konstantinos Mamaliadis – 7,700,000 Khoa Nguyen – 3,700,000

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Day 8: Suprise Break!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We're now down to 14 players and we're now on an unscheduled one-hour break.

We've just been losing players too darn fast.

The final two tables are scheduled to be shown on ESPN 2 at 8pm EST or 5pm PST. That means, with a 30-minute delay, live filming starts at 4:20pm, Rio time.

It's only 3:20pm and we're already down to 15 players.

Therefore, due to the extreme speediness of the bust outs, ESPN has sent the players on a one-hour break to save some action for the live coverage.

The player we lost to get to this point was Andrey Pateychuk.

ANDREY PATEYCHUK OUT IN 15th PLACE

Andrey Pateychuk moved all in under the gun for 4.3 million (which only represents 18 big blinds), Pius Heinz called from the cutoff.

Pateychuk turned over A♣ Q♠, but he'd need to improve to stay alive against the J♥ J♠ of Heinz.

The board came K♥ 6♠ 3♦ 9♦ 10♣, and Heinz won the pot with his pocket jacks.

Andrey Pateychuk was eliminated in 15th place, earning $478,174.

The clock stops with about one hour and 20 minutes remaining on the clock. Why? Well, with only 14 players left in the field, they wanted to make sure there was still something to show when the ESPN coverage begins around 4:30 pm PST.

LAST-MINUTE DOUBLE UP

As the spectators were applauding Pateychuk's 15th place finish at the main feature table, Khoa Nguyen found himself all in at the secondary table.

Nguyen had one caller, Konstantinos Mamaliadis.

Nguyen: 9♥ 9♠

Mamaliadis: A♣ Q♣

Nguyen had all 1.6 million of his chips at risk and the board ran 7♠ 4♦ 5♠ 8♠ 6♣, giving Nguyen a nine-high straight.

Nguyen doubled up and everyone was sent on a one-hour break.

CHIP COUNT

Here are impromptu break time chip counts, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Anton Makiievskyi – 31,970,000 Eoghan O'Dea – 26,475,000 Pius Heinz – 24,935,000 John Hewitt – 19,760,000 Phil Collins – 18,360,000 Ben Lamb – 14,910,000 Martin Staszko – 13,450,000 Samuel Holden – 10,505,000 Matt Giannetti – 10,115,000 Badih Bounahra – 9,840,000 Scott Schwalich – 7,875,000 Bryan Devonshire – 7,395,000 Konstantinos Mamaliadis – 7,050,000 Khoa Nguyen – 3,280,000

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Day 8: Final Fifteen

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The Amazon Room is emptier than it's been all summer.

It's almost desolate now.

The vast-sand colored carpet seems to go on forever like many a desert in Las Vegas.

There are a few members of the media huddled up in a pressbox corner like sandpeople. But there's hints of life here besides the desert-dwellers.

In the center of the Amazon Room there's an oasis.

There's a giant stage teeming with bright blue lights that attracts everyone who enters the Amazon. In and around it, there are dozens of spectators, cameras and reporters.

They're all watching 18 players fight for poker glory.

It's Day 8 and we've managed to reduce a field of 6,865 to 18.

By the end of the day, we'll have nine, the November Nine.

TABLE DRAW

Here's how the final two tables stack up, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Feature Table

1 – Andrey Pateychuk – 12,685,000 2 – Ben Lamb – 19,190,000 3 – Samuel Holden – 3,300,000 4 – Ryan Lenaghan – 6,915,000 5 – Pius Heinz – 5,860,000 6 – Matt Giannetti – 8,890,000 7 – Badih Bounahra – 9,380,000 8 – Anton Makiievskyi – 29,720,000 9 – Sam Barnhard – 6,245,000

Secondary Table

1 – Bryan Devonshire – 8,255,000 2 – Khoa Nguyen – 12,705,000 3 – Eoghan O'Dea – 22,075,000 4 – Phil Collins – 9,605,000 5 – Konstantinos Mamaliadis – 16,450,000 6 – Scott Schwalich – 12,925,000 7 – John Hewitt – 11,175,000 8 – Kenny Shih – 5,050,000 9 – Martin Statszko – 5,940,000

That's what the tables and chip counts looked like when the players sat down at their tables, but that was about to change very quickly.

JAILBAIT: KENNY SHIH OUT IN 18th PLACE

If players represented age, our tournament could no longer drink or gamble in Las Vegas. It could however, buy cigarettes, enlist in the army and or do questionable deeds on camera.

That is, until we lost Kenny Shih.

In a raised pot, Shih and John Hewitt were faced with a A♣ 6♠ 7♣ board. Shih led out and, after facing a re-raise from Hewitt, went all in.

Hewitt made the call and showed K♣ J♣. He was up against Shih's 8♠ 8♣.

The 2♣ came on the turn and Hewitt made his flush, eliminating Shih in 18th place for $378,796.

Our tournament now continues its Benjamin Button-style aging process as we dip deeper into the teens.

CIRCUIT NATIONAL CHAMPION SAM BARNHART OUT IN 17th PLACE

Sam Barnhart raised to 550,000, Pius Heinz moved all in from the small blind for 5.5 million, and Barnhart called.

Barnhart turned over 9♦ 9♠, but he'd need to improve to survive against the K♦ K♠ of Heinz.

The board came J♣ 4♠ 3♥ 10♥ 8♠, and Heinz won the pot with his pocket kings.

Sam Barnhart was eliminated in 17th place, earning $378,796.

Barnhart won the first-ever WSOP Circuit National Championship, which was held at Caesars Palace before the WSOP, and was awarded an actual WSOP bracelet.

The only player left in the field with a WSOP bracelet is Ben Lamb, who won his earlier this summer.

RYAN LENAGHAN OUT IN 16th PLACE

Samuel Holden raised from middle position, Ryan Lenaghan moved all in from late position for 4.6 million, and Holden called.

Lenaghan turned over A♥ 8♥, but he was dominated and facing elimination against Holden's A♠ Q♠.

The board came 7♣ 6♠ 2♠ 8♠ 6♦, and Holden turned an ace-high spade flush to win the pot.

Ryan Lenaghan, who was the chipleader heading into Day 7 yesterday, was eliminated in 16th place, earning $378,796.

The remaining 15 players are guaranteed at least $478,174.

CHIP COUNTS

Here are updated chip counts, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Anton Makiievskyi – 32,285,000 Eoghan O'Dea – 23,500,000 John Hewit – 17,000,000 Ben Lamb – 15,690,000 Konstantinos Mamaliadis – 14,200,000 Andrey Pateychuk – 13,460,000 Scott Schwalich – 12,925,000 Phil Collins – 11,800,000 Samuel Holden – 11,665,000 Pius Heinz – 11,465,000 Badih Bounahra – 9,750,000 Khoa Nguyen – 9,300,000 Bryan Devonshire – 9,185,000 Matt Giannetti – 8,980,000 Martin Stazko – 8,200,0000

EXTENDED BREAK AMERICA

Level 32 is now over and players are on 15-minute break.

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Day 8: Final Two Tables

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

There were two eliminations in the first 20 minutes to get the field down to 20, and two more right around the one-hour mark. With 18 players remaining, half of them will reach the WSOP November Nine.

The final 18 players have redrawn for new seats at the final two tables, and they are all guaranteed at least $378,796.

BONDING WITH ACES: OUT IN 22nd

Lars Bonding fell in the first couple of minutes today. He managed to see his deep WSOP run end when he went all in on a flop. Bonding showed the biggest over pair he could, aces. But his opponent showed a set and sent Bonding home in 22nd place.

Earlier in the tournament Bonding mentioned that he had been having a hard time finishing tournaments this WSOP. Indeed, Bonding finished 27th, 19th and 10th in three different tournaments this year.

Bonding reached the final 3 tables four times this WSOP, but never made the final 9.

Now he's managed to go deep but finish just outside of that fancy ESPN final table. But this time he'll be taking home a heftier prize, for his finish, Bonding will take home $302,005.

CAN'T WIN NO MOORE: CHRIS MOORE OUT 21st

Less than 20 minutes after Bonding hit the rail, we got our second elimination of the day.

At the same table.

Anton Makiievskyi raised to 500,000 and Christopher Moore went all in for the few million that Makiievskyi left him with yesterday. If you remember – we're sure Moore does – Makiievskyi gained his chip lead late yestereday when he won a massive pot versus Moore. They got it all in on a K♠ J♣ J♥ board and Moore showed the J♦ with an A♥ kicker.

The hand looked pretty good.

That is until Makiievskyi showed K♦ J♠ for the full house.

Now Moore found himself all in against Makiievskyi again. Moore showed J♥ 10♠ and was up against Makiievskyi's A♥ Q♣.

Moore hit a 10 on the flop and would get the double up from Makiievskyi.

A few hands later Moore would go all in and called by Makiievskyi again.

This time Moore showed a pair of kings and was up against Makiievskyi's A♠ 10♦.

This time Makiievskyi would be the one to hit the flop, as he spiked the A♣.

Moore would not get the double double up and was eliminated in 21st place for $302,005

GIONNI DEMERS OUT IN 20th PLACE

Gionni Demers open-shoved from the button with A♣ 5♦, but he ran into Konstantinos Mamaliadis in the big blind with K♣ K♥.

The board came Q♥ Q♣ 8♦ 6♠ 7♥, and Mamaliadis won the pot with his pocket kings.

Gionni Demers was eliminated in 20th place, earning $302,005.

ALEKSANDR MOZHNYAKOV OUT IN 19th PLACE

Sam Barnhart raised from the cutoff, Aleksandr Mozhnyakov moved all in from the small blind for 1.5 million, and Barnhart called.

Mozhnyakov turned over K♥ Q♥, but he was dominated by Barnhart's A♠ 10♥.

The board came 4♣ 4♠ 3♠ J♦ 2♦, and Aleksandr Mozhnyakov was eliminated in 19th place, earning $302,005.

Chris Moore busted in 21st place.

RECENT ELIMINATIONS

Here's a look at the players who have been eliminated so far today:

19th: Aleksandr Mozhnyakov - $302,005 20th: Gionni Demers - $302,005 21st: Chris Moore - $302,005 22nd: Lars Bonding - $302,005

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard, along with some notables further back (courtesy of WSOP.com). The blinds are still at 100,000-200,000 with a 30,000 ante.

1. Anton Makiievskyi - 29,720,000 (148 bb) 2. Eoghan O'Dea - 21,535,000 (107 bb) 3. Ben Lamb - 18,680,000 (93 bb) 4. Konstantinos Mamaliadis - 16,450,000 (82 bb) 5. Andrey Pateychuk - 13,270,000 (66 bb)

9. Phil Collins - 9,605,000 (48 bb) 11. Bryan Devonshire - 9,185,000 (45 bb) 12. Matt Giannetti - 8,980,000 (44 bb) 13. Ryan Lenaghan - 7,970,000 (39 bb) 14. Sam Barnhart - 6,245,000 (31 bb)

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Main Event Day 8: From 22 Players to November Nine

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It all comes down to this. The summer ends with 22 players ready to battle for the nine seats at the WSOP Main Event final table -- the November Nine.

Chipleader Anton Makiievskyi is closely followed by Eoghan O'Dea, son of Irish WSOP bracelet-holder Donnacha O'Dea.

The incredible Ben Lamb is still alive, of course, the current leader of the WSOP Player of the Year points race, who already has a bracelet and a second-place finish this year.

Young online pros Matt Giannetti and Phil Collins are still alive, as is 2011 WSOP Circuit National Champion Sam Barnhart.

Barnhart could seriously legitimize that pre-WSOP National Championship bracelet with a November Nine appearance.

Perhaps the most recognizable professional player still in the field is Bryan Devonshire, who have been wearing San Francisco Giants gear, trying to parlay his coverage on ESPN into free tickets to some Giants games (or more?).

OFFICIAL CHIP COUNTS

Here are the official chip counts for the final 22 players, with the blinds starting at 100,000-200,000 and a 30,000 ante:

1. Anton Makiievskyi - 21,045,000 (105 bb) 2. Eoghan O'Dea - 19,050,000 (95 bb) 3. Khoa Nguyen - 16,435,000 (82 bb) 4. Andrey Pateychuk - 16,245,000 (81 bb) 5. Ben Lamb - 14,690,000 (73 bb) 6. Phil Collins - 13,805,000 (69 bb) 7. John Hewitt - 13,265,000 (66 bb) 8. Ryan Lenaghan - 10,415,000 (52 bb) 9. Matt Giannetti - 8,920,000 (44 bb) 10. Konstantinos Mamaliadis - 8,195,000 (40 bb) 11. Pius Heinz - 7,510,000 (37 bb) 12. Aleksandr Mozhnyakov - 7,075,000 (35 bb) 13. Scott Schwalich - 6,920,000 (34 bb) T-14. Bryan Devonshire - 6,190,000 (30 bb) T-14. Martin Staszko - 6,190,000 (30 bb) 16. Sam Barnhart - 4,935,000 (24 bb) 17. Samuel Holden - 4,740,000 (23 bb) 18. Gionni Demers - 4,655,000 (23 bb) 19. Kenny Shih - 4,530,000 (22 bb) 20. Lars Bonding - 4,140,000 (20 bb) 21. Bounahra Badih - 3,385,000 (19 bb) 22. Chris Moore - 3,040,000 (15 bb)

Stay tuned to PokerListings.com, as we'll be providing updates for as long as it takes to reach the November Nine.

DAY 7 VIDEO RECAP

We've got our video recap from last night right here to get you in the mood. Turn down the lights, open a bottle of wine and prepare to feel.

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Day 7 Ends: Anton Makievskyi Leads w/ 22 Left

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

That huge 20 million-chip pot late in the level between Chris Moore and Anton Makiievskyi ended up christening the Day 7 chipleader -- Makievskyi.

After a flop of K♠ J♣ J♥, they got it all in. Moore had A♥ J♦ for trip jacks, but Makievskyi turned over K♦ J♠ for a flopped full house.

Moore never caught up, and Makievskyi doubled up over the 20 million-chip mark.

Chris Moore looked like that defeat might send him out the door, but he bounced back with a quick double up to get out of the danger zone, and is still alive with 22 players left.

Things didn't work out too well for Erick Lindgren today, out in 43rd place.

We lost a lot of notable players today that would have made fantastic storylines for this year's November Nine. Here's a quick look at what might have been.

David Bach, the 2009 WSOP $50,000 HORSE Champion, who had three other deep cashes this WSOP (14th, 3rd, 2nd) busted in 45th place.

2008 WSOP Player of the Year Erick Lindgren, the most famous player still in the field at the start of Day 7, was eliminated in 43rd place.

Tony Hachem, brother of 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Hachem, was eliminated in 37th place. For at least another year, there will be only one world champion in the Hachem family.

John Esposito, the veteran player who had four previous deep runs in the Main Event but never reached the final table (11th, 12th, 19th, 26th), busted in 32nd place.

Steve Brecher, the last WPT winner still in the field, was eliminated in 31st place.

The Last Couple Standing: David "Doc" Sands and Erika Moutinho

LAST COUPLE STANDING ERIKA MOUTINHO AND DAVID SANDS

The biggest story of the day was last-woman-standing Erika Moutinho and her boyfriend, professional poker player David "Doc" Sands. Both players made it to Day 7 of the WSOP Main Event, but neither survived.

They spent a good part of the day at ESPN's featured table, and you can bet that they'll be getting lots of face time on the Tuesday night broadcasts later this year.

Sands was the first to bust, in 30th place, but he was quickly followed by Moutinho in 29th. Both players earned $242,636.

POTENTIAL NOVEMBER NINERS

But enough about the also-rans. Who are the players who still have a shot at making this year's November Nine?

Chipleader Anton Makievskyi is closely followed by Eoghan O'Dea, son of Irish WSOP bracelet-holder Donnacha O'Dea.

The incredible Ben Lamb is still alive, of course, the current leader of the WSOP Player of the Year points race, who already has a bracelet and a second-place finish this year.

Young online pros Matt Giannetti and Phil Collins are still alive, as is 2011 WSOP Circuit National Champion Sam Barnhart. Barnhart could seriously legitimize that pre-WSOP National Championship bracelet with a November Nine appearance.

Perhaps the most recognizable professional player still in the field is Bryan Devonshire, who was decked out in a San Francisco Giants baseball jersey and cap, trying to parlay his coverage on ESPN into free tickets to some Giants games.

OFFICIAL CHIP COUNTS

Here are the official chip counts for the final 22 players, with the blinds starting tomorrow at 100,000-200,000 and a 30,000 ante.

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, Ben Lamb has already had an incredible WSOP.

1. Anton Makievskyi - 21,045,000 (105 bb) 2. Eoghan O'Dea - 19,050,000 (95 bb) 3. Khoa Nguyen - 16,435,000 (82 bb) 4. Andrey Pateychuk - 16,245,000 (81 bb) 5. Ben Lamb - 14,690,000 (73 bb) 6. Phil Collins - 13,805,000 (69 bb) 7. John Hewitt - 13,265,000 (66 bb) 8. Ryan Lenaghan - 10,415,000 (52 bb) 9. Matt Giannetti - 8,920,000 (44 bb) 10. Konstantinos Mamaliadis - 8,195,000 (40 bb) 11. Pius Heinz - 7,510,000 (37 bb) 12. Aleksandr Mozhnyakov - 7,075,000 (35 bb) 13. Scott Schwalich - 6,920,000 (34 bb) T-14. Bryan Devonshire - 6,190,000 (30 bb) T-14. Martin Staszko - 6,190,000 (30 bb) 16. Sam Barnhart - 4,935,000 (24 bb) 17. Samuel Holden - 4,740,000 (23 bb) 18. Gionni Demers - 4,655,000 (23 bb) 19. Kenny Shih - 4,530,000 (22 bb) 20. Lars Bonding - 4,140,000 (20 bb) 21. Bounahra Badih - 3,385,000 (19 bb) 22. Chris Moore - 3,040,000 (15 bb)

And the last elimination of the day was Andrew Hinrichsen, the player who busted last-woman-standing Erika Moutinho.

23rd: Andrew Hinrichsen - $302,005

Action resumes tomorrow (Day 8) at 12:00 noon PT. It's the last day of the WSOP during the summer, and action will continue as long as it takes to reach the November Nine.

