Kevin Mathers Blog

The attention of the poker world has been focused on Las Vegas for the past two months, but that doesn’t mean the attempts to regulate online poker throughout the rest of the United States have stopped. This week, The Fight tries to get the reader up to speed on what’s been happening behind the scenes over the summer:

This year’s current best hope for federal online poker legislation is Rep. Joe Barton’s (R-TX) HR 2366, which proposes a system of licensing and regulating online poker overseen by the Department of Commerce, but regulated on a state-by-state basis.  States could opt out of online gaming or issue state gaming licenses as they saw fit.  The bill would also overturn 2006′s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

The list of co-sponsors of the bill includes a number of longtime supporters of online gambling legislation like Barney Frank, John Campbell, Shelley Berkeley and Ron Paul.

There are currently no plans for a hearing in a House Subcommittee and, according to gaming reporter Chris Krafcik, Barton is not planning to move forward on the bill unless Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid decides to act on the legislation.

In the meantime, Reid and Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) wrote a letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder July 14th asking for clarification from the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the legality of Internet gambling, especially intrastate gambling. The letter mentions several states are looking to start some form of intrastate gambling (through lotteries, online poker, etc.) and have received the DOJ’s consent to proceed. The letter concludes that if the DOJ is reconsidering their position, they consult Congress before finalizing their new stance.

New Jersey state legislator Raymond Lesniak, author of a bill that would have regulated intrastate online gambling in the state before Governor Chris Christie vetoed the bill, sent his own letter to Holder disputing the Senators claims.

A new “grassroots” organization has joined the Poker Players Alliance in their efforts to get poker legislation passed. With initial funding from major casino groups Caesars Entertainment and MGM/Mirage, FairPlayUSA launched their website earlier this month. Their Board of Advisors features 2004 WSOP Main Event winner Greg Raymer and former Pennsylvania governor and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge as well as a wide-ranging group of poker players, law enforcement officials, gaming executives and other concerned citizens wanting licensed and regulated online poker.

A PPA statement supports FairPlayUSA’s efforts, but it remains to be seen if this new group will have any influence on passing online poker legislation.

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Can Ben Lamb continue his rungood outside the WSOP?

The 2011 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas is over for everyone except the November Nine and the BLUFF Player of the Year standings, sponsored by Aria Resort and Casino, see three players entering the top five with their success at the end of the WSOP. Eugene Katchalov and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier remain in the top two spots, with ElkY edging closer with a cash in the Bellagio Cup VII Main Event.

Maxim Lykov is the highest climber, moving up 15 spots into third place with his win in Event 54 – $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em. Marvin Rettenmaier, a former leader in the BLUFF POY standings, finished 266th in the Main Event to move into fourth place. A member of the November Nine, Ben Lamb moves into fifth place, figuring in the minimum of 135 points earned for a ninth place finish at the final table of the Main Event. Lamb has earned all 785.60 points in just over a month of play. Lamb will also lead the WSOP Player of the Year standings as action moves to Cannes in October for the World Series of Poker Europe.

Phil Hellmuth is the only player to enter the top twenty this week following his second place finish in the $50,000 Player’s Championship, denied his 12th bracelet for the third time at this year’s WSOP.

A player to watch outside the top twenty is Elio Fox, winner of the $10,000 Bellagio Cup VII Main Event to move into 28th in the standings. Fox also won a preliminary event during the recent Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza in June.

The typical post-WSOP doldrums mean just a few tournaments in the coming weeks that could change the standings are the $5,300 Florida State Championship Main Event July 29th at the Isle Casino in Pompano Park, Florida and the start of the Legends of Poker tournament series at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, their Main Event in late August the next stop on the World Poker Tour.

Internationally, the eighth season of the European Poker Tour begins in Talinn, Estonia August 2nd; in South America, the Latin American Poker Tour starts their fourth season in Punta del Este, Uruguay August 4th.

The top twenty in the BLUFF Player of the Year standings, sponsored by Aria Resort and Casino (change from last update):

1. (-) Eugene Katchalov – 924.38 points
2. (-) Bertrand Grospellier – 892.00 points
3. (+15) Maxim Lykov – 820.56 points
4. (+4) Marvin Rettenmaier – 804.82 points*
5. (+9) Ben Lamb – 785.60 points **
6. (-3) Samuel Stein – 775.25 points
7. (-3) Galen Hall – 762.45 points
8. (-1) Erik Seidel – 761.51 points
9. (-4) Ali (Shahryar) Eslami – 758.39 points
10. (-4) Jason Mercier – 757.43 points
11. (NR) Phil Hellmuth – 681.25 points
12. (-3) Allen Bari – 637.12 points
13. (-3) Alessio Isaia – 626.26 points
14. (-3) Victor Ramdin – 612.45 points
15. (-3) Chris Moorman – 606.28 points
16. (-1) Tim West – 596.05 points
17. (-4) Taylor von Kriegenbergh – 590.69 points
18. (-2) Eric Froehlich – 536.72 points
19. (-2) Vivek Rajkumar – 536.15 points
20. (-1) Matthew Waxman – 534.05 points

* includes 67.50 points earned for 2011 WSOP ME cash
** includes 135.00 points earned for 2011 WSOP ME final table

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Nick Binger wins his first bracelet in the last WSOP tournament before the Main Event.

I was playing in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em and busted out with minutes to spare to late register for this tournament,” Binger admitted. “I ran over to the cage and registered at 9:30pm. My back was against the wall, it was either this or nothing.”

Nick’s poker career has been overshadowed by his brother Michael Binger for years, but he becomes the first in the family to get the most coveted prize in poker.

Name: Nick Binger

Age: 29

Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina

Occupation: Professional Poker Player

Live Tournament Earnings: $2,063,349

Notable Poker Achievements: Nick Binger has cashed in 17 WSOP events, earning $672,180 during the past five years. His most notable win before winning a bracelet was winning the $5,000 Main Event of the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza in July 2009.

Memorable Quotes: (on the future Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better):

“I don’t know if it will ever be as popular as no limit hold’em. It’s an extraordinarily fun game, but the downside is that the bad players bust too quickly. If you’re playing PLO 8 cash, the good players are going to get all the money. Players are always going to bust if they don’t improve.

(On defeating David Bach heads-up): “It was a tough battle.  It was back and forth seesaw all night last night and then today as well.  He did not make it easy to win, that’s for sure.   He’s a great player.  He deserved to win this just as much as I did, for sure.”

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Nick Binger’s rail joins in the celebration for his first WSOP bracelet.

The final preliminary event of the 2011 World Series of Poker, $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Eight or Better concluded Friday afternoon with David Bach looking for his second WSOP bracelet, while Nick Binger wanted to be the first Binger brother to win a bracelet.  A lengthy heads-up battle between the two finally concluded with Nick Binger earning the bracelet and $397,073.

