PokerStars Poker Blog

WSOP Main Event: Day 3 chip counts

2009-07-10T00:24:24Z

The combined chip counts for all the survivors heading into day three of the World Series have now been made available by tournament staff. The PokerStars qualifier Amir Levahot is the clear tournament leader with 610,500. The Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier has significantly more than the average, with 207,900, and the actor Lou Diamond Phillips is another notable name high in the standings, with 192,300.

The full counts of PokerStars players are below. The tournament is on a rest day on Thursday, but full day three coverage will be on our dedicated World Series of Poker page on Friday.

Player	Country	Status	Chip Count
Amir Lehavot	United States	Cash qualifier	610500
Jerry Wong	United States	Cash qualifier	348100
Brian Hansen	United States	Cash qualifier	333500
Brennan Hanson	Canada	Cash qualifier	312600
Peter Kremenliev	United States	Cash qualifier	281800
Mike Brooks	UK	Cash qualifier	273400
Denise Molloy	United States	Cash qualifier	262000
Akio Ishige	United States	Cash qualifier	243500
Nick Eisel	United States	DBI	240400
James Akenhead	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	240200
Joseph Michael	United States	DBI	238800
Jason Maxwell	United States	Cash qualifier	236100
Lawrence Greenberg	United States	Cash qualifier	235500
Brian Taylor	United States	DBI	226700
Matthew Wood	Canada	Cash qualifier	225800
Bryan Kerr	USA	Cash qualifier	222900
Anh Nguyen	Canada	Cash qualifier	214900
Seth Thomsen	United States	Cash qualifier	213700
Nasr El Nasr	Germany	Cash qualifier	211100
Tian Shou	Australia	Cash qualifier	209400
Bertrand Grospellier	France	Team PokerStars Pro	207900
Steven Dunkelberg	United States	Cash qualifier	203800
Fabio Pilato	Germany	DBI	197300
Lou Diamond Phillips	USA	Sponsored	192300
Jacob Avital	United States	Cash qualifier	190500
Dennis Phillips	USA	Team PokerStars Pro	190200
Antonio Cavezza	United States	Cash qualifier	189000
Jeffrey Mathis	United States	Cash qualifier	188400
Antoine Amourette	France	Cash qualifier	186100
George Saca	United States	Cash qualifier	184600
D Douglas Dicken	United States	DBI	183100
Preben Norup	Denmark	FPP qualifier	176600
Jake Abdalla	United States	Cash qualifier	174600
David Peters	United States	Cash qualifier	174500
Kou Vang	United States	Cash qualifier	172500
Sorel Mizzi	Canada	Cash qualifier	166400
Daniel Makowsky	Switzerland	Cash qualifier	166300
Noah Boeken	Netherlands	Team PokerStars Pro	163200
Joe Luht	United States	Cash qualifier	151900
Benjamin Kang	Germany	Team PokerStars Germany	149400
Richard Fohrenbach	United States	Cash qualifier	144700
Jason Tremblay	Canada	DBI	140000
Joe Hachem	Australia	Team PokerStars Pro	138900
Thomas Ross	United States	Cash qualifier	137800
Aaron Ruppert	United States	Cash qualifier	137400
Don Tran	United States	Cash qualifier	137200
Bill Tzotzolis	Canada	Cash qualifier	135500
David Stefanski	United States	Cash qualifier	135400
Ivan Lehoczky	Hungary	Cash qualifier	134900
Ronald Lee	United States	DBI	134200
Andrew Batkin	United States	Cash qualifier	133800
David Sapery	United States	Cash qualifier	132700
Michael Graydon	Ireland	Cash qualifier	132500
Victor Greeley	Canada	Cash qualifier	132400
Vadim Gruzglin	Russian Federation	Cash qualifier	131800
Ray Rahme	South Africa	Team PokerStars Pro	131300
Tomer Berda	United States	DBI	130500
Hevad Khan	United States	Team PokerStars Pro	130400
Tomer Benvenisti	United States	Cash qualifier	130000
Dario Tosin	Italy	Cash qualifier	129000
Yaron Lerman	Israel	Cash qualifier	128900
Michael Fritts	United States	DBI	128700
Simen Ekstrom	Norway	Cash qualifier	127900
Adrian Gavile	United States	Cash qualifier	127700
Lennart Konst	Netherlands	Cash qualifier	127200
Mark Ader	United States	Cash qualifier	124900
Shane Pacheco	United States	Cash qualifier	124300
Adrian Moreno	United States	Cash qualifier	123000
Wesley Ismay	United States	DBI	122600
Lance Neumeyer	United States	Cash qualifier	122200
Nadir Jorephani	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	121700
Jason Sackler	United States	Cash qualifier	121400
Vijayan Nagarajan	Malaysia	Cash qualifier	120600
Luis Jaikel	Costa Rica	Cash qualifier	118300
Christian Jeppsson	Sweden	Cash qualifier	118300
Brandon Lee	United States	Cash qualifier	118200
Derric Haynie	United States	FPP qualifier	117400
Patrick Kelly	USA	Sponsored	115600
Ryan Buckholtz	United States	Cash qualifier	114200
Gary Flynn	United States	Cash qualifier	113500
Tommy Kaplan	United States	Cash qualifier	112100
Matt Affleck	United States	Cash qualifier	110900
Peter Eastgate	Denmark	Team PokerStars Pro	110700
Perino Smith	Canada	Cash qualifier	110400
Dariusz Paszkiewicz	Poland	Cash qualifier	109900
Ramzi Jelassi	Sweden	Cash qualifier	107300
Erik Van Den Berg	Netherlands	Cash qualifier	107100
Aaron Gustavson	United States	Cash qualifier	106100
Adilson Moraes	Brazil	Cash qualifier	105500
Felipe Montenegro	Costa Rica	DBI	104000
Eugene Fouksman	United States	Cash qualifier	103500
Manuel Labandeira	United States	Cash qualifier	103300
Jeffrey Anderson	United States	Cash qualifier	103300
James Rohan	United States	Cash qualifier	103100
Diogo Mariani	Brazil	Cash qualifier	102400
Adam York	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	100600
Kyriacos Dionysiou	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	99100
Alper Sar	Turkey	Cash qualifier	98800
Ryan Madsen	United States	Cash qualifier	98600
Robert Dodge	United States	Cash qualifier	98500
Daniel Buzgon	United States	Cash qualifier	98400
Frank Calo	United States	Cash qualifier	97300
Quentin Lae	Brazil	DBI	97100
Greg Raymer	United States	Team PokerStars Pro	95900
Konstantin Puchkov	Russian Federation	Cash qualifier	95400
Aaron Been	United States	Cash qualifier	95300
Ali Sarkeshik	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	95000
Sam Ganzfried	United States	DBI	94800
Brett Dawson	United States	Cash qualifier	94500
Rommel Berges	Belize	Cash qualifier	94000
Sean Nolan	United States	DBI	92800
Michael Casella	United States	Cash qualifier	92800
Daniel Hirleman	United States	Cash qualifier	92700
Andrew Brokos	United States	Cash qualifier	92200
Jan Nordly	Denmark	Cash qualifier	90700
Alfonso Cammarota	United States	Cash qualifier	90700
Grayson Ramage	United States	Cash qualifier	90700
Charles Beck	United States	Cash qualifier	88200
Andrew Tuttle	United States	DBI	87500
Antti Tarakkamaki	Finland	Cash qualifier	86900
Erik Hafner	United States	DBI	86500
Henrik Warn	Sweden	Cash qualifier	86500
James Campbell	United States	Cash qualifier	86500
Piergiacomo Fontana	Italy	Cash qualifier	85700
Laurence Houghton	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	85100
Christina C. Renz	United States	Cash qualifier	85100
Roger Goa	Norway	Cash qualifier	85000
Rebecca Campbell	United States	Cash qualifier	83600
Kris Kuykendall	United States	Cash qualifier	82900
Rolf Slotboom	Netherlands	Cash qualifier	82800
Igor Holdaiy	United States	Cash qualifier	81800
Mathias Kuerschner	Germany	Cash qualifier	80700
Doug Kellams	United States	Cash qualifier	80700
Sven Mol	Netherlands	Cash qualifier	80200
Steve Gahaghan	United States	Cash qualifier	78700
Christopher Giannell	United States	DBI	78500
Darus Suharto	Canada	Friend of PokerStars	78400
Sean Dorn	United States	Cash qualifier	77900
Eric Tomberlin	United States	Cash qualifier	77500
Daniel Drescher	Germany	Cash qualifier	76900
James Chapman	United States	Cash qualifier	76500
Mohsin Charania	United States	Cash qualifier	76300
Carl Olson	United States	Cash qualifier	76200