Return to PokerListings.com, and we'll break down the highlights and the big stories for you along the way.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Day 7: Biggest Pot of the 2011 WSOP

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

On the ESPN featured table, a huge hand developed between big stacks Chris Moore and Anton Makiievskyi after a flop of K♠ J♣ J♥.

Moore turned over A♥ J♦ for trip jacks, but he was dominated by Makiievskyi's K♦ J♠ -- a flopped full house (jacks full of kings).

Moore needed an ace to win the biggest pot of the tournament and bust Makiievskyi, but the turn was the 6♠, the river was the 4♥, and Makiievskyi won the pot with his full house.

Makiievskyi doubled up to more than 20 million in chips -- the biggest pot of the entire 2011 WSOP.

Chris Moore dropped down to about 1.9 million, but he quickly doubled up on the next hand when his A♦ 9♦ outflopped Kenny Shih's A♠ J♥ (all in preflop).

RECENT ELIMINATIONS

Here's a look at the recent eliminations:

24th: Gregory Kaplan - $302,005 25th: Jerry Van Strydonck - $302,005 26th: J.P. Kelly - $302,005 27th: Kyle Johnson - $302,005

The remaining 26 players had a draw for new seats at the final three tables. They are all guaranteed at least $302,005.

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard near the end of the day, along with some of the fewer and fewer notables further back (courtesy of WSOP.com). The blinds are still 80,000-160,000 with a 20,000 ante.

Ben Lamb dropped below average in chips for a brief period today -- for the first time in days.

1. Anton Makiievskyi - 20,370,000 (127 bb) 2. Khoa Nguyen - 17,395,000 (108 bb) 3. Ryan Lenaghan - 15,600,000 (97 bb) 4. Ben Lamb - 14,400,000 (90 bb)

Matt Giannetti - 10,545,000 (65 bb) Phil Collins - 10,100,000 (63 bb) Eoghan O'Dea - 9,600,000 (60 bb) Sam Barnhart - 6,975,000 (43 bb) Bryan Devonshire - 6,050,000 (37 bb) Chris Moore - 4,010,000 (25 bb)

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Day 7: Last-Couple-Standing Busts in 29th & 30th

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The biggest story at the WSOP Main Event on Day 7 has been the continued deep runs for Erika Moutinho and David "Doc" Sands, a couple that has been dating for more than five years.

Sands is an established pro, while this was the first major live tournament for Moutinho.

Like an elderly couple whose deaths are almost simultaneous, Sands busted in 30th place, and Moutinho quickly followed in 29th.

DAVID SANDS OUT IN 30th PLACE

David Sands three-bet all in with J♣ 10♦, but he was called and dominated by John Hewitt's A♥ J♥.

The board came A♠ Q♣ Q♦ 7♦ Q♠, and Hewitt won the pot with a full house, queens full of aces, building his stack to about 7.1 million.

David hugs Erika after he busted in 30th place.

David "Doc" Sands was eliminated in 30th place, earning $242,636.

Sands shook hands with everyone else at the table before returning to Erika for a kiss and an extended hug.

Moments later, Sands was firmly in place on the rail behind Erika, continuing to offer his full support.

ERIKA MOUTINHO OUT IN 29th PLACE

Matt Giannetti raised, Erika Moutinho moved all in from the small blind for about 1.8 million, and Andrew Hinrichsen moved all in over the top from the big blind for about 6.1 million.

Giannetti folded, and Moutinho turned over Q♣ 10♣. Unfortunately for her, she was dominated by Hinrichsen's A♠ Q♥.

The board came Q♦ 5♦ 4♠ 7♦ J♣, and Hinrichsen won the pot with his ace kicker.

Erika Moutinho, the last woman standing in the 2011 WSOP Main Event, was eliminated in 29th place, earning $242,636. She outlasted her boyfriend, David Sands, by one player.

Congratulations to the Last Couple Standing, David Sands and Erika Moutinho, on an incredible run.

TWITTER TRAFFIC

While Martin Staszko was seated at the featured table, Erick Lindgren offered some interesting insight on Twitter.

@EdogPoker: If you are watching the wsop coverage the russian player Staszko has 12k when the bubble broke. Folded about 40 hands in a row on bubble.

One correction: Staszko is actually from the Czech Republic, something that Lindgren noted on a follow-up tweet.

It's interesting to see a player who seemed to have been playing strictly for a min-cash reach the final three tables of the WSOP Main Event, already guaranteed at least $302,005.

RECENT ELIMINATIONS

Here's a look at the recent eliminations:

28th: Philipp Gruissem - $242,636 29th: Erika Moutinho - $242,636 30th: David "Doc" Sands - $242,636

The remaining 27 players had a draw for new seats at the final three tables. They are all guaranteed at least $302,005.

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard at the brea, along with some of the fewer and fewer notables further back (courtesy of WSOP.com). After the break, the blinds will increase to 80,000-160,000 with a 20,000 ante.

Chipleader Matt Giannetti

1. Matt Giannetti - 16,005,000 (100 bb) 2. Khoa Nguyen - 14,850,000 (92 bb) 3. Ryan Lenaghan - 13,560,000 (84 bb) 4. Eoghan O'Dea - 13,280,000 (83 bb) 5. Aleksandr Mozhnyakov - 13,055,000 (81 bb)

Ben Lamb - 9,380,000 (58 bb) Chris Moore - 9,325,000 (58 bb) Phil Collins - 8,575,000 (53 bb) Sam Barnhart - 6,930,000 (43 bb) Bryan Devonshire - 5,920,000 (37 bb)

There are 27 players remaining, and this is the last level of the day. They will stop early if, by some miracle, they reach the final 18 players.

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Day 7: A Warning for Erika Moutinho & David Sands

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The final 32 players returned from dinner and got right back into it, ready to play another two-hour levels. If the field gets down to 18, they will stop early, but that seems very unlikely.

TD JACK EFFEL ISSUES A WARNING TO THE COUPLE ON THE FEATURED TABLE

Before the dinner break, there was a small controversy at the featured table because last-woman-standing Erika Moutinho and her boyfriend David "Doc" Sands were whispering between hands.

Yes, the last-couple-standing is still alive with 30 players remaining.

During the dinner break, WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel tweeted that he had discussed the issue with Moutinho and Sands, because there were complaints about the whispering.

@WSOPTD: Had a conversation with them, and they are both on notice.

No matter what happens, it's an awkward situation for Moutinho and Sands.

If they stay out of each other's way, they're open to accusations of soft playing. If they play against each other, they're open to accusations of chip dumping. It's a bit of a no-win situation.

ERIKA MOUTINHO DOUBLES THRU MARTIN STASZKO

Both Moutinho and Sands have clashed with Martin Staszko a few times this level, but none was bigger than the first.

Staszko raised from early position, and Moutinho moved all in from late position for more than 1.7 million. Staszko tanked for a long time before he called with 7♣ 7♠.

Moutinho turned over J♣ J♠, and she was a big favorite to double up. As the board came out, it was obvious from the stands that Sands was sweating the outcome much more intensely than Moutinho.

The board came A♣ 8♥ 2♥ A♥ Q♥, and Moutinho won the pot with her pocket jacks to double up to more than 3.5 million.

Moutinho and Sands celebrated the double-up with a nice little fist-bump.

A few minutes later, Sands was all in against Moutinho, but both players turned over pocket sevens. Neither player made a flush, and it was a chopped pot.

JOHN ESPOSITO OUT IN 32nd PLACE

Lars Bonding raised under the gun, and John Esposito moved all in from late position for about 1.7 million. Start-of-day chipleader Ryan Lenaghan called from the small blind, and Bonding folded.

Esposito turned over J♥ J♠, but he was dominated by Lenaghan's A♦ A♥.

The board came K♥ 7♣ 7♦ 2♥ 6♦, and the pocket aces held up for Lenaghan to win the pot.

John Esposito was eliminated in 32nd place, earning $242,636.

Surprisingly, this isn't Esposito's best finish in the Main Event. It's not even his second or his third-best finish. It's his fifth-best finish.

Esposito has finished 11th, 12th, 19th, and 26th before this. He's never made it to the final table, and this year's 32nd-place finish is the biggest cash of his career.

Steve Brecher was the last remaining WPT winner in the field.

STEVE BRECHER OUT IN 31st PLACE

Steve Brecher raised from the button, Khoa Nguyen reraised from the small blind, and Brecher moved all in for 4.5 million.

Nguyen called with Q♣ Q♥, and Brecher was dominated as he turned over 4♣ 4♠.

The board came A♥ 5♥ 2♣ K♦ J♠, giving Brecher a gutshot straight draw but nothing else. Nguyen took the pot with his pocket queens.

Steve Brecher, the last remaining WPT champion in the field, was eliminated in 31st place, earning $242,636.

RECENT ELIMINATIONS

Here's a look at the players who have been eliminated after the dinner break:

31st: Steve Brecher - $242,636 32nd: John Esposito - $242,636

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard, along with some notables further back (courtesy of WSOP.com). The blinds are still at 60,000-120,000 with a 15,000 ante.

1. Khoa Nguyen - 17,350,000 (144 bb) 2. Matt Giannetti - 15,970,000 (133 bb) 3. Ryan Lenaghan - 14,725,000 (122 bb) 4. Eoghan O'Dea - 12,520,000 (104 bb)

Bryan Devonshire - 7,875,000 (65 bb) Phil Collins - 7,500,000 (62 bb) J.P. Kelly - 5,450,000 (45 bb) Ben Lamb - 5,180,000 (43 bb) David Sands - 2,300,000 (19 bb) Erika Moutinho - 2,270,000 (18 bb)

There are 30 players remaining in the field.

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Day 7, Dinner Break: Tony Hachem Out; 32 Left

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

One of the more interesting stories still in the field was the progress of Tony Hachem, brother to the 2005 WSOP Main Event champion, Joe Hachem.

Tony is well known in poker circles, especially in Australia, and it would be rather extraordinary for him to reach the November Nine six years after his brother won the entire event.

Unfortunately, that won't be happening.

TONY HACHEM OUT IN 37th PLACE

Hachem started the day in good shape, but it's been downhill from there. Hachem has been struggling with a short stack for several hours.

Hachem moved all in preflop with 8♦ 7♦, and got called by Kenny Shih with A♠ J♥.

The board came A♥ 10♥ 10♣ 3♠ 9♠, and Shih won the pot with two pair, aces and tens.

Tony Hachem was eliminated in 37th place, earning $196,174. That dropped the field down to the final four tables.

BRAZILIAN HILTON LABORDA OUT IN 36th

About three hours ago, with 45 players remaining, Brazilian player Hilton Laborda won a big pot to take over the chip lead.

Now he's been eliminated from the ESPN featured table.

Laborda, who has been wearing a Brazil flag as a cape, raised from middle position to see a flop heads-up against Matt Giannetti in the big blind.

Matt Giannetti (right) plays a hand against fellow big stack Ryan Lenaghan at the featured table.

Both players checked to the turn on a board of 8♥ 7♠ 5♣ 2♣. Giannetti check-raised, and Laborda called.

The river card paired the board with the 7♣, and Giannetti moved all in. Laborda tanked for a bit before he called with A♣ 3♣ for the nut flush.

But Giannetti flipped over 2♦ 2♠ to win the pot with a full house, twos full of sevens. Giannetti's chip stack grew to more than 16 million in chips -- good for the chip lead.

Hilton Laborda was eliminated in 36th place, earning $242,636.

TWITTER TRAFFIC: SEXTON ASSISTS HELLMUTH

Mike Sexton is apparently watching the semi-live coverage of today's action on ESPN, and he offered some advice for commentator Phil Hellmuth via Twitter.

@MikeSexton_WPT: @phil_hellmuth Talk about famous poker families - Did you know O'Dea is Donnecha O'Dea's son? Donnecha has been coming to WSOP since 80's.

Sexton is referring to Eoghan O'Dea, who is still alive with about 6 million in chips. He is the son of veteran Irish player Donnacha O'Dea, who won a WSOP bracelet in pot-limit Omaha in 1998.

RECENT ELIMINATIONS

Here's a look at the players who have been eliminated so far this level:

33rd: Nelson Robinson - $242,636 34th: Nicolas Fierro - $242,636 35th: Guillaume Darcourt - $242,636 36th: Hilton Laborda - $242,636 37th: Tony Hachem - $196,174

DINNER BREAK LEADERBOARD

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard, along with some notables further back (courtesy of WSOP.com). When action resumes after dinner, the blinds will be 60,000-120,000 with a 15,000 ante.

1. Matt Giannetti - 14,345,000 2. Ryan Lenaghan - 13,745,000 3. Ben Lamb - 13,085,000 4. Gregory Kaplan - 12,500,000

Phil Collins - 8,640,000 J.P. Kelly - 9,705,000 Bryan Devonshire - 8,750,000 Steve Brecher - 5,400,000 Sam Barnhart - 4,050,000 Erika Moutinho - 1,775,000 David "Doc" Sands - 1,910,000

The final 32 players are now on a two-hour dinner break, and play will resume about 8:25 pm PT.

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Day 7: Erika Moutinho Wins a Bet For Mike Sexton

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

At the mid-point of this level, there are 37 players remaining, just one spot away from the final four tables -- and a pay jump.

The next player to bust will earn $196,174, while the top 36 players will be guaranteed at least $242,636. That's right, we're just about to hit the quarter-million-dollar paydays.

BRYAN DEVONSHIRE COOLERS GUILLAUME DARCOURT

Guillaume Darcourt five-bet all in from the big blind against Bryan Devonshire in the cutoff. Darcourt turned over K♣ K♥, but Devonshire flipped over the A♣ A♦.

The board came Q♦ 3♣ 3♠ Q♥ 10♥, and Devonshire won the pot with his pocket aces to double up to about 8.75 million in chips.

Darcourt, the Frenchman with the pink hair, drops down to 2.1 million.

BEN LAMB REACHES 12 MILLION

Better late than never, Ben Lamb crosses the 12 million mark in chips after eliminating James Page.

Page three-bet all in preflop with A♦ Q♥, and Lamb called with 9♦ 9♥.

Ben Lamb hasn't been far from the top of the leaderboard all tournament.

The board came 7♣ 7♦ 4♦ 7♥ K♦, and the pocket nines held up for Ben Lamb to win the pot.

James Page was eliminated in 40th place, earning $196,174, while Lamb climbs the leaderboard even higher.

TWITTER TRAFFIC: SEXTON BETS THE LADIES

This update's tweet comes from WPT commentator Mike Sexton, who apparently had a bet on the performance of women in the WSOP.

@MikeSexton_WPT: Great sweat at the WSOP. I'm pulling for Erika. I bet $5k that a woman would make it to the top 40 of the WSOP main event. GO girl!

Less than 45 minutes after Sexton tweeted this, Tri Huynh was eliminated in 41st place, meaning that Sexton won his bet. (With a big assist from Erika Moutinho.)

RECENT ELIMINATIONS

Here's a look at the players who have been eliminated so far this level:

38th: Frank Sinopoli - $196,174 39th: Mario Silvestri - $196,174 40th: James Page - $196,174 41st: Tri Huynh - $196,174

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard, along with some notables further back (courtesy of WSOP.com). The blinds are still 50,000-100,000 with a 10,000 ante.

Dream situation for Bryan Devonshire: aces vs. kings on Day 7 of the Main Event for nearly 9 million in chips.

1. Ryan Lenaghan - 15,700,000 2. Matt Giannetti - 12,630,000 3. Ben Lamb - 12,300,000

J.P. Kelly - 9,705,000 Bryan Devonshire - 8,750,000 Phil Collins - 8,550,000 Steve Brecher - 4,815,000 Sam Barnhart - 4,050,000 Erika Moutinho - 2,572,000 David "Doc" Sands - 1,915,000

There will be a dinner break after this level.

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Day 7: Erick Lindgren Out in 43rd Place

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The field got a bit less interesting last level, with the departures of both David Bach (45th place) and Erick Lindgren (43rd place).

There are 41 players left in the field.

DAVID BACH OUT IN 45th PLACE

At ESPN's main featured table, David Bach raised, start-of-day chipleader Ryan Lenaghan reraised, and John Hewitt moved all in for nearly 2 million.

Bach called all in, and Lenaghan folded. Hewitt turned over A♠ K♦, and it was a race against Bach's Q♦ Q♥.

But the race was all but over on the flop, as the board came A♣ K♥ K♠ 10♥ 4♦ to give Hewitt a flopped full house (kings full of aces) to win the pot.

David Bach, who won the WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship two years ago, was eliminated in 45th place, earning $196,174.

2009 WSOP $50K HORSE Champion David Bach was eliminated in 45th place.

ERICK LINDGREN OUT IN 43rd PLACE

The most famous player left in the field was, without a doubt, Erick Lindgren.

Was.

Lindgren hasn't been able to pick up much momentum today, and he finally moved all in from late position for about 640,000.

Steve Brecher called from the big blind with J♦ J♥, and Lindgren was dominated, holding 4♣ 4♦.

The board came 7♠ 6♠ 3♥ 6♦ 2♦, and the pocket jacks held up for Steve Brecher to win the pot, building his stack to nearly 5 million in chips.

But Erick Lindgren, the last A-list poker pro in the field, was eliminated in 43rd place.

Fortunately, there are still a few big, interesting stories in the field, including brother-of-a-champion Tony Hachem, and the boyfriend-and-girlfriend tandem of David "Doc" Sands and Erika Moutinho.

LOVEBIRDS AT THE FEATURED TABLE

Okay, so calling them "lovebirds" makes it sound like they just started dating. David Sands and Erika Moutinho have been dating for about five years, so it's more serious than that.

But regardless of how you describe it, they are now seated side-by-side at ESPN's main featured table.

Sands has been here all day, and when a seat opened up on his right, he was a bit surprised to see it filled by his girlfriend.

This is the second time they've been seated together in the Main Event, though the first time was only for a brief period at the end of play last night -- also at the featured table.

How "Good for Poker" would it be if a young, good-looking couple made the November Nine together?

RECENT ELIMINATIONS

Here's a look at the players who have been recently eliminated:

42nd: Fabio Sousa - $196,174 43rd: Erick Lindgren - $196,174 44th: Ruben Visser - $196,174 45th: David Bach - $196,174

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard at the break, along with some notables further back (courtesy of WSOP.com). After the break, blinds will increase to 50,000-100,000 with a 10,000 ante.