The final table festivities started with Allen Kessler running into some bad luck at the final table when holding pocket aces. With ten players remaining, Kessler lost with AA87 against Bryce Yockey holding AAK7 when Yockey flopped a straight to move into the chip lead. Kessler was able to double up and outlast Brent Wheeler to make the official final table. Kessler finished ninth after his AA63 went up against the AJ54 of Phil Laak. The flop of JT6 gave Laak a pair, improving to two pair when the 5 appeared on the turn. Kessler had plenty of cards to chop the pot or win outright, but the J gave Laak the checkmark with a full house, sending an exasperated Kessler to the rail. Bjorn Verbakel was sent packing a few hands later in eighth place when Nick Binger made a pair of jacks and the better low hand to scoop the pot.

Four players were eliminated during level 25, starting with Nick Schulman in seventh place, finishing ninth or better for the fourth time at this year’s WSOP. Schulman committed all of his chips with 6543 as David Bach held AAK2. The board ran out T8586, meaning Bach scooped the pot.Bryce Yockey doubled through Peter Charalambous, leaving him with just 10,000 chips. Nick Binger collected the rest of the chips on the next hand. The carnage continued as Binger made a full house on the river to dispatch Trevor Reader in fifth place. Phil Laak was attempting to become the first player to first win a WSOP Europe bracelet followed by a WSOP bracelet in Las Vegas, falling short in fourth place after Bach flopped a full house.

Binger and Bach held most of the chips in play three-handed as Bryce Yockey was far behind in chips. He was able to hold on for a while, but he would eventually hand over all of his chips to David Bach.  All three players saw the flop of 963 as Bach checked and Yockey bet out for 190,000. Bach reraised, Binger got out of the way and Yockey moved all-in for his remaining chips. Yockey revealed 9542 for top pair, an open-ended straight draw and a draw for low. Bach showed J632 for two pair and a flush draw. The K gave Bach a flush as Yockey was hoping to make a low to stay alive. The board paired on the river with the 9 as Yockey finished third giving Bach the chip lead when heads-up play began.

Heads-up play began shortly after Day 1A of the Main Event concluded, as Binger’s rail swelled with the addition of Jeff Madsen, Liv Boeree, Kevin MacPhee, Dan Shak and Matthew Waxman turning up to join Michael Binger and support Nick to his eventual victory. The lineup of million-dollar tournament winners certainly put Binger under a bit of performance to perform well.

“I was able to look around and see  the wonderful people here to support me,” Binger said. “Sure, there was added pressure of not wanting to disappoint them, but overall I think it really helped me.”

Ten levels of play wasn’t enough to determine a winner Thursday night, as Binger held the chip lead when play resumed Friday afternoon. Binger slowly padded his lead as heads-up lasted for over an hour. The final hand had Binger putting Bach all-in holding A533 against Bach’s AKK4.  The flop of 752 gave Binger the nut flush draw and the better low draw. The 9 on the turn locked up the high hand, leaving Bach drawing to the two remaining threes to stay alive by making a better low. The 5 on the river was of no help, giving Binger his first career bracelet.

Asked after the victory if this meant he was better at poker than his brother, Nick smiled and said “Yes.”

Final table results from Event 57, $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Eight or Better:

1.  Nick Binger – $397,073
2. David Bach – $245,314
3.  Bryce Yockey – $180,180
4. Phil Laak – $133,377
5. Trevor Reader – $99,512
6. Peter Charalambous – $74,485
7. Nick Schulman – $56,729
8. Bjorn Verbakel – $43,328
9. Allen Kessler – $33,352
10. Brent Wheeler – $25,784

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Bryce Yockey has cashed in five different disciplines at this year's WSOP.

The day before the start of the Main Event at the World Series of Poker featured plenty of excitement on the ESPN stage as Phil Hellmuth tried for a third time to win his 12th WSOP gold bracelet in the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship.

Meanwhile, another player emerged in the BLUFF Player of the Year race as Maxim Lykov won the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, easily dispatching his less experienced foes at the table. Day 2 of the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em and $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Eight or Better will have long days ahead of them as they’ll be playing deep into Thursday night to determine their winners.

$50,000 Poker Player’s Championship

Bracelet number 12 for Phil Hellmuth will have to wait for a little bit longer as his quest for a 12th WSOP bracelet was denied for a third time. Brian Rast extended the streak of multiple bracelet winners in the same WSOP to 12 consecutive years by winning the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship. Hellmuth had a 6-1 chip lead heads-up, but Rast was able to win three coinflips against Hellmuth, who held a flush draw on the flop in each of the hands. All three times, Rast faded the draws to double up and eventually eliminate the new WSOP Player of the Year leader. Rast earned $1,720,328 for his win as Hellmuth earned the biggest tournament cash of his career, $1,063,034 for finishing second.

$1,000 No Limit Hold’em

Maxim Lykov earned his first WSOP bracelet and moved into third place in the BLUFF Player of the Year standings with his easy victory in Event 54 – $1,000 No Limit Hold’em. Lykov also earned $648,880 for the win, the third for Russian players at this year’s WSOP.

$1,500 No Limit Hold’em

Day 2 of the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em ended with Gavin Smith leading the final 42 players who’ll return Thursday afternoon at 2:30pm amidst the throngs playing the Main Event. Smith will return with 864,000 in chips with Bryn Kenney the other notable player in the top ten.

Notables who cashed after the dinner break included Day 1 chip leader Benjamin Volpe, Noah Schwartz, Jordan Smith, Andrew Licthenberger, Frank Calo, Brock Parker, Marc Karam and Dan Kelly.

Top ten chip counts:

1. Gavin Smith – 864,000
2. James Boyle – 850,000
3. Ryan Goindoo – 838,000
4. Matt Lawrence – 772,000
5. Hasan Anter – 719,000
6. Lars Brobak – 592,000
7. Selim Oulmekki – 585,000
8. Jason Gravatt – 580,000
9. Bryn Kenney – 554,000
10. Hasmukh Khodiyara – 471,000

$5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Eight or Better

The field in the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Eight or Better inched their way into the money after nine levels of play Wednesday evening. Players who were shut out of a payday included Mike Matusow, David Paredes, Max Pescatori and Tobias Reinkemier.

Ram Vaswani, John Hennigan, Mark Gregorich and Erik Seidel hung around long enough to pick up a low five-figure score, just in time to buy into the Main Event starting on Thursday.

Nick Schulman leads the final 25 players when action resumes Thursday at 3 pm PT with a whopping 772,000 in chips. Allen Kessler is over 200,000 chips behind in second as Bryce Yockey rounds out the top three with 323,000 chips.