Andrew Sayegh	United States	Cash qualifier	76100
Jordan Farmar	USA	Sponsored	75500
Serge Pouliot	Canada	Cash qualifier	75100
Angelo Ricci	Canada	Cash qualifier	74700
Brett Shaffer	United States	Cash qualifier	74400
Bronislav Berezovsky	United States	DBI	74200
Robert Ching	United States	Cash qualifier	74200
Franz Fischer	Germany	Cash qualifier	73900
Jason Alexander	United States	Friend of PokerStars	73700
Craig Hopkins	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	73500
Jonathan Plens	Canada	DBI	72800
Jasen Henderson	United States	Cash qualifier	72800
Lam Trinh	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	72600
Stuart Atkin	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	72600
Niclas Elfstedt	Sweden	Cash qualifier	72500
Russell Kamer	United States	Cash qualifier	71500
Michael Crowe	United States	Cash qualifier	71100
Jason Sell	United States	Cash qualifier	70900
Richard Kane	United States	Cash qualifier	70400
Kevin Dean	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	70300
Andre Akkari	Brazil	Team PokerStars Pro	69000
Matej Kokalj	Slovenia	Cash qualifier	67400
Dave Cederoth	United States	Cash qualifier	67200
Jarrod Holmes	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	66800
George Lusby	United States	Cash qualifier	66500
Daniele Nestola	Germany	Cash qualifier	66300
William Milne	United States	Cash qualifier	65100
Geoffrey Cudd	United States	Cash qualifier	63700
David Moskowitz	United States	Cash qualifier	62500
Babak Razi	United States	Cash qualifier	62500
John Phillips	United States	Cash qualifier	62500
Yngve Andersen	Norway	Cash qualifier	62000
Andrew LI	Australia	Cash qualifier	61800
Juan Manuel Pastor	Spain	Team PokerStars Spain	61300
Ronaldo Bochi	Brazil	Cash qualifier	61300
David Johansson	Sweden	Cash qualifier	61000
Shawn Hood	United States	Cash qualifier	61000
Wayne Newton	United States	Cash qualifier	60600
Joas Mudde	Netherlands	Cash qualifier	60400
Stephane Bisson	Canada	Cash qualifier	60000
Norman Gautron	Canada	Cash qualifier	59700
Jonas Lohmann	Canada	Cash qualifier	59400
John Alexander	United States	Cash qualifier	57500
Alex Hodgdon	United States	DBI	57400
Kelly Corbin	United States	Cash qualifier	56700
Ryan Hall	Canada	Cash qualifier	56400
Carl Gray	New Zealand	Cash qualifier	54500
Dan Lu	United States	Cash qualifier	54200
Art Tanimoto	United States	Cash qualifier	53500
Kenny Weinstein	United States	Cash qualifier	53300
Thomas Marchese	United States	DBI	53100
William Rothstein	United States	Cash qualifier	52800
Marcel Bache	Germany	Cash qualifier	52600
Michael Woods	United States	Cash qualifier	51900
Mads Jacobsen	Denmark	Cash qualifier	51800
Tim Sullivan	United States	FPP qualifier	50400
Sutton Zolner	United States	DBI	50000
Andrew Lichtenberger	United States	Cash qualifier	49900
Nathaniel Nelson-Heath	United States	Cash qualifier	49800
Luke Vrabel	United States	FPP qualifier	49400
Todd Nagata	United States	Cash qualifier	48900
Amit Makhija	United States	Cash qualifier	48700
Jason Schacter	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	48500
Robert Allen	United States	Cash qualifier	47800
James Bills	Australia	Cash qualifier	47600
Elia Ahmadian	United States	Cash qualifier	47600
Joshua Worthington	United States	Cash qualifier	47600
Matthew Gloier	United States	Cash qualifier	47100
Tony Hachem	Australia	Team PokerStars Australia	46900
Pavel Blatny	Czech Republic	Cash qualifier	46700
Jesse O'Shea	Ireland	Cash qualifier	46600
Donald Dukate	United States	Cash qualifier	46500
Raymond Latinsky	Canada	Cash qualifier	45200
Samuel Ngai	Canada	DBI	44200
Benjamin Kramer	United States	Cash qualifier	44200
Mark Sykes	United States	Cash qualifier	43800
Tyler Netter	United States	Cash qualifier	43200
Chad Mizner	United States	Cash qualifier	43100
Shawn Glines	United States	Cash qualifier	43100
Brian Tanasi	United States	Cash qualifier	43000
Anders Gersel	Denmark	Cash qualifier	42800
Paul Febers	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	42000
Avi Mukherjee	USA	Sponsored	41200
Patrick O'Malley	United States	Cash qualifier	41200
Kevin Pionkowski	USA	DBI	40600
Craig Hartman	United States	Cash qualifier	40500
William Tanimoto	USA	DBI	40000
Martin Moral	Canada	Cash qualifier	40000
Christian Bowerman	United States	Cash qualifier	40000
Peter Traply	Hungary	Cash qualifier	39900
Humberto Brenes	Costa Rica	Team PokerStars Pro	37200
Luca Pagano	Italy	Team PokerStars Pro	36900
Bradley Soshea	United States	Cash qualifier	36100
Ryan Beckwith	United States	Cash qualifier	36000
John Larochelle	United States	Cash qualifier	34400
Mike Chiappetta	United States	Cash qualifier	34200
Shane Schleger	United States	Cash qualifier	34200
Christopher Mason	United States	Cash qualifier	34100
Peter Seager	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	33800
Kenneth Davis	United States	Cash qualifier	33400
Yueqi Zhu	United States	Cash qualifier	32500
Kevin Eyring	United States	Cash qualifier	31600
Spencer Cossette	Canada	Cash qualifier	30800
David Windisch	Germany	Cash qualifier	30600
Thomas Bennborn	Sweden	FPP qualifier	30400
Robert Rooney	United States	Cash qualifier	30200
Eric Sagne	France	Cash qualifier	29600
Greg Dyer	United States	Cash qualifier	29500
Kerry Bordinat	United States	Cash qualifier	29400
Matthew Vogel	United States	Cash qualifier	29300
John Alt	United States	Cash qualifier	28800
Kelley Slay	USA	Sponsored	28500
Chad Brown	United States	Team PokerStars Pro	27800
Martha Herrera	Mexico	FPP qualifier	27800
Kenny Brown	United States	Cash qualifier	27500
Julius Malzanini	Germany	Cash qualifier	27300
Frank Schneider	Germany	Cash qualifier	27300
Steve Phung	United States	Cash qualifier	26500
Michael Durrer	Germany	Cash qualifier	25700
Jason Gray	United States	Cash qualifier	25700
Peter Hendriks	Netherlands	Cash qualifier	25600
Jonathan Lewis	United States	DBI	25500
Robert Martin	United States	Cash qualifier	25400
Randy Lew	United States	Cash qualifier	24800
Michael Chiriac	United States	Cash qualifier	24600
Casey Sobczewski	United States	Cash qualifier	24200
Ross Mallor	United States	Cash qualifier	24100
John Sweeney	United States	Cash qualifier	23700
Matthew Adams	United States	DBI	23100
Shlomo Avdoo	United States	Cash qualifier	22500
Mark Costello	United States	Cash qualifier	22100
Florian Manz	Germany	Cash qualifier	20600
Tim Loecke	United States	Cash qualifier	19900
Paul Westley	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	19400
Igor Kurganov	Germany	Cash qualifier	19100
Andrew Seabright	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	18800
Jeffrey Hakim	Canada	Cash qualifier	18200
Joel Ranieri	France	Cash qualifier	18200
Joe Geisler	United States	Cash qualifier	17600
Kent Senter	USA	Sponsored	16900
Jeff Bryan	USA	DBI	16200
Hansen Ni	United States	Cash qualifier	15600
Ahmad Faour	Canada	Cash qualifier	13700
Johannes Steindl	Austria	Team PokerStars Germany	12600
John Lajeune	United States	Cash qualifier	11400
Aidan Quin	Canada	Cash qualifier	10600
James Campbell	United States	Cash qualifier	9900
Connor Allisen	Canada	Cash qualifier	DNR
Massimo Di Cicco	Italy	Cash qualifier	DNR

WSOP Main Event: Getting serious

2009-07-09T04:44:41Z

As of tomorrow what you see is what you get. After six days of play - the combination of four day ones and two day twos - the field unites. The tension will switch up a notch, opponents will eye each other more suspiciously and the careless will catch themselves counting down places to the money, a dangerous distraction, as everyone plays together in poker harmony. The winner will be out there somewhere.