1. Ryan Lenaghan - 14,195,000 (141 bb) 2. Ben Lamb - 11,610,000 (116 bb) 3. Hilton Laborda - 10,925,000 (109 bb) 4. Phil Collins - 10,580,000 (105 bb)

J.P. Kelly - 9,705,000 (97 bb) Matt Giannetti - 6,800,000 (68 bb) Bryan Devonshire - 6,070,000 (60 bb) Steve Brecher - 4,815,000 (48 bb) Erika Moutinho - 2,555,000 (25 bb) David "Doc" Sands - 1,910,000 (19 bb) Tony Hachem - 1,440,000 (14 bb)

There are 41 players remaining, and action will continue today for a full five levels. One more level after this break, then a dinner break, and then two more levels.

In the unlikely situation that the field reaches 18 players, action will end for the day. In the equally unlikely situation that there are more than 27 players remaining, action will continue until they reach that number.

But that's probably not going to happen. Expect the field to play five full levels today, with somewhere between 19 and 27 players remaining.

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Day 7: New Chipleader Hilton Laborda

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

A big hand just went down on ESPN's featured table with 46 players remaining, and it resulted in a new chipleader.

STEPHANE ALBERTINI OUT IN 46th PLACE

Stephane Albertini reraised all in from the small blind with A♥ K♣, but he ran into the Q♣ Q♦ of Hilton Laborda.

The board came 10♦ 10♣ 8♣ J♦ Q♠. Albertini finished with an ace-high straight, but it was second best to Laborda's full house (queens full of tens).

Stephane Albertini was eliminated in 46th place, earning $160,036.

That pot took Hilton Laborda to the chip lead with 11.8 million.

TOM KORAL OUT IN 47th PLACE

Tom Koral four-bet all in preflop with J♥ J♠, but he ran into the K♦ K♥ of Matt Giannetti.

The board came A♥ K♣ 10♣ A♦ 6♦, and Giannetti won the pot with a full house, kings full of aces.

Tom Koral was eliminated in 47th place, earning $160,036.

Tom Koral finished in 47th place.

RECENT ELIMINATIONS

Here's a look at the players who have been eliminated so far this level:

46th: Stephane Albertini - $160,036 47th: Tom Koral - $160,036 48th: Stuart Tuvey - $160,036 49th: Feming Chan - $160,036

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's an updated look at the top of the leaderboard, along with other notables, courtesy of WSOP.com. The blinds are still 40,000-80,000 with a 10,000 ante.

1. Hilton Laborda - 11,800,000 (147 bb) 2. Ryan Lenaghan - 11,100,000 (138 bb) 3. Phil Collins - 11,000,000 (137 bb) 4. Guillaume Darcourt - 10,900,000 (136 bb) 5. Andrey Pateychuk - 10,700,000 (133 bb)

Ben Lamb - 7,300,000 (91 bb) Bryan Devonshire - 6,150,000 (76 bb) Steve Brecher - 3,880,000 (48 bb) Erika Moutinho - 3,550,000 (44 bb) Erick Lindgren - 2,720,000 (34 bb) Tony Hachem - 2,600,000 (32 bb) David "Doc" Sands - 2,475,000 (30 bb)

For the first time in a long time, the top of the leaderboard is pretty tightly packed.

There are 45 players remaining, and they have just broken down to the final five tables.

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Day 7: 49 Left at the First Break

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The action has sped up a bit in the second half of the first level, as it comes to an end with 49 players remaining.

ESPN'S FEATURED TABLE

Today's featured table includes start-of-day chipleader Ryan Lenaghan, David "Doc" Sands, David Bach, and John Esposito.

Esposito started the day in a tie for second-to-last place with 1,000,000 (about 16 big blinds).

Esposito has gotten off to a solid start today. While he's still below average, he's built his stack up to more than 3.3 million, good for about 55 big blinds.

ERIKA MOUTINHO DOUBLES THRU TRI HUYNH

Last woman standing Erika Moutinho had a big sweat a moment ago, and she had to do it without the support of her boyfriend David Sands, who is on the other side of the room at ESPN's main featured table.

Moutinho got in a preflop raising war with Tri Huynh until she was all in with A♠ K♥ against his 7♣ 7♠.

The board came Q♥ J♠ 3♣ 5♦ A♥, and Moutinho caught an ace on the river to stay alive and double up to about 4.6 million in chips.

Huyn dropped to a still-healthy 3.9 million.

TWITTER TRAFFIC: DEVONSHIRE TRIES FOR TIX, BROKOS IS A MAIN EVENT CASH MACHINE

Bryan Devonshire is wearing a San Francisco Giants baseball jersey and cap today at the secondary featured table, apparently hoping to parlay it into some free tickets.

Here's the Twitter conversation between Devonshire and the official Twitter account for the Giants:

Bryan Devonshire has been wearing San Francisco Giants gear thru most of the Main Event.

@devopoker: So, @SFGiants… today I'll be on ESPN2 LIVE, wearing Giants gear, and all a guy wants is some tickets…

@SFGiants: @devopoker What time will you be on?

@devopoker: @SFGiants We're live on ESPN3 right now, I'm not sure when it goes live on ESPN2 but it's sometime this evening. Hi :)

@SFGiants: @devopoker Good Luck, keep us posted

We'll have to wait and see if Devonshire gets anything out of this. It seems like a no-brainer for the Giants to pick up a little easy publicity for the cost of some tickets.

Our other Twitter highlight comes from Andrew Brokos, who now has six cashes listed on his poker resume -- five of them in the WSOP Main Event. He's cashed in this event five of the last six years, finishing 279th, 361st, 35th, 87th, and now 53rd.

Brokos, who runs a highly-regarded blog called "Thinking Poker," had this to say about his final hand:

@thinkingpoker: 53rd place. Lost ak to 99. Won $160k. No reaction at all to losing pot. Proud of that. Thanks to all who followed. #nextyear

TODAY'S ELIMINATIONS

Here's a summary of the players who have been eliminated during the first level of play here on Day 7:

50th: Matthew "Ch0ppy" Kay - $160,036 51st: Stefan Huber - $160,036 52nd: Jody Howe - $160,036 53rd: Andrew Brokos - $160,036 54th: Zohair Karim - $160,036 55th: Sebastian Ruthenberg - $130,997 56th: Minh Nguyen - $130,997 57th: Per Linde - $130,997

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here is a look at the top of the leaderboard as the players take their first break of the day (courtesy of WSOP.com):

1. Ryan Lenaghan - 11,700,000 (146 bb) 2. Guillaume Darcourt - 10,560,000 (132 bb)3. Andrey Pateychuk - 9,720,000 (121 bb) 4. Phil Collins - 8,735,000 (109 bb)

Ben Lamb - 6,200,000 (77 bb) Bryan Devonshire - 5,970,000 (74 bb) Erika Moutinho - 3,570,000 (44 bb) John Esposito - 3,360,000 (42 bb) David "Doc" Sands - 2,700,000 (33 bb) Tony Hachem - 2,700,000 (33 bb) Erick Lindgren - 1,700,000 (21 bb)

When action resumes, the blinds will be 40,000-80,000 with a 10,000 ante.

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Day 7: Four Down in the First Hour

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The pace of bustouts seems to have finally slowed down a bit, as we've only lost four players in the first hour. Ryan Lenaghan retains the lead with 12 million.

PER LINDE OUT IN 57th PLACE

Per Linde four-bet all in preflop for about 1.8 million with 5♦ 5♥, but he ran into the Q♥ Q♠ of Khoa Nguyen.

The board came Q♣ 9♦ 6♥ A♥ 8♠, and Nguyen won the pot with a set of queens.

Per Linde was eliminated in 57th place, earning $130,997.

J.P. KELLY DOUBLES THRU MATT GIANNETTI

Two of the big stacks played a huge hand preflop out in the field.

Matt Giannetti four-bet all in preflop from the cutoff with A♣ J♣, but he was called by J.P. Kelly in the small blind with A♥ K♥.

The board came Q♠ 8♦ 2♥ 4♣ A♠, and Big Slick held up for J.P. Kelly to double his stack up to nearly 7.5 million, more than twice the average stack.

Giannetti dropped down to about 5 million, still enough to keep him well above average.

MINH NGUYEN ELIMINATED IN 56th PLACE

Minh Nguyen three-bet all in from the big blind, and J.P. Kelly called from late position with A♦ J♣.

Nguyen had A♠ Q♣, and was a dominant favorite to double up.

But the cards didn't cooperate, as the board came J♥ 10♠ 5♦ 9♣ 7♣. Kelly paired his jack on the flop, and though Nguyen turned an open-ended straight draw, he missed all of his outs on the river.

Minh Nguyen, who has two WSOP bracelets on his resume, was eliminated in 56th place, earning $130,997.

J.P. Kelly is having a great start here on Day 7, nearing 8.5 million in chips.

Sebastian Ruthenberg was eliminated in 55th place.

SEBASTIAN RUTHENBERG OUT IN 55th PLACE

Sebastian Ruthenberg was the last remaining EPT winner in the field, but his WSOP has come to an end.

Kenny Shih raised under the gun, Ruthenberg moved all in for 880,000, and Guillaume Darcourt called from the big blind. Shih folded, claiming he had pocket eights.

Ruthenberg turned over A♦ Q♣, but he was dominated by Darcourt's K♣ K♦.

The board came 10♦ 10♣ 8♣ 2♣ 2♦, and Darcourt took the pot with his pocket kings.

Sebastian Ruthenberg was eliminated in 55th place, earning $130,997.

ZOHAIR KARIM OUT IN 54th PLACE

No details on the hand, but Zohair Karim was eliminated in 54th place, which gives him a higher payday.

Karim is the first player to earn $160,036. The next pay jump is for the final 45 players, who will be guaranteed at least $196,174.

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's an updated look at the top of the leaderboard, along with a few notables further back, courtesy of WSOP.com. The blinds are still 30,000-60,000 with a 10,000 ante.

1. Ryan Lenaghan - 11,950,000 (199 bb) 2. Ben Lamb - 9,980,000 (166 bb) 3. Andrey Pateychuk - 9,130,000 (152 bb) 4. J.P. Kelly - 7,510,000 (125 bb) 5. Phil Collins - 7,430,000 (123 bb)

Bryan Devonshire - 5,970,000 (99 bb) David "Doc" Sands - 2,765,000 (46 bb) Erika Moutinho - 2,675,000 (44 bb) Tony Hachem - 2,250,000 (37 bb) Erick Lindgren - 2,195,000 (36 bb)

As mentioned earlier, the field will play five levels today, or down to the final 18 players, whichever comes first. If, after five levels, they have not yet reached the final 27 (unlikely), they will continue playing.

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Main Event Day 7: From 57 Players to Final 18 (?)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The plan for today's action is to play a full five levels, or down to the final 18 players, whichever comes first. However, if they haven't reached 27 in five levels (incredibly unlikely), they will keep playing.

Moral of the story: They must reach at least 27 players, but won't play down further than 18.

Lots of great storylines still in play, including top pro Erick Lindgren, brother-of-a-champion Tony Hachem, boyfriend-and-girlfriend team David "Doc" Sands and Erika Moutinho.

Moutinho is also the last woman standing this year.

OFFICIAL CHIP COUNTS

Here's a look at the official chip counts for the start of play, with blinds at 30,000-60,000 and a 10,000 ante:

1. Ryan Lenaghan - 12,865,000 (214 bb) 2. Ben Lamb - 9,980,000 (166 bb) 3. Matt Giannetti - 7,940,000 (132 bb) 4. Andrey Pateychuk - 7,255,000 (120 bb) 5. Phil Collins - 7,240,000 (120 bb) 6. Hilton Laborda - 7,160,000 (119 bb) 7. Nelson Robinson - 6,420,000 (107 bb) 8. Tri Huynh - 6,295,000 (104 bb) 9. Aleksandr Mozhnyakov - 6,070,000 (101 bb) T-10. Kyle Johnson - 5,970,000 (99 bb) T-10. Bryan Devonshire - 5,970,000 (99 bb)

21. J.P. Kelly - 3,750,000 (62 bb) 26. Lars Bonding - 3,370,000 (56 bb) 29. David "Doc" Sands - 2,765,000 (46 bb) 36. Tony Hachem - 2,250,000 (37 bb) 38. Erick Lindgren - 2,195,000 (36 bb) 40. Erika Moutinho - 2,075,000 (34 bb) 42. David Bach - 1,985,000 (33 bb) 45. Steve Brecher - 1,805,000 (30 bb) T-55. John Esposito - 1,000,000 (16 bb) T-55. Minh Nguyen - 1,000,000 (16 bb) 57. Sebastian Ruthenberg - 890,000 (14 bb)

Stay tuned to PokerListings.com for continuing coverage all day as they play five levels or down to the final 18 players, whichever comes first.

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Day 6: Ryan Lenaghan Leads the Final 57

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Day 6 comes to an end after four levels with 57 players remaining in the field. Ryan Lenaghan won some big pots late in the day to finish with 12.8 million for the chip lead.

Ben Lamb finished second in chips with just under 10 million, and he was near the top of the leaderboard all day.

Phil Collins dominated this field most of the day, becoming the first player to 10 million when nobody else had much more than six million. But Collins fell late in the day to finish fifth in chips with 7.2 million.

The day started with three women, but Claudia Caldwell and Amanda Musumeci were both eliminated after the dinner break, leaving Erika Moutinho as the last woman standing in this year's WSOP Main Event.

Erika Moutinho is the last woman standing.

Moutinho's run is probably extra special to her, because her boyfriend is also still alive -- professional poker player David "Doc" Sands.

The most famous player who survived this far is Erick Lindgren, and he doubled up late in the last level to finish with nearly 2.2 million for a comfortable 36 big blinds to begin Day 7 tomorrow.

Unfortunately for poker fans, some of the big names ended their WSOP here on Day 6. Allen Cunningham got coolered with kings against aces, and Jean Robert Bellande struggled with a short stack and couldn't mount a comeback.

Top young players Christian Harder and Sorel Mizzi bowed out shortly before dinner, as did Ray Henson, who finished 12th in this event back in 2007.

Other notable eliminations include Eli Elezra, Aaron Jones, Sami Kelopuro, Bryan Colin, Peter Feldman, and the last remaining November Niner from last year, Joseph Cheong.

OFFICIAL CHIP COUNTS

Here's a look at the official chip counts for the start of Day 7:

Phil Collins dominated most of the day, but finished 5th in chips.

Action resumes tomorrow at 12:00 noon, with blinds at 30,000-60,000 and a 10,000 ante. Return to PokerListings.com for continuing coverage as the field plays closer and closer to the WSOP November Nine.

MAIN EVENT DAY 6 VIDEO RECAP

Check out the action video-style, complete with interviews with Ben Lamb and Allen Cunningham.

INTERVIEW WITH BIG-STACK PHIL "USCPHILDO" COLLINS

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Day 6: Allen Cunningham & Jean Robert Eliminated

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The rest of the field can take a big sigh of relief, because of the biggest threats has been eliminated -- Allen Cunningham.

As bad as that is for poker fans, it gets worse -- Jean Robert Bellande has hit the rail as well.

ALLEN CUNNINGHAM ELIMINATED

Cunningham has been on the low side of the chip counts for a couple days, but when he doubled up after the dinner break, he seemed to be in a good position for a much deeper run.

@AllenCunningham: "Out in 69th. Did my best and that's where the tournament put me."

Until he got coolored.

Allen Cunningham was all in preflop with K♦ K♠, but Marc-Andre Ladouceur turned over A♣ A♦.

The board came 9♦ 4♠ 3♣ J♥ Q♣, and Cunningham's kings never caught up. Ladoceur's aces took the pot.

Allen Cunningham was eliminated in 69th place, earning $108,412. Cunningham summed up his experience on Twitter:

@AllenCunningham: Out in 69th. Did my best and that's where the tournament put me. Now I owe Bade Beat on Cancer $1070.

JEAN ROBERT BELLANDE ELIMINATED

Like Cunningham, Bellande has also been working with a short stack all day.

Bellande made his final all-in move with A♠ 10♠, but ran into the dominating A♦ J♣ of big stack Tri Huynh. The board came A♥ Q♥ 7♠ 4♦ 6♥, and Huynh won the pot with his jack kicker.

Jean Robert Bellande, loved and/or hated by poker fans everywhere (mostly loved, it seems, judging by his popular Twitter feed), has been eliminated from the WSOP Main Event in about 65th place.

@BrokeLivingJRB: "Thanks for all the support. Miserable as you can imagine. gg"

Bellande reached mainstream status when he was a contestant on the hit reality TV show "Survivor: China." This is his second deep run in a row in the WSOP Main Event, as he finished 78th last year.

A month and a half ago, Bryan Follain chose @2011wsopchamp as his Twitter name.

BRYAN FOLLAIN ALMOST PREDICTED THIS

Bryan Follain was eliminated a short while ago in 68th place. It's an impressively deep run, made more impressive by the fact that he predicted a deep run on his Twitter feed on June 6th.

Sure, a lot of players predict their future success, but Follain took it a step further.

When he signed up for Twitter, he chose the name @2011wsopchamp. His first tweet was this:

@2011wsopchamp: Just a tad over a month to go and I'll be playing in a poker tourney with a chance to win MILLIONS of dollars. Life changing.

That's pretty ballsy, though he backed it up with a deep, deep run. Congratulations, Bryan Follain. Well played.

LAST WOMAN STANDING: ERIKA MOUTINHO

Amanda Musumeci was just eliminated in about 62nd place by chipleader Ryan Lenaghan, which means this field is down to a single woman -- Erika Moutinho. When it was announced that she was the last woman standing, the ESPN cameras caught her rolling her eyes a bit.

Chipleader Ryan Lenaghan (left) busted Amanda Musumeci (right), the penultimate woman in the tournament.

At the moment, she seems more interested in being the last player standing, regardless of gender.

Moutinho has been on the ESPN featured table since shortly after the dinner break, but her table just got a bit more interesting.

Moutinho's boyfriend, David "Doc" Sands, has just been moved into seat 7. (Moutinho is in seat 1.)

Moutinho doubled up earlier this level with 10♦ 10♥ all in preflop against Matthew Salsberg's A♦ K♣. Moutinho flopped a set to win the pot, which put her up over the 2 million mark.

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard, along with other notables, as we near the end of Day 6. The blinds are still 25,000-50,000 with a 5,000 ante.