“I ran pretty good. I really liked how I played,” Yockey said about his day. “I got lucky with the table I got, they constantly let me play small pots over and over again where I could outplay them rather than force me to play a bunch of large pots.”

Phil Laak, David Bach and Nick Binger also return with a healthy stack, looking to collect the first place winnings of $397,073 for the player with all the chips.

Top ten chip counts:

1. Nick Schulman – 772,000
2. Allen Kessler – 568,000
3. Bryce Yockey – 323,000
4. Phil Laak – 319,000
5. David Bach – 310,000
6. Nick Binger – 303,000
7. Trevor Reader – 292,000
8. Raymond Dehkarghani – 266,000
9. Austin Marks – 230,000
10. Brent Wheeler – 157,000

BLUFF Cover Story – Jerry Yang

Jerry Yang talks about life after winning the Main Event in 2007, and his just-released autobiography, All In.

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Hall hasn't made a lot of noise this WSOP

The latest BLUFF Player of the Year standings, sponsored by Aria Hotel and Resort, features little movement this week as the preliminary events of the 2011 World Series of Poker wind down. Bertrand “ElkY’ Grospellier stayed in second and Sam Stein edged closer in third place but Eugene Katchalov remained the one to knock off the top spot

Three players in the top ten leaped one spot ahead of their rivals with cashes during the past week. The first cash for Galen Hall at this year’s WSOP, a 12th place finish in the $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw event, moved him up one spot to fourth, replacing Ali Eslami. Jason Mercier’s sixth place finish in the same event allowed him to move to sixth and trade positions with Erik Seidel who now sits in seventh. Allen Bari passed Alessio Isaia and moved into ninth place thanks to his cash in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Triple Chance event.

Another player within the top ten who’ll make forward progress soon is Marvin Rettenmaier. He defeated a field of around 250 players in the $1,000 Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series Grand Finale Championship. After the victory, Rettenmaier Tweeted from his @MadMarvin account about what this accomplishment meant in terms of the BLUFF POY race:

“This should also get me back up to (…) 3rd in the @bluffmagazine (POY)”

Two players enter the top 20 after making the final table in their respective WSOP bracelet events. Eric Froehlich enters in 16th place after his fourth place finish in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Triple Chance. Simon Charette entered in 20th place with his runner-up finish in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event.

In overseas events, Dominick Nitsche won another tournament on the island of Cyprus with his June win at the Merit Summer Open. Nitsche is too young to play in the United States, but is still climbing up the POY ranks.  He is currently in 35th place.

Here are the current top 20 in the BLUFF Player of the Year race:

1. (-) Eugene Katchalov – 924.38 points
2. (-) Bertrand Grospellier – 876.25 points
3. (-) Samuel Stein – 775.25 points
4. (+1) Galen Hall 762.45 points
5. (-1) Ali (Shahryar) Eslami – 758.39
6. (+1) Jason Mercier – 757.43 points
7. (-1) Erik Seidel – 749.51 points
8. (-) Marvin Rettenmaier – 654.72 points
9. (+1) Allen Bari – 629.12 points
10. (-1) Alessio Isaia – 626.26 points
11. (-) Victor Ramdin – 612.45 points
12. (-) Chris Moorman – 606.28 points
13. (-) Taylor von Kriegenbergh – 590.69 points
14. (-) Ben Lamb – 578.60 points
15. (-) Tim West – 567.05 points
16. (NR) Eric Froehlich – 536.72 points
17. (-1) Vivek Rajkumar – 536.15 points
18. (-1) Maxim Lykov – 530.56 points
19. (-1) Matthew Waxman – 522.05 points
20. (NR) Simon Charette – 521.08 points

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Shaun Deeb says the more games the better for the Poker Player’s Championship

Sunday evening inside the Pavilion and Amazon rooms at the World Series of Poker concluded with the winner of the $1,000 Ladies Championship determined shortly after the dinner break. The $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship finished their second day while the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em concluded their second opening day.

$1,000 Ladies Championship

An eventful final day at the $1,000 Ladies Championship concluded with heads-up play lasting just one hand. Marsha Wolak, the short stack when the final table commenced, completed her run from worst to first, defeating Karina Jett in the first hand back from the dinner break to win the gold bracelet and $192,344.

$50,000 Poker Player’s Championship

Day 2 of the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship concluded with 74 players remaining as Ben Lamb maintained his chip lead from the dinner break, starting Monday afternoon at 3pm PT with 704,500 as Gus Hansen and Sebsatian Ruthenberg trail the current WSOP Player of the Year leader. Players who fell by the wayside after the dinner break included Doyle Brunson (tweeting that he would not play the Main Event), Huck Seed, Dan Shak, Joe Cassidy, Mike Sexton and Allen Bari.

Day 1 leader Doug Booth fell to 28th as David “Bakes” Baker, Daniel Alaei and Bertrand Grospellier return among the bottom of the standings.

One player just below the 252,000 chip average is Shaun Deeb, returning Monday with 247,900.

“It started off really good, I got it up to 330K early then got in a really big PLO flip for a 200K pot as a slight favorite and lost”, Deeb related about his day. “I’m really disappointed. I thought I had by far the weakest table left in the field at this point. I should have accumulated more chips, but I might have misplayed a few hands and missed a few bets. Hopefully I can play a lot better tomorrow.”

The Poker Player’s Championship features eight games, but Deeb thinks it would be better with some additions.

“I would just make it ten-game with no limit single draw deuce to seven lowball and badugi. I think it would work better if there was a few more draw games, that would make it more balanced”, Deeb said. “It’s very heavy on the stud and flop games. So let’s make it three draw games, four flop games, three stud games and you have a little better tournament.”

Top ten chip counts:

1. Ben Lamb – 704,500
2. Gus Hansen – 688,700
3. Sebastian Ruthenberg – 669,600
4. David Oppenheim – 608,000
5. David “ODB” Baker 482,700
6. Matt Glantz – 471,100
7. Alexandre Luneau – 468,200
8. Josh Arieh – 433,800
9. Steve Billirakis – 409,000
10. Rami Boukai – 408,600

$1,000 No Limit Hold’em

Day 1B of the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event concluded during level nine with 366 players returning Monday afternoon at 2:30pm PT. They’ll be joined by the 272 day 1A survivors to get into the money when 468 players remain. The Day 1b chip leader is Eric Afriat, the only Day 1B player to break the six-figure mark in chips. Afriat has a 31st place finish in an earlier $1,000 no limit hold’em event and is looking to improve on that result.

