NOTE: Over 2,000 players have already registered for day 1c, late registration for day 1d is scheduled to reopen at 4:40pm PT today.

Day 1b of the Main Event brought 1,489 players to the Amazon and Pavilion rooms at the Rio for 9 hours of poker action. Phil Gordon, Rafe Furst, Joe Sebok and other dignitaries took part in the pre-game activities to help promote the Bad Beat on Cancer charity. Tuesday’s “shuffle up and deal” command came from Ashley, named “Dealer of the Year” by the WSOP, to get the tournament into action. Some of the notables who didn’t make it through the day included Annette Obrestad, Joe Sebok, Jamie Gold, Erick Lindgren, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Liv Boeree, Justin Bonomo, Mark Seif, Brandon Adams and former November Niners Darus Suharto, Ivan Demidov and Craig Marquis. For a semi-live view of Tuesday’s action, check out Pauly’s day 1b blog.

After 4 1/2 levels of play, 1,017 players will return Saturday afternoon as part of the day 2b field. The day 1b leader is James Danielson of La Plata, Maryland with 201,050 in chips. Some of the notables with a significant amount of chips: Alexander Kostritsyn (131,800), Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (107,100), Gavin Griffin (97,200), Blair Rodman (85,025), Todd “Dan Druff” Witteles (73,475), Brandon Cantu (65,025), Gavin Smith (62,275) Vladimir Shchemelev (53,500), and Phil Laak (40,275). Team Pokerati/Loudmouth Poker pro Tom Schneider finished the day with 22,075 in chips. The full list of chip counts is now available at wsop.com. For those who made it through day 1a, there is a partial table draw available now here. The day 2b partial table draw is now online here, and on my Twitter when available.

As mentioned above, over 2,000 players have already signed up for day 1c, and today also brings the annual circus of Phil Hellmuth’s grand entrance, scheduled for 1:30. This year, he’s dressing up as an MMA fighter with Wanderlei Silva expected to be part of his entourage and UFC announcer Bruce Buffer introducing him. Daniel Negreanu has jokingly tweeted his own plans about making his entrance today as Rocky Balboa. The rest of the field will make their entrance the usual way, by walking into the Rio without making a spectacle of themselves. See what transpires during the day at wsop.com.

Phil Ivey was at the Golden Nugget enjoying barbecue last night — at Howard Lederer’s World Series of BBQ — when he learned that Tom Dwan was making another serious run for a bracelet, in $10k PLO.

pic: Melissa Hayden

Durrrr in the headlights: Please, Melissa, I’m trying to eat …Who Tom Dwan what? How many chips? I need more sauce.

Play ended last night with 33 left and Durrrr the chip leader … by like a lot. (36 got paid.) Phil Hellmuth is 13th in chips, with 330k to Dwan’s 910k.

Here’s the event coverage Ivey and just about everyone will be sweating on Saturday: $10k Pot-Limit Omaha. Sigh. If only ESPN knew what Euros (and players in my 1/2 NL/PLO game at the Hard Rock) already do … that Omaha is hold’em, and thus can make for some great TV.

Others still alive include:

Jason Mercier
Devilfish
Ludovic Lacay (Benjo’s friend/French bad-ass)
Fabrice Soulier
Michael Binger
Daniel Alaeai
Tony Cousineau
Jason Lester (for viewers still insisting on familiar ’03-’04 faces)

Interestingly enough, the last man out for the night (winning $19.8k) was EPT Tournament Director Thomas Kremser … essentially the Matt Savage of Europe. Alexander Kravchenko, another pretty good-TV name, busted him.

But hey, this is PLO, so all sorts of card craziness can happen. Let’s reconvene when they get to the final table and see if indeed, poker geeks and uber-high-stakes prop-bettors everywhere will be clamoring about Dwan (and maybe Hellmuth) closing out the WSOP with a multimillion-dollar bang.

As much as I’ve noted Team Pokerati’s struggles on the felt this summer, it’s not like our players don’t know their way to the WSOP payout window. Here’s a rundown of the team’s representative real-money scores so far:

(Click below for the Team Chauhan comparative results.)

Tom to La, after Team Pokerati’s first and only FT of 2010: “Congrats, you really played great. If I don’t bink a tourney soon, think you might be able to float me some scratch?”