The line up for day three was decided tonight. Always destined to be the weightier of the two second days 2,924 players arrived today to fill the Amazon, Brasilia and Miranda rooms to capacity and then spill over into the area outside Buzios restaurant towards the casino as well as into the casino card room itself. It would be a tough day, not least for those dispatched to check up on them.

It wasn't long before players began to bust, tables began to break and the focus gradually shifted back to the Amazon Room. It was there, at a little after 10.30pm, that players allowed themselves some modest jubilation at having survived another day, another four levels in the bag, four levels closer to that ultimate prize. But it came at great cost.

For every survivor so far there have been three losers, subjected immediately to the harshness of the poker caste system that banishes non-playing civilians to the other side of the rail while the chipped up ignore them from on the fun side lest their fate become contagious.

Victor Ramdin - among the first eliminations on day 2b

The high tempo spared none but the well armed. Johnny Lodden, Gavin Griffin, Isabelle Mercier, Ylon Schwartz and Victor Ramdin all fell before the final whistle, as did ShootingStar Florian Langmann and actor Marlon Wayans, with fortunes shifting arbitrarily on the turn of a card.

There was a flip side though which several Team PokerStars Pros bore witness.

Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier - among the leaders on day 2b

Dennis Phillips finished among the leaders, closing out the day on 230,000. Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier followed suit, closing out the day on 165,000, Hevad Khan did the same with 135,000 and Benjamin Kang bagged and tagged 145,000. Maria Mayrinck managed to survive, albeit with 25,000, and Humberto Brenes bagging up 33,000 tonight. Noah Boeken's good form continues, ending on 140,000, as did that of Andre Akkari on 72,000.

Former World Champion Joe Hachem

Could there be a double win for a former World Champion? Well Joe Hachem kept that thought alive, a tricky day that awarded him 135,000 to play with on Friday.

Peter Eastgate

Hachem will be joined by Greg Raymer in that category and Peter Eastgate, who pulled off a Houdini style last hour to go from 20,000 to nearly 100,000, doubling up not once but twice, the first time quipping "That's why I'm the champion... I'm lucky" with a large grin. The long shot double win is still on.

Being a championship-winning NBA basketball player, Jordan Farmar had been thwacked by the good fortune stick some time ago, but he satisfied the railbirds, taking his stack from 48,175 to 78,000 at the end of the day. The LA Lakers point guard, playing in PokerStars colours, will return in good scoring position.

NBA star Jordan Farmar

The shape of that third day is not yet known but will be soon enough. Tournament officials, manoeuvring among the bags of chips, will now piece together the forensic evidence of the day, re-write it in list form and have the details with us in the small hours; 5,008 stories, most of them still likely to go untold.

The rest made the walk back to taxi ranks, the bars and hotel rooms for sleep and possible alcoholic relief, thankful perhaps of making it through another arduous day, but conscious that in the grand scheme of things they're not even half way. But the money is close and that, for some anyway, will make or break their Friday night.

Our coverage takes a break now with no play scheduled for Thursday, allowing players to rest and the media to regroup, recharge and recycle some of their best verbs and adjectives. Don't miss those words here or on any of our sister blogs; the following, like Klingon, being a perfect example of just what can be achieved if you put your mind to it and create your own language. Hat tip to the Swedes, Germans, Spanish and Dutch.

You can counter that awe with a recap of today's events...

It doesn't get much bigger
In the far far reaches of the Rio
Names among names
The squeaky wheel
The boys from Brasilia
Friends
A tale of two champions
Sartorially speaking
Mixed fortunes for Team America

Brian Tailor has a message on his back while he plays on Day 2B

WSOP Main Event: Mixed fortunes for Team America

2009-07-09T04:00:27Z

There must be a disclaimer attached to the very top of this post. By the time you read what you are about to read, there is every chance it is wrong. At time of reporting what you are now reading, Ylon Schwartz was sitting in the Brasilia Room with about 15,000 chips in front of him. But in the time it took to gather this information, he was all in twice, and although he got them both through, picking up micro-pots, he had the look about him of a man who was going to make that forward motion as frequently as he could, either doubling up or going home.

***** REMEMBER THIS POINT HERE *****

It is the classic day two, short stack manoeuvre. Tried and tested. Textbook.

As if any further proof of Schwartz's intentions were necessary, he ended his badgering of one opponent with the line: "You can tell me once I've busted." He was after information about a hand that prompted a river bet from his opponent, looking at a board of [7h][4d][10s][8d][7c]. "Oh, I fold," a resigned Schwartz announced, yielding the 15,000-odd pot to his foe and leaving himself with an even shorter short-stack.

Ylon Schwartz

"You have five six?" Schwartz enquired. Silence. "Five-six down there?" Silence. "No? I guess not."

"I had an overpair," Schwartz continued, now seemingly unconcerned whether he got a reply or not. "You had a straight. I know you had a straight."

Anyway, at that point up there, the one that says ***** REMEMBER THIS POINT HERE ***** my colleague entered the press area to say he had just seen Schwartz walking down the corridor of the Rio, and out into the night. Schwartz's World Series is over, and although he didn't quite scale the heights of last year, when he finished fourth in the Main Event for close to $4m or so, he finished third in the $2,500 mixed event for $112,967, proving that there's still a whole lot of poker talent in the Schwartz locker yet.

Another player with intimate knowledge of the Main Event final table is Hevad Khan, also playing his day two here today. And it's going exceptionally well for the Team PokerStars Pro: he has 170,000 in chips and is in high spirits. "I can make it to where I busted last year with this, the 4K-8K level," he said, pointing at his stack. "And that's even if nothing good happens."

Hevad Khan

These days, Khan is the epitome of measured calm at the tables and today he explained his slow and consistent progress to a huge stack with the comment: "I like it the steady way." He also said that he is happy on his table, is focused and alert - and his table-mates might be better off keeping it that way: "I was not happy when I busted last year," he said.

* * * * *

OUT OF CONTEXT QUOTE OF THE HOUR

"Do you think there's any chance that I could marry Alexia Portal?" -- unnamed media rep indulges his wildest dreams.

* * * * *

DO YOU LIKE MY NEW HAIRCUT? OF THE HOUR

Above: Hevad Khan on day 1c. Below: Hevad Khan on day 2b

* * * * *

LIVE STATUS REPORT OF THE HOUR

"Up to 30,000, but still on the ropes." -- Maria Mayrinck returning from break to play last level.

* * * * *

STALKING OF THE HOUR

"There he is!" --Two blonde women laying in wait for Dennis Phillips to return to his table.

* * * * *

JOE GIRON'S PHOTO HOUR

There's a dog in the Amazon Room! There's a dog in the Amazon Room!

* * * * *

CONTRADICTION OF THE HOUR

ElkY--200,000 in chips--Frustrated and throwing cards

Chad Brown--20,000 in chips--Smiling like he just learned he's going to be a father

* * * * *

VIDEO BLOG OF THE HOUR

Ladies and gentlemen, Marlon Wayans:

Watch WSOP 2009: Marlon Wayans - Y'all feel me? on PokerStars.tv

WSOP Main Event: Sartorially speaking

2009-07-09T03:15:18Z

Let's be honest. Poker players do not spring from a tradition of style. Sure, you have Amarillo Slim and his rattlesnake cap and a few other notables of poker's past, but by and large, poker players are a bunch of slobs. They're unshaven, sweatpants-wearing, and, as long as we're being frank, tend to smell.

From such ranks, then, it's a bit surprising to find several players in day 2B who give a bit more care to how they put themselves together.

Take, for instance, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier. The one-time video game pro used to be (and we're pretty sure he would admit this) a bit of a slouch. Chubby, unkempt, and generally carefree, ElkY went through many years of his life without caring much how he looked. Fast forward to 2008 when he lost a ton of weight (for money, of course). Then next thing we knew, ElkY was rolling in new duds, with a new haircut, and with new shades.