Top ten chip counts:

1. Eric Afriat – 100,200
2. Kori Breeding – 84,400
3. Matt Heintschel – 74,900
4. Spencer Cossette – 74,600
5. Marc Norgaard – 63,000
6. Vincent Jacques – 62,850
7. Alberto Musini – 62,600
8. Aaron Overton – 60,100
9. Henry Lu – 59,200
10. Antonio Venneri – 58,000

Notable chip counts:

Terrence Chan – 48,700
Maxim Lykov – 38,400
Mitch Schock – 32,700
Praz Bansi – 32,000
Greg Raymer – 31,300
Shane Schleger – 29,400
Vitaly Lunkin – 17,300

VIDEO: BLUFF Live! Weekly Recap

Get caught up with the past week at the WSOP, including a cameo from the Micros and the week’s Headlines and Highlights.

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David “Bakes” Baker returns 21st at the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship.

A busy Saturday night at the World Series of Poker featured five events in action highlighted by the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship which wrapped up Day 1. The $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo concluded with a new bracelet winner while in the $2,500 Mixed Hold’em event, Matt Matros won his second career bracelet. Day 1A of the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em concluded earlier than scheduled and the $1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship almost reached their final table when the ten-level hard stop rule concluded their day.

$50,000 Poker Player’s Championship

Registration closed in the early hours of Sunday morning in the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship with a field of 128 entrants, up 10% from last year. The final 16 players will share in the $6,144,000 prize pool with first place earning $1,720,328. Second place will also earn a seven-figure score while those fortunate to cash are guaranteed $108,503.

Only five players were eliminated Saturday as Phil Laak, Arturo Diaz, Andrew Pantling, Eli Elezra and Jani Sointula managed to lose their starting stack of 150,000 chips in just a few hours.

David “Bakes” Baker will return Sunday afternoon at 3 pm PT with 211,000 in chips. Baker was not surprised there was an increase in entrants to the Poker Player’s Championship after Black Friday.

“This is about where I thought it would be. Without Black Friday it would have been about 150, we’re just missing the Full Tilt Poker guys. I thought there would be a few more, but not much more than last year,” said Baker.

Late registration was available until 1:20 am PT. Baker, the sixth place finisher in this event last year, doesn’t see an advantage to showing up late for this event.

“There didn’t seem to be a lot of late registration. There were only four people who late registered so your table was going to be kind of random,” said Baker. “For all other events it’s a big mistake to register late, it would be all pros. It didn’t seem like you were giving up all that much, but still I wouldn’t do it.”

Doug Booth starts Day 2 as the chip leader and 2009 $50,000 HORSE champion David Bach and 2010 Poker Player’s Championship runner-up Vladimir Shchemelev return among the top ten. Erick Lindgren, Daniel Negreanu, Ali Eslami and Mike Sexton are among the bottom ten in chips. Defending champion Michael Mizrachi returns with just 8,200 chips.

Top ten chip counts:

1. Doug Booth – 324,600
2. Greg Mueller – 322,700
3. Yan Chen – 317,200
4. Alexey Makarov – 266,200
5. David Bach – 249,500
6. Vladimir Shchemelev – 248,000
7. Jason Lester – 245,200
8. Steve Sung – 243,800
9. Steve Billirakis – 239,500
10. David Benyamine – 238,400

$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo

The $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo final table resumed with three players remaining as David Singontiko eliminated his final two opponents to score a bracelet in his first WSOP event, pocketing $268,235. The short-stacked Michael Yee backed into second after Singontiko eliminated Jeffrey Gibralter in the biggest pot of the final table.

$2,500 Mixed Hold’em

The five remaining players at the final table of the $2,500 Mixed Hold’em returned with Brandon Meyers in control of the action. Unfortunately for Meyers, he ran bad at the wrong time to finish in fourth. Matt Matros came back from the break on a mission for a second bracelet. It was mission accomplished for Matros, as he became a WSOP bracelet winner in consecutive years, defeating Jonathan Lane heads-up earning $303,501.

$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship

The $1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship finished the day with 14 players remaining, as Valerie McColligan holds the lead with 428,000 in chips. Amanda Baker and Karina Jett are among the 13 women returning Saturday afternoon at 2:30 to play down to a winner.

The last man standing in the field returns seventh in chips. The crowds gathered along the rail grew more vocal in their displeasure of a male running deep in an event geared towards female players. The final table will be held on the ESPN stage. If he’s among the final ten, expect a capacity crowd to root against him and for any woman who can take his chips.

Top ten chip counts:

1. Valerie McColligan – 482,000
2. Katherine Stahl – 352,000
3. Peg Ledman – 326,000
4. Amanda Baker 326,000
5. Carol Tomlinson – 313,000
6. Jennifer Cowan – 231,000
7. Jonathan Epstein – 216,000
8. Gloutnez Genevine – 201,000
9. Amanda Sizmore – 194,000
10. Marsha Wolak – 154,000

$1,000 No Limit Hold’em

Day 1A of the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em concluded near the end of level nine as 15 percent of the field remained. Those 272 players will return on Monday to join the Day 1B survivors from Sunday’s action. The chip leader is Paul Volpe with a whopping 124,500 in chips, more than 50,000 ahead of Alexander Salabaschew in second.

Bracelet winners who can enjoy their Sunday knowing they’re returning Monday afternoon at 2:30pm PT: Keven Stammen, Mark Schmid, Brandon Cantu, Ken Aldridge. Also returning for play on Monday are Amnon Filippi, Paul Magriel, Tim West, and Devin Porter.

Top ten chip counts:

1. Paul Volpe – 124,500
2. Alexander Salabaschew – 72,400
3. Alon Shahar – 60,000
4. Kevin Williams – 59,800
5. Dara O’Kearney – 59,500
6. Christopher Chatman – 58,300
7. Alex Smith – 54,300
8. Yousri Ali – 54,300
9. Tom Lee – 54,100
10. Matthew Livingston – 50,800

Day 1B has over 1,500 players registered with long lines expected for those wanting to spend their holiday weekend taking a shot at a gold bracelet on the cheap.

Video: Shannon Shorr

Shannon Shorr talks about his difficult 2011 WSOP and his future plans in poker.

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Nolan Dalla presides over a bracelet ceremony at this year’s WSOP.

Nolan Dalla has served as the World Series of Poker Media Director since 2002, providing valuable information regarding all things WSOP to interested media worldwide. Dalla has been witness to the explosion of poker since Chris Moneymaker’s win in 2003 as circumstances led to the moving of the world’s largest poker tournament series from the friendly confines of Binion’s Horseshoe to the enormous ballrooms found at the Rio. Dalla is also known as the co-author of the definitive biography on Stu Ungar, One of a Kind.