Bryan Devonshire is still hanging around near the top of the leaderboard.

1. Ryan Lenaghan - 13,355,000 (267 bb) 2. Phil Collins - 7,600,000 (152 bb) 3. Ben Lamb - 7,305,000 (146 bb)

Bryan Devonshire - 5,700,000 (114 bb) Erika Moutinho - 2,625,000 (52 bb) Erick Lindgren - 2,245,000 (44 bb) David "Doc" Sands - 2,230,000 (44 bb) David Bach - 1,960,000 (39 bb) Steve Brecher - 1,860,000 (37 bb) Tony Hachem - 1,520,000 (30 bb)

There are 59 players left at the moment. Recent notable eliminations include Jean Robert Bellande, Allen Cunningham, and Amanda Musumeci.

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Day 6: Ryan Lenaghan Leads the Final 70

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

While Ben Lamb and Phil Collins were battling for the chip lead, they've both been passed by Ryan Lenaghan, who leads the field with 8.1 million.

It's a bit of a moot point with this many players left, of course, unless the bigger stack is at your table.

Speaking of the field size, there are 70 players left at the break. That means 22% of the field was eliminated in one level after the dinner break.

The average chip stack is nearly 59 big blinds as they take their last break of the day.

ALLEN CUNNINGHAM DOUBLES UP

One player who has been short-stacked all day is short no more -- Allen Cunningham.

Cunningham was all in preflop with 4♦ 4♠ against the A♠ Q♣ of Marc-Andre Ladouceur.

Allen Cunningham's opponents preferred playing against him when he was short stacked.

The board came J♦ 10♠ 8♦ 6♣ 5♦, and Ladouceur flopped a gutshot straight draw, turned a double-gutter, but missed all of his outs on the river.

The pocket fours held up for Allen Cunningham, doubling his stack to more than 1.1 million, or about 28 big blinds.

Cunningham has been low in chips all day, so he just become that much more dangerous to the other players at his table.

GUILLAUME DARCOURT HATES THE CAMERAS

Guillaume Darcourt, the Frenchman with pink hair who eliminated Claudia Crawford earlier this level, was involved in a controversy with the ESPN* cameras.

A big hand played out between him and Matt Giannetti over a flop of J♠ 3♣ 3♥, and ESPN was on hand to record it. Giannetti took the pot with a reraise, and Darcourt mucked.

Guillaume Darcourt is not a fan of the hole cams.

ESPN told the dealer to hold the cards, so they could record them with a floating hole cam.

Giannetti showed his cards to the camera, but Darcourt refused, and shoved them into the muck. The cards were retrieved, and it was the start of a good old-fashioned brouhaha.

A group of producers and floorpeople were called over to convene, and it was made clear to Darcourt that every player in the tournament signed a contract saying this was part of the deal.

Darcourt finally showed his cards when he realized that his action wasn't live streaming, but would be used in the edited show that would debut later this summer.

Darcourt was later moved to the secondary featured table, where all of his hole cards will be recorded, and some will be shown on ESPN2 later this evening.

* At the WSOP, the ESPN broadcast is being produced by Poker PROductions. We've simplified it to ESPN, since that's how most people think of the crew.

POST-DINNER ELIMINATIONS

From this point forward, we will be listing every elimination, as they are nearing six-figure paydays.

71st: Mitchell Cogert - $108,412 72nd: Niall Charlton - $108,412 73rd: Jared Vengrin - $90,343 74th: Aaron Ruppert - $90,343 75th: Ben Mintz - $90,343 76th: Hoi Lee - $90,343 77th: Paul Spitzberg - $90,343 78th: Michael De Gilio - $90,343 79th: Alex Moore - $90,343 80th: Fred Berger - $90,343 81st: Pablo Ubierna - $90,343 82nd: David Barter - $76,146 83rd: Evan McNiff - $76,146 84th: Robin Jens Colbin - $76,146 85th: Claudia Crawford - $76,146 86th: Marc McLaughlin - $76,146 87th: Jonathan Seelbach - $76,146 88th: Bolivar Palacios - $76,146 89th: Daryl Jace - $76,146 90th: Frank Calo - $76,146

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard, along with some of the notables further back in the field. The players are about to start the last level of the day, with blinds at 25,000-50,000 and a 5,000 ante.

Tony Hachem wants to do what his brother did six years ago -- win the WSOP Main Event.

1. Ryan Lenaghan - 8,100,000 (162 bb) 2. Phil Collins - 7,900,000 (158 bb) 3. Ben Lamb - 7,305,000 (146 bb)

Bryan Devonshire - 6,050,000 (121 bb) David "Doc" Sands - 2,300,000 (46 bb) Erick Lindgren - 2,245,000 (44 bb) Amanda Musumeci - 1,200,000 (24 bb) Allen Cunningham - 1,200,000 (24 bb) Jean Robert Bellande - 1,180,000 (23 bb) Erika Moutinho - 1,135,000 (22 bb) Tony Hachem - 700,000 (14 bb)

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Day 6: Chip Problems & Claudia Crawford Busts

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The post-dinner start of Level 25 was delayed by nearly 15 minutes as there was a dispute over a few chip stacks.

The main featured table was swapped out during the break, moving chipleader Phil Collins out into the field, and bringing Ben Lamb (second in chips), Erick Lindgren, J.P. Kelly, Fred Berger, and others to the ESPN arena.

Before play began, Lindgren recounted his chips and came up with a different number than when he left for dinner.

@EdogPoker: Either I miscounted by exactly 300k or they misplaced my chips on the move to feature table. Ben lamb is missing 200k he says.

Play was delayed, but it was determined that the chip counts taken by the media at the start of the dinner break match up with the chips currently on the table. The staff says they also double-checked with the video surveillance, and the chip stacks are as they should be.

With that matter settled, the cards went back in the air.

BEN LAMB ADDS CHIPS TO HIS STACK THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY

Whether or not Ben Lamb is satisfied with the status of his chip stack at the break, he took matters into his own hands and added to it by busting someone.

Ben Lamb felt his stack was 200,000 lower than it should have been, so he took 500,000 from another player -- by busting him.

Frank Calo moved all in for 13 big blinds with A♠ J♥, and Lamb called from the small blind with 5♦ 5♠.

The board came Q♣ 6♦ 5♣ 6♣ 8♥, and Lamb won the pot with a full house to eliminate Calo from the tournament.

That pot moved Lamb up to 8.1 million, putting him in serious contention for the chip lead. Watch your back, Phil Collins.

CLAUDIA CRAWFORD OUT; TWO WOMEN REMAIN

After a flop of 10♦ 9♣ 4♥, Claudia Crawford moved all in, and Guillaume Darcourt (who won WPT Bucharest last year) called with 7♦ 7♠.

Crawford turned over Q♥ J♣ for an open-ended straight draw with two overcards.

The turn was the 5♥, the river was the 5♣, and Darcourt won the pot with two pair, sevens and fives.

Claudia Crawford, one of the fan favorites here in the Rio, was eliminated from the Main Event.

The last two women in the field, Amanda Musumeci and Erika Moutinho, are both below average in chips. (See the list of counts below.)

FORMER BIG WINNERS IN THE FIELD

As the field drops below 80 players, it's a good time to look for players with notable accomplishments on their poker resumes.

Allen Cunningham is the only remaining player who has final tabled this event, finishing 4th in 2006.

WSOP Bracelet winners: David Bach, Sam Barnhart, Tyler Bonkowski, Allen Cunningham, John Esposito, J.P. Kelly, Ben Lamb, Erick Lindgren, Minh Nguyen, and Sebastian Ruthenberg. (Fred Berger was eliminated in about 80th place.)

WPT winners: Steve Brecher, Guillaume Darcourt, and Erick Lindgren.

EPT winners: Sebastian Ruthenberg

Former WSOP Main Event Final Tablists: Allen Cunningham.

John Esposito has come close to final tabling this event on multiple occasions. He finished 11th in 1989, 12th in 1995, and 19th in 1996.

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard, along with notables further back, courtesy of WSOP.com. The blinds are still 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante.

1. Phil Collins - 8,400,000 (210 bb) 2. Ben Lamb - 8,110,000 (202 bb)

Bryan Devonshire - 6,200,000 (155 bb) David Bach - 4,020,000 (100 bb) David Sands - 2,615,000 (65 bb) Erick Lindgren - 2,525,000 (63 bb) Tony Hachem - 2,120,000 (53 bb) Jean Robert Bellande - 1,585,000 (39 bb) Steve Brecher - 1,550,000 (38 bb) Erika Moutinho - 1,100,000 (27 bb) Allen Cunningham - 885,000 (22 bb) Amanda Musumeci - 865,000 (21 bb)

There are 78 players remaining in the field. The bustouts are coming quickly, but the pace will have to slow down at some point, right? Right?

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Day 6: 90 Left (3 Women) at the Dinner Break

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

After two full levels, the players take a two-hour dinner break. Action will resume about 6:25 pm PT.

The end of the level saw some notable action, as Phil Collins lost more than a million from his stack, and Ben Lamb added nearly a million to his. Collins still has a big lead though.

We also lost three notable players: Ray Henson, reigning Bluff Magazine Player of the Year Sorel Mizzi, and Christian Harder.

Harder went out on the ESPN featured table, short stacked and all in preflop with A♦ 10♠ against Robin Colbin's J♣ J♠.

The board came J♥ 8♠ 7♠ K♥ J♦ -- Harder still had eight outs to a straight after the turn, but Colbin won with quad jacks.

Just like that, Christian Harder was out of the Main Event.

DINNER BREAK LEADERBOARD

When the players return from dinner, the blinds will increase to 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante. Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard, along with notables who are further back (courtesy of WSOP.com):

Christian Harder busted in about 92nd place.

1. Phil Collins - 8,700,000 2. Ben Lamb - 7,440,000

David Bach - 4,300,000 Bryan Devonshire - 4,200,000 Erick Lindgren - 2,600,000 Claudia Crawford - 2,300,000 Tony Hachem - 1,800,000 Jean Robert Bellande - 1,500,000 Amanda Musumeci - 1,166,000 Allen Cunningham - 1,000,000 Erika Moutinho - 950,000

As you can see, Erick Lindgren has finally battled his way out of the cellar and has an above-average chip stack.

There are still three women in the field (Claudia Crawford, Amanda Musumeci, and Erika Moutinho). With 90 players remaining, they represent 3.33% of the field. That's nearly the same 3.5% they represented when the Main Event began with 6,865 players.

Action will resume about 6:25 pm PT. Return to PokerListings.com for continuing coverage as they play another four hours this evening.

Say Hello to Bryan Devonshire

Well-stacked and more than ready for a truly deep run in this year's Main Event is circuit regular Bryan Devonshire.

Get to know him through the most convenient medium of all, video.

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Day 6: Phil Collins Has 10 Million; 94 Players Left

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

If you find yourself playing a hand against Phil Collins, just fold and get out of the way. He has been unstoppable so far today.

Our last update included a hand at the start of the level where he found aces to eliminate former November Niner Joseph Cheong.

A short while later, he got it all in on a board of Q♥ 10♣ 7♠ 8♥ against Lance Steinberg.

Steinberg had 10♥ 9♥ for a pair of tens, an open-ended straight draw, and a heart flush draw. That's a pretty strong hand.

But Collins turned over J♦ 9♦ for the nuts -- a queen-high straight.

Steinberg still had outs, of course. A jack would tie, and any heart would double him up.

But the river card was the 2♦, and the Phil Collins Express just ran over another player, sending Lance Steinberg to the rail and adding another 1.5 million or so to his stack.

It was just enough to push Collins over the 10 million mark -- nearly 5% of the chips in play with more than 100 players remaining.

That, my friends, is an impressive chip lead.

FINAL 99 PLAYERS -- MAKE THAT 94

Up until this point in the Main Event, a look at the chip counts was a look at players who have had a good five or six days, and have gone deep.

But once the field reaches double digits (99 players, or the final 11 tables), the finish line is somewhat in sight.

There is still a long way to go, and even massive chipleader Phil Collins has "only" 5% of the chips in play. So there's no guarantee that even he will make the November Nine.

But the final 99 represents the relatively small pool that the November Nine will actually be drawn from. The big names who are still in are the big names who still have a chance.

Will this be the first year the November Nine includes a woman? There are three women left in the final 99, and if one of them were to make it, then "Good For Poker" wouldn't be a strong enough statement.

Other players have interesting storylines that give them an extra angle if they were to make the November Nine.

Erika Moutinho is one of the final three women. Her boyfriend David "Doc" Sands is also still alive.

The most famous players still in the field include Erick Lindgren, Allen Cunningham, Jean Robert Bellande. These are the types of players that are recognizable to even the most casual poker fans.

The three women still in the field are Amanda Musumeci (a sponsored pro), Erika Moutinho, and Claudia Crawford.

Some of the interesting side stories? Tony Hachem, brother of 2005 WSOP Champion Joe Hachem, is still alive. The family angle is always big.

Erika Moutinho, one of the three women, is the girlfriend of David "Doc" Sands, who is also still playing. Could we see a dating couple make the November Nine? (Even the top 27 would be pretty cool.)

More interesting stories will surface as we get to know the remaining players better each day.

There are also, of course, plenty of great players in this field that are well known among active poker fans, and a lot of great stories there as well.

For example, Ben Lamb's WSOP has already been great, and the deeper he goes, the more epic this WSOP becomes for him.

Sorel Mizzi has had a roller coaster career, with highs (Bluff Magazine Player of the Year last year) and lows (accusations of cheating). He would definitely spice up the November Nine a bit.

RECENT ELIMINATIONS

Here's a look at some of the players who have fallen short so far today, busting before the dinner break:

Cory Albertson, Wai Cheng, Joseph Cheong, Eli Elezra, Peter Feldman, Aaron Jones, Sami Kelopuro, and Magnus Persson.

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

Here's an updated look at the leaderboard with the blinds at 15,000-30,000 and a 4,000 ante (courtesy of WSOP.com):

David Bach, the 2009 $50,000 Players' Champion, is quietly having an excellent WSOP.

1. Phil Collins - 10,067,000 (335 bb) 2. Bryan Follain - 6,600,000 (220 bb) 3. Ben Lamb - 6,400,000 (213 bb)

David Bach - 4,300,000 (143 bb) Bryan Devonshire - 4,200,000 (140 bb) Claudia Crawford - 2,368,000 (78 bb) Tony Hachem - 1,800,000 (60 bb) Sorel Mizzi - 1,420,000 (47 bb) Erick Lindgren - 1,340,000 (44 bb) Jean Robert Bellande - 1,225,000 (40 bb) Erika Moutinho - 950,000 (31 bb) Amanda Musumeci - 720,000 (24 bb) Allen Cunningham - 406,000 (13 bb)

The two-hour dinner break will take place after this level.

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Day 6: Phil Collins Leads at First Break

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Things keep improving for Phil Collins, as he eliminated Matthew Wantman to build his chip lead even higher.

Wantman moved all in preflop with 10♦ 7♦, but he was dominated by the Q♠ 10♣ of Collins.

Wantman flopped a flush draw on a board of K♦ 10♥ 9♦ 4♣ 3♣, but he improved no further, and Collins won the pot with his queen kicker over a pair of tens.

That pot took Phil Collins up to about 6.9 million, and he has since built his stack up to 7.6 million. Notables Ben Lamb (5.6 million) and Bryan Devonshire (4.9 million) are the notables right behind him on the leaderboard.

PHIL COLLINS CAN'T STOP BUSTING PEOPLE

Not content with a big lead at the break, Collins found a way to build it into an even more massive lead in the first few minutes back from break.

Collins raised, Joseph Cheong reraised, and Collins moved all in. Cheong turned over A♦ Q♦, but he was dominated by the A♣ A♠ of Collins.

Joseph Cheong will not be back in the November Nine this year.

The board came Q♣ 9♠ 3♥ 4♣ 5♠, and Phil Collins added nearly another million to his chip stack.

Meanwhile, last year's third-place finisher, Joseph Cheong, has been eliminated in roughly 114th place. He was the last surviving November Niner still in the field.

AUTOMATIC SHUFFLERS IN USE

When the field reached the final 117 players, they had enough tables (13) with automatic shufflers built-in to start using them.

So an announcement was made, and the dealers stopped shuffling by hand. From this point forward in the Main Event, every deck will be auto-shuffled.

This should speed things up a bit, giving players a couple more hands per hour. Unfortunately, auto-shufflers can't speed up players who tank, or the ESPN cameras that need to rush over to record all-in situations.

At the secondary featured table featuring Jean Robert Bellande, auto-shufflers don't seem like they would've helped much.

@BrokeLivingJRB: Frustrated about only getting 25 hands during 1st 2levels of play. Not firing that river was actually ok for info I had. Playing well t1.23m

Since they've only played a single two-hour level, presumably Bellande meant the first two "hours" of play.

LEADERBOARD AT FIRST BREAK

Since we already have the hand, these chip counts include the first hand after the break, where chipleader Phil Collins eliminated former November Niner Joseph Cheong.

Bryan Devonshire is such a happy guy, he'd probably be smiling even if he busted yesterday. But this is way better.

The blinds have just increased to 15,000-30,000 with a 4,000 ante.

1. Phil Collins - 8,680,000 (289 bb) 2. Ben Lamb - 5,335,000 (177 bb)

Bryan Devonshire - 4,777,000 (159 bb) David Bach - 4,285,000 (142 bb) Claudia Crawford - 2,370,000 (79 bb) Tony Hachem - 1,800,000 (60 bb) Erika Moutinho - 1,300,000 (43 bb) Jean Robert Bellande - 1,225,000 (40 bb) Erick Lindgren - 980,000 (32 bb) Christian Harder - 775,000 (25 bb) Amanda Musumeci - 720,000 (24 bb)

There are approximately 113 players remaining.

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Day 6: Collins Takes Lead; Lindgren Starts Strong

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

At the ESPN featured table, Giuseppe Pastura got a little over-anxious with ace-jack suited, and it cost him the tournament.

Pastura raised from middle position, Mario Silvestri called from the button, and Phil Collins reraised from the big blind. Pastura reraised, Silvestri folded, and Collins five-bet all in.

With less than a third of his chips in the pot, Pastura called with A♣ J♣, and Collins turned over A♦ K♥.

The board came 8♦ 6♣ 4♣ 5♥ K♦, and Collins won the pot with a pair of kings to take the chip lead with 6.2 million.