Not for nothing, the new style coincided with a winning streak that is still ongoing. An EPT win, a WPT win, several deep WCOOP runs, all of it resulting in millions of dollars worth of victories.

What's more ElkY is prospering in Day 2A and is looking like a strong candidate for Day 3. He's currently sitting around 260,000.

Across this wide and vast Amazon room, we see many more examples of this sartorial elegance. Photographer Joe Giron has captured photos of at least three other Team Pros who are playing in style today. Here's a quick look at the players and how they are doing in Day 2A.

Thierry van den Berg --

Chad Brown -- 20,000

Noah Boeken -- 150,000

This is all a long way of saying that attention to one's style might have a little more to do with the game than we previously realized. Or, in the words of the venerable Fernando Lamas, "It is better to look good than to feel good!"

* * * * *

HAND OF THE HOUR

ElkY is on fire and up to approximately 260,000. Most recently he was seen cutting out eight orange chips, four yellow chip and four black chips, totaling 44,400 and shooting them at a board of [6h][2s][6c][8h][ks]. His sole opponent pondered and then made the call, showing [kh][8d] for top two pair. It wasn't good. ElkY had [8d][6d] for the full house and another decent pot slid his way.

JOE GIRON PHOTO HOUR

VIDEO OF THE HOUR

Watch WSOP 2009: Jordan Farmar B-Ball and Poker on PokerStars.tv

WSOP Main Event: A tale of two champions

2009-07-09T02:00:11Z

There's little difference in the process of flying to any EPT venue. The same airline, the same flying time (all EPT destinations are two hours away from London regardless of actual distance), the same early start. You also tend to spot the occasional player on their way to the same tour destination. In the case of the San Remo trip earlier this year that player was Peter Eastgate.

Nothing unusual in that only as we all stepped out onto the tarmac the flight attendant saw Eastgate and offered his congratulations on his win of last November. Eastgate was gracious but a little taken back at what was likely his first note of recognition from the civilian world. The process of adapting to being a World Champion had begun.

Defencing champion Peter Eastgate

Cut forward a few months to Las Vegas this year and former World Champion Joe Hachem signing copies of his book Pass the Sugar for crowds of fans in line for an autographed copy and a quick photo for the album. One new World Champion learning the ropes, one more experienced and already aware of his obligations as ambassador for the game.

Joe Hachem signing copies of his book

But while they may be at different point of that learning curve there's no doubting they both no what t means to be here as a champion.

"The money's great, I'd be lying if I said it's not" Hacham had said back in 2005. "But the bracelet is the thing. It's an honor and a privilege to wear it."

Proof of that honor came 12 months later. Returning in 2006 Hachem's title defence became one of the defining moments of the tournament - the long slog he knew it would be to defend his title and the exhausted look on his face the moment that back to back dream died.

Since then the World Series main event has become a matter of pride for the Aussie, the grand stage where he shot to fame and where great players before him have left their mark. As well as some self confessed pride Hachem is fired by a competitive spirit, one that suggests one main event bracelet might not be enough, one that inspired him to win the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December 2006. "Vindication" is what he called it. Vindication is what it was.

2005 World Champion Joe Hachem

Flash forward to now and Hachem is working a stack of around 60,000, just under average. He picks up a few thousand here and there without risking much, making the most of circumstances, playing the man, playing position. It's too early for grand gestures something other younger players might not fully grasp where pot winners yell out and high five each other.

Eastgate sits one table along with a stack of 50,000, the same concentration, the same goal, banking opponents' mistakes for later reference while he plots his own advance. Two world champions, two tables apart, each trying what most think is statistically impossible - to win a second main event in the internet age. But you'd be hard pressed to find two more likely candidates and both will walk out of the Amazon room even more recognisable as before.

* * * * *

OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT ADMIN OF THE HOUR

Current chip average: 67,440

* * * * *

RAILBIRDS OF THE HOUR

Currently railing the ESPN secondary feature table: a priest and serial qualifier Stevie Chidwick.

* * * * *

STICKIN' IT TO THE MOM MOMENT OF THE HOUR

"My mom doesn't want I play at poker... but I do it the same!" -- Sign pinned to the back of the PokerStars qualifier Brian Tailor's shirt

* * * * *

EROS OF THE HOUR

PokerStars' Spanish blogger Ivan Marti, who explains: "In case you are interested in a marriage of the hour, a couple of minutes ago a guy on the rail asked me if I could please forward a message to one of the players. I said that I would do it and he pointed at Nghia Le. 'Please tell her that her friend is getting married now in Starbucks.' I did it, of course."

* * * * *

WEDDING VENUE OF THE HOUR

Starbucks? Starbucks?

* * * * *

BAD BEAT PHONE CALL HOME TO THE WIFE OF THE HOUR

"I got my money in so good. It's unbelievable. Ten high flop. I have queens he has ace-king. Unbelievable!"

* * * * *

JOE GIRON'S PHOTO HOUR

Dennis Phillips and Maria Mayrinck

WSOP Main Event: Friends

2009-07-09T01:00:09Z

On day one of last year's World Series Main Event, Daniel Negreanu was positioned on the secondary feature table with three unknown PokerStars qualifiers. This table draw was responsible for one of the most criminally-laboured blog post analogies ever seen on PokerStars blog -- I thank you -- but it also yielded the introduction to the poker world of Darus Suharto, who would become increasingly well known over the coming weeks.

Negreanu busted from the table before that dead-horse metaphor had even been fully flogged, but Suharto wouldn't finish his Main Event until November. He flew under all radars, navigated all choppy waters, dodged all bullets, and sidestepped all further analogies (until now) and emerged blinking at the Penn and Teller Theater to play the final table, winning a magnificent $2,418,562 for sixth place. Then he went back to his job as an accountant in Toronto.

Darus Suharto

Suharto did not give up entirely on poker, however. Far from it. He became an official "Friend of PokerStars" in the past year and has continued to appear at the major events around the world, cropping up at the PCA in January, where he took 13th in a side event, then the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo, and then back to Las Vegas this summer, where he recorded his third career WSOP cash. Today in the Amazon Room, Suharto also became a friend of an NBA champion, the LA Laker Jordan Farmar, who continues his fine run at the poker table.

Suharto and Farmar couldn't be more dissimilar. One is the unassuming accountant, the other the talkative basketball player who writes a blog for Playboy. But poker is a great leveller, and having been sat next to one another for much of today, they're finding common ground. Suharto has been happily welcoming Farmar to the PokerStars stable -- the point guard is a sponsored player here -- and offering advice such as not to bet 30,000 into an 8,000 pot. "Yeah, but how's your lay-up Darus?" Farmer did not retort.

Jordan Farmar

It was all particularly friendly over there in the red section, until their table was broken and the new friends were scattered across the Amazon Room. See you at the final table? Well, statistics would say possibly not. But maybe a drink in the bar isn't out of the question sometime later in the week.

PokerStars' other sponsored celebrities are also alive and battling well. Marlon Wayans continues to entertain another very laid back table, and has also been hogging the ESPN television crew circling in that area of the green section.

Marlon Wayans

Lou Diamond Phillips, most recently the winner of "I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" is also proving his durability to the jungle again. He is still in the thick of it as we return from the day 2b dinner break. A nice snack of locust and kangaroo testicle parfait, no doubt.

Lou Diamond Phillips

* * * * *

DRAWLED AND GROWLED INSTRUCTION TO POKERSTARS BLOGGER OF THE HOUR

"Tell 'um ole' Jack still here, pal. Ole' man still goin'" -- There you go, folks. 'Ole Jack still here.

* * * * *

SQUEAKY WHEEL TWEET OF THE HOUR

"27k. They just moved paul mcgriel to the table. The poker Gods really want me to do well. No more mistakes." -- Maridu

* * * * *

STATISTIC OF THE HOUR

Time taken between return of players from dinner break and first bust out: 9 seconds

* * * * *

BILLBOARD BAD BEAT OF THE HOUR

Above Velvet Lion strip club: "What happens in Vegas, GOD KNOWS, for the WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH!"