While Dalla has been at his post within the WSOP since 2002, his time at the WSOP extends far beyond the past nine years. One of the most knowledgeable historians in the poker world, Dalla has been on the poker beat for decades and has seen many major poker milestones, including Stu Ungar’s third Main Event victory in 1997. The final table was held outdoors that year at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas. Dalla recalls the festivities, including his thoughts on one of the best players poker has ever seen:

“I remember right after Stuey won, we had a dinner at the Horseshoe. The Fremont Street Experience had just opened that year. They basically roped off the entire street, not only for the tournament, but for the players and VIP’s to have a barbecue,” says Dalla. “I was right there at a table with the late John Bonnetti, and, sure enough, here comes Jack Binion and Stuey Ungar sitting at the next table.”

Ungar had just won his fifth gold bracelet and third Main Event title, but Dalla could tell that things weren’t quite right for the newly-crowned World Champion.

“I was about ten feet away and you couldn’t help but stare and observe the situation,” Dalla remembers. “He had made this incredible comeback, an incredible story and I sensed a palpable loneliness within him. There really was no one around him that seemed to love him, care about him or protect him. There was nobody to enjoy that incredible experience with him. At that moment, I realized the clock was ticking on his life.”

Billy Baxter had staked Ungar the $10,000 buy-in for 50 percent of the winnings, leaving Ungar with $500,000.

“You could just look at him and see…You knew the money was not going to stay in his pocket very long and it sure didn’t.”

It is not unusual to see several friends surrounding the winner of a WSOP bracelet event, no matter how big or small the buy-in. The partying and celebrating can often go well into the night into the next day. For Ungar, it was much different.

“This was four hours after the tournament. He’s alone. He didn’t have anybody with him,” Dalla says. “Think about that. Think about the biggest moment of your life, and you don’t have anybody to share that with. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a situation where you’ve had a really cool thing happen and you didn’t have your wife or girlfriend or anybody with you. That is an empty feeling that has no depth, there is no bottom to that,” Dalla observes.

“That is emptiness. If you’re not enjoying that moment of ecstasy with someone else close to you, that’s tragedy. I don’t care how much money you’ve won or how many bracelets you’ve got, that to me is a tragedy, almost a prison of success. To see Stuey not be able to enjoy what everybody else in the room enjoys here, I don’t know if you can calculate what that is like emotionally.”

The 1997 Main Event was the last tournament result for Stu Ungar. He passed away November 22, 1998.

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The national anthem of Greece will be played at Athanasios Polychronopoulos' bracelet ceremony on Saturday.

The winner of Event 48 – $1,500 No Limit Hold’em at the 2011 World Series of Poker, Athanasios Polychronopoulos, has the longest name of any WSOP bracelet winner. It’s not the easiest name to spell or pronounce, but if he can continue his success on the poker circuit, observers will have plenty of practice.“Once you learn it when you’re a child, you know it by heart. It’s easier once you say it, it’s easier to pronounce than you think”, Polychronopoulos said about his name. “It’s a very long name. The first name in Greece, it’s a very common name. It’s a great name. I love my last name, and my first name.”

Born in Southhampton, New York, Polychronopoulos will have plenty of family to tell the good news to about his victory.

“My father and mother came from Greece”, Polychronopoulos said. “I would always go back to Greece to see my family and every time I would go back I would meet a new cousin. “Oh, here’s your cousin, here’s your third cousin.” My family is huge. My mother’s family is enormous. My father’s family is enormous. I love them all so much.”

The 27-year old from The Springs, New York has made his name playing online, and now looks to do the same in the brick and mortar world. Polychronopoulos defeated a final table that featured Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Matt Stout and Simon Charette, players you don’t expect to see for a WSOP $1,500 event.

“They were all good,  I had to pick my spots carefully,” Polychronopoulos reflected. ” Four-handed was really tough,because Yevgeniy was playing awesome and heads-up was a long battle. We were both playing real solid. I made a few mistakes at the final table, I made a few mistakes four-handed, but some other plays made up for it. Then I got fortunate at the end.”

Name: Athanasios Polychronopoulos

Age: 27

Hometown: The Springs, New York

Occupation: Professional poker player

Lifetime live tournament earnings: $659,529,

Lifetime online tournament earnings: $2,075,799

Online screenname: Athanasios 9

Notable poker accomplishments: Polychronopoulos has earned over $2 million in online tournaments, with his biggest win being the 2010 SCOOP M-Main Event on PokerStars for over $303,000. He also took down a $1,000 tournament on Full Tilt Poker for $98,00 in September 2010.

Memorable quote: (On bringing a sweater saying “And Down Goes Frazier” and a Greek soccer scarf to the final table): “My buddy, Drew gave me this sweater a long time ago. The first time I played at the PCA a few years ago, I had a monster chip stack and I took a huge beat at the end of Day Two for the chip lead, and I was wearing this. I remember at the hotel he was like, ‘Don’t worry man, don’t worry. You’re gonna’ win a gold bracelet. You’re going to win a bracelet soon.’”

“I promised him if I final table the World Series event, I’ll wear this sweater. And I promised that if I final table a World Series event I would wear this Greek soccer thing. The scarf belongs to my friend. He said I need to wear it at the final table. I said if I get there, I promise I’ll wear it. I’m a man of my word.”

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Athanasios Polychronopoulos didn’t mind going overtime after winning WSOP Event 48.

The final table of Event 48, $1,500 No Limit Hold’em at the World Series of Poker was different from the usual lower buy-in no limit hold’em event as the majority of players have made a name for themselves in live and online poker were in contention to win a coveted gold bracelet.  At the end, it was the player with the longest name by far, Athanasios “Athanasios 9″ Polychronopoulos, to earn his first WSOP gold bracelet, defeating Simon “pokerbrat13″ Charette heads-up earning $650,223.

The first elimination at the final table involved a tough beat for Sven Nicklas Heinecker in a pot between two of the bigger stacks at the table. Peter Ippolito four-bet shoved with pocket kings, only to see Heinecker snapcall with pocket aces. The 9-4-4 flop was safe for Heinecker, but a king on the turn left Heinecker wanting his two-outer to come. A deuce fell instead, leaving Heinecker the first of three Germans to exit the final table as Ippolito moved into the lead.

Matt Stout finished eighth in another pair vs pair hand as Stout’s tens could not improve against the pocket jacks of Polychronopoulos. A short-stacked Pius Heinz was able to move up two spots in the payouts, becoming the second German elimination when his K-Q ran into the A-3 of Yevgeniy Timoshenko.

Ippolito’s good fortune at the final table continued as he dispatched Alexander Queen in sixth. Another four-bet shove pre-flop by Ippolito was called by Queen, holding AK. Turning over KJ, Ippolito was happy to see the AT5flop for the nut flush draw. The  turn was a blank, but the J on the river gave Ippolito the flush a five remained.