Giuseppe Pastura was eliminated, and will probably never look at ace-jack suited the same way again.

Phil Collins has a huge lead with 6.2 million in chips (nobody else has 5 million), but that represents less than 3% of the total chips in play. Still a long way to go yet.

COULD THIS BE ERICK LINDGREN'S YEAR?

Yes, Erick Lindgren was the WSOP Player of the Year in 2008. But the Main Event is something different. Something special.

Lindgren started Day 2 with just 3,700 in chips, and he says he has never made it past Day 2 in a decade of playing the WSOP Main Event. It would have been easy to resign himself to another Day 2 bustout.

But Lindgren made an amazing comeback, and now he finds himself doing well on Day 6. He started the day with a short stack, but has already doubled up twice, as you can see from his Twitter feed:

Erick Lindgren has never gone this far in the Main Event.

@EdogPoker: Back at it and doubled to 690 2nd hand! A9>a7

@EdogPoker: Kq vs kj on k 10 4. 1.3

As you can see, Lindgren doesn't believe in using all 140 characters when he tweets. But the message is clear -- Erick Lindgren is back in this thing. (Though he has lost some of his chips to drop back below one million.)

FYI, THE BIG BLIND ACTS LAST BEFORE THE FLOP

Bryan Devonshire reports (via a Twitter) a hand from the start of play where the big blind has not gotten off to a good start, but Sorel Mizzi has.

@devopoker: 3rd hand. BB folds first. Its your BB. Still folds. UTG raises. Sorel ships. Folds to raiser, "What's ur name?" "Sven." Call. Sorel's AK>AQ.

Mizzi's double up was through Jeff Becker, and took Mizzi up to about 1 million in chips.

BEN LAMB TAKES THE POY LEAD OVER HELLMUTH

As soon as the field got down to 138 players, Ben Lamb officially took over the WSOP Player of the Year points lead from Phil Hellmuth.

Also still in the running is David Bach, but he would need to win the Main Event (and have Lamb bust soon).

Unfortunately, the race will not end with this event, because WSOP Europe also counts in the points race.

LEADERBOARD WITH 124 LEFT

Here's a look at the leaderboard, along with a few other notables, with the blinds still at 12,000-24,000 and a 3,000 ante (courtesy of WSOP.com):

1. Phil Collins - 6,200,000 (258 bb) 2. Pius Heinz - 4,750,000 (197 bb) 3. Kyle Johnson - 4,480,000 (186 bb) 4. David Bach - 4,300,000 (179 bb) 5. Ben Lamb - 4,210,000 (175 bb)

Bryan Devonshire - 3,100,000 (129 bb) Tony Hachem - 2,350,000 (97 bb) Claudia Crawford - 1,880,000 (78 bb) Christian Harder - 1,807,000 (75 bb) Jean Robert Bellande - 1,230,000 (51 bb) Erick Lindgren - 995,000 (41 bb)

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Main Event Day 6: Final 142 Back in Action

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The final 142 players have returned to the Amazon Room to play another four levels today as they fight their way toward the November Nine.

There will be two levels, then a two-hour dinner break, and then two more levels. Regardless of how many players are left. Tomorrow (Monday), they will play as long as it takes to reach the final three tables (27 players).

Here's a look at the top 5, along with other notables further back:

1. David Bach - 4,706,000 2. Pius Heinz - 4,699,000 3. Kyle Johnson - 4,654,000 4. Phil Collins - 4,109,000 5. Ben Lamb - 4,032,000

Sebastian Ruthenberg - 3,354,000 Bryan Devonshire - 3,292,000 J.P. Kelly - 2,664,000 Tony Hachem - 2,067,000 Joseph Cheong - 1,988,000 Claudia Crawford - 1,880,000 Matthew Kay - 1,880,000 Christian Harder - 1,624,000 David Sands - 1,620,000 Andrew Brokos - 1,572,000 Jean Robert Bellande - 1,230,000 Erika Moutinho - 878,000 Amanda Musumeci - 738,000 Steve Brecher - 736,000 Eli Elezra - 707,000 Allen Cunningham - 641,000 Sorel Mizzi - 500,000 Erick Lindgren - 385,000

The featured table on the ESPN Main Stage includes Christian Harder, Joseph Cheong, and Phil Collins.

The secondary featured table includes Jean Robert Bellande, Eli Elezra, and near-chipleader Pius Heinz.

Stay tuned to PokerListings.com for continuing coverage of the Main Event throughout the day.

Day 5 Video Recap

In case you're just joining us, check out the action from yesterday with our daily video recap.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Main Event Day 5 Ends, Bach Leads the Field

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Day 5 of the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event is now over.

Done.

Finito.

We started the day off with 377 players and we've more than halved that field today. Only 1-- remain.

We've finished with less players than expected, the initial guess was 150-200 but four levels of large blinds and snappy poker action left us with only 142.

David Bach also finished the day with millions and millions of chips. In fact, he finished with the chip lead, he'll start out Day 6 with 4,706,000.

Bach managed to survive his elimination yesterday when he hit his straight to crack Vanessa Rousso's set of sixes. He then finished her off and saw his stack pass the 1 million mark.

He now goes into Day 6 1st in chips.

Player of the Year contender, Ben Lamb.

He's followed by Pius Heinz with 4,699,000 and Kyle Johnson with 4,654,000.

Ben Lamb has managed to get finish near the lead yet again. This brings him one step closer to clinching the Player of the Year title. He'll go into Day 6 with 4,032,000.

Lamb has had an impressive WSOP and his run good hasn't seem to run out yet.

Lamb finished Day 2 as the overall chip leader and has weaved in and out of first place. Now he's starting Day 6 as the big stack yet again and is going to be shooting for an even deeper run.

Preferably the November 9, the final table that every poker wants to make.

This year, player's who manage to make it to the final table will be guaranteed $782,115. But come November, those final nine will all be gunning for the grand prize of $8,711,956.

J.P. Kelly

Sebastian Ruthenberg, J.P. Kelly, Lars Bonding, Tony Hachem, Jean-Robert Bellande, Joseph Cheong, Sorel Mizzi and Eli Elezra will all be returning for Day 6 as well.

But not everyone survives the brutal and money-making Day 5.

Our start-of-day chip leader, Manoj Viswanathan couldn't survive the day.

He was beat down and eventually eliminated right before the dinner break when his pocket queens ran into pocket aces.

Other notables to face the cruel vixen of elimination were: Daniel Negreanu, Kevin Saul, Brian Park, Matt Stout, Ben Tollerene and Kim Chee.

They all left with some money and a new WSOP cash to add to their list of achievements though.

Play will resume tomorrow at noon and players will go for another four levels of poker.

Join us as we get closer and closer to the November 9, right here at PokerListings.

Chip Counts

Top 10 end-of-day chip counts, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

David Bach – 4,706,000 Pius Heinz – 4,699,000 Kyle Johnson – 4,654,000 Phil Collins – 4,109,000 Ben Lamb – 4,032,000 Sebastian Ruthenberg – 3,354,000 Thomas Grey – 3,350,000 Bryan Devonshire – 3,292,000 Aleksandr Mozhnyakov – 3,200,000 Lars Bonding – 3,200,000

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Main Event Day 5: The Final Hour

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We're down to 159 players and we've made yet another payjump. The remaining players are now guaranteed a solid $54,851.

They're taking one last 10-minute break before they come back for the final hour of Day 5.

Ben Lamb has managed to get the lead again. Not that anyone's too surprised.

Lamb has now crossed the 5 million mark and is sitting with 5,100,000.

Piuz Heinz has now been bumped down to second, but he's still managed to chip up. He's now sitting with 4,850,000

David Bach has managed to maintain his second place status with 4,327,000.

Sebastian Ruthenberg has also been moved to the feature table. He moved in with around 2.6 million and is now sitting with 2.8 million.

Ruthenberg made quite the call when he he when the board read J♠ J♦ 9♠ 2♥ K♣. Ruthenberg had bet all the way and then checked on the river.

Then Evan McNiff led out for a large bet and Ruthenberg eventually made the call with 5♣ 5♠.

McNiff mucked and Ruthenberg's stack grew yet again.

Lady Time

We also have another interesting number in the field, three. The floor announced that there are only three women remaining in the field.

The remaining ladies are Amanda Mucumeci, Claudia Crawford and Erika Moutinho.

Around 3.5 percent of the field consisted of women and now there's only three.

Tweet Time

Here are some WSOP related Tweets gathered from depths of the internet.

fivethirtyeight

Live World Series of Poker coverage on ESPN2 puts you so close to the action. Feel like I've lost another $10,000 just by watching it.

WEarly1977

173 players left in the @WSOP ME and 172 players are better then @BrokeLivingJRB #pleasegodjrb

AllenCunningham

JRB always says good fold when he bets someone out. At first he forgot to say it so I reminded him and he said it.

RealKidPoker

So that's that. I'm out. I got it in good with TT vs A7 flop was good Ace on the turn. Tough WSOP I ran absurdly bad this summer. Oh well.

JasonMercier

Lolololol hellmuth said @BenbaLamb was asking him constantly how hellmuth thought he was playing during the 50k. Lol #nochance

Chip Counts

Here's 10, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Ben Lamb – 5,100,000 Pius Heinz – 4,850,000 David Bach – 4,327,000 Kyle Johnson – 3,870,000 Bryan Devonshire – 3,700,000 Lars Bonding – 3,200,000 Aleksandr Mozhnyakov – 3,000,000 Sam Barnhart – 2,900,000 Sebastian Ruthenberg – 2,808,000 Giuseppe Pastura – 2,750,000

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Main Event Day 5: They're Back!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We're now back from our dinner break and are playing the last 10 minutes of level 21.

Then we'll jump straight into level 22 and take a 10-minute break halfway in. Then we'll play the final hour of level 22 and call it a day.

Only 173 players are coming back from the dinner break, they're all guaranteed $47,107.

The secondary feature table has now been switched out for a fresh batch of players.

Ben Lamb and Tony Hachem's table has now been moved to the secondary feature table.

Some dinner chip counts were also obtained, they're fairly more accurate than the pre-chow counts.

Heinz is still the chip leader but it seems that David Bach edged his way into second place with only 4,000 more than Ben Lamb.

The initial prediction we'd end the day with 150-200 players is still in the realm of possibilities.

We'll keep watching and updating you right here, at PokerListings.

Chip Counts

Here's 10, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Pius Heinz – 4,040,000 David Bach – 3,935,000 Ben Lamb – 3,931,000 Lars Bonding – 3,577,000 Max Heinzelmann – 3,275,000 Alex Moore – 3,150,000 Bryan Devonshire – 2,930,000 Sam Barnhart 2,900,000 David Barter – 2,800,000 Phil Collins – 2,710,000

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Main Event Day 5: Feeding Time

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Level 21 was slightly shorter than we expected.

Ten minutes were taken off the clock to adjust for ESPN scheduling.

Players are now on their two-hour dinner break and will be returning for the remaining 10 minutes of this level, then the fourth level of the day.

With full bellies.

And a guaranteed $47,107.

One player who won't be going on dinner break is our start-of-day chip leader, Manoj Viswanathan. Viswanathan started the day out with 2,115,000 but now he has zero. Zip. Nothing.

Well, he does leave with $47,107 for his 191st place finish.

Viswanathan was beat down from the beginning of the day and was finally eliminated when his pocket queens ran into David Barter's pocket aces.

The poker gods were sympathetic to the aces and they held up.

Again?!

Pius Heinz is leading the field with 4,150,00 but he's followed closely by BEN LAMB! There's not much more we can say about Lamb that what we've already written. He's been an unbeatable force this WSOP and his run good just keeps coming.

So yeah, Ben Lamb, he's in the lead again with 3,850,000.

Permanent Break

Some players have left and will probably not come back to the Rio for at least a year.

Kevin Saul is one of the players now on a one-year dinner break.

Saul went all in with ace-king and got called by Brian Yoon.

Yoon held ace-ten and paired his 10 on the flop. No turn or river king came for Saul and he was eliminated in 216th place.

Matt Stout has also been eliminated.

Stout went all in on a 4♠ 8♥ 9♥ A♥ 4♥ board and got called by Claudia Crawford. Stout showed a pair of 10s but it was no good against Crawford's set of eights.

Stout finished in 186th place and earned $47,107.

Go Eat!

We are, the players are, you should too.

If you're not hungry yet, let our 220nd place finisher's name stir up your appetite.

Kim Chee finished in 220nd place and wins the award for the most delicious sounding name.

Chip counts

Top 10 courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Pius Heinz – 4,150,000 Ben Lamb – 3,850,000 David Bach – 3,770,000 Lars Bonding – 3,400,000 David Barter – 3,080,000Max Heinzelmann – 2,900,000 Sam Barnhart – 2,800,000 Phil Collins – 2,750,000 Alex Moore – 2,640,000 Bryan Devonshire – 2,620,000

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Main Event Day 5: the Kid's Done

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Level 21 is upon us and the blinds are 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante.

The bustouts keep coming as we're now down to 214 players.

The average stack is around 930,000 and it shows. There are some massive stacks in the field.

David Bach has created a seemingly impenetrable fortress with his chips. His fortress is divided into two towers.

One is a thick wall of yellow chips, they protect the main pyramid that's adorned with orange 5,000 chips and topped off with a pile of green 25,000 chips.

But Bach isn't the only player with an interesting stack.

The field is flooded with pyramids, squares, rectangles and enough polygons to fill up a introductory geometry syllabus.

Our favorite so far has been one stack that's been fashioned into a make-shift couch for a small, stuffed monkey.

But these stacks will be reduced in size shortly. The floor is going around coloring up some of the obscenely large stacks.

But don't worry, the monkey and his couch seem to be safe for now though.

Bach, safely getting massaged behind his chip fortress.

Leading the Field

Alex Moore currently holds the chip lead.

He's sitting with 3.4 million at his disposal.

Moore cashed in last year's Main Event, finishing in 269th place.

He's already got that beat now and with every player that busts, he's only improving his record.

Ben Lamb now has a lot of chips, 3.2 million to be more precise.

Lamb won a large pot when his ace-jack managed to outdraw a pair of jacks.

Lamb, yet again, hit an ace on the flop.

Barry Greenstein's “Ace on the River” is outdated, it's time for Lamb to pump out “Ace on the Flop.”

The Kid's Done

Daniel Negreanu has been short for some time. He moved all in once and got called.

Negreanu held K♣ 4♠ and was up against K♥ 3♣. The pot ended up being chopped so Negreanu needed to go all in again.

This time he had a relatively better hand, 10♠ 10♦. He was called by Rupert Elder who held A♦ 7♦.

The flop came 9♠ 5♥ 3♣ and Negreanu begged for his hand to hold.

"The Archway" inspired by Carlos Mortensen, built by Bryan Devonshire.

The turn brought the A♠ and the audience gasped.

Negreanu and the crowd then asked for a 10 on the river, but the 4♣ came instead.

Negreanu was eliminated and will $47,107 to his live tournament wins.

That number is already past $14 million.

Chip Counts

We know you like them, so here's 10, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Alex Moore – 3,420,000 Daryl Jace – 3,270,000 Pius Heinz – 3,210,000 David Bach – 2,940,000 Ben lamb – 2,570,000 David Barter – 2,560,000 Lars Bonding – 2,560,000 Max Heinzelmann – 2,540,000 John Hewitt – 2,300,000 Phil Collins – 2,100,000

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Main Event Day 5: Bach is Back

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We're now into level 20 of the Main Event.

Blinds are 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante and we're down to 275 players.

Players are now guaranteed a hefty $40,654. The next pay jump comes at 225 players and they'll be taking $47,107 to the bank.

Or wherever they keep their money. Personally, I prefer mattresses. Safe, yet comfortable.

Our Day 5 chip leader has also lost his title. Manoj Viswanathan has been chipped down to around 1.3 million.

The ever-changing title of chip leader now belongs to David Bach. Bach is now up to 2,720,000.

Bach managed to double up to around 1 million yesterday when he drew a straight to beat Vanessa Rousso's set of 6s.

Now he's been on a roll and recently eliminated another player when his pair of queens managed to hold against his opponent's pocket 10s.

Bach has won almost $3 million in live tournaments and has one WSOP bracelet. He won the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship back in 2009.

He came close to his second bracelet twice this year, finishing 3rd in one tournament and 2nd in another.

Now he's leading in another tournament and is equipped with his trademark cowboy hat, MP3 sunglasses and masseuse.

Broke Living with Q-4

Jean-Robert Bellande is currently holding a sizable stack at the feature table. Yesterday he managed to double up with queen-4 and he's been on a roll ever since.

He's been entertaining viewers on ESPN with memorable quotes such as, “How about those of us with $0 bankrolls, we should be able to wear logos!”

Sadly, the feature table players are devoid of any logos, that means players are losing out on thousands of dollars each day.

Times are tough but Bellande knows broke living, and he has a pile of support coming in from Twitter.

Here's a sample of the Twitter love.

Bellande, contemplating his $0 bankroll.

themouthmatusow

all i want for my birthday is for @BrokeLivingJRB to make the november 9

JasonMercier

Wouldn't mind if they stopped showing the secondary featured table which has all unknowns on it. Show more @RealKidPoker and @BrokeLivingJRB

acrnobrnja3

@brokelivingJRB you suck

Well, that last one wasn't too nice, but you can't please everyone.

Especially not the pepole you bust out.

The board read 9♠ J♦ K♣ 10♠ and Bellande and Robert Lipkin got all their chips in the middle. Lipkin was at risk and he showed K♦ Q♥ for a king-high straight.

Bellande also held a king-high street, he showed Q♠ 4♠. He also had a flush draw, and as the floor person stated, Bellande was freerolling.

An 8♠ came on the river and Bellande won his freeroll and eliminated Lipkin.

He's now up to around 1.5 million and is moving up the pay outs.

Chip Counts

Here's 10, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

David Bach – 2,720,000 Daryl Jace – 2,380,000 Paul Sptizberg – 2,350,000 Max Heinzelmann – 2,420,000 Sam Barnhart – 2,100,000 Pius Heinz – 2,100,000 Vladimir Geshkenbein – 2,050,000 Sebastian Ruthenberg – 1,960,000 David Barter – 1,898,000 Fred Berger – 1,830,000

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Main Event Day 5: No Turner, No Deeb

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Action is flowing along here on Day 5.

