The decision to allow players to register for the $15,000 World Poker Tour Festa Al Lago up until halfway through Day 2 might have raised a few eyebrows but it also produced some interesting results and the player who stands to benefit the most is Jason Somerville.

Thirty players took advantage of the extended registration including Kenny Tran, Andy Bloch, Todd Brunson, Phil Hellmuth and Chris Ferguson. The late arrivals did not fare so well though. Only one-third of the 30 players made it to Day 3 and only two players managed to do so with an above average chip stack.

Not surprisingly the chipleader, Somerville, started his run at the title on Day 1 and finished that day near the top of the standings as well. With 557,000 chips in his stack Somerville leads his closest competitor, Mark Seif, by 83,800. Other players in the top ten include Dutch Boyd, Chad “lilholdem” Batista and David Pham. BLUFF Magazine Player of the Year contender Mike Leah finished the day with the 8th largest chip stack.

The day ended with 98 players remaining. Included among the departed are recent WSOP Europe Main Event winner Barry Shulman, Howard Lederer, Paul Wasicka, John Juanda and Erik Seidel. Kenny Tran was also eliminated after being the last player to register. Once registered he sat out for another hour before returning to move all-in with K-Q against his opponent’s pocket sevens and was unable to hit and his tournament lasted little more than an hour.

The 245 Day 1 players combined with the 30 from Day 2 put the total prize pool at $4,001,250. First place will pay $1,218,225 and a total of 27 players will get paid. Action at the Bellagio gets underway

World Poker Tour Festa Al Lago Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts

1. Jason Somerville - 557,000
2. Mark Seif - 473,200
3. Dutch Boyd - 453,800
4. Chad Batista - 425,000
5. Corwin Cole - 405,600
6. Richard Sciuto - 403,100
7. David “The Dragon” Pham - 365,000
8. Mike Leah - 348,400
9. Steven McKoy - 325,500
10. Jonas Entin - 317,600

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