* * * * *

TREAT OF THE HOUR

What does Marcel Luske do when he busts out of the Main Event? He hangs around the Rio and has a good time. Moments ago, the was heeard to exclaim in the hallways of the Rio, "Let's get ice cream." Moments later, he was doing just that, where he described his Main Event performances as...quoting here..."smelly." Since then, though, "Everything has been good," he said.

* * * * *

JOE GIRON'S PICTURE HOUR

Joe Hachem's book signing

WSOP Main Event: The boys from Brasilia

2009-07-08T23:00:31Z

A short walk from the Amazon Room, past registrations and the souvenir shop, is the Brasilia Room. Ahh the Brasilia Room. It conjures up images of beaches, rain forests, palm trees, salsa, that kind of thing. In reality, and this may be hardly surprising, it's the same aircraft hanger type place as the Amazon Room, with several hundred tables on the same patterned carpet and light fittings to make it as non-descript a venue for a World Championship as you could image. At least at Buzios there's a lobster tank.

Flags hang from the roof along with a few banner ads but the Brasilia room, thanks to the tables being switched gradually towards the main Amazon hub, has an action aura not found in the Amazon, suggesting that these players are a different breed, more reckless, ready to get it in with the best of it. Or second best.

"Three all-ins called table 175."

It may have seemed like bragging, but the dealer was just doing his job, getting the attention of the TV folks who document it for the cutting room floor. In this case they didn't show up at all and they'd miss one of those quirky hands that makes you want to jump headlong into the Rio pool screaming until there is no air left in your lungs.

Aces, against kings, against aces.

You might already be able to tell how this ran out. Before they saw any cards one player announced he had folded king-queen, which ratcheted up the drama for Derek Cheung from Hong Kong, holding the kings who was left with one out. Not to worry though. [6d][js][4h] on the flop. [kd] on the turn. Cue all those sharp noises of inhaling and exhaling involuntarily.

Giovanni Nervo

That was it for that table, next to be broken up. A tournament official handed Giovanni Nervo, holding of two of the aces, a chip rack. "Too late" he replied although he had enough chips to fill two. Another table sucked up by the pace of day two. The Brasilia being cut down some more.

Also deep in the Brasilia wilderness is Team PokerStars Pro JC Alvarado. The Mexican, oblivious to the world thanks to headphones, is adding to his 71,600 starting stack, more than doubling it to 165,000.

JC Alvarado

He added his share to a four way pre-flop pot of 10K. The flop came [ks][9c][ac]. Jonas Gutteck bet 4,500 from the four seat which was folded to Alvarado who called. Both checked the [7d] turn before the [4s] river card. Gutteck checked but that only stirred up the Mexican who flung an uncounted load of orange and yellow chips into the middle, immediately convincing Gutteck that this was not to be his hand.

"Queens or jacks?" asked one player. Alvarado simply ignored him.

Florian Langmann

Adopting a similar approach is Team PokerStars Germany pro Florian Langmann. Langmann also cuts a fearsome looking jib when he plays, something one opponent pointed out when asking who he was. Langmann may fly under the radar in these parts but his record back in Europe speaks for itself with big results in London and Dortmund as well as two cashes in this year's series. His $1.7 million in tournament winnings puts him second on the German all time money list and as I stopped by he was scooping another multicoloured spread of someone else's chips.

Silent, ruthless and action packed. Welcome to the Brasilia room.

* * * * *

OUT OF CONTEXT QUOTE OF THE HOUR

"And THAT is why bad beats happen." --random railbird talking to ESPN's Norman Chad

* * * * *

STATISTIC OF THE HOUR

# of Dennis Phillips clones railing the secondary feature table: 7
# of female Dennis Phillips clones railing the secondary feature table: 2
# of Dennis Phillips clones railing the secondary feature table who have air horns: 1

* * * * *

TWEET OF THE HOUR

"aqui eh brasilllllll porraaaa! 70k!!!!!!!!" @aakkari tweeting what we infer to mean he has 70,000

* * * * *

JOE GIRON'S PHOTO HOUR

Michael Fritts and his interesting sense of dress on Day 2B

WSOP Main Event: The squeaky wheel

2009-07-08T22:00:42Z

If Brazilian Team PokerStars Pro Maria Mayrinck is quiet, you know something is wrong. And not just kinda wrong. If she's quiet, suspect the worst (like, maybe she's not breathing).

A couple of days ago, Mayrinck bemoaned her table draw. It put her at the same table as champion Joe Hachem. The ESPN cameras were hovering all day long...unless Mayrinck won a pot.

"No ESPN!" she cried. "They only film me if I lose."

Today, Mayrinck learned that she must be careful what she asks for. Upon walking into the Rio this afternoon, she discovered she is sitting on the secondary feature table. That means, as long as she is playing today, she will be on the mic, under the lights, and on camera.

Of course, ending up at that table meant she would be sitting with some serious notables, not the least of which are last year's third place finisher Dennis Phillips and online kingpin Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi.

"Pile on the pressure," she said.

Mayrinck spent her time off since Day 1 gnawing on king crab legs and doing yoga. Now, she's getting the TV time she wanted, but not necessarily how she wanted it.

In early action today, Phillips trapped her with aces and knocked her down to less than 15,000.

"For what it's worth," she said, "Dennis played his aces really well and I tried to be a hero."

It wouldn't be long, though, before she managed to get back to 30 when she took ace-jack up against king-queen.

"Dunno how I held!" she said.

She still has a ways to go if she wants to come out of Day 2 looking good.

If yesterday is any indication, however, all she has to do is ask and she'll get what she wants.

* * * * *

ELIMINATION OF THE HOUR

Vanessa Russo is gone. Her seat opposite her Team PokerStars Pro colleague Andre Akkari is now empty, leaving Akkari the opportunity to Tweet: "vanessa caiu, ak x 44 gg". Rousso's own Tweet will no doubt be upcoming momentarily.

HAND OF THE HOUR

Big hand for Marlon Wayans, pushing him up to about 50,000. The actor/comedian was one of three players looking at a flop of [10d][4c][9c] and one player bet from early position, another bumped it up to 2,800, Wayans called, as did the original bettor. The turn was the [8s], the first player checked and Wayans threw out two orange chips, a 10,000 bet. After a massive dwell, the first player announced he was all in, for scarcely more than Wayans' bet. The other player got out the way and Wayans made a routine
call. He showed [qc][jh], his opponent showed [6d][7d] and the bigger straight prevailed. "ESPN cameras are your friend," added a table-mate, referring to the television crew who recorded it all for posterity.

REALISTIC ASSESSMENT OF THE HOUR

"I have a mountain to climb." -- Gualter Salles looks down at 12,000 in chips.

OUT OF CONTEXT QUOTE OF THE HOUR

"I said, 'Why don't you believe me? I only ever tell the truth.'" -- Poker player David Saab. That's poker player David Saab.

JOE GIRON PHOTO HOUR

Humberto Brenes survives his all-in

Video of the hour

Watch WSOP 2009: Alex Van Eejk on PokerStars.tv

WSOP Main Event: Tom McEvoy's old times

2009-07-08T21:43:12Z

Howard Swains http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/cgi-bin/MT/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=32&id=8

WSOP Main Event: Names among names

2009-07-08T21:00:36Z

There's a massive field in the Rio today, and some massive names gracing it. At PokerStars blog, we tend to follow a lot of them, owing to the presence on Team PokerStars Pro of some of the games brightest stars. But the World Series also frequently gives previously unheralded qualifiers the chance to shine and print their own names in the history books.

To be contrary seemingly simply for the sake of it, there are also some players who fit into neither of these categories. There are a few players in the Main Event today who are already notable names in their own right, and yet decided to chance their arm in a PokerStars satellite and won their seat to the Big Dance online. Among them are James Van Alstyne, Alexander Kostritsin and Nasr El Nasr, each of whom has been tearing through major tournament fields with little remorse over the past couple of years, and are today on our master list of PokerStars qualifiers here.

Van Alstyne has had the most recent glittering success, with this World Series already providing one bracelet, one runner-up spot and another sixth place. He took down the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, outlasting 769 others to win close to a quarter of a million bucks, a few days after he narrowly missed out on first place in the $3,000 incarnation of the H.O.R.S.E. championship, picking up $200,000 and change.

James Van Alstyne

Those two successes swelled Van Alstyne's career purse past the $3m mark, all the more reason to scrimp on the $10,000 entry fee to the Main Event and qualify via the PokerStars steps system.