Tom Schneider
$4,348 – 128th – $1.5k NLH
$22,085 – 14th – $1k NLH/Seniors
$3,352 – 52nd – $1.5k PLH
$6,128 – 32nd – $1.5k Omaha Hi/Lo

La Sengphet
$22,728 – 7th -$1k NLH/Ladies

Pat Poels
$13,232 – 10th – $2.5k Limit 2-7 3x

Robert Goldfarb
$6,128 – 29th – $1.5k Omaha Hi/Lo

The Big Randy
$3,428 – 196th – $1.5k NLH

Toothless Bob
$3,080 – 2nd place – $150 NLH (Binion’s Poker Classic)
$1,240 – 1st place – $65 NLH (Sahara nightly)
$355 – 4th place – $65 NLH (Sahara nightly)

John Harris (85Nutz)
TBD – first 2010 WSOP day 2 – $1k NLH

More…

Gavin Smith is near the chip lead at the $2,500 Mixed Hold’em Final Table. (One of his remaining opponents, on the second-shortest stack, is Dwyte Pilgrim, a Pokerati Fantasy WSOP pick in 2009; again, we were just ahead of our time …) Phil Hellmuth knows both these spots well … and naturally, we understand why Hellmuth wasn’t gonna make it the whole way for #12, and why Smith was setting himself up nicely for #1.

(Does Pauly even know the shifts in Ole G Smith’s backing set-up? Do you?)

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Dan happens to wander into the Rio at the exact time Phil Hellmuth advanced to the final table of the PLO/8 event. Pauly and Dan head up to the Beef Jerky lounge to get a better look at the Hellmuthian circus.

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Pauly and Dan saunter into the Pavilion Ballroom, where they rarely hang out. During the recording of this particular episode, they’re ambushed by a couple of the entities from Wicked Chops Poker. At some point, a discussion about a masseuse working on Gavin Smith’s upper ass region breaks out.

The big story Thursday evening is Phil Hellmuth’s attempt to win his 12th bracelet in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better, currently on dinner break with 8 players remaining. Here’s the standings when play resumes shortly to blinds of 15,000/30,000, follow the action at PokerNews:

John Gottlieb 1,200,000
Ben Lamb 725,000
Michael Chappus 470,000
Ryan Karp 400,000
Phil Hellmuth 270,000
Anders Taylor 266,000
Mandy Thomas 266,000
Steve Jelinek 220,000

UPDATE: Hellmuth finished in 7th place for $30,000.

The rest of Thursday’s tournament action in brief:

The $1,500 No-Limit Holdem has about 100 players remaining when they resume from dinner break. Mike Sowers leads the field with 632,000 in chips, follow the action and updates at PokerNews.

The $10,000 HORSE World Championship has about 75 players remaining as they try to reach the money when 24 remain. The current chip leader is Steve Bilirakis (205,000) followed by Greg Raymer (170,000), Annie Duke (167,000), Robert Mizrachi (145,000) and Matt Glantz (105,000). More updates and chip counts at wsop.com.

Six levels of play have taken place in the $2,500 Mixed Holdem, with 169 of the 507 players who started remaining as they take their dinner break. John Phan is the early leader with 55,000 in chips, followed by Dwyte Pilgrim (46,000), Andy Bloch (36,000), Brandon Cantu (25,000) and Justin Bonomo (20,200). More details to come at wsop.com.

Three more WSOP bracelets were rewarded in the overnight hours, with the first double-bracelet winner at this year’s WSOP, an original November Nine participant, and a first-time bracelet winner.

Kassela razzes Troy for 2nd bracelet

Continuing a streak that dates back to 2000, Frank Kassela won his second bracelet of this year’s WSOP, defeating Maxwell Troy heads-up in the $2,500 Razz, earning $214,085 and moving into a tie with John Juanda in the WSOP Player of the Year race. For his second runner-up finish at this year’s WSOP, Troy has to be consoled with $132,229. Full results available at wsop.com.

Montgomery makes most of opportunity, wins 1k NL

Scott Montgomery, an original November Nine participant, defeated Michael Carlson in heads-up play to win his first WSOP bracelet along with $481,760. Montgomery’s win also moves Canada into a tie for 2nd again with the United Kingdon in the world standings. Carlson earned $297,996 for the second-place finish. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report at wsop.com.

Kelly last man standing, wins shootout

The $1,500 No-Limit Holdem Shootout winner was Steven Kelly, defeating Jeffrey King heads-up, pocketing $381,927 and a coveted WSOP bracelet. Full results available at wsop.com.

Hellmuth and Greenstein feature PLO 8 final day

Only one bracelet to be awarded today, but the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better event could be one for the ages. Ryan Karp will lead the remaining 15 players with 564,000 chips, but the presence of Phil Hellmuth looms large as he’ll start 4th in chips with 331,000 in his ongoing quest for bracelet #12. Barry Greenstein (204,000) will be looking for another bracelet to add to his resume as well when play resumes at 2:30pm. The full chip counts are available at PokerNews.

