Many well known players were eliminated and they included Mark Vos, Matt Glantz, Foster Hays, Matt Hawrilenko, Tom McCormick, Marcel Luske, Filippo Candio, Vicky Coren, Lex Veldhuis, Wendeen Eolis, Bernard Lee, Andy Bloch, Barry Shulman, Yevjeniy Timoshenko, Marco Traniello, Gavin Smith, Soi Nguyen, Phil Gordon, Bill Gazes, Bill Chen, Jimmy Fricke, Allen Kessler, Sammy Farha, Dutch Boyd, Pat Pezzin and the list is not complete. Former Main Event Champions were eliminated also, including Johnny Chan, Scotty Nguyen, Jonathan Duhamel, and Dan Harrington.
It's always nice to hear the upside after the downside - many well known players still remain in the field including Doug Lee, Freddy Deeb, Alexandre Gomes, Donny Mizrachi, Phil Laak, Matt Matros, Kristy Gazes, David Bach, David Oppenheim, Joshua Tieman, Fred Berger, Shannon Shorr, Adam Junglen, Brad Garrett, Minh Ly, Mike Caro, Jason Mercier, Dan Shak, Jason Alexander, Daniel Negreanu, Annette Obrestad, Mickey Appleman, Ted Forrest, Lee Childs, Shaun Deeb, J.P. Kelly, Tex Barch, Ville Wahlbeck, Mel Judah, Vitaly Lunkin, and more. There were still former Main Even Champions bagging chips at the end of the day: Jamie Gold, Robert Varkonyi, Tom McEvoy, Joe Cada, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
The list of chips counts and remaining players can be found here.
One of the very best parts of poker and the people that play the game is the human interest stories that unfold at the poker table - and the main event of the WSOP seems to bring out some of the best.
From the WSOP Report:
| Prior to the start of Day 2-A, the tournament began with a special moment. Three very special people were introduced to the sea of players and spectators. The three men had driven together to Las Vegas from their homes in Lafayette, IN. The drive took 30 hours. One of the men, a recreational poker player named Mike Buttice, won a seat into the WSOP Main Event at a satellite tournament held at the American Legion, Post 113, in Lebanon, IN. Prior to winning his seat, he had made a commitment to a friend named Michael Stevens that he would someday take him to Las Vegas. Stevens, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, is a strong-willed man and a dedicated poker player. In a remarkable gesture that redefines both generosity and friendship, Buttice decided to give his WSOP seat to Stevens. The friends were joined by another friend named Dave Hughes. The three men arrived in Las Vegas just prior to the start of the Main Event. Stevens took his seat on Day One, and with the (physical) assistance of his two friends, he survived and made it to the second day. Then, just prior to the start of Day Two, the three friends were introduced to the crowd. Their inspiring story was told to the audience, which was followed by a loud standing ovation. After Stevens, Buttice, and Hughes were introduced, defending world champion Jonathan Duhamel greeted the large audience. He was originally scheduled to perform the "Shuffle Up and Deal" announcement. However, Duhamel was eager to share the spotlight with the three friends once he heard their story, although they were not acquainted. Just prior to the shuffle announcement, Stevens spoke into the microphone and proposed a “last longer” bet with the world champ. Duhamel jokingly declined. All four players -- champions in their own right -- then gave the “Shuffle Up and Deal” pronouncement in unison. |
And as fate seems to twist its way through life, Duhamel is out and Stevens survived to return to Day 3.
Other stories of interest:
Phil Hellmuth not knowing he was playing in Day 2A, his chips were being blinded down from 11,800 to below 7,000. The story is that Mike Matusow sent security to break into Hellmuth's room to get him to show up at the table. He did, and managed to grind up a bit.
The secondary feature table was where Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce was hoping to make a run to Day 3 but he was eliminated late in the day while being short-stacked - he ran deuces into jacks. "I had a great time," Pierce said as he exited the tournament room to applause. "I'll definitely be back next year."
Other celebrities that made it through Day 2A are Ex-NFL player Eric Stocz (110,400) and actors Jason Alexander (167,000) and Brad Garrett (56,000).
Thursday will start with all the remaining main event players under the same roof. Wednesday is recess time!!!