The Main Event gets underway tomorrow afternoon. 8000 players are expected to play this year.
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Over 8,000 entrants make WSOP top prize $11.7M
LAS VEGAS -- Amateurs, seasoned pros and celebrities sat down Friday as the chips were divvied up and the cards dealt at the world's biggest poker game, the main event at the World Series of Poker.
By 2:30 p.m., there were 8,580 entrants registered, pushing the top prize to $11.7 million.
Alternates were waiting in the wings and new players were being accepted until Monday, when the grand prize could swell even larger.
At the very least, the last 12 players still standing when the 37th annual no-limit Texas Hold 'em tournament wraps up will become millionaires. The final table is scheduled to begin play Aug. 10.
"Everybody's got dreams and aspirations but you've got to get through a lot of people here," said Greg Severson, a 45-year-old building contractor from Upland, Calif., who qualified for his $10,000 seat online.
"One step at a time," he said. "First break, dinner break, first day. One day at a time."
By the break after the first two hours, about 80 players already had been eliminated. The first field of 2,140 players was set to play as long as it takes to get down to 900. A staggered start over four days will chop the field in half by Tuesday.
Celebrities such as "Spider-Man" star Tobey Maguire, Mekhi Phifer from "ER," James Garner of "The Rockford Files" and boxer Antonio Tarver ponied up to the felt for $10,000 each. Pros Gus Hansen, Eli Elezra, Michael Mizrachi, Barry Greenstein and Juan Carlos Mortensen also took to the tables Friday.
There was even a gaseous nun.
"Life's short," said Barbara Silvers, a 54-year-old retired card dealer from New Orleans, dressed in a nun's habit despite being Jewish. She lifted a cheek to cue her noisemaking cushion. "If you don't like this life, I feel sorry for you."
Thirty-three days of poker have led up to the main event at the Rio hotel-casino. In earlier rounds, a 21-year-old University of California-Santa Barbara student, Jeff Madsen, became a millionaire, and pro Phil Hellmuth Jr. won his 10th bracelet, tying the record with poker greats Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson and Johnny Chan.
James McManus, a poker player who became famous when Harper's magazine assigned him to cover the World Series in 2000 and he ended up placing fifth for $247,760, said on Day 1 of the main event, he's already "kind of pooped."
"I've been here since June 26th," McManus said. "If I advance, it'll be seven weeks. It, at least for me, answers the question, 'How much is too much poker?'"Comment -
Here are the top 25 chip counts after Group 1A
PLACE PLAYER AMOUT TREND AMMOUNT
1Paul McCaffrey111,800 $-200
2Mark Vos93,000 $-11,200
3Cuong Do86,000 $17,400
4Jeffrey Lisandro79,000 $12,000
5Pete Falk68,200 $-14,800
6Mike Erstling67,000 $-20,000
7Yervand Boyadjian65,000 $7,300
8Mike Epstein62,000 $-6,000
9David Pham59,000 $8,700
10Eric Buchman56,500 $-500
11Tom Richter56,000 $-18,000
12Matthew Maroon52,500 $3,500
12Aaron Katz52,500 $12,500
14Jesse Martin51,000 $15,000
15Hoyt Corkins50,000 $-8,000
16Luke Neely49,000 $-10,000
17Joe Tehan48,500 $9,500