Zheng zooms to day 1 lead in 1500 NL

Jackson Zheng (151,000) leads the 277 day 1 survivors in the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem when play resumes at 2:30pm, the money being reached when 270 remain. Notables in contention include: Humberto Brenes (146,400), Carter Phillips (122,100) Arnaud Mattern (107,500) and Dean Hamrick (86,000). Full chip counts online at PokerNews.

10k HORSE Day 2

Day 2 of the $10,000 HORSE resumes at 3pm with 164 players remaining. Sergey Altbregin leads with 143,000, to see the full list of chip counts, they’re available at PokerNews.

Thursday’s Tournament

Just one tournament today, starting at 12pm is the $2,500 Mixed Holdem, consisting of 30 minutes of no-limit holdem, followed by 30 minutes of limit-holdem. Last year’s tournament was won by Bahador Ahmadi defeating a field of 527, good for $278,804.

Briefly recapping a busy Wednesday afternoon:

Montgomery leads 1k NL

Five players remain in the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem, with original November Niner Scott Montgomery moving into the chip leader with 3,200,000. Adam Richardson is close behind with 2,700,000. See who comes out on top at PokerNews.

Obrestad, Tran make early exits in shootout

The two big names in the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem Shootout, Annette Obrestad and JC Tran, both were eliminated short of the final table, finishing in 11th and 13th respectively. Derric Haynie (1,365,000) leads the remaining 9 players, follow the updates and see who wins at PokerNews.

Final five in Razz

The $2,500 Razz is down to five players with the most recent elimination being Jennifer Harman in 6th place. Melville Lewis (945,000) leads the field with Maxwell Troy (545,000), Vladimir Shchemelev (455,000), Frank Kassela (390,000) and Mikko Pispala (385,000) rounding out the field as they take their dinner break and/or play in the $10,000 HORSE. Updates available at wsop.com.

Baker leading $1,500 PLO 8 day 2

Jeffrey Baker (no relation to the dueling David Bakers) holds the chip lead with 160,000 chips with about 60 players remaining in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better. Notables still in the field include Barry Greenstein (153,000), Kevin MacPhee (89,000), Mike Matusow (68,000) and Phil Hellmuth (60,000). Find more updates and chip counts at wsop.com.

Another large field in $1,500 NL

The first of Wednesday’s tournaments drew a field of 2,521 players for the latest $1,500 No-Limit Holdem tournament. Less than 1,000 players returned from dinner break with the early chip leader Arnaud Mattern reported as leading with 46,000 in chips. Other notables: Eric Lynch (33,000), Shane Schleger (25,500), Jon Friedberg (22,700), Bernard Lee (17,000) and Lauren Kling (14,000). More information on the happenings in this tournament at PokerNews.

High stakes HORSE underway

The 5pm tournament was the debut of the $10,000 HORSE World Championship, which drew a field of 241 players. The top 24 players make the money, with the winner earning $611,666. David Oppenheim is the early leader with 52,000 chips, followed by Jimmy Fricke (44,000), Maria Ho (40,000), Team Pokerati’s Tom Schneider (36,000), Erik Seidel (34,000) and Joe Hachem (31,000). More updates and info at wsop.com.

Recapping Tuesday night’s action, starting with the latest bracelet winner:

Kwaysser makes it two for Hungary

Valdemar Kwaysser of Budapest, Hungary defeated Matt Marafioti heads-up for the $10,000 Pot-Limit Holdem Championship bracelet, along with $617,214 as he joins Peter Gelencser as Hungarian bracelet winners this year. Marafioti earned $381,507 for the runner-up finish, with the planned rematch from the NAPT Venetian final table fizzling out with Tom Marchese finishing 6th for $123,264 and Sam Stein finishing 10th for $44,010. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report available shortly at wsop.com.