Alexander Kostritsyn burst onto the poker scene in Australia, when he won the Aussie Millions main event in January 2008, earning the Australian equivalent of approximately $1.5m US. He came to Vegas that summer and cashed six times in the World Series, including a final table in the stud world championship, and then then he went back to Australia the following January and won a $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. event. Not bad, especially when you factor in things like jet-lag. As his name suggests Kostritsyn is from one of poker's newest hotbeds, Russia.

Alexander Kostritsyn

Today Kostritsyn is out in the Brasilia Room, where he has more than 100,000 in chips, and has his radar working very soundly. Passing by moments ago, he called a 10,000 river bet staring at a board of [kd][qc][5d][4c][3d], showing pockets sevens, which were good.

* * * * *

JOHNNY LODDEN OF THE HOUR

PokerStars Nordic blogger Lina Olofsson on Lodden's first level: "He lost with flush against flush, down to 19,000. Then he raised with queen-eight, got one caller. Flop queen, seven, deuce. He checked, the other guy pushed and he called. Other guy turns over eights. Look who's almost drawing dead now, huh? And he says that he has an easy table." [CELLPHONE RINGS] "Ja Lina. Bra, bra, sex, bra. Ja, hurdy gurdy. Ja. Aaaah, Crum, crum. Puss, puss. Jaa........." Etc., etc., Swedish, etc.

* * * * *

INJURY OF THE HOUR

Dan Harrington sitting in the Blue section of the Amazon Room in a neck brace.

* * * * *

SURPRISE OF THE HOUR

Facing a raise to 1,600 from the hijack, Thierry van den Berg made the call. So did the button. The flop came down [9s][Jc][As]. The original raiser checked, Van den Berg bet 2,000, and both opponents folded.

"Pick one," said Van den Berg to the man on his right.

The raiser fingered the card closest to him and flipped it over. It was the [2d].

"Oh!" said Van den Berg, "It's a deuce!"

He raked in his pot.

"I was hoping he would pick that one."

* * * * *

QUOTE OF THE HOUR

"Humberto never bluffs!" --Humberto Brenes, speaking in the third person, after betting an opponent off a hand on the river

* * * * *

FIGURE THIS ONE OUT TWEET OF THE HOUR

billchenpoker: Raised with Oedipus Rex 3 off to 1400 bb defends. Flop

q82 3 hearts I bet 2250 he jams for 15k. I call he shows as3h he hits
a heart.

billchenpoker: I am out O Rex is QJ I learned yesterday...

* * * * *

POKERSTARS QUALIFIER OF THE HOUR

In terms of timing the World Series Main Event couldn't come at a worse moment for Connecticut native Alfonso Cammarota. He won his seat on PokerStars but his journey here was not an easy one. Cammarota headed to Las Vegas just three hours after bringing his wife home from the maternity ward 3am last Saturday with their new son Luca. Mother's always deserve a shout out, so for the folks back in Fairfield, including daughter Marissa and son Giancarlo, Dad us up on the day, with about 42,000.

* * * * *

LUNCH OF THE HOUR

What does Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier eat for lunch? Today it's a one-pound chicken burrito.

* * * * *

OUTBURST OF THE HOUR

"Show me ace-queen. Shoooooooooooooow me ace-queeeeeeeeeeeeeen." --said Humberto Brenes, to his opponent who, in fact, showed him ace-queen, a loser against Humberto's aces.

* * * * *

(IS THE BEST) JOE GIRON'S PICTURE HOUR (OF THE SERIES SO FAR?)

Joe Hachem and Joe Hachem

WSOP Main Event: In the far far reaches of the Rio

2009-07-08T20:00:19Z

Day two. No free jerky now. This is serious. Close to 3,000 players meaning every last table, every last inch of space, every dealer pulled out of retirement, is in the employ of the main event.

The sign outside the Rio pool reads "No Lifeguard on duty. No Diving." This afternoon that pool, complete with waterfalls and towels, is no more than a couple of first downs away from the dozen or so tables currently packed full of main event players in an area designated "Buzio's", after the seafood restaurant nearby. There are few benefits to this exposed playing area that straddles the main route from the casino to the Amazon Room, so the opportunity to run towards the pool and dive headlong into the deep end after a last fatal shortage of luck, seemed the only ready perk. But a lifeguard shortage put end to that.

But it's a seat, and that means you're still in contention, which on day 2b is good enough. Among the most notable players here is Team PokerStars Germany's Ben Kang, who becomes even more noticeable when he stands up. The six-foot-plus ShootingStar sits at a table of the anonymous kind ready to start the day with a stack measuring 91,850 which should prove sturdy to last until that coveted table change.

Benjamin Kang - photo taken on day 1d

Like the kids table at Christmas, put together from old garden furniture, a chair from the attic and a makeshift bench created from garage boxes lugged inside by Dad, players seated in the Rio card room today are the forgotten bunch, set away from where the main action is and told not to get ketchup on their shirts. Kids may be seen and not heard but these guys aren't even seen. Not unless you take a ten minute walk (time doesn't include rests) back up the Rio corridors, past Buzios, past the Sports book and into the far corner of the casino.

These players truly are the frontiersmen, cast out to find new World Series territory and plant the Main Event flag armed with nothing more than the chips they have with them from day one. Isolated and alone they've been left to fend for themselves. But what doesn't eliminate them only makes them stronger.

There are benefits of course. You're guaranteed front place in the buffet queue and a "get me out of here" taxi is just around the corner, as is, as one player quipped, a taxi back to the Amazon Room. It's by no means a lawless frontier, but three feet away, across the temporary barricade, is a place you can smoke.

This is where Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken starts his day, ready for a run on day three with 94,175. There's only half a rail, no clock, a permanent tingle-ding-aling noise from the one cent Diamond Supreme slot machines, and a few people on the rail waiting for a cash table to open.

Noah Boeken on day 1d - he wears the same hoodie today though

Boeken took the first pot uncontested when play finally began and a couple more before I had to call time and set off back to the Amazon Room before it got dark.

* * * * *

QUOTE OF THE HOUR

"I'm going to get blinded down. Every hand takes 15 minutes." --Maria Mayrinck on a very slow secondary ESPN feature table.

* * * * *

SPONSORSHIP OF THE HOUR

Kids seem to be getting sponsorship earlier and earlier. Spotted in the hallways of the Rio--a very pregnant woman with an online poker patch firmly affixed to her baby bump.

* * * * *

JFK ASSASSINATION, MAN-ON-THE-MOON, REMEMBER WHERE YOU WERE WHEN IT HAPPENED MOMENT OF THE HOUR

"It will be one of the largest green-chip colour-ups in history!" -- Tournament director Jack Effel in his introductory speech to day 2b.

* * * * *

JOHNNY LODDEN OF THE HOUR

"I was all in on the flop, drawing dead. As usual."

* * * * *

NON-ELIMINATIONS OF THE HOUR

Despite vulturing* Vanessa Rousso and Victor Ramdin for the first two orbits, there was no carcass to pick over. Rousso doubled up with tens against eights on the third hand, and Ramdin ground his short stack up to about 15,000, before losing a big chunk on the following hand. The player in the cut off opened to 1,500, Ramdin reraised to 4,650 on the button. Call. The flop came [3c][8c][ah] which both players checked. The turn was [5h] and after his opponent checked, Ramdin bet 4,200. Call. The river was [2d] and Ramdin's opponent tossed in four orange 5,000 chips, asking Ramdin to call all in. Ramdin declined after a long dwell and was left with about 5,000. (Note: until that last hand, this segment was due to be called "SHORT-STACK MANAGEMENT MASTERCLASS OF THE HOUR"

* * * * *

*DEFINITION OF THE HOUR

vulture (vb) -- practice adopted by poker reporters of standing beside short-stacked players in the hope that their elimination generates copy for blogs. (Example usage: "I vultured him for eight hands and he never once got his chips in.")

* * * * *

ELIMINATIONS OF THE HOUR

The German Team Pro Sebastian Ruthenberg is no more. Isabelle Mercier joins him on the rail, her pocket jacks beaten by kings.