18An Tran48,000 $30,800
18Julian Gardner48,000 $-2,000
20Billy Duarte Jr.47,000 $15,000
21Layne Flack45,000 $4,700
22Jason Strasser44,500 $14,500
22Luan Phan44,500 $-8,500
24Gregg Grivas44,000 $1,000
25John Hoang43,475 $-275Comment -
Here are the top 25 chip counts after Group 1B
PLACE PLAYER AMOUNT TREND
1Alex Minilsow94,350 $84,350
2Cory Butler90,250 $80,250
3Edward Brogdon90,200 $80,200
4Lars Bonding88,600 $28,600
5Eric Sonstegard83,000 $2,000
6Theo Tran82,950 $8,950
7Magnus Peterson82,575 $72,575
8David Chiu78,225 $33,225
9Daniel Clark77,750 $67,750
10Allen Cunningham77,625 $-3,375
11Jose Verela76,900 $66,900
12Al Barbieri76,050 $-5,950
13Todd Huynh75,800 $65,800
14Sean Johnson73,925 $63,925
15James Crowshaw73,500 $4,500
16Christopher Budak70,125 $60,125
16Akshay Kumar70,125 $15,125
18Eric Peters70,000 $-9,000
19Nicholas Montuori69,745 $-10,255
20Rob Lederer69,475 $59,475
21Eric Weiner67,000 $24,000
22Benjamin Logan66,625 $56,625
23Ayaz Mahmood64,000 $-4,000
24Harold Kizzire63,750 $53,750
25Adam Sweet63,000 $53,000Comment -
Here are the top 25 chip counts after Group 1C
PLACE PLAYER AMOUNT TREND
1Adam Jones123,000 $28,000
2William Thorsson115,000 $21,000
3Brendan Lewis112,000 $13,000
4Dario Minieri103,000 $-10,100
5Richard Gryko100,000 $90,000
6Per Sjogren98,000 $88,000
6Daniel Pelletier98,000 $22,200
8Charlie Sewell95,700 $-9,300
9Shannon Shorr95,000 $-30,000
9Mike Petrillo95,000 $20,800
11Jonas Hanssen90,000 $-4,000
12John Armbrust84,000 $16,000
13Jeff Banghart79,000 $69,000
14Daniel Negreanu78,500 $30,500
15Daniel Heimiller75,000 $23,000
15David Woo75,000 $1,000
17Rick Fratcher73,000 $12,000
18Elie Said70,000 $-20,000
19George Danzer69,000 $3,000
19Mikkel Hasa69,000 $10,000
21Jon Carlson68,000 $3,000
22Aaron Robbins66,000 $56,000
23Manelic Minaya65,000 $15,000
24Bernard Ko64,000 $11,000
25Paul Sexton63,000 $0Comment -
Here are the top 24 chip counts after Group 1D
PLACE PLAYER AMOUNT TREND
1Peter Tran142,000 $-6,900
2Alex Balandin120,000 $44,000
3Daryn Firicano117,000 $27,000
4Darrell Dicken110,000 $-10,000
5Jamie Gold107,000 $7,000
6Jordan Rich106,000 $16,300
7Paul Andrzejewski100,000 $90,000
8Justin Ghogomu85,000 $4,700
9Steve Conway80,000 $4,000
10Mike Schneider78,000 $-27,000
11Robert Varkonyi70,000 $5,000
11Mikael Thuritz70,000 $23,000
11Steven Schulman70,000 $60,000
14William Rector68,000 $4,000
15Brandon Redmerski65,000 $55,000
16David Dicken63,000 $31,000
17John Lee62,000 $52,000
17Henry Tran62,000 $-6,000
19Peter Feldman61,000 $21,400
20Alex Azadpeyma60,000 $8,000
20David Filippi60,000 $50,000
22Jeff Cabanillas59,000 $-1,000
23Ted Forrest58,500 $16,700
24Kassem "Freddy" Deeb57,000 $9,000
24Minh Nguyen57,000 $5,500
24Devin Porter57,000 $12,000Comment -
Illusion - Thank you for all these poker updates over the WSOP, have enjoyed keeping up on winners.Comment -
Here are the top 50 chip counts after Group 2A
PLACE PLAYER AMOUNT TREND
1Jon Lane405,000 $55,000
2Ken Jacobs395,000 $81,000
3Jason Strasser330,000 $-22,000
4Matt Woodward290,000 $0
4Paul Wasicka290,000 $14,000
4Michael Lynn290,000 $0
7Joe Fuhriman280,000 $40,000
8Justin Holmes235,000 $10,000
9Matthew Maroon230,000 $5,000
10Bill Gustafik220,000 $100,000
10Eric Molina220,000 $0
12Sean Le215,000 $1,500
13Jeffrey Lisandro211,000 $53,000
14James Crowshaw210,000 $-25,000
14Sean Johnson210,000 $91,000
16Nelson Dismukes200,000 $-20,000
16Tyler Pendleton200,000 $190,000
18Richard Lewis190,000 $-10,000
18Ernesto Tohme190,000 $45,000
20Walter Novelli185,000 $-7,500
21Lee Kort180,000 $35,000
21Darryl Dare180,000 $24,000
23Gary Jones175,500 $26,500
24William Hill175,000 $41,000
24Aaron Clark175,000 $-20,000
26Allen Cunningham172,000 $-2,900
27Akshay Kumar169,000 $-9,000
28Lars Bonding165,000 $45,000
29Mark Petersen160,000 $69,900
30Erik Friberg156,000 $46,000
31WeiKai Chang152,000 $27,000
32David Chiu150,000 $25,000
32Robert Osborne150,000 $140,000
32Thomas Wahlroos150,000 $0
35Cuong Do148,000 $52,000
36Bruno Jais145,000 $0
37Rob Lederer142,000 $8,000
38Eric Sonstegard141,000 $81,000
39Brian Nadell140,000 $-10,000
39Mike Landers140,000 $-15,000
41Ted Lawson137,000 $-8,000
42John Kincaid133,000 $35,900
43Benjamin Logan131,000 $-1,000
43Michael Bower131,000 $31,200
45Michael Tait130,000 $-10,000
45Stan Goldstein130,000 $25,000
45Peter Sun130,000 $0
48Michael Brody125,000 $115,000
49Jon Einarsueen124,000 $114,000
50Robert Newton120,000 $-30,000Comment -
Here are the top 50 chip counts after Group 2B
PLACE PLAYER AMOUNT TREND
1Dmitri Nobles553,000 $-27,000
2Daniel Pelletier335,000 $140,000
3Daniel Negreanu331,000 $11,000
4Terris Preston310,000 $50,000
5Philippe Boucher305,000 $55,000
6Michael Binger254,000 $34,000
7Dario Mineri246,000 $1,000
8Jon Finkel240,000 $-50,000
9Alex Balandin237,000 $82,000
10Bradford Davenport220,000 $0
11Jeff Cabanillas210,000 $0
12Daniel Heimiller200,000 $25,000
13Jordan Rich195,000 $10,000
13William Thorsson195,000 $82,000
15Shannon Shorr190,000 $122,000
15David Filippi190,000 $60,600
17Richard Gryko180,000 $20,000
18Matt Wilson178,000 $168,000
19John Gale170,000 $50,000
19Jamie Gold170,000 $30,000
19Freddy Vaghefi170,000 $-8,000
22Mike Mustafa165,000 $-20,000
23Steve Conway160,000 $-5,000
23Phi Nguyen160,000 $-5,000
25Tomoyuki Otsuka155,000 $25,000
26Marcello Del Grosso151,000 $6,000
27Elie Said148,000 $90,000
28Alan Schein145,000 $-5,000
29Jeffrey Edy143,600 $133,600
30Joseph Hachem142,200 $14,200
31Johan Backfjard140,000 $2,000
31Chris Martin140,000 $-58,000
33Sirious Jamshidi135,000 $15,000
34Brendan Lewis131,000 $16,000
35Johan Wemmenhag130,000 $-50,000
35Debra Lalor130,000 $-50,000
35Brian Kornfeld130,000 $120,000
35Randy Gil130,000 $0
39Corey Marsh127,000 $33,000
40Ted Forrest125,000 $35,000
41Devin Porter122,000 $2,000
42Kevin O'Donnell120,000 $-28,000
42Brett Mayers120,000 $-3,000
42Erik Lindbarg120,000 $0
45Paul Sexton116,000 $-14,000
46Justin Ghogomu110,000 $10,000
47Bernard Ko100,000 $-25,000
47Rob Roseman100,000 $-80,000
47Mikael Thuritz100,000 $25,000
50George Danzer97,000 $-2,000
50Jonas Hanssen97,000 $14,600
50Albert Padilla97,000 $-10,100Comment -
Here are the top 50 chip counts after Day 3
PLACE PLAYER AMOUNT
1David Chiu650,000 $60,000
2Kyle Bowler600,000 $105,000
3Jon Lane580,000 $80,000
4Lars Bonding560,000 $120,000
5Eric Lynch540,000 $126,000
6Dmitri Nobles530,000 $-4,500
7Mark Garner525,000 $45,000
8Jamie Gold515,000 $10,000
8Thomas Wahlroos515,000 $100,000
10Terris Preston500,000 $170,000
11Debra Lalor475,000 $15,000
12Mike Hwang450,000 $440,000
12John Magill450,000 $30,000
12Andras Karkus450,000 $115,000
15Albert Padilla445,000 $0
16Humberto Brenes440,000 $-20,000
17Mitch Schock430,000 $-20,000
18Matt Woodward420,000 $20,000
19David Angel415,000 $75,000
20Daniel Pelletier410,000 $20,000
21Bucky McMillan400,000 $390,000
21Noah Siegel400,000 $390,000
21Doug Kim400,000 $390,000
21Jason Strasser400,000 $-55,000
25Elie Said395,000 $20,000
26Dustin Holmes384,000 $-36,000
27Theodore Park383,000 $373,000
28Gary Jones380,000 $70,000
29Walt Schafer Jr.377,500 $367,500
30Ken Jacobs375,000 $15,000
31Mikael Thuritz365,000 $65,000
32Lee Kort360,000 $0
32Kevin O'Donnell360,000 $-10,000
32Rick Malcamura360,000 $350,000
35Mark Petersen350,000 $0
35Andres Korn350,000 $-40,000
37Brendan Lewis345,000 $130,000
38Peter Placey340,000 $5,000
38Paul Viola340,000 $-10,000
40Chris Martin335,000 $-125,000
41Matt Wilson330,000 $36,000
41Paul Wasicka330,000 $42,000
41Kelly Fitzsimmons330,000 $41,000
41Aaron Bartley330,000 $5,000
41Rob Acton330,000 $5,000
46Darryl Dare320,000 $25,000
46Eric Molina320,000 $-105,000
48Vipul Kothari315,000 $305,000
49Michael Katz310,000 $300,000
49Michael Lynn310,000 $-75,000Comment -
Here are the top 50 chip counts after Day 4
PLACE PLAYER AMOUNT TREND
1Jamie Gold3,700,000 $240,000
2Max Reele2,358,000 $1,234,000
3James Routos2,279,000 $389,000
4Kyle Bowker2,272,000 $322,000
5Michael Binger1,889,000 $434,000
6Prahlad Friedman1,558,000 $408,000
7Ricki Nielsen1,388,000 $0
8Kevin Aaronson1,354,000 $-96,000
9WeiKai Chang1,343,000 $3,000
10Noah Siegel1,283,000 $803,000
11Brian Hansen1,273,000 $0
12Luke Chung1,271,000 $-129,000
13Dmitri Nobles1,252,000 $357,000
14John Ma1,250,000 $35,000
15Jeffrey Lisandro1,208,000 $3,000
16Dustin Holmes1,176,000 $26,000
17Eric Lynch1,085,000 $-15,000
18Ricardo Velasco1,050,000 $-200,000
19Mark Garner1,048,000 $298,000
20Chris Damick1,039,000 $39,000
21Richard Gryko994,000 $29,000
22Dan Abouaf992,000 $0
23Dave Murray991,000 $-109,000
24Doug Kim937,000 $9,000
25Lee Kort936,000 $-264,000
26Annie Duke919,000 $-11,000
27Cuong Do914,000 $-51,000
28Rick Mombourquette911,000 $-39,000
29Ken Jacobs896,000 $-69,000
30Thomas Wahlroos884,000 $4,000
31Cheng Yu876,000 $0
32Matt Wilson860,000 $0
32Tyler Teague860,000 $405,000
34Andrew Schreibman835,000 $0
34Humberto Brenes835,000 $175,000
36Tony Moretina817,000 $117,000
37Brady Shepard808,000 $-32,000
38Fred Goldberg791,000 $-29,000
39Kevin O'Donnell789,000 $0
40Lasse Ubostad782,000 $500,000
41Clint Brotherton760,000 $-290,000
42Alan Resh709,000 $-91,000
43Chris Kealy708,000 $433,000
44Dan Nassif702,000 $232,000
45Alex Balandin681,000 $-469,000
46Mitch Schock674,000 $-126,000
47Erik Friberg650,000 $330,000
48Paul Raeburn646,000 $-54,000
49Pat Dattilo638,000 $73,000
50John Magill636,000 $271,000Comment -
Defending WSOP champ Hachem knocked out
LAS VEGAS -- Defending champion Joseph Hachem was knocked out of the World Series of Poker on Saturday night and finished in 238th place.
Hachem, who won $7.5 million last year, went all-in with a pair of aces, but lost to his opponents three of a kind.
At about 12:30 a.m. ET, Jamie Gold was the chip leader with 1.8 million. Alex Balandin was second with 1.5 million, WeiKai Chang was third with 1.35 million and Kyle Bowker was fourth with 1.23 million.
Other pros still in the running for the $12 million top prize were Annie Duke and Allen Cunningham.
Ken Jacobs, son of poker pro Tom Jacobs, had fallen far back in the pack.
The day saw several notables bust out, including pros Daniel Negreanu, Kathy Liebert and Cyndy Violette, and longtime player Hoyt Corkins. None of the remaining players will go home empty-handed. The final 873 players in the tournament are "in the money," meaning they win some portion of the $10,000 buy-in back.
The final table of nine will play down starting Aug. 10.Comment -
Here are the top chip counts after Day 5
Only 45 players left and it's anybodies event!!!
PLACE PLAYER AMOUNT TREND
1Jamie Gold7,330,000 $-770,000
2Erik Friberg5,905,000 $25,000
3William Thorsson3,545,000 $-405,000
4Rhett Butler3,210,000 $1,610,000
5Kevin Aaronson3,190,000 $-10,000
6Ricki Nielsen3,170,000 $170,000
7Siddharth Jain3,090,000 $-10,000
8Michael Binger3,045,000 $-155,000
9Jeffrey Lisandro2,995,000 $175,000
10James Routos2,775,000 $175,000
11Richard Lee2,350,000 $50,000
12David Einhorn2,340,000 $-325,000
13Robert Betts2,235,000 $-100,000
14Andrew Schreibman2,200,000 $100,000
15Dan Schmiech2,155,000 $-135,000
16Paul Wasicka2,055,000 $195,000
17Lee Kort2,005,000 $355,000
18John Magill1,955,000 $-95,000
19Eric Lynch1,940,000 $-160,000
20Rob Roseman1,845,000 $145,000
21Mark Garner1,810,000 $570,000
22Mitch Schock1,785,000 $565,000
23Kevin O'Donnell1,600,000 $50,000
23Prahlad Friedman1,600,000 $120,000
25Mikael Thuritz1,500,000 $400,000
26Paul Raeburn1,385,000 $-5,000
27Eric Molina1,360,000 $-40,000
28Doug Kim1,335,000 $-515,000
29Marc Friedmann1,315,000 $40,000
30WeiKai Chang1,295,000 $-105,000
31Allen Cunningham1,290,000 $110,000
32Brian Hansen1,230,000 $-120,000
33Rob Berryman1,150,000 $-100,000
34Cuong Do1,115,000 $-585,000
35Dustin Holmes1,100,000 $-100,000
36Fred Goldberg1,080,000 $180,000
37Kyle Bowker885,000 $235,000
38Sirous Jamshidi845,000 $-430,000
39John Lee805,000 $-35,000
40Richard Wyrick800,000 $0
41Humberto Brenes565,000 $-70,000
42Luke Chung560,000 $-40,000
43Leif Force510,000 $-200,000
44Dan Nassif495,000 $-805,000
45Lowell Kim350,000 $-15,000Comment -
Here are the top chip counts after Day 6
PLACE PLAYER AMOUNT
1Jamie Gold13,000,000 $-100,000
2Erik Friberg7,735,000 $185,000
3David Einhorn6,905,000 $-145,000
4Rhett Butler6,400,000 $-100,000
5Dan Nassif5,430,000 $-80,000
6Richard Lee5,275,000 $1,525,000
6Michael Binger5,275,000 $-160,000
8William Thorsson3,765,000 $165,000
9Jeffrey Lisandro3,750,000 $-50,000
10Kevin Aaronson3,670,000 $120,000
11Doug Kim3,595,000 $220,000
12John Magill3,275,000 $400,000
13Allen Cunningham2,650,000 $350,000
14Leif Force2,265,000 $-510,000
15Kevin O'Donnell2,130,000 $30,000
16Prahlad Friedman1,850,000 $350,000
17Eric Lynch1,785,000 $-115,000
18Lee Kort1,700,000 $0
19Rob Roseman1,685,000 $585,000
20Fred Goldberg1,611,000 $61,000
21Dustin Holmes1,210,000 $-40,000
22Sirous Jamshidi1,190,000 $-260,000
23Luke Chung1,100,000 $-200,000
24Paul Wasicka700,000 $0
25Siddharth Jain675,000 $-25,000
26Mark Garner635,000 $-60,000
27Richard Wyrick570,000 $-255,000Comment