Aside from the elimination of several players, we've also seen the elimination of the Poker Kitchen.

This elimination comes as a pleasant surprise to many people though. Doyle Brunson will not have to puke during a tournament and many a reporter will go without food poisoning for the rest of the WSOP.

Only 315 players remain though, and they're all guaranteed a little bit more than they were at the start of the day. From now on, every player who finishes will be cashing for at least $35,492.

As the level goes on we have more players reaching the 2 million mark.

Manoj Viswanathan has lost the lead to Daryl Jace. Jace held the lead for some time yesterday and is now up to 2,160,000, while Viswanathan is still hanging around with 2,030,000.

Sebastian Ruthenberg is coming up close too. He's closing in on the chip leaders with 1,918,000.

All those chips had to come from somewhere though. And when you take enough chips from a player, you'll take his life.

Tournament life that is.

Deeb is done.

Done and Out

Freddy Deeb has been eliminated from the tournament. His run good came to an end when he ran his ace-king into Andrew Webking's pocket kings.

There was no ace on the river – or any other street for that matter – for Deeb and he was eliminated in 358th for $30,975.

Jon Turner has also been eliminated from the Main Event. Turner was eliminated in a three-way all in.

He held ace-king and was up against ace-jack and pocket kings. As fate would have it, kings held up yet again and Turner was eliminated in 344th place.

Turner made the pay jump $35,492 and was sent home. Actually, he probably did go home, he lives in Las Vegas.

Change Up

Instead of playing two and half levels before the dinner break, WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky stated that we're playing three full levels, then taking a dinner break.

He also reported that the expected number of players by the end of the day is anywhere from 150 to 200.

Chip Counts

Here are the top 10 chip counts, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Daryl Jace – 2,230,000 Manoj Viswanatha – 2,030,000 Sebastian Ruthenberg – 1,918,000 Pius Heinz – 1,880,000 Samb Barnhard – 1,710,000 Mazin Khoury – 1,707,000 Stephane Albertini – 1,700,000 Max Heinzelmann – 1,672,000 David Barter – 1,650,000 Kyle Johnson – 1,650,000

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Main Event Day 5: Blend'em and Send'em

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Day 5 of the 2011 World Series of Poker is underway.

Only 377 out of the initial 6,865 players remain.

The WSOP is slowly coming to an end. The Pavilion Room is starting to get cleared up.

It's a wasteland compared to what it's been the last couple of months. The thousands of players riffling their chips have now disappeared and the same ghastly disease is now affecting the Amazon Room.

There's barely two sections remaining in the Amazon Room. As tables are broken, their dismantled and taken to a resting place where they'll stay until next year's WSOP.

The final players that are here start the day with a guaranteed $30,974. That number will go up quickly as the blinds are growing every two hours.

The remaining players are led by the relatively unknown Manoj Viswanathan. This is Viswanathan's first cash in a WSOP event and he's starting the day strong with 2,115,000.

David Bach, Sebastian Ruthenberg, JP Kelly and Daniel Negreanu all still find themselves alive in the Main Event.

Negreanu was actuall down to two big blinds yesterday, now he's rebounded to 501,000 and finds himself on the feature table alongside Jean-Robert Bellande.

We'll be playing four more levels today. We'll start with two and a half levels, then take a dinner break and come back for another level and a half.

Stay tuned here at PokerListings as we near our way to the November 9.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Main Event Day 4 is in the Books

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Guess what's done?

If you guessed Day 4 of the 2011 Main Event then you are correct.

If you guessed our ability to create witty ways to open up the end-of-day wrap, then you're also correct.

There are currently 378 players bagging up their chips and heading home. These are the ones that survived from the initial 852 that started out the day.

While the 852 who started today were guaranteed nothing, the remaining 378 will be guaranteed $30,974.

The day started out with Patrick Poirier in the lead but now it seems Manoj Viswanathan will be our chip leader with 2,115,000.

This is Viswanathan's first WSOP cash, it's not a bad tournament to do it in either.

JP Kelly also managed to finish with an impressive stack after a timely double up in the last minutes of the day.

All the chips went in preflop and Kelly showed A♦ K♣.

His opponent showed Q♣ Q♥ and an old-fashioned flip ensued.

The flop brought the A♠, and Kelly got the double up.

Daniel Negreanu also managed to make an impressive comeback near the end of the day. After being left with only two big blinds, Negreanu managed to win a couple of double ups and make his way back up to 605,000.

Above average.

Eliminations

Day 4 saw the field more than halved yet again.

The day started with a slew of eliminations and then they started getting slower and slower as we neared the bubble.

Then, it took nearly 45 minutes to lose one player. Everyone held on fear dear life to not be the 2011 Main Event bubble boy.

But someone had to do it.

That someone was Reza Kashai. Kashai was eliminated by Joseph Cheong. Cheong had a set of queens and Kashai was left with a straight draw.

Kashai missed his straight draw, but got quad queens on the river.

Jack Effel presenting the bubble boy with his consolation prize.

This was Kashai's first WSOP Main Event, but it won't be his last. Kashai's consolation prize for being the bubble boy is a free ride to the 2012 WSOP Main Event.

We'll see how he fares there.

All the remaining former Main Event Champions were also eliminated today, including Phil Hellmuth.

Hellmuth had a roller coaster of a Main Event, and it ended without a cash.

Hellmuth still currently leads the Player of the Year race, but Ben Lamb is in hot pursuit. Lamb is still in the tournament and with 1,268,000.

A deep run in the tournament could thrust him into the lead.

A winner won't be declared until the completion of the WSOP-Europe though.

Sandra Naujoks, Bryan Micon, Andrew Chen, Dennis Phillips, Humberto Brenes and Jake Cody all also saw their demise today.

Everyone on that list, save for Brenes managed to cash. This was particularly dissapointing for Brenes since he's currently 3rd in all-time Main Event cashes. One here would've bumped him up to 2nd place.

Day 5

Players have bagged up their chips and are getting ready for Day 5. Now that they're all in the money they'll be shooting for one thing: more money.

We won't hit the final nine until Tuesday, but those who do make it will be guaranteed $782,115.

Players will come back for Level 19, blinds will be 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante.

Chip Counts

Here are the top 10 end-of-day chip counts, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Manoj Viswanathan – 2,115,000 Sam Barnhart – 1,925,000 Pius Heinz – 1,887,000 Stephane Albertini – 1,867,000 Daryl Jace – 1,849,000 Lars Bonding – 1,813,000 Kyle Johnson – 1,761,000 Matthew Kay – 1,756,000 Mazin Khoury – 1,707,000 Max Heinzelmann – 1,672,000

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Main Event Day 4: Final Level

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We're on the final level of the day and only 486 players remain.

Players are now guaranteed $23,876 for their finish. We've seen a lot of action this level and we do believe a case of the post-dinner bustouts have occurred.

We've seen Ben Lamb lose a hand and watched while Vanessa Rousso went from feature table chip leader to 511th place finisher.

We've also lost Bryan Micon, who couldn't survive when his 9s ran into queens. Simon's co-creator Sam Simon has also recently been elimnated.

In other news, we have whole heap of tournament millionaires. It's old news now.

The new fad is getting 2 million, we have yet to find a player who's reached that point.

Rousso Roasted

“It was David's day to get my chips,” Vanessa Rousso said in her post-bust interview.

Just after the dinner break she'd been moved to the feature table with the table chip lead, close to 900,000.

In less than an hour, she'd hit the rail.

It all started when Joe Serock raised to 13,000 and got calls from David Bach and Rousso.

The flop came 6♣ 10♥ 9♠ and Bach checked.

Serock bet 25,000 and Rousso raised to 50,000. Action was back on Bach and, after thinking for almost four minutes, he announced all in.

Serock folded and showed top-two pair. Action was back to Rousso and she decided to think for a couple of minutes too.

Bach now has around 1.2 million.

She asked for Bach's exact count and after about another minute she called.

Rousso flipped over 6♥ 6♦ for a set of sixes and Bach showed Q♥ J♥ for a straight draw.

The 8♥ came on the turn and turned Bach's straight draw into a full-fledged straight.

The 2♠ came on the river and Rousso's face turned to immediate sadness.

“Why? Why?” Rousso asked as she put her sunglasses back on.

Rousso was left with around 300,000 and was now looking for a double up.

In another hand Bach raised to 15,000 and Rousso called.

The flop fell 5♠ J♣ 6♣ and Bach led out for 25,000. Rousso made the call and the 9♠ came on the turn.

Bach led out again, this time for 55,000. Rousso raised to 110,000 and Bach moved all in.

This time Rousso called a lot quicker and this time she had the inferior hand.

Rousso showed Q♣ J♠ and Bach flipped over A♦ A♠.

Rousso had a few outs, but the 8♠ that came on the turn wasn't one of them.

Rousso was eliminated and was fairly upset.

“I'm probably going to agonize over this for the next couple of weeks,” said Rousso. “It's not my year, but I'll be back.”

Preferably, without losing to Bach.

Bach for More

Before finishing off Vanessa Rousso, Bach took out Joe Serock.

Serock went all in preflop and and Bach made the call.

Serock showed 9♣ 6♠ and Bach showed A♥ K♦.

The flop brought 2♠ 5♣ 3♣ and a glimmer of hope for Serock. The 7♣ on the turn brought even more hope, but the Q♠ on the river crushed any and all hope the previous four cards brought.

Lamb Can Lose

Believe it or not, sometimes even Ben Lamb can't run like Ben Lamb.

There was around 300,000 in the pot and Lamb had called an opponent's all in.

Lamb showed a pair of tens and was up against his opponent's ace-four. The flop brought two fours and a three, giving his opponent the upper hand. Another three came on the river, filling up Lamb's opponent.

No miracle 10 came on the river and Lamb was chipped down to 1,020,000.

Chip Counts

Here's 10, from WSOP live updates.

Sam Barnhart – 1,953,000 Daryl Jace – 1,810,000 Stephanie Albertini – 1,635,000 Niall Charlton – 1,600,000 Manoj Viswanathan – 1,462,000 Matthew Frankland – 1,450,000 Max Heinzelmann – 1,325,000 David Barter – 1,310,000 Duane Alexander – 1,261,000 Daniel Retallick – 1,250,000

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Main Event Day 4: Back with Barnhart

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Players are now back from their two-hour dinner break.

A further investigation of the Amazon Room revealed a new chip leader.

That person is Sam Barnhart, who currently has 1,997,000. He's a few yellow chips away from hitting the 2 million mark.

Kelly Kim made the November 9 with 2.6 million back in 2008. So with 553 players left, Barnhart looks to be in good shape.

Barnhart is no novice to the World Series of Poker Circuit. He's managed to win two WSOP circuit events this year alone.

Back in February he won the $1,600 NLHE main event in Tunica, Mississippi for $148,612. Then in May, he won the WSOP Circuit National Championship in Las Vegas for $300,000.

Before this year, Barnhart had only cashed for a total of $1,620 since 2006.

Now he's managed to cash in the Main Event – this will be his second cash this WSOP – and is guaranteed $21,295 on top of the $456,593 he's already made in 2011.

Cards are now back in the air. We'll be finishing up level 17 and then playing one more level.

Blinds are 6,000/3,000 with a 1,000 chip ante.

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Main Event Day 4: Dinnertime

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We're now on our two-hour dinner break.

The bubble explosion has had massive ripples throughout the tournament. After it burst, players started dropping like flies.

All the short stacks felt more comfortable pushing in their remaining chips when they were guaranteed $19,359.

We're now down to 562 players and they're guaranteed even more.

Players now have the satisfaction of knowing they'll take home $21,295. When they get to 549 players they'll make another jump to $23,876.

There's now a long line outside the payout cage. It's been empty for the last couple of days, but now the cashiers are picking up speed.

One player who didn't manage to cash and whose exit passed us by was Phil Hellmuth. Hellmuth started the day out a bit short and was eliminated when he moved all in on a queen-high flop. Hellmuth had a pair of threes, his opponent had the queen.

This cements his standing in the Player of the Year race for this portion of the WSOP (Europe still counts). He's currently still in the lead but Ben Lamb is rearing his head yet again.

Not only has Lamb managed to cash but he's working with a large stack yet again, actually, the biggest stack in the room. Lamb went all in against Jamie Kerstetter and showed ace-king against her pair of jacks.

Lamb hit a K♠ on the flop, chipped up and knocked out Kerstetter.

Lamb now sits with the chip lead with 1,700,000.

Chip Counts

Here are the top 10 chip counts, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Ben Lamb – 1,700,00 Sam Barnhart – 1,650,000 Daryl Jace – 1,550,000 Daniel Retallick – 1,210,000 Marc-Andre Ladouceur – 1,200,000 David Barter – 1,150,000 Sebastian Ruthenberg – 1,140,000 Amanda Musumeci – 1,130,000 Aleksandr Mozhnyakov – 1,130,000 Stephane Albertini – 1,080,000

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Main Event Day 4: The Bubble Has Burst

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

And the bubble has burst.

We got down to 694 players and the floor declared that play was hand-for-hand. That portion of the tournament then lasted about 45 minutes, and it was tense.

There were dozens of short stacks holding on to every last chip they could. You could see the pain in their when they had to part ways with an ante. Putting up a big blind was nothing short of torture.

Every all in was a spectacle where players and cameramen would rush to every table that had an all in. The floor then decided to give any player who left their chair a one-round penalty. This helped subdue the madness...a little bit.

A sea of reporters and cameras would flood any table that gave the slightest hint of an all in. There were plenty of false alarms.

Daniel Negreanu managed to double up on the first hand. Jake Cody also managed to get his short stack in and survive. There were plenty of other uncalled all ins and double ups, until it happened.

Joseph Cheong and Reza Kashai were faced with a K♥ Q♣ 9♣ flop and they went all in. Kashai showed K♠ J♠ and was up against Cheong's Q♠ Q♦.

The turn brought an 8♥ and then a Q♥ came on the river, making Kashai our bubble boy.

For his finish, Kashai will miss out on a $19,359 payday, but he will go home with something. For being our bubble boy, Kashai wins a seat to the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event.

Not a bad consolation prize.

Everyone who busts out from now on will leave with some money, the next step is making the November 9.

Stay tuned for more WSOP action, things should go a little quicker now that all our short stacks are guaranteed $19,359.

Chip Counts

Here are the top 10 chip counts, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Daryl Jace – 1,785,000 Sam Barnhard – 1,345,000 Daniel Retallick – 1,210,000 Sebastian Ruthenberg – 1,200,000 Alexandr Mozhnyakov – 1,130,000 Amanda Musemeci – 1,130,000 Marc-Andre Ladoceur – 1,125,000 David Barter – 1,050,000 Ben Lamb – 931,000Vanessa Rousso – 930,000

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Main Event Day 4: Near the Bubble

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We're creeping closer and closer to the money.

Only around 710 players remain, 693 make the money.

The blue section of the Amazon Room has almost completely broken. There are only four tables left in that section. Once they've broken, the Main Event will be reduced to just two sections, purple and orange.

It's very likely that by our next update we'll have your unlucky 2011 WSOP Main Event bubble boy and our first couple of cashes.

Leading the field is Daryl Jace. Jace started the day second in chips but has now managed to make his way up to 1,537,000.

Vanessa Rousso has a big stack of chips.

Welcome to the Club

We also have two new members in the tournament millionaire club. Marc-Andre Ladouceur is now second in chips with 1,225,000

He's followed closely by Sebastian Ruthenberg with 1,150,000. Ruthenberg has more than $3 million in live tournament winnings and has one WSOP bracelet.

He won his bracelet back in 2008 for taking down the $5,000 7-Card Stud Hi-Lo Championship. Ruthenberg also has an EPT win under his belt and is in a good spot to get a Main Event cash.

Vanessa Rousso is also closing in on the million chip mark, she's standing (or sitting) strong with 950,000.

Eliminations

David Chiu has seen his tournament close to the bubble. Chiu got all his chips in on the flop when he hit a queen-high flush.

But his opponent, held the ace and the fourth flush card hit on the river.

Steven Watts has also been eliminated from the secondary feature table. We'll have to keep on picking off players, only 7 until we reach the money.

Stay tuned.

Chip Counts

Here are 10, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Daryl Jace – 1,537,000 Marc- Andre Ladoceur – 1,225,000 Sebastian Ruthenberg – 1,150,000 Patrick Poirier – 1,040,000 Vanessa Rousso – 950,000 Daniel Retallick – 945,000 David Barter – 925,000 Lars Bonding – 910,000 Scott Smith – 859,000 Chris Bonita – 859,000

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Main Event Day 4: Down to 756

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

There's one thing on everyone's mind right now, a Main Event cash.

We're down to 756 players and 693 will get a piece of the prize pool. Action has been fast since the day started.

Blinds are high and so are expectations. Player's are waiting for good hands, and in many cases, they're getting them. The problem is that their opponents are getting even better ones.

The King of Sharks

After an early position raise, Humberto Brenes raised to 19,000 and the small blind moved all in. The initial raiser folded and Brenes grabbed his two toy sharks and put them on his stack.

“You know who is the king?” Brenes asked as he pushed his stack forward.

He then flipped over K♥ K♦ but was shown A♥ A♦ by his opponent.

“Don't worry, a king is coming,” Brenes said. “On the flop. Only a king on the flop.”

The flop fell 8♥ 4♥ 8♦. No king.

“Come on, king,” Brenes kept asking.

Turn: 5s

Humberto asked for another king and then his opponent responded by asking for the A♠.

River: A♣

Not quite what his opponent asked for, but still good for the set of aces.

Brenes was eliminated with about 780 players left and missed out on a Main Event cash. Brenes is currently third in all time Main Event cashes, just one behind Robert Baldwin

More Madness

“Three-way all in,” shouted a dealer.

When we showed up there were three hands laid on the table.

Hand 1: A♥ K♠

Hand 2: K♣ K♦

Hand 3: Q♣ Q♥

The board ran J♦ 3♠ J♠ 2♣ 9♦ and kings managed to get the triple up.

Just as that pot was being divided, there was another three-way all in. This one involved all pocket pairs.

Nelson Dantas, Paul Baron and William Douglas Smith were all in.

Smith: Q♦ Q♥ Baron: K♠ K♦ Dantas A♠ A♣

“Anyone fold a king? Come on, be honest,” said Baron.

No one replied.