Simon Charette took this opportunity to make his presence known at the final table. Charette’s pocket fives won a flip against Ippolito’s K-Q for a key double-up. Charette’s next big hand was against Sebastian Winkler, the chip leader at the start of Day 3. Charette shoved over Timoshenko’s opening raise with A-J, only to see Winkler call with A-K. The last German standing appeared to be in good shape to severely cripple the Canadian, but when the flop came down J-7-7, it was Winkler down to just three outs. The turn and river bricked out, as Charette had Winkler covered by only 30,000 in chips, sending the last German in the event to collect fifth place money.

Peter Ippolito would hold a slim chip lead over Charette, but it was Athanasios Polychronopoulos’ turn to take the lead towards the end on Day 3. First, he doubled thru Ippolito, then he bluffed Timoshenko as the hard stop rule came into play once again at a final table.

The final four players returned Friday afternoon to the ESPN stage, playing down to a winner. In early action, Yevgeniy Timoshenko was crippled when his A-Q was outflopped by Charette’s Q-9 on a Q-T-9 board. Timoshenko was under ten big blinds when he moved in with 8-6, only to see Charette find K-J. Charette paired his jack and Timoshenko was drawing dead on the turn, unable to improve on his second place finish in the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Heads-up Championship, earning fourth place.

Three-handed, it was anyone’s bracelet to win, but when Peter Ippolito doubled through Simon Charette to hold over half the chips in play. However, Charette doubled through Ippolito twice to send Ippolito back into third place, making a flush on the river against Ippolito’s flopped set of sevens in the second all-in confrontation. Athanasios Polychronopoulos collected the rest of Ippolito’s chips to start heads-up play against Charette with a slight chip lead.

Heads-up play between the two online veterans featured several lead changes as both held a 2-1 chip lead against their opponent. Polychronopoulos would win the biggest pot of the tournament when his pocket fours flopped a set against Charette’s A-8 to hold nearly all the chips. Charette was able to double up twice, but the third attempt for Charette was unsuccessful when his 9-2 was no good against Polychronopoulos’ J-8 when another jack hit the flop, giving Polychronopoulos the gold bracelet.

After his victory, Polychronopoulos reflected on the exceptionally strong final table.

“They were all good, the German guys were playing solid. I had to pick my spots carefully. Four-handed was really tough,because Yevgeniy was playing awesome and heads-up was a long battle. We were both playing real solid. I made a few mistakes at the final table, I made a few mistakes four-handed, but some other plays made up for it. Then I got fortunate at the end.”

Final table results from 2011 World Series of Poker Event 48 – $1,500 No Limit Hold’em:

1. Athanasios Polychronopoulos – $650,223
2. Simon Charette – $404,235
3. Peter Ippolito – $286,118
4. Yevgeniy Timoshenko – $206,348
5. Sebastian Winkler – $150,667
6. Alexander Queen – $111,341
7. Pius Heinz – $83,286
8. Matt Stout – $63,062
9. Sven Nicklas Heinecker – $48,272

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Lex Veldhuis returns for Day 2 in the $5,000 Triple Chance 31st in chips.

Wednesday evening at the World Series of Poker concluded with a bracelet awarded in the $2,500 Stud Hi-Lo Eight or Better/Omaha Hi-Lo Eight or Better event. The $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event ended after ten levels of play with two players remaining.

Day 1 of the $5,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em concluded with about one-third of the field returning while Day 2 of the $2,500 Limit Triple Draw Deuce to Seven and $1,500 No Limit Hold’em events concluded with just a few tables remaining, likely to determine winners Thursday.

$10,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Championship

The highly anticipated final table didn’t disappoint, except for the fact that the hard stop rule ended the heads-up match between Chris Moorman and Joe Ebanks, leaving the pair to return to the ESPN stage at 2:30pm to conclude their event.

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier finished in third place, moving him into second place in the WSOP Player of the Year standings behind Ben Lamb, extending his lead in the standings with a 12th place finish. Lamb earned enough points to become the first player to break the 500-point milestone. That means a player can not become the WSOP Player of the Year solely by winning the Main Event.

Heads-up chip counts:

Joe Ebanks – 11,015,000
Chris Moorman – 3,215,000

$2,500 Stud Hi-Lo Eight or Better/Omaha Hi-Lo Eight or Better

Michael Mizrachi appeared set to win WSOP gold in consecutive years after dominating the final table of the $2,500 Stud Hi-Lo Eight or Better/Omaha Hi-Lo Eight or Better as Scotty Nguyen and Abe Mosseri were among the vanquished players. Mizrachi started heads-up play with the chip lead over Owais Ahmed. What appeared to be a foregone conclusion would not be the case as Ahmed would take the lead from Mizrachi in a tense heads-up battle. Mizrachi briefly regained the lead before Ahmed stormed back to earn his first WSOP bracelet and $255,959.

$5,000 No Limit Hold’em Triple Chance

A single event started Wednesday as the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Triple Chance concluded with 236 players remaining. The Triple Chance format gives players 5,000 in chips with two additional rebuys to add within the first four levels. The final 81 players will share in the $3,839,000 prize pool with the winner earning $825,604 and the gold bracelet. Among the departed who can play Thursday’s events included Jonathan Duhamel, Matt Jarvis, Phil Laak, Frank Kassela and recent bracelet winner Andre Akkari.

Mark “dipthrong” Herm ended Day 1 as the chip leader ahead of James Akenhead and Johnny Lodden in the top ten returning players when play resumes Thursday at 2:30pm PT. Other notables making Day 2 near the top of the leaderboard returning include Allen Bari, Josh Arieh, Lex Veldhuis, Daniel Alaei and Andy Black.

“It was actually very low stress, I was only all-in for my tournament life once with A-K against A-Q”, Veldhuis said about his Day 1. “I just ran good in the right spots. Pots were checked down when I wanted them small and when people were bluffing I had good hands to call them down with, it was very easy.”

Veldhuis has already earned four cashes during the Series and feels ready to make this event his fifth. “I feel very confident in making deep runs and the way I play now, I’ve changed a lot of things this year in the way I play. I’m a lot more patient and I’m able to adjust now to the way people think about my play. If I get a couple of hands I’m going to be crushing tomorrow because people just think I never have it. I now know there’s a payoff to being more patient and it’s really the only way I can play right now.”

Official top ten chip counts:

1. Mark Herm – 148,400
2. Vladimir Mefodichev – 148,000
3. James Akenhead – 144,100
4. Gregory Back – 141,200
5. Daniel Reijmer – 135,400
6. Joe Patrick – 134,900
7. Johnny Lodden – 132,600
8. Ryan Young – 129,700
9. Tom McLaughlin – 125,200
10. Nicolas Yunis -120,300

$1,500 No Limit Hold’em

The post-dinner break session of the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em continued with plenty more eliminations as people tried to move up the pay ladder. Notables picking up some coin include Alex Boloton, Jonathan Little, James Mackey, Mark “dipthrong” Herm, Sorel Mizzi, Devin Porter, Chino Rheem and David Singer.