* * * * *

JOE GIRON'S PHOTO HOUR

Dealer Deb Stillman un-bags Victor Ramdin's chips at the start of play

WSOP Main Event: It doesn't get much bigger

2009-07-08T19:00:28Z

It takes nearly ten minutes--literally--to walk from Table 1 to the last table in action. To make the walk, one must navigate the whole of the Amazon Room and the throngs of people in the corridor. You must skip past the Dream Team Poker booth, the Starbucks, the Sao Paulo Cafe, another Starbucks, the entire casino, and the sports book. Once you do that, you can actually see the last table in Day 2B.

This is the final day the 2009 Main Event fields will be playing on lettered flights. Once we get through today's four two-hour levels, the players will all get a day off, and then come back to play Day 3 on Friday when everybody will be in the same room for the first time.

Nearly 3,000 players will be competing in Day 2B. Among the masses will be Team PokerStars Pros Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (127,475), Hevad Khan (97,800), Noah Boeken (94,175), Joe Hachem (84,550), J,C. Alvarado (71,600), Chad Brown (67,950), Dennis Phillips (62,325), Andre Akkari (58,475), Ylon Schwartz (53,925), Isabelle Mercier (45,150), Peter Eastgate (44,725), Gavin Griffin (29,525), Johnny Lodden (26,400), Maria Mayrinck (25,125), Humberto Brenes (13,500), Victor Ramdin (8,500), and Vanessa Rousso (6,350).

Other notable names in the Day 2B field: Ben Kang, Thierry van den Berg, Jose "Nacho" Barbero, Johannes Steindl, Darus Suharto, Florian Langmann, Christian De Leon, Sebastian Ruthenberg, amd Bernard Lee.

Play is set to begin in just a couple of minutes. Keep it here for all the action throughout the day.

* * * * *

STATISTIC OF THE HOUR

First prize of 2009 WSOP Main Event: $8,546,435

First prize of 1999 WSOP Main Event: $1,000,000

First prize of 1989 WSOP Main Event: $755,000

First prize of 1979 WSOP Main Event: $270,000

WSOP Main Event: Day 2A chip counts

2009-07-08T18:08:31Z

Day 2a of the World Series Main Event concluded late on Tuesday night, with more than 100 PokerStars players progressing to day three. The highest-ranked player is the qualifier Jerry Wong, followed by Brian Hansen, both from the United States.

Ray Rahme, the Team PokerStars Pro from South Africa, will return with more than 130,000 in chips and will be joined by his team-mates Greg Raymer, Juan Manuel Pastor and Luca Pagano on Friday.

Follow our day 2b coverage on our dedicated World Series of Poker page.

Day 2a survivors:

Player	Country	Status	Chip Count
Jerry Wong	United States	Cash qualifier	348 100
Brian Hansen	United States	Cash qualifier	333 500
Peter Kremenliev	United States	Cash qualifier	281 800
Mike Brooks	UK	Cash qualifier	273 400
Denise Molloy	United States	Cash qualifier	262 000
Tian Shou	Australia	Cash qualifier	209 400
Antonio Cavezza	United States	Cash qualifier	189 000
Jeffrey Mathis	United States	Cash qualifier	188 400
Antoine Amourette	France	Cash qualifier	186 100
D Douglas Dicken	United States	DBI	183 100
Hernan De Leon Almenarez	Uruguay	Cash qualifier	169800
Sorel Mizzi	Canada	Cash qualifier	166 400
Daniel Makowsky	Switzerland	Cash qualifier	166 300
Joe Luht	United States	Cash qualifier	151 900
Jason Tremblay	Canada	DBI	140 000
Matt Affleck	United States	Cash qualifier	133 200
Michael Graydon	Ireland	Cash qualifier	132 500
Victor Greeley	Canada	Cash qualifier	132 400
Vadim Gruzglin	Russian Federation	Cash qualifier	131 800
Ray Rahme	South Africa	Team PokerStars Pro	131 300
Tomer Berda	United States	DBI	130 500
Adrian Gavile	United States	Cash qualifier	127 700
Lennart Konst	Netherlands	Cash qualifier	127 200
Mark Ader	United States	Cash qualifier	124 900
Shane Pacheco	United States	Cash qualifier	124 300
Lance Neumeyer	United States	Cash qualifier	122 200
Vijayan Nagarajan	Malaysia	Cash qualifier	120 600
Christian Jeppsson	Sweden	Cash qualifier	118 300
Derric Haynie	United States	FPP qualifier	117 400
Gary Flynn	United States	Cash qualifier	113 500
Dariusz Paszkiewicz	Poland	Cash qualifier	109 900
Ramzi Jelassi	Sweden	Cash qualifier	107 300
Eugene Fouksman	United States	Cash qualifier	103 500
Jeffrey Anderson	United States	Cash qualifier	103 300
Ryan Madsen	United States	Cash qualifier	98 600
Frank Calo	United States	Cash qualifier	97 300
Greg Raymer	United States	Team PokerStars Pro	95 900
Konstantin Puchkov	Russian Federation	Cash qualifier	95 400
Sean Nolan	United States	DBI	92 800
Andrew Brokos	United States	Cash qualifier	92 200
Grayson Ramage	United States	Cash qualifier	90 700
Roger Goa	Norway	Cash qualifier	85 000
Kris Kuykendall	United States	Cash qualifier	82 900
Rolf Slotboom	Netherlands	Cash qualifier	82 800
Sven Mol	Netherlands	Cash qualifier	80 200
Eric Tomberlin	United States	Cash qualifier	77 500
Carl Olson	United States	Cash qualifier	76 200
Angelo Ricci	Canada	Cash qualifier	74 700
Bronislav Berezovsky	United States	DBI	74 200
Jason Alexander	United States	Friend of PokerStars	73 700
Craig Hopkins	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	73 500
Stuart Atkin	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	72 600
Niclas Elfstedt	Sweden	Cash qualifier	72 500
Russell Kamer	United States	Cash qualifier	71 500
Matej Kokalj	Slovenia	Cash qualifier	67 400
William Milne	United States	Cash qualifier	65 100
Geoffrey Cudd	United States	Cash qualifier	63 700
John Phillips	United States	Cash qualifier	62 500
Juan Manuel Pastor	Spain	Team PokerStars Spain	61 300
Joas Mudde	Netherlands	Cash qualifier	60 400
Stephane Bisson	Canada	Cash qualifier	60 000
Norman Gautron	Canada	Cash qualifier	59 700
Jonas Lohmann	Canada	Cash qualifier	59 400
Johnny Kaplanis	Canada	Cash qualifier	58 200
John Alexander	United States	Cash qualifier	57 500
Kelly Corbin	United States	Cash qualifier	56 700
Carl Gray	New Zealand	Cash qualifier	54 500
Dan Lu	United States	Cash qualifier	54 200
William Rothstein	United States	Cash qualifier	52 800
Marcel Bache	Germany	Cash qualifier	52 600
Sutton Zolner	United States	DBI	50 000
Nathaniel Nelson-Heath	United States	Cash qualifier	49 800
Robert Allen	United States	Cash qualifier	47 800
Elia Ahmadian	United States	Cash qualifier	47 600
Joshua Worthington	United States	Cash qualifier	47 600
Matthew Gloier	United States	Cash qualifier	47 100
Pavel Blatny	Czech Republic	Cash qualifier	46 700
Donald Dukate	United States	Cash qualifier	46 500
Anders Gersel	Denmark	Cash qualifier	42 800
William Tanimoto	USA	DBI	40 000
Christian Bowerman	United States	Cash qualifier	40 000
Martin Moral	Canada	Cash qualifier	40 000
Peter Traply	Hungary	Cash qualifier	39 900
Luca Pagano	Italy	Team PokerStars Pro	36 900
John Larochelle	United States	Cash qualifier	34 400
David Windisch	Germany	Cash qualifier	30 600
Greg Dyer	United States	Cash qualifier	29 500
Kerry Bordinat	United States	Cash qualifier	29 400
Matthew Vogel	United States	Cash qualifier	29 300
John Alt	United States	Cash qualifier	28 800
Kenny Brown	United States	Cash qualifier	27 500
Jason Gray	United States	Cash qualifier	25 700
Jonathan Lewis	United States	DBI	25 500
Guang Pu Lu	Canada	DBI	22 300
Florian Manz	Germany	Cash qualifier	20 600
Paul Westley	United Kingdom	Cash qualifier	19 400
Joel Ranieri	France	Cash qualifier	18 200
Jeffrey Hakim	Canada	Cash qualifier	18 200
Ahmad Faour	Canada	Cash qualifier	13 700
Connor Allisen	Canada	Cash qualifier	?
Massimo Di Cicco	Italy	Cash qualifier	?