The flop came J♠ K♥ 10♦. Baron cheered and the crowd gasped, Baron got his king but Smith And Dantas got straight draws.

The turn brought an 8♥ and more straight possibilities for Smith.

But the 5♦ came on the river.

Smith was eliminated and Baron moved up the chip counts.

Chip Counts

Heres 10, courtesy of WSOP live updates.

Daryl Jace – 1,220,000 Patrick Poirier – 1,150,000 Daniel Retallick – 945,000 Sebastian Ruthenberg – 940,000 Scott Smith – 896,500 Brian Park – 880,000 Chris Kwon – 870,000 David Barter – 863,000 Chris Bonita – 859,000 Aleksandr Mozhnyakov – 813,000

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Main Event Day 4: It's Go Time!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We're now on Day 4 of the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event.

Yesterday we saw a field of 1,864 players and that was reduced to 852 after four levels of play. Those are now back to play another four levels.

Those remaining are led by a couple of millionaires. Patrick Poirier leads the field with 1,328,000, following him is fellow tournament millionaire, Daryl Jace, with 1,282,000.

Player of the Year contenders Phil Hellmuth and Ben Lamb are still in the field. In fact, Lamb is now sporting a shiny new Aria sweatshirt.

He's also starting the day 354,000, a little less than the chip lead he had going into Day 3.

Hellmuth is a little shorter, he's starting the day with 77,000. Blinds are 2,000/4,000 with a 500 ante and the average stack is 241,000.

We're also scheduled to start paying out parts of the $64 million prize pool. Only 693 players will make the money and we're already down to 852.

Those who make the money will be guaranteed $19,359. Stay tuned for that action right here, at PokerListings.

Here are the top 10 chip counts to start the day:

1. Patrick Poirier - 1.3 million2. Daryl Jace - 1.2 million3. Chris Kwon - 944,0004. David Barter - 917,0005. Scott Smith - 896,0006. Sebastian Ruthenberg - 889,0007. Christopher Bonita - 859,0008. Daniel Retallick - 850,0009. Brian Park - 820,00010. Aleksandr Mozhnyakov - 813,000

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Main Event Day 3: Done!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Day 3 of the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event is now history.

We started out the day out with 1,864 players and have manage to cut that number in half. Only about 900 players remain.

The smell of a WSOP Main Event cash is now in the air as we're only about 200 players away.

Only 693 players will cash this year and they'll be guaranteed $19,359. The next step after that will be making the November 9, those lucky nine will earn a minimum of $782,115.

They'll have one more step, one where they wait a couple of months before coming back to play for millions of dollars. This year's winner will take home $8.7 million.

Leading the Field

The remaining players will be coming back tomorrow for another day of play. Day 4 will be headlined by Patrick Poirier with 1,328,000.

He belongs to a very small group of tournament millionaires. The only other player to join him is Daryl Jace, with 1,282,000.

Ben Tollerene is also near the top of the leader board.

Lamb and Hellmuth are gunning for Player of the Year.

Tollerene has 720,000 and came close to a bracelet earlier this year when he was the final table bubble for the $10,000 Six-Handed NLHE championship.

Daniel Negreanu spent the day on the feature table. He lost a large pot near the end of the day and finished with 207,300.

Player of the Year contenders Phil Hellmuth and Ben Lamb are also in the field. Lamb started the day out as the chip leader, but managed to lose that spot near the middle of the day. He now sits with 450,000.

Phil Hellmuth has also had a roller coaster of a day. He started the day out short, won some, lost some and then finished the day with 77,000.

Out of the Field

But not everyone survived Day 3. In fact, more than half the players who started out the day have been eliminated.

One big elimination, probably the largest of them all, was the elimination of the Pavilion Room. We've now reached the point in the WSOP where all tournament play is now confined to the Amazon Room. Somewhere in there, a champion awaits.

D'Angelo's Main Event has come to an end.

Shaun Deeb was also eliminated from the feature table today. Deeb was chipped down in a brutal way.

After calling a preflop all in for most of his stack, Deeb showed aces. His opponent held ace-six, but managed to hit trip sixes.

This left Deeb crippled and he was eliminated soon after.

Ryan D'Angelo has also met his demise today. D'Angelo had a decent stack for a large part of the tournament but was chipped down today and then eliminated when his ace-king ran into a pair of fives.

The fives did more than hold up, they turned into a set and crushed D'Angelo's dreams of Main Event win.

Matt Savage also saw the end of his tournament today. Savage moved all in with A♥ 9♥, but he was called by another ace. The other ace had a queen to go with it and Savage wouldn't be able to improve.

Other players have also gone to the rail today. Jen Harman, Victor Ramdin, Jason Mercier, Lee Markholt, Dan Shak and around 900 others won't be returning for Day 4. Their Main Event ended on July 14.

Another Day

Players have now bagged their chips and they'll be returning tomorrow at noon for another day at the office. Tomorrow will also bring more excitement.

Today brought us a live feed on ESPN, a unified field and some good stories. Tomorrow might bring us some money. We'll find out who the bubble boy is and players will start leaving with around $20,000.

Join us for that action tomorrow right here, at PokerListings.

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Main Event Day 3: Final Level

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We're now in the final level of Day 3.

And with our final level, we have our first tournament millionaire. He's also our new chip leader, the person I speak of is Patrick Poirier. He currently sits atop the leaderboard with 1,065,800.

Poirier is from New York and has recently starting showing results in the poker scene.

He managed one WSOP cash last year, and another this one. Poirier has also managed to score some other results around the Vegas poker scene, all have been in No-Limit Hold'em events.

Daryl Jace also finds himself with a bundle of chips. He's flirting with the 1 million mark with 980,000. Jace cashed in the Main Event two years ago and is now in a position to do the same in 2011.

Bryan Colin also finds himself with a hefty amount of chips, he's seen his stack grow to 610,000. Colin managed to gain a lot of chips early in Day 1 when his pocket kings managed to beat pocket aces.

Phil Hellmuth and Ben Lamb are still alive. They've both been traveling in opposite directions though.

Lamb is slowly moving down the chip counts page, he currently has about 450,000. Hellmuth on the other hand is slowly rising and now has about 160,000.

This has been run up from the 7,000 he was blinded down to on Day 2A.

If you can remember that far back, then you might recall that Hellmuth forgot what Day 2 he was playing and forgot to show up to the Main Event for a couple of hours.

During that time, the blinds kept attacking his stack before he was finally reached. Now he's back and staying alive.

But we've also had players fall. The field has now been reduced to around 1,000 players.

Every last table in the Pavilion Room has broken as well. That means that your next Main Event champion is currently hiding somewhere in the Amazon Room.

But a long list of players are no longer in the running for the title of Main Event champ. Huck Seed fell when his pocket queens weren't enough to beat a flush.

Victor Ramdin has also been eliminated, he hit the rail his A♦ 10♣ got outdrawn by Q♠ 10♠. A queen on the turn would seal his fate and send him home.

The majority of the final level still remains. Stay tuned as the big stacks decide to come out and play.

We'll keep you updated.

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Main Event Day 3: We're Back

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Players have now returned from their extensive two-hour dinner break.

We're back and playing the second half of level three.

Shaun Deeb was one of the eliminations before the dinner break. He was involved in a massive hand against Max Heinzelmann.

Both players got involved in a preflop raising war that ended in Heinzelmann moving all in. Deeb called and showed pocket aces.

Heinzelmann showed A♠ 6♦ and things were looking pretty good for Deeb. But then the flop paired Heinzelmann's six. The turn brought nothing but the river brought 6♣ and a flood of disappointment for Deeb.

Deeb was left crippled and was eliminated soon after.

Be careful with your pocket aces kids.

After this level is over players will have one final two-hour level before bagging up and coming back for Day 4.

Stay tuned for three more hours of Main Event action as we work our way towards the money bubble.

That'll take some time as we have around 1,100 players left, only 693 will get paid.

Stay tuned for more action.

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Main Event Day 3: Dinnertime

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Players are now on a two-hour dinner break.

We've played two full levels and half of another one. After the dinner break, players will come back to finish the rest of level three and then play one more level.

We saw 1,864 players come to start out Day 3, and after a few levels, we're left with just less than 1,300.

We now need to lose around half the field to get to the money. Only 693 players will cash this year, those who do will be guaranteed $19,359.

Those who make the November 9 will be guaranteed $782,115. They'll be fighting for the grand prize of $8,711,956.

This combined prize pool of $64,531,000 comes from the 6,865 players that registered for this year's Main Event.

These numbers will be in the back of all these players' minds as they go on their generously long dinner break.

But some players will have an even longer dinner break. Those players I speak of are the fallen ones, those who couldn't survive two and a half levels of Day 3 action.

Noah Boeken, Shaun Deeb, Jason Wheeler, Dave Fox, Lee Watkinson and Mike Caro have all been eliminated since our last update.

But when one player loses chips, another gains. We have a new chip leader in the tournament and the stacks are starting to reach the 1 million mark.

Darryl Jace has managed to capture the chip lead with 975,000. He's followed by our previous update's leader, Guillaume Darcourt 920,000. Kevin Saul has managed to keep chipping up, he has 645,000. Lamb has finally seen his stack shrink, but not by much.

Lamb has about 600,000.

Players are now getting some poker fuel and so are we.

We'll see you in two hours.

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Main Event Day 3: Changing it up

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We're creeping in on the third level of Day 3.

We'll only play half of this level and then proceed to take our 90-minute dinner break. Then we'll come back, finish up level three and proceed to play the fourth – and last – level of the day.

Huck Seed, Dan Kelly and Ben Lamb still occupy the secondary feature table, battling it out.

But something is missing from that table, the chip lead.

Lamb has finally been dethroned from the chip lead. That position now belongs to Guillaume Darcourt. Darcourt has 820,000 and one WSOP cash back in 2010. There, he managed to finish third in the $3,000 NLHE triple chance for $223,459.

The rest of Darcourt's success has been on the European continent, more specifically, France. Now he's back in Vegas and shooting for another six – or seven – figure cash.

Darcourt is followed by Anton Ionel with 645,000. Ionel came close to a bracelet earlier this year. He went deep in the $2,500 six-handed NLHE event and finished in second place.

But Lamb still has a considerable amount of chips. He's still standing strong with 600,000.

Only around 1,300 players remain in the 2011 WSOP Main Event and the number is shrinking every minute. The white section of the Pavilion Room has now broken up completely, leaving only the black section.

After that section breaks our eventual champion will be in the Amazon Room.

Hellmuth Staying Alive

Phil Hellmuth has managed to keep the ESPN camera crews occupied.

Hellmuth started out the day with a less than stellar stack, he was going to need to catch some cards if he was going to stay alive.

That's exactly what he's been doing.

First, Hellmuth managed to double up with a straight, then he managed to knock out a short stack. Both were caught and filmed by ESPN.

Marcos Cerqueira moved all in and got called by Hellmuth.

Cerqueira showed A♥ 8♥ and was up against Hellmuth's A♣ K♥.

The board ran 4♦ 6♥ 2♣ Q♦ 4♠ and Cerquiera was sent to the rail with a camera crew in hot pursuit. Hellmuth is now up to around 70,000.

Losing Champions

The field is shrinking and the likelihood of having a repeat world champion is slowly decreasing. We've now lost Tom McEvoy and Joe Cada.

Cada was short stacked for a large portion of the day and then saw his tournament come to an end when he ran into a straight.

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Main Event Day 3: Showtime

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The Day 3 differences continue.

Full-on ESPN coverage starts today. If you're craving some live WSOP action then you need not head any further than ESPN3.

They're currently filming the feature table and with hole cards and all. It's being shown online on a 30-minute delay.

If decide to tune in, you'll be able to watch some quality televised poker with Kara Scott as your host.

This is actually the first time that the main event is being shown (semi)live. There will be a total of 40 hours of live main event action for you to feast on.

Then there's the secondary feature table. That table also has quite the crew. Ben Lamb is seated there with his massive stack, he's also accompanied by Dan Kelly and Huck Seed.

Lamb in the Lead

You shouldn't be surprised that Ben Lamb is still your chip leader.

But it's still surprising.

Lamb has continued his dominance and chipped up to 611,700. And if this tournament goes like any of the other tournaments Lamb has had the chip lead in, then he's on his way to another great finish.

Aside from winning his first bracelet this year, Lamb finished second in another tournament. Then he made a deep run in the $10K six-max NLHE championship and then got another final table finish in the $50K Poker Player's Championship.

Now he's charging through yet another field. Since Day 1, Lamb has managed to chip up early and win pots consistently.

Lamb has yet to dip to the bottom of the chip counts despite having quite the difficult table draw.

Lamb still has a shot at player of the year if he manages to make a deep run. That is, if Phil Hellmuth doesn't do the same.

Hellmuth has had a rougher start though. He was beat down the first day, finishing with only 7,000. Then he managed to chip up the second day and now he's battling it out with about 48,000.

Others near the top

Don Nguyen seems to be in second place with 536,300 and he's followed closely by Kevin Saul. Saul has won more than $2 million playing poker and he's managed to cash twice this WSOP.

Sam Simon, the co-creator of the Simpsons is in the field and he has chips. Simon is in the top 20 with about 400,000.

Also near the top is Justin Bonomo with 320,000. There are lots of big names and chips out in the field, we'll keep an eye out and see what happens to them.

Gone

Not everyone can be a chip leader in the main event. Some people just have to bust. Jennifer Harman, Dan Shak, Jason Mercier and Lee Markholt are among the many who've hit the rail. They all survived two days of poker but just couldn't beat number three.

Players will continue for another three levels today and then they'll bag up for Day 4.

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Main Event Day 3 Begins

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Day 3 of the World Series of Poker is now underway.

Today is a little different from all the other days we've had. First of all, there's only one of them. No Day A or B for this day.

Also, this will be the first time that the whole field is playing on the same day. That means that your new world champion is sitting somewhere in this room.

We're also cutting the day a little short today. Up until today we've been playing five levels a day, today we'll be playing four.

Leading the field into Day 3 is Ben Lamb with 551,600. Lamb has had a spectacular WSOP, winning his first bracelet and earning more than $1 million in these last two months.

He was also leading the Player of the Year race for quite some time. That is until Phil Hellmuth managed to get another second place, thus shooting into the lead.

Speaking of Hellmuth, he's still in the field. After finishing Day 1 with only 7,000, he's managed to chip up and stay alive. He'll be returning to fight his way to keep the lead in the Player of the Year race.

Cards are now in the air and 1,864 players have returned for another day of poker. Only 693 of them will make the money and first place will take home a total of $8.7 million.

Stay tuned for more WSOP action, right here at PokerListings.

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Day 2b: Ben Lamb & Kevin Saul, 1st & 2nd

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The big stack for Day 2a belonged to Aleksandr Mozhnyakov, who had 478,600. At least two players eclipsed that today, and they are both known pros.

Ben Lamb continues his domination of the WSOP by taking the chip lead into Day 3 with 551,600. Lamb was the first player to crack the half-million mark, and with a deep run in the Main Event (183rd or better), he'll pass Hellmuth in the WSOP Player of the Year points race.

Assuming Hellmuth doesn't cash, that is.

In second place is Kevin Saul, better known online as "BelowAbove" (spelled with weird capitalization, zeroes, and other hieroglyphics). Saul is a former WPT winner with more than $2.1 million in live tournament earnings.

Saul crossed the 500,000 mark in the final minutes on a board of Q♦ 6♦ 4♠ 3♠ 3♥. Saul value bet his K♥ K♠, and his opponent called with A♠ Q♣.

Saul finished the day with 542,200.

Even the player in third place (unofficially) is notable -- Ryan D'Angelo, a.k.a. "g0lfa." D'Angelo has 462,300 to end the day.

Sam Simon, who co-created "The Simpsons," heads into Day 3 among the chipleaders.

UNOFFICIAL DAY 2b LEADERBOARD

Everyone gets a day off tomorrow, and the entire field combines for the first time on Thursday to play Day 3. There will be 1,800+ players, still a long way from the money bubble -- 693 get paid.

When action resumes at 12:00 noon on Thursday, the blinds will be 800-1,600 with a 200 ante.

Here's the unofficial top of the leaderboard, along with some notable big stacks (courtesy of WSOP.com):

1. Ben Lamb - 551,600 2. Kevin Saul - 542,200 3. Ryan D'Angelo - 462,300 4. Narendra Banwari - 404,800 5. Nicolas Fierro - 403,000

Patrik Antonius - 361,000 Sam Simon - 317,900 Justin Bonomo - 252,400 Jeff Madsen - 231,500 Joseph Cheong - 229,100 Matt Savage - 173,900 Erick Lindgren - 170,300

Action resumes on Thursday (Day 3) at 12:00 noon. Return to PokerListings.com for continuing coverage as the field of 1,800+ plays down to the November Nine.

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Main Event Day 2b: Nearing 1,000 Players

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

There are about 1,100 players left in the field, and the Pavilion Room is down to the final four or five tables. Will everyone reach the Amazon Room before the end of the night?

It'll be very close.

BELLANDE FRUSTRATES D'ANGELO

Ryan D'Angelos is near the top of the leaderboard with 335,000 in chips, but he has still been frustrated by Jean Robert Bellande, who has about 150,000.

D'Angelo looks at Bellande's chips like they should be in his own stack.

They played a hand together on a board of K♠ 7♣ 6♥ 5♣ 4♦. D'Angelo bet 11,500 on the turn, and Bellande called.

When the river put a four-card straight on the board, D'Angelo checked, and Bellande thought for a bit before betting 25,000.

Ryan D'Angelo wants Jean Robert Bellande's chips.

D'Angelo seemed pretty frustrated, folding 10♣ 9♣ face up and calling Bellande lucky. Bellande stayed quiet and didn't show his cards as he stacked the pot.

D'Angelo looked at Bellande's stack and said, "How does he have so many chips?"

BEN LAMB FIRST TO 500,000 -- OF COURSE

The chipleader yesterday was Aleksandr Mozhnyakov, who will take 478,600 into Day 3.

It should be no surprise that Ben Lamb has already surpassed that mark, and has 545,000 with about half an hour left in the final level.

MIZRACHI FAMILY UPDATE

Donny Mizrachi is still alive, but short with 28,000 in chips.

Unfortunately, he is the Last Mizrachi Standing, because Eric Mizrachi ran A-K into another player's pocket kings.

The Main Event hopes for the Mizrachi family rest solely in the hands of youngest brother Donny, and he only has 23 big blinds to work with.