Day 3 resumes Thursday at 2:30pm PT with 30 players remaining as Sebastian Winkler and Matt Stout are the only players over the one-million chip mark. Simon Charette, Mike DeMichele and Yevginey Timoshenko will be among the Day 2 survivors attempting to win themselves some WSOP hardware.

Top ten chip counts:

1. Sebastian Winkler – 1,156,000
2. Matt Stout – 1,062,000
3. Alexander Queen – 977,000
4. Brandon Becker – 919,000
5. Daniel Lobato – 656,000
6. Francois Billard – 626,000
7. Nicholas Lanzi – 624,000
8. Simon Charette – 564,000
9. Sven Niklas Heinecker – 554,000
10. Anthanasios Polychronopoul – 492,000

$2,500 Deuce to Seven Triple Draw

An extended period of hand-for-hand play finally ended with Greg Raymer knocking out Thomas Hamlett in 31st place in the $2,500 Deuce to Seven Triple Draw event. Notables who have already received their payout slips include Raymer, Jeffrey Lisandro, Mike Matusow and John Monnette.

Play ended after ten levels of play with Jason Mercier leading the final 13 players, as he’ll try to do what Grospellier couldn’t do on Wednesday, win a second WSOP bracelet in 2011. An all-star lineup will try to stop Mercier as Eli Elezra, Scott Seiver, Shawn Buchanan and Galen Hall will be hunting for their own bracelet.

Official top ten chip counts:

1. Jason Mercier – 358,500
2. Eli Elezra – 327,000
3. Scott Seiver – 303,000
4. Leonard Martin – 242,500
5. Scott Dorin – 227,500
6. Shawn Buchanan – 196,000
7. Nicholas Verkiak – 173,500
8. Jon Turner – 145,000
9. Galen Hall – 143,000
10. David Bach – 115,000

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Rep Porter added a second WSOP bracelet to his collection in $2,500 Razz.

The 2011 World Series of Poker has featured several players winning their first bracelet, but Rep Porter became only the third person at this year’s WSOP (John Juanda and Jason Mercier are the other two players) to become a multiple bracelet winner with his win in Event 44, $2,500 Seven Card Razz, for his second career bracelet.

After winning his first bracelet in 2008, Porter cut back on his playing. “I started trying to get a business going in Seattle so I didn’t play too much poker in 2009 and 2010 except for the World Series of Poker in the summer, playing 20 to 23 events both years,” Porter said. “I had made a couple of final tables in limit holdem in 2009, didn’t get far in either one, finishing seventh and ninth, but at least I got there.”

This year, Porter has made his presence known on the tournament circuit again. “I’ve been back and focused on poker again, playing a lot and traveling more to play poker” Porter remarked. “This Series so far, I got deep in the $2,500 Limit Hold’em Six-Max. I was chip leader when we got into the money. Thought I would make a run there, but in limit tournaments if you lose one or two pots, that’s that.”

Rep went on to finish 19th in that event, but he did much better the next time he made a deep run in an event, making hands at the right times to earn a 2011 WSOP gold bracelet.

Name: Ralph “Rep” Porter

Age: 40

Hometown: Woodinville, Washington

Occupation: Poker Player/Finance

Education: Bachelors in Information Studies, University of Washington

Lifetime career earnings: $1,482,390

Notable poker achievements: Porter won his first WSOP bracelet in 2008 in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event. Porter has 15 previous WSOP cashes, including three final tables. Porter also finished second in a WSOP Circuit Main Event in Atlantic City in 2007.

Memorable quote: (comparing his win with his 2008 bracelet): “I went to work on Wall Street in the late 90′s and got back into poker in 2004. I had played a lot of poker from 2004-2008 and I had two seconds, two fourths and a lot of top-20 finishes without ever winning one. I had so wanted to win a bracelet or a major poker tournament anywhere really badly. It fulfilled that little spot I had, where I won a preliminary event at the Bellagio last summer and now this one. The first one is always going to be the best one, unless somehow it’s the Main Event.”

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Rep Porter’s 17th cash is good for his 2nd WSOP bracelet.

Event 44 at the 2011 World Series of Poker featured the only appearance of Razz as a stand-alone event. A total of 363 players put up $2,500 going for the worst hands in an effort to earn a coveted WSOP gold bracelet. The tournament appeared a foregone conclusion with four players remaining as Tommy Chen held over half the chips in play. However, Chen could not make hands when he needed succumbing to Rep Porter, who eventually went on to victory, winning their second career WSOP bracelet and $210,615.

The final table of eight players barely settled into the table when Scott Epstein was the first player eliminated as the nine-low of Chris Bjorin bettered Epstein’s ten-low. Tommy Chen started the final table as the chip leader, and he added more chips to his impressive stack, knocking out Matt “SamENole” Smith in seventh place, making a six-low on sixth to leave Smith drawing dead.

Chen appeared ready to lose his chip lead, but he regained control by crippling Chris Bjorin to hold over one million chips, putting the two-time bracelet winner on life support. The rest of Bjorin’s chips went into the stack of fellow bracelet winner Rep Porter, sending Bjorin off to collect his sixth place winnings at his second final table of the WSOP. Andreas Krause and his dwindling stack were no match for Chen either. The German’s tournament was over on sixth as Chen made an eight-low to leave four players in contention for the bracelet.

Chen appeared to have the bracelet locked up after scooping a giant pot that involved Stephen Su and Porter. All three players remained in the hand until seventh street with a series of bets and raises among the trio. Porter eventually got out of the way after the last card was dealt, but Chen and Su fought it out one more time. When the cards were revealed, Su showed a 7-5 low but Chen turned over a 7-4 low to give him over half the chips in play.

The jovial Robert Williamson III is known as “Mr. Omaha”. The opportunity to add the “Mr. Razz” moniker fell short when Porter sent Williamson to the rail in fourth place.

Tommy Chen’s aggressive play worked during most of the final table until his opponents started making hands as Chen’s stack eroded. The first hand after Williamson’s elimination, Porter took the chip lead and, for the first time all final table, Chen was not the big stack. Stephen Su also relieved Chen of some chips to eventually take the lead from Porter. The final level of scheduled play would be Chen’s downfall, finishing in third after Su made an unbeatable nine-low on sixth to finish off the former chip leader.

Chen’s elimination left Su and Porter to play for the bracelet as the “hard stop” rule ended Day 3 with Su holding the chip lead. Play resumed Tuesday afternoon with Porter winning nearly every hand that went past fourth street in the nearly two hours of heads-up play. If ever there was a hand that typifies how frustrating razz can be, Stephen Su experienced it in the final hand. Su committed all of his chips with A-2-3 in the first three cards to Porter’s 9-8-6. Su improved on fourth street with a 4, giving him what appeared to be an unbeatable A-2-3-4 to Porter’s 9-8-8-6. However, Su would catch a T-K-Q on his final three cards to finish with a ten-low. Porter’s final three cards were 2-Q-4 to finish with a nine-low in an amazing final hand to determine a bracelet.