WSOP Main Event: Qualifiers qualifying for day three in style

2009-07-08T07:35:49Z

After four days of disunion and propagation, with players spread through numerous locations nursing mere saplings of chip stacks, today was the day that the scattered woodland took on the shape of a forest. All the disparate day 2a factions came together in the Amazon Room sometime during the third level of play, and some mighty redwoods began to sprout forth above the canopy.

In a development entirely characteristic of every major tournament across the world, PokerStars qualifiers have come to the fore when it really started to matter. Of the approximate 630 players who will go through to day three on Friday, there are at least four online satellite wizards in or around the top ten percent. Step forward California's Peter Kremenliev, Georgia's Jeffrey Mathis, Switzerland's Daniel Makowsky and Uruguay's Hernam De Leon, confirming once again the worldwide scope and strength in depth of the PokerStars hordes.

Peter Kremenliev, above. Jeffrey Mathis, below

Hernan De Leon, above. Daniel Makowsky, below.

Kremenliev had about 266,000 at the end of the day, Mathis bagged 215,000, Makowsky was sitting behind about 175,000 and De Leon is at about 195,000.

Although the precise results from the day won't be known until tournament staff release the counts sometime during the wee hours, and the true shape will only be known after day 2b plays out tomorrow, these guys are all in position A1 heading into into the rest of the week. Behind them, let's say in positions A1(a-d), are the esteemed likes of Raymond Rahme (115,000), Greg Raymer (120,000), Luca Pagano (45,000) and Juan Manuel Pastor (62,000), all of whom will wear the Team PokerStars Pro livery into day three.

Juan Manuel Pastor

Raymer sat on the feature table through the full ten hours. Having grown comfortable over the years of appearing on the small screen, he was joined there, also for the entire day, by another veteran of the gogglebox. Jason Alexander might still be best known for his timeless portrayal of George Costanza in "Seinfeld", but today he clocked up a good two season's worth of television time as a poker star.

Greg Raymer and Jason Alexander

Rarely overawed and cracking wise with Raymer throughout, Alexander will also be back for the rerun on Friday, with 65,000 in chips.

As veterans ourselves of the World Series rerun, we know that those overnight counts will also reveal a number of other heavyweights who have so far inexplicably flown under the radar. Actually, "inexplicable" is too harsh: the reason is simply that this field remains vast and swings are fast and furious. The tide of momentum that can sweep in favour of one player, can set another all at sea, and as those mentioned above sailed fair today, the likes of Sandra Naujoks, John Duthie, Lex Veldhuis, Alex Kravchenko, Jason Mercier, Katja Thater, Barry Greenstein and Johannes Strassmann crashed into the rocks.

Tomorrow, the waves are certain to be no less choppy, with a massive fleet of Team PokerStars Pros and qualifiers again attempting to navigate through it. Eastgate, ElkY, Brown, Schwartz, Brenes, Khan and Hachem are only seven among hundreds. We'll chart them all right here.

In the meantime, take a look back at today's coverage by clicking any of the following shiny hyperlinks, which will take you through to some ~~glowing~~ prose.

The winner is here somewhere

Before they were stars
New Jersey tag team ends Thater's hopes
Stars of the small screen
$33 wins chance for new memories
Tough time at a tough table
Laying in wait, the praying Mathis
Team PokerStars Pro round-up
Kremenliev provides Garrett swansong

And it's language but not as we know it over at the outpourings of PokerStars blog's continental cousins. They're Spanish, Swedish, Dutch or German, but all shower regularly.

All images come © Joe Giron/IMPDI Worldwide, and there's so much visual stimulation over at PokerStars.tv, you're going to need to lie down in a cool, dark room. With a laptop.

Cheerio folks. We'll be back tomorrow.

WSOP Main Event: Kremenliev provides Garrett swansong

2009-07-08T05:42:03Z

In contrast to Kremenliev's carefully navigated course, Garrett's navigation was more that of a man blindfolded and being the wheel of a truck with a flat tire. But what he lacked in poker finesse he made up for in comedic swagger, rousing a tired table into high spirits.
He started by insisting everyone at the table play the next hand standing up. "Let's all stand for one hand" he began, "you too dealer... GET UP! Now everyone close your eyes..."

This was too much for Berry Johnson who remained laughing in his seat - World Champions have earned that right.

"Okay, you can sit down if you fold... or raise."

The table were loving it, so were the audience which now consisted of a couple of ESPN cameras, countless other press outlets and as many players, skipping their own action back at their own tables, to peer through any gaps to watch what was going on.

There was still action to deal with. Through this Garrett had got to the flop with Kremenliev, the flop showing [9d][ac][qs]. Garrett had checked and the action swung to Kremenliev who started counting out chips...

Brad Garrett

"Don't do it Potter!" said Garrett, referring to Kremenliev's assumed resemblance to Harry Potter owing to his black horn rimmed glasses beneath shoulder length hair and a PokerStars cap a size too small. "Don't start counting. It's because we stood... look at the action!"

Garrett was in full swing now, the microphones getting nearer and cameras turned on, he was ready for his close up and ready to call it a day. "I don't have a pair" he proclaimed, "but I have a gutshot pair!"

The action was still on him, 4,000 to call...

"That's almost all I have" he said, before turning to Berry Johnson. "Am I pot committed? Can I ask for help?"

Garrett went back into the tank, serious for a second, he turned to Kremenliev.

"If I go all in and I lose... I want you to stay in school." He went on "If I go all in would you call?" Kremenliev said he might. "You might? But if I do I do have the option of hitting you."

Peter Kremenliev

Ten minutes had passed no but nobody seemed to mind. It was turning into one of those memorable hands at a time in the tournament that didn't affect things enough for anyone to call the clock (although Garrett admitted to having called the clock on himself once "I hear voices") and with everyone increasingly aware that the only stack at risk was Garrett's. He called. It was time for a turn...

Garrett thought of a card but the turn came [3d]. "That's not it!" he said, checking. Garrett's poker problems were working against him but the audience was all his. Then Berry Johnson piped in...

"We should all stand up..."

Johnson was now Garrett's hero. Everyone at the table stood, the railbirds tiptoed above their heads and Kremenliev bet 10,000. Garrett had the decision again...

"I have close to a pair, with an average kicker. My friend has a knife. What should I do?"
Finally, the fanfare exhausted, Garrett called. Kremenliev showed [qc][9c] to Garrett's [qd][jh]. There were handshakes al round before Kremenliev stacked up his chips.

Garrett departed with a good luck to everyone. "I had the kicker" he said as consolation "I had the kicker..."

Kremenliev came out of it the better, the first PokerStars qualifier to 200,000 and likely, after a period of solid aggressive play to be the first to 300,000. A touch of luck helped him along the way as did the last hand with Garrett.

"I was pretty sure I was good" he said. "He kept things funny so I didn't fall asleep".
Kremenliev up some more as we head into the last level of the day.

* * * * *

STATISTIC OF THE HOUR BRAD GARRETT SPECIAL

Number of rule violations during Brad Garrett's last hand: 9
Number of people who cared: 0
Headcount of reporters, cameramen and other players around Brad Garrett's table: 53

* * * * *

TOURNAMENT STAT OF THE HOUR

The average chip stack is 80,600

* * * * *

QUOTE OF THE HOUR

Swedish pro Ramzi Jelassi: "Om det var WSOP varje vecka skulle jag vinna minst en per år. Nej jag är nog bättre än så jag skulle nog vinna en och en halv gång." (Translation: If the World Series was played every week, I'd win it at least once a year. No, I'm better than that. I'd win it one and a half times."

* * * * *

HAND OF THE HOUR

Juan Manuel Pastor versus Amarillo Slim Preston. Slim limps under the gun and five other do the same. Pastor, in the big blind, says: "Well, you know what I'm going to do now," and raises to 3,000. Slim is the lone caller. The flop is all small cards, two diamonds, and Pastor checks. Slim moves all in for about 30,000 and Pastor calls for all his stack. Pastor has pocket jacks, Slim has [ad][9d] but misses the flush draw. Pastor fights on with 90,000-odd, while Slim moved all in on the next hand for his last 5,000 and is eliminated.

* * * * *

JOE GIRON'S PHOTO HOUR