No frills. Sometimes, it’s simply important to get down to business, and the players who returned to the tables for Day 2A wanted nothing more than to go to work. Though action got underway a few minutes later than the noon-scheduled start, the introduction to the day by Tournament Director Jack Effel was relatively short and sweet. There were no stars giving the “shuffle up and deal” command, no guest speakers, and no fluff.
So began Day 2A of the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event, the $10,000 buy-in no-limit holdem championship event that finally worked its way through the first four starting days and was ready to provide survivors another opportunity to compete. The day was to consist of four levels and wrap before 11:00pm, moving the tournament along at a pace that wouldn’t exhaust everyone but still give them plenty of action.
On Friday, July 9, there were 2,412 players starting Day 2A, most with the hopes of moving on and staying in the running for the cash at the end of the Main Event rainbow. But the all-ins came quickly as short stacks pushed, and the eliminations were aplenty as the day pressed forward. Some of the bigger names who left and completed their WSOP efforts included David Alan Grier, Noah Schwartz, Liz Lieu, Kristy Gazes, Dutch Boyd, Greg Mueller, Mike Sexton, Dennis Phillips, Brock Parker, Lee Markholt, Quinn Do, Dani Stern, Eli Elezra, and Antonio Esfandiari.
When the night came to a close, there were conflicting reports as to how many players remained. One reliable source reported 1,202 players, the official live updating team showed 1,200 players, and the WSOP website displayed 1,195 names. The final number would likely not be available and accurate until the Day 3 list was assembled at the end of the weekend.
Of the chip counts listed, the top ten were:
| Boulos Estafanous | 340,100 |
| Randy Dorfman | 337,000 |
| Jesper Hougaard | 316,200 |
| Rodney Sherry | 316,000 |
| Sam Abueid | 313,300 |
| Cole South | 304,200 |
| Martjin Schirp | 303,500 |
| Nick Rainey | 292,600 |
| Alexander Wice | 291,100 |
| Johnny Chan | 281,600 |
All of the Day 2A players were then given the rest of the weekend to relax, as Day 2B competitors would take over the Rio on Saturday, July 10, and all players were set to have a day off on Sunday. Monday would be the day to combine the field into one and play ever closer to the money.
Speaking of money, let’s refresh the tournament and payout information:
Players: 7,319
Prize pool: $68,798,600
| 1st | $8,944,138 |
| 2nd | $5,545,855 |
| 3rd | $4,129,979 |
| 4th | $3,092,497 |
| 5th | $2,332,960 |
| 6th | $1,772,939 |
| 7th | $1,356,708 |
| 8th | $1,045,738 |
| 9th | $811,823 |
| 10th - 12th | $635,011 |
| 13th - 15th | $500,165 |
| 16th - 18th | $396,967 |
| 19th - 27th | $317,161 |
| 28th - 36th | $255,242 |
| 37th - 45th | $206,395 |
| 46th - 54th | $168,556 |
| 55th - 63rd | $138,285 |
| 64th - 72nd | $114,205 |
| 73rd - 81st | $94,942 |
| 82nd - 90th | $79,806 |
| 91st - 99th | $67,422 |
| 100th - 171st | $57,102 |
| 172nd - 243rd | $48,847 |
| 244th - 315th | $41,967 |
| 316th - 387th | $36,463 |
| 388th - 459th | $31,647 |
| 460th - 531st | $27,519 |
| 532nd - 603rd | $24,079 |
| 604th - 675th | $21,327 |
| 676th - 747th | $19,263 |