“That was crazy, I was thinking we were just going to play another hand,” Porter said about the final hand. “I just figured he’d have about 250,000 and we’d play again. Razz happens like that all the time. I can’t tell you how many times in the tournament I started with 6-5-2-A against two opponents who were drawing to eight’s and then hit paint cards. All you could do is say ‘Nice hand.’ That is part of the game. You start with the good cards and you still have to make the hand, it’s a drawing game. You have to catch cards at the right time, and I was fortunate to do that in this tournament. I was short throughout and every time when I put them in I caught.”

Here are the final table results from the $2,500 Razz Event:

1st: Rep Porter – $210,615
2nd: Stephen Su – $130,075
3rd: Tommy Chen – $83,895
4th: Robert Williamson III – $60,788
5th: Andreas Krause – $44,693
6th: Chris Bjorin – $33,338
7th: Matt Smith – $25,228
8th: Scott Epstein – $19,365

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Dave “ODB” Baker is making a name for himself again at this year’s WSOP.

A pair of final tables highlighted the Monday night action at the World Series of Poker. Both the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em and $2,500 Razz final tables got down to heads-up play, but the controversial hard-stop rule came into effect once again, stopping play before bracelet winners were determined.

Day 2 of the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event concluded with a compact field returning for Day 3 with Antonio Esfandiari making a deep run while Phil Hellmuth was a late elimination. The $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max Championship has a slew of bracelet winners looking to add a bracelet to their other wrist. The $2,500 Stud Hi-Lo Eight or Better/Omaha Hi-Lo Eight or Better concluded with less than half of their field returning Tuesday.

$1,500 No Limit Hold’em

After ten levels of play in Event 43, the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em ran into a hard stop with just two players left. Nachman “TheLandlord” Berlin is heads-up with Brazilian pro Andre Akkari. This heads-up match follows a crazy three-handed session in which Berlin, Akkari and Matt Carmody swapped the chip lead multiple times over two hours. The conclusion of the heads-up match takes place at 3pm PT Tuesday afternoon.

Heads-up chip counts:

Nachman Berlin – 9,465,000
Andre Akkari – 3,400,000

$2,500 Razz

The $2,500 Razz final table was divided into two halves. The first half of the final table saw Tommy Chen run over his opponents, eventually holding over half of the chips with just four players remaining. After the elimination of Robert Williamson III in fourth place, Stephen Su and Rep Porter surged into contention, eventually eliminating Chen in third place. Play concluded after ten levels with Su holding the lead over Porter as their heads-up match also resumes at 3pm PT Tuesday.

Heads-up chip counts:

Stephen Su – 1,655,000
Rep Porter – 1,080,000

$10,000 No Limit Hold’em Six Max Championship

Day 1 concluded with 162 players returning Tuesday at 2:30pm. Some of the players who don’t need to return include Sam Trickett, Isaac Haxton, Daniel Negreanu, Chau Giang, Shannon Shorr, and Alec Torelli are some of the recognizable names who don’t need to return at 2:30pm Tuesday.

Alan Sternberg leads the day 2 survivors as nine bracelet winners at this year’s WSOP remain in contention for a second bracelet. Ben Lamb is in contention to win back-to-back bracelets as he is currently third in chips. He’ll be joined by Jake Cody, Jake Cody, Fabrice Soulier, Sean Getzwiller, Amir Lehavot, Mark Radoja, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Mikhail Lakhitov and Andy Frankenberger.

Top ten chip counts:

1. Alan Sternberg – 260,600
2. Kevin Saul – 242,600
3. Ben Lamb – 223,000
4. Joe Cada – 208,800
5. James Sowers – 203,900
6. Jake Cody – 198,900
7. McLean Karr – 196,800
8. Farzad Bonyadi – 190,800
9. Jamie Armstrong – 190,000
10. Nicholas Grippo – 185,600

$2,500 Stud Hi/Lo Eight or Better/Omaha Hi/Lo Eight or Better

Play concluded after eight hours in the $2,500 Stud Hi-Lo Eight or Better/Omaha Hi-Lo Eight or Better with 201 players returning when action resumes Tuesday at 3 pm PT. Registration closed with 450 entrants to create a $1,023,750 prize pool divided among the final 48 players. The winner earns $255,959 and the highly prized gold bracelet.

Abe Mosseri will start Day 2 as the chip leader as Erik Seidel, Chad Brown, Richard Ashby, Eric Baldwin, David Sklansky and Josh Arieh are among the returning players.

Top ten chip counts:

1. Abe Mosseri – 64,200
2. Kevin Iacofano – 47,200
3. Jonathan Spinks – 43,600
4. Thomas Whitehair – 42,300
5. Matthew Ashton – 41,300
6. Jim Ferrel – 40,700
7. John Richardson – 37,200
8. Dan Heimiller – 34,900
9. Farzad Rouhani – 33,700
10. Bryan Micon – 32,700

$1,000 No Limit Hold’em

Just 21 players will return for Day 3 of Event 45, and Phil Hellmuth will not be among them. With just 30 minutes left in Day 2, Hellmuth hit the rail and failed once again in his attempt for bracelet 12. There are a few familiar faces among the 21, however, as Antonio Esfandiari and Dave “ODB” Baker will both be coming back in search of a bracelet in this event.

This is Baker’s third Day 3 of the 2011 WSOP, and while his stack puts him in the bottom half of the chip counts heading into Tuesday’s action, Baker isn’t worried.

“I don’t really concern myself with average much,” said Baker. “I’ve been in this spot before. Last year in the Main Event I had under an average stack for eight straight days, it never really bothered me. I feel great, this whole WSOP, and this tournament in general, I seem to have made the right moves.”

Jonathan Driscoll is the overnight chip leader with 1,247,000. Play will resume Tuesday at 2:30 pm PT. Selections for this event in our Streak2Seven contest are now open.

Top ten chip counts:

1. Jonathan Driscoll – 1,247,000
2. Kenneth Griffin – 1,133,000
3. Andrew Teng – 723,000
4. Antonio Esfandiari – 663,000
5. Philip Haemmerling – 650,000
6. David Haiman – 528,000
7. Jeremiah Siegmund – 512,000
8. Jon Lane – 509,000
9. Aaron Massey – 413,000
10. Paolo Gomes – 308,000

Video: Cover Story: Jesse May

The legendary voice of poker in Europe talks about this year’s WSOP, his thoughts on poker post-Black Friday and more.

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