NOTABLE ELIMINATIONS

A lot more notable players have hit the rail today including

Brandon Adams, Erik Cajelais, Raymond Davis, Joe Hachem, Amnon Filippi, Andy Frankenberger, Kenna James, Taylor Von Kriegenbergh, Andrew Lichtenberger, Eric Mizrachi, Mike Sexton, David Sklansky, J.C. Tran, David Ulliott, and Paul Wasicka.

LATE-NIGHT LEADERBOARD

It's past midnight, and the end of the last level is quickly approaching. Here's a look at the leaderboard, along with some notable big stacks with more than 200,000:

1. Ben Lamb - 545,000 (454 bb) 2. Kevin Saul - 438,000 (365 bb) 3. Nicolas Fierro - 432,000 (360 bb)

Patrik Antonius - 390,000 (325 bb) Sam Simon - 325,000 (270 bb) Ryan D'Angelo - 335,000 (279 bb) Dan Kelly - 300,000 (250 bb) Justin Bonomo - 258,000 (215 bb) John Racener - 225,000 (187 bb) Jeff Madsen - 220,000 (183 bb) Chad Batista - 212,000 (176 bb) Jared Hamby - 210,000 (175 bb)

Play should come to an end shortly before 1:00 am.

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Day 2b: Can Ben Lamb Be Stopped?

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Phil Hellmuth, who currently leads the WSOP Player of the Year points race, had an amazing run on Day 2. (Day 2a.)

Hellmuth started with a short stack, missed most of the first level, showed up to an even shorter stack, and grinded all day without ever getting all his chips in. Hellmuth finished Day 2 with a respectable 64,900.

Ben Lamb, who is currently second in the WSOP Player of the Year points race, is also having an amazing run on Day 2. (Day 2b.) Though Lamb's day is completely different from Hellmuth's.

Lamb started today with the most chips in the field, and at the last break (going on now), he has retaken his spot at the top of the leaderboard with about 415,000 in chips.

Hellmuth and Lamb both had three final tables this WSOP. Hellmuth finished second all three times, while Lamb has a 1st, a 2nd, and an 8th.

Hellmuth leads the POY race, and to catch him, Lamb would need to finish in the top 138 players -- and have Hellmuth bust outside of the money.

For those who don't know, this year's POY system takes several factors into account, including field size and buy in, so not all events award the same number of points. In the past, all bracelet events were weighed equally.

NEARLY HALF OF TODAY'S FIELD IS GONE

Action started today with 2,490 players, and there were 1,260 left at the break. (That's not counting the 822 survivors from yesterday.)

There are still 22 tables in the Pavilion Room, and play should end right around the time the last Pavilion table breaks. It'll be interesting to see whether or not everyone makes it into the Amazon Room tonight.

Of course, it's somewhat of a moot point, as Day 3 will have 1,800+ players, making use of the Pavilion Room once again.

Eric (left) and Donny (right) Mizrachi started the day at the same table.

UPDATE ON THE MIZRACHI BROTHERS

There's been a bit of a role reversal for the Mizrachi brothers, as big stack Donny lost a huge pot to drop down to just 11,500 in chips.

Meanwhile, Eric Mizrachi has been steadily grinding upward, and has about 35,000. Both players are well below average, with about 10 big blinds for Danny and about 29 for Eric.

Last year, all four Mizrachi brothers (including bracelet winners Michael and Robert) cashed in the WSOP Main Event.

FINAL BREAK LEADERBOARD UPDATE

As mentioned earlier, Ben Lamb has regained the chip lead. Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard, along with some notable players who are above the 200,000 mark:

Ryan D'Angelo has been having a very good day, near the top of the counts.

1. Ben Lamb - 415,000 (345 bb) 2. Nicolas Fierro - 412,000 (343 bb) 3. Kevin Saul - 381,000 (317 bb)

Ryan D'Angelo - 293,000 (244 bb) John Racener - 270,000 (225 bb) Dan Kelly - 257,000 (214 bb) Sam Simon - 245,000 (204 bb) Jeff Madsen - 235,000 (195 b) Will Failla - 220,000 (183 bb) Patrik Antonius - 205,000 (170 bb) Joe Tehan - 200,000 (166 bb)

The final level of the day has just started, with blinds of 600-1,200 and a 200 ante. Play should end shortly before 1:00 am tonight.

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Day 2b: Bellande Gets on ESPN; Davis Gets a Penalty

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

There's an excellent chance you'll see Jean Robert Bellande on TV when the Main Event airs on ESPN.

First, he is an entertaining guy to watch. He engages other players and talks a lot at the table, but he has a generally positive demeanor and is an easy guy to root for. He always seems to be the underdog.

Of course, his time on the hit TV show "Survivor" also introduced him to a larger audience than most poker players can claim.

So it was no surprise when the ESPN cameras came running over to Bellande's table when he was involved in an all-in situation after the flop.

The board showed A♥ J♣ 5♥, and Bellande had A♠ Q♣ (pair of aces) against his opponent's K♥ K♠.

Once the cameras got into position, the dealer put out the 2♠ on the turn and the 5♣ on the river. Bellande gave a fist pump as he won the pot.

Bellande and his opponent were fairly close in chips, so it took a while to count down the stacks. During this time, Raymond Davis leaned over from the next table to mock Bellande for getting lucky to beat pocket kings.

If there's anyone who can talk more than Bellande at the poker table, it's Raymond Davis.

The ESPN cameras were still rolling, and Bellande motioned to Davis and said to the camera, "It's amazing what the rail will do to get on ESPN."

Davis took offense to this comment (though he was still laughing), and said he isn't the rail because he is a player in the tournament. Bellande responded, "You're the only guy in the tournament who is also on the rail."

Their back-and-forth continued for a few moments before a floorperson came by and told them to settle down. Davis said, "We're fine. He's just being an asshole."

The floorperson immediately said, "Sir, take out your player's card and step away from the table. You have a one-round penalty." Davis was surprised, and asked why. Reread the last line of the previous paragraph. That's why.

Bellande smiled as Ray Davis was escorted to the rail.

As for the hand that Bellande won, he had his opponent covered, and that player was sent to the rail without any option of returning. Bellande improved to about 160,000 in chips.

A 44-CARD DECK AND A 60-CARD DECK

There was a weird situation at Table 261 after the dinner break. Someone asked for a count of the deck -- there were only 44 cards in it.

There was an uproar, as you'd expect, but the mystery was eventually solved.

Dealers rotate between two decks in a "set," and one of the decks had eight dented cards. They were removed from the deck during the dinner break, replaced by fresh versions of those same cards.

Unfortunately, the eight replacement cards were added to the wrong deck. Oops.

The decks were made right, and it's estimated that the short deck was in play for less than 10 minutes. It's an unfortunate error, but seems to have been an honest mistake rather than a cheating incident.

Jeff Madsen reminisces about the 2006 WSOP, when he won two bracelets and had four top-3 finishes.

LEADERBOARD UPDATE

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard, along with some of the notables who have more than 100,000 in chips:

1. Ben Lamb - 365,000 2. Nicolas Fierro - 345,000 3. Kevin Saul - 324,000

Ryan D'Angelo - 240,000 Sam Simon - 235,000 Jeff Madsen - 230,000 John Racener - 208,000 Patrik Antonius - 205,000 Justin Bonomo - 165,000 Jean Robert Bellane - 160,000 Freddy Deeb - 148,000 Amanda Musumeci - 140,000 Erick Lindgren - 110,000

There are a little more than 1,200 players left in today's field. The blinds are still 500-1,000 with a 100 ante, and there are still 1 1/2 levels left in the night.

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Day 2b: Ben Lamb Leads & 87 Pieces of Matt Savage

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Before we go any further, there are two quick updates on the Mizrachi brothers. First, Eric Mizrachi did NOT bust, and is still alive with chips. He simply got moved to another table in the same section.

Two seats opened up at Table 308, so they went to Table 309 to bring over the big blind -- and it just happened to be Eric Mizrachi. At first, he thought they were breaking up the two brothers, but the floorperson didn't even know two Mizrachis were sharing a table.

So Eric Mizrachi is at Table 308, and Donny Mizrachi is at Table 309.

The second Mizrachi update -- from this point forward, Donny Mizrachi will be referred to as Donny, and not Danny. His name has been reported different ways in different places, and he hasn't seemed too concerned with being called one over the other.

But since his Twitter account is @DonnyMizrachi, we'll go with that and call him Donny.

Eric Mizrachi - 16,500 Donny Mizrachi - 120,000

THE 87 PIECES OF TD MATT SAVAGE

Matt Savage is one of the most famous tournament directors in the world, responsible for more televised poker tournaments than anyone else in history.

Savage was TD for the WSOP back in the early 2000s, including the key year of 2003 when Chris Moneymaker won the Main Event.

Savage played some of the preliminary bracelet events, and could afford the buy in for the Main Event, but chose instead to sell 1% pieces of himself to some of the best players in the world (and a few lucky ones).

Matt Savage tweets his chip count so his "investors" can follow his progress.

You can see the full list of Matt Savage's backers by clicking here, and Savage even includes quirky comments about each player.

For example, Allen Bari is labeled "Best player on planet," Erik Seidel is listed as "Hottest Player on earth (Seiborg)." Jason Mercier has a piece, as does WPT Player of the Year (& recent WSOP bracelet winner) Andy Frankenberger and even blogger Al Can't Hang.

Even legendary backer Cliff Josephy (aka, "Johnny Bax") has 1% of Savage.

Other "investors" include Fabrice Soulier, Freddy Deeb, Greg Mueller, Jan Fisher, J.C. Tran, Kathy Liebert, Maria Ho, Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Todd Brunson, Jennifer Harman, and Tom "Durrrr" Dwan.

Savage sold (and in a few cases, gave away) 86 pieces, keeping 14% for himself. He claims that if he makes a deep run, he'll have the best rail in WSOP history.

Matt Savage has about 82,000 in chips.

JOKE OF THE LEVEL

Matt Jarvis's table was pretty quiet, when suddenly one of the players loudly said, "Anyone wanna hear a joke?" Jarvis quickly perked up and gave an emphatic "Yes!"

Here's the joke. No guarantees of laughter.

"How do you know when you're about to get your cashout from UB?"

Silence.

"When your mailman rides up on a unicorn."

Nobody laughed.

DINNER-BREAK LEADERBOARD

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard, along with other notable chip counts as the players take their 90-minute dinner break:

1. Nicolas Fierro - 345,000 (345 bb) 2. Ben Lamb - 325,000 (325 bb) 3. Kevin Saul - 324,000 (324 bb)

Patrik Antonius is rich, has a beautiful wife, and tons of chips in the Main Event. Your life sucks.

Patrik Antonius - 266,000 (266 bb) Ryan D'Angelo - 240,000 (240 bb) Amanda Musumeci - 145,000 (145 bb) Jeff Madsen - 143,000 (143 bb) Freddy Deeb - 133,000 (133 bb) Todd Brunson - 115,000 (115 bb) Phil Laak - 106,000 (106 bb) Carlos Mortensen - 90,000 (90 bb) Huckleberry Seed - 90,000 (90 bb) Jean-Robert Bellande - 87,000 (87 bb)

When play resumes shortly after 8:30 pm, the blinds will increase to 500-1,000 with a 100 ante.

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Day 2b: One Mizrachi Replaced by Musumeci

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Well, the Mizrachi family is down to their last player, as Eric Mizrachi couldn't salvage his short stack and make a comeback.

The family's hopes of a repeat November Nine performance now lie with the youngest Mizrachi brother, Danny, who has an above-average stack of about 72,000 in chips.

THE RISE OF AMANDA MUSUMECI

As you can see by the photo, Eric Mizrachi's seat was filled by Amanda Musumeci, and looking at her chip stack, she should be there a while.

Musumeci started the day with 134,800, and has moved up near the top of the leaderboard with about 200,000 in chips.

FIELD IS RAPIDLY SHRINKING

Play started with 2,490 players, and it is already down to 1,845. That's 645 players who have already hit the rail, a decrease of 25% in the first two levels.

The Pavilion Room is down from three sections to two, labeled black and white. (Why does everything have to be racist?)

The pace of bustouts will certainly slow down at some point today, but it looks like the Pavilion Room will be empty by the end of five levels.

The average chip stack right now is around 61,500.

If Ben Lamb were a baseball player, he'd be in the middle of a big hitting streak.

BEN LAMB PUSHING FOR WSOP PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Ben Lamb started the day with the most chips, and is still doing well with 225,000. Lamb has had a strong WSOP, with three final tables, a second-place finish, and a bracelet victory.

Lamb is pursuing Phil Hellmuth for the points lead in the WSOP Player of the Year race. Lamb will need to finish 138th in the Main Event in order to pass Hellmuth, but that's only if Hellmuth doesn't cash -- a fairly large assumption.

It should also be noted that, for the first time, the WSOP Europe events count toward the WSOP Player of the Year award. This is a change from previous years, presumably to help increase the parity between bracelets won in Vegas and bracelets won in Europe.

No matter what happens, the WSOP Player of the Year race won't be concluded here in Vegas. Maybe if Hellmuth wins the Main Event or something.

DAY 2b ELIMINATIONS

While we're never know the names of most of the players who busted, there have been quite a few notables to hit the rail today.

Here are some of the most-notable notables who are now more notable for the fact that they will no longer be notable contenders for the WSOP Main Event championship.

Maya Antonius (wife of Patrik Antonius), Michael Benvenuti, Liv Boeree, Mohsin Charania, Veronica Dabul, Tony Dunst, Shannon Elizabeth, Barry Greenstein, Elissa Hardwood, Cliff Josephy, Eugene Katchalov, Ted Lawson, Eric Mizrachi, Brock Parker, Vanessa Peng, Joe Sebok, Jeff Shulman, Todd Terry, William Thorson, Kenny Tran, and Roland de Wolfe.

A LOOK AT THE LEADERBOARD

It's rare for us to see well known poker pros atop the chip counts in a massive field like this, but that's the case at the break as Kevin Saul (aka "BelowAbove") and Ryan D'Angelos (aka "g0lfa") lead the way.

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard, along with a few notables who are further back but have more than 100,000 in chips:

Kevin Saul's hair is a little more subtle than it was when this photo was taken last year.

1. Kevin Saul - 324,000 (405 bb) 2. Ryan D'Angelo - 275,000 (343 bb) 3. Arnaud Esquevin - 264,500 (330 bb)

Ben Lamb - 225,000 (281 bb) Amanda Musumeci - 197,000 (246 bb) Patrik Antonius - 180,000 (225 bb) Justin Bonomo - 165,000 (206 bb) Jeff Madsen - 129,000 (161 bb) Phil Laak - 123,000 (153 bb) Matt Savage - 122,000 (152 bb) John Racener - 122,000 (152 bb) Jamie Gold - 120,000 (150 bb) Freddy Deeb - 114,000 (142 bb)

The blinds are increasing to 400-800 with a 100 ante, and there will be a 90-minute dinner break at the end of this level.

There are about 1,800 players remaining in today's field, and the average chip stack should be around 63,000.

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Day 2b: The Brothers Mizrachi Share a Table

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Today is the larger of the Day 2s, and it'll be close to see whether the entire field fits into the Amazon Room by the end of the day.

Action started with 2,490 players, and the Amazon Room holds 1,062 (not counting the featured tables, which aren't being used today).

THE BROTHERS MIZRACHI

Last year, all four Mizrachi brothers cashed in the WSOP Main Event: Michael (who reached the November Nine and finished 5th), Robert (116th), Danny (345th), and Eric (718th).

This year, Michael and Robert are already out, so it's up to Eric and Danny to keep the torch alive for the family name. But it won't be easy -- they're sitting at the same table (309).

Danny is in seat 1, and he has position on Eric in seat 9. Danny also has the much larger stack, with 92,000 to Eric's 8,000.

The ESPN stage is dark, and the stands are empty.

LESS FAN ACCESS

Both featured tables are dark today, and the construction around the secondary table has even closed off fan access to the tan section in the far corner of the Amazon Room.

So there are far fewer places for fans to get a look at the action than there was yesterday.

Thankfully, the Pavilion Room should be packed with tables for most of the day, so fans can wander between Amazon and Pavilion to railbird in different locations.

It is a bummer that instead of featured table announcers, there is the sound of power tools. Hopefully, the fan situation will turn around dramatically on Day 3, when ESPN begins semi-live coverage of the Main Event.

EARLY LEADERBOARD

As the players take their first break of the day, here's a look at the leaderboard, along with some notables further back in the field (courtesy of WSOP.com):

Liv Boeree started with just 8,500 in chips, so she's nearly doubled up.

1. Francesco Nguyen - 230,000 (383 bb) 2. Andrew Hinrichsen - 210,000 (350 bb) 3. Ben Lamb - 182,000 (303 bb)

Todd Brunson - 100,000 (166 bb) Patrik Antonius - 89,000 (148 bb) Huckleberry Seed - 87,000 (145 bb) Phil Laak - 86,000 (143 bb) Carlos Mortensen - 85,000 (141 bb) J.C. Tran - 55,000 (91 bb) Kathy Liebert - 51,000 (85 bb) Mike Sexton - 46,200 (77 bb) Allen Cunningham - 43,500 (72 bb) Joe Hachem - 35,000 (58 bb)

Liv Boeree - 16,000 (26 bb)

After the break, the blinds will increase to 300-600 with a 75 ante.

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Main Event Day 2b: Shuffle Up & Deal!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The 2,490 survivors from Days 1b and 1d are back in action, and more than half of them will see their tournament end today.

The start-of-day chipleader for this field is WSOP Player of the Year contender Ben Lamb, who finished with 188,925 on Day 1b. Lamb has four cashes this summer, three final tables, a runner-up finish, and a bracelet.

Yet Lamb still trails behind Phil Hellmuth in the POY race because of Hellmuth's three second-place finishes.

Curiously, the ESPN main stage is empty, and the secondary featured table seems to be under construction as a crew replaces the table with one seemingly designed for hole cams.

No word yet on whether the table will be used at all today, or if it is being prepared for the semi-live broadcast on Day 3 (on Thursday).

The chip count to beat at the end of the day belongs to Aleksandr Mozhnyakov, who finished yesterday with a chipleading stack of 478,600.

Stay tuned to PokerListings.com for continuing coverage throughout the day.

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