The Brasilia Room of the Rio Hotel has the faces of all five former World Series of Poker players of the year pictured on giant banners hanging from a wall.

Event 12, $10,000 World Championship Mixed Event, began Thursday night in that room, featuring a 194-player field that included the five on the wall — Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, Allen Cunningham, Tom Schneider and Jeff Madsen.

All five are still in the tournament with 2004 WSOP Player of the Year Negreanu holding the lead over the field with 120,000 in chips going into Day 2 of the event that changes between Deuce to Seven Triple Draw, Limit Hold’em, Omaha 8 or better, Razz, Seven-card Stud, Stud 8 or better, No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha every eight hands.

“This event is best suited for my game because I play everything,” Negreanu told BluffMagazine.com. “(I feel I am playing poker) incredibly good. I’m not making bad plays.”

Play resumes Friday in the Brasilia room at 2 p.m. and the 128 remaining players will play until they are down to a final table of eight players or until 3 a.m. Saturday. The top 24 spots will get paid at least $16,649 with the winner, which will be decided on Day 3, will receive $492,375.

Negreanu holds a strong chip lead over the rest of the field as Jimmy “gobboboy” Fricke and Vanessa Rousso are in second and third in chips with 86,000 and 85,000, respectively, with an average stack of 45,589.

“Kid Poker” was surprised at having the big stack at the end of Day 1, which ended around 3 a.m. Friday after eight levels of play, since he missed the early stages of the event because he was playing in the mixed Pot Limit Omaha and Pot Limit Hold’em tournament, in which he cashed.

By cashing in Event 10 on Thursday, Negreanu has cashed in two early events this year, finished 10th in the $10,000 World Championship Seven-card Stud tournament Wedensday.

Much of the talk during the tournament, however, dealt with another player who had not arrived due to another tournament he was playing in — Phil Ivey and his quest for his sixth bracelet.

Ivey came into the mixed event 10 minutes into the fifth round after winning the $2,500 No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw bracelet and was congratulated by his peers as he made his way to seat in the middle of the room.

“Phil,” Mike Matusow yelled from three tables away, “congrats.”

Once Ivey was at his table, he came in on the Deuce to Seven round, of course, but lost the first hand he played to David “Devilfish” Ulliot.

Ivey was eventually knocked out a few hours later by David Bach during an orbit of Razz at their table.

Matusow was also eliminated Thursday night by David “The Dragon” Pham in what Matusow said may have been his unluckiest elimination.

Holding Q A Q A 9 6, against Pham’s board showing a pair of eights, Matusow check-raised all in against Pham, who called with split kings. Matusow, a favorite with his aces and queens, needed to avoid Pham catching a king or an eight for a full house.

Pham squeezed out the case king, as someone else at the table folded one on an earlier street, on the river and Matusow was unable catch a third ace on the river and was eliminated.

After being booted, Matusow went around the room telling his bad beat story.

He told Hasan Habib, “That might have been the worst bad beat I think I’ve ever taken.”

John Juanda, Greg Raymer and Freddy Deeb were also eliminated on Day 1, while Nick Schulman, David Singer and Andy Bloch are in the top 10 in chips and remain in the hunt for the title.

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