Obrestad, Tran highlight final day of $1,500 Shootout

The final day of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem Shootout will have 14 players seated at two seven-handed tables playing down to a winner starting at 2:30pm. Here’s the list, each starting with 450,000 in chips:

Annette Obrestad
J.C. Tran
Dustin Dirksen
Michael Cooper
Derric Haynie
Heinz Kamutzki
Steven Kelly
Jeffrey King
Johnny Kitchens
Reagan Leman
Michael Pesek
Justin Scott
Brett Shaffer
Paul Varano

Final table for 1k NL set

The $1,000 No-Limit Holdem event started with 38 players when play restarted this afternoon, deciding when to stop and play it out today at 2:30pm. Here’s how they’ll be seated:

Seat 1: Scott Montgomery – 604,000
Seat 2: Adam Richardson – 702,000
Seat 3: Daniel Fuhs – 1,251,000
Seat 4: Peter Dufek – 780,000
Seat 5: Sebastien Roy – 1,867,000
Seat 6: Michael Michnik – 307,000
Seat 7: John Dolan – 967,000
Seat 8: Timothy Beeman – 1,788,000
Seat 9: Mick Carlson – 917,000

Lewis leads final day of $2,500 Razz

The third bracelet to be determined today will have Melville Lewis (504,000) leading the final 15 players in the $2,500 Razz when play resumes at 3:30pm to determine a winner. Other contenders for the bracelet include: Stuart Rutter (295,000), Chris Bjorin (163,000), Frank Kassela (144,000), Jennifer Harman (108,000) and Vladimir Shchemelev (81,000). Full chip counts and updates available at PokerNews.

Chappus chips up at PLO8

The lone tournament to start on Tuesday, the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better restarts at 2:30pm with 157 players returning to the felt. Michael Chappus (133,400) leads the field, with notables James Dempsey (119,800), Barry Greenstein (83,000), Mike Matusow (54,700), Ben Grundy (46,000) and Phil Hellmuth (31,600) in contention. The full list of chip counts and updates available at PokerNews.

Wednesday’s tournaments

Another pair of bracelet events return to the Rio, starting with another $1,500 No-Limit Holdem tournament at 12pm. Last year’s version of this event was won last year by Ray Foley in a field of 2,715, good for $657,969. The 5pm tournament is the $10,000 HORSE World Championship, the first time a $10,000 HORSE event has been held at the WSOP. This event replaces the $10,000 Mixed Game Championship, won last year by Ville Wahlbeck in a field of 194 for $492,384.

If they just added a little Omaha, this show might be awesome … but apparently American players can’t handle that many cards? Alas … the rest of the world thinks we are dumb. Atill seems like it will be a pretty good, well-received show … a little new-school High Stakes Poker meets old-school World Poker Tour maybe?

Here’s the first look at the latest new poker infomercial set to repeatedly hit the cable-wire broadcast television — the PokerStars.net Big Game. This clip features a pretty fun hand that you gotta think might have Phil Hellmuth on tilt at least until WSOP Event #30something. It’s a $200k pot, with Hellmuth an 85 percent favourite over the must-win amateur “loose cannon” … but running it four times isn’t even enough for Hellmuth to get half the pot. (He woulda been better off running it once.)

Yeow, with that much on the line and a bad beat x3, it’s almost as if some people might see this and not think of poker as a game of skill at all!

PSBG debuts Monday, June 14, “late night” daily on Fox (Sports, I presume?) regular Fox-not-Sports’ local network affiliates.

More…

Time for a recap of the Tuesday night tournament action:

Kassela bests Kessler at Stud 8

Frank Kassela outlasted Allen Kessler and the rest of a stacked final table to win the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 8 or better World Championship along with $447,446. Jennifer Harman, Steve Zolotow, and John Juanda finished third, fourth and fifth respectively. A full list of the results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report can be found at wsop.com or read what Pauly wrote about the final table here.

Baker leads 1k final table

Veteran pro David Baker leads the final table of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem final table when play resumes at 2:30pm. Here’s how the rest of that table will be seated, with the winner pocketing $472,479:

Seat 1: Jared Hamby – 423,000
Seat 2: Daniel Thomas – 602,000
Seat 3: Matthew Vance – 1,731,000
Seat 4: Jeffrey Gross – 281,000
Seat 5: Mats Gavatin – 393,000
Seat 6: Nicholas Heather – 993,000
Seat 7: David Baker – 2,553,000
Seat 8: Kyung Han – 613,000
Seat 9: Steven Gee – 1,540,000

Phillips leads Day 3 of $1,500 6-max

Carter Phillips (922,000) leads the remaining 16 players who’ll return at 2:30pm to determine the winner of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem 6-max event. Other notables returning include Mark Flowers (545,000), and Jimmy Tran (219,000). The full list of players remaining are at PokerNews.com.

Goosen Leads 5k NL Day 2

Steven Goosen (229,000) leads the 202 players who made it through the first ten levels of the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem who return at 2:30pm. Other notables also returning: Chino Rheem (185,800), James Dempsey (165,800), Michael Gracz (131,800), Tony G (98,500), Joe Sebok (88,100), Phil Hellmuth (82,100), and TJ Cloutier (77,200). The full list of chip counts is now online at PokerNews.

Wednesday’s Tournaments

The doubleheader returns to the WSOP this afternoon, first is the $2,000 Limit Holdem event starting at 12pm. Dutch pro Marc Naalden won this event last year in a field of 446 for $190,770. At 5pm is the $10,000No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Single Draw World Championship, last year won by Nick Schulman for $279,751 in a field of 96. This event starts you out with 7,500 in chips with three additional “rebuy” chips, each good for 7,500 in chips to be added to your stack anytime during the first four hours.

Follow along at home starting at high noon over at PokerNews or www.wsop.com

Breaking down the Friday afternoon WSOP action:

Hellmuth falls short in quest 12th bracelet

The $1,500 NL Holdem event that started on Wednesday is down to the final table of ten, but Phil Hellmuth is not among them, finishing in 15th for $25,472. The final 10 when they return from their dinner break are:

Pascal LeFrancois – 4,000,000
Kevin Howe – 1,780,000
David Aue- 1,300,000
Max Steinberg – 900,000
Saar Wilf – 855,000
James Andersen – 665,000
Kurt Disessa – 651,000
Jose Gatmaitan – 640,000
Josh Brikis – 375,000
Daniel Wjuniski – 350,000

Follow all the final table action over at PokerNews.

Day 2 of 10k Stud W.C.

Less than 50 remain in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud World Championship with Ray Dehkharghani the current chip leader at 275,000. 2009 November Niner Eric Buchman holds down 2nd place with 270,000, while 50k Players’ Championship runner up Vladimir Schmelev is in 3rd with 230,000. Other notables: 50k Players’ Championship winner Michael Mizrachi (165,000), Men Nguyen (155,000), and Brandon Adams (120,000). Six more levels of play awaits the field or the final table of eight, whichever comes first. You can follow the progress of this event over at wsop.com.

Pot-Limit Bubble Pops

The $1,500 Pot-Limit Holdem event burst its bubble early on day 2, with the field now down to just 25 players. James “Flushy” Dempsey is the current chip leader at 290,000. Other notables: Joe Serock (140,000), JJ Liu (100,000), Melissa Hayden (95,000), and Christian Harder (75,000). Play will end when the final table of nine is established or at the end of ten levels of play. Team Pokerati’s Tom Schneider earned $3,352 for his 52nd place finish, his second cash (in three tries) at the WSOP.

$1,500 NL Day 1

A field of 2,563 started at noon in the third $1,500 No-Limit Holdem bracelet event. Less than 800 remain in action at the moment, with Tom Dwan the unofficial chip leader with 56,000. Other notables with healthy stacks include Blair Hinkle (43,000), Shaun Deeb (36,000), Annette Obrestad (25,000), and Liv Boeree (23,000). Less than four levels of play remain for day 1, with the top 270 players cashing, with the winner taking down an impressive $614,248. For the Team Pokerati fanbase, Pat Poels was the lone entry for this event.

$1,500 Limit Holdem Day 1

A field of 625 took to the felt for the $1,500 Limit Holdem event, and around 550 remain as the field takes their dinner break shortly. The duo of Vanessa Rousso and Chad Brown are the unofficial top two with Rousso (10,800) holding a slight lead over brown (10,100). For the online poker community, Jimmy “Gobboboy” Fricke is third with 8,500 and other notables such as Jeff Madsen (6,250), Team Pokerati’s Tom Schneider (5,600), and Chris Ferguson (5,400). Team Pokerati also has Julie Schneider, Danny Noam, Robert Goldfarb entered in this event. The top 63 players make the money, with first place $189,870 along with a coveted bracelet, follow wsop.com for further updates and chip counts.

Recapping the Thursday night action as we start week two of the WSOP with a pair of bracelet events starting this afternoon.

Hellmuth in Contention for Bracelet #12

Day 3 of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem event has 25 players remaining when play resumes at 2:30pm this afternoon. The current chip leader is Saar Wilf with 1,207,000 followed by 2009 Casino Employees winner Andrew Cohen with 1,025,000. But the name that most will be following today is Phil Hellmuth, 5th with 567,000 in chips, going for his 12th WSOP bracelet. If he made the final table, would a decision be made to stop and hold the final table on Saturday in front of ESPN cameras?

Gelencser Tops in Lowball

Hungarian Peter Gelenscer bested Raphael Zimmerman in heads-up play to take down the $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball bracelet along with $180,730. Zimmerman pockets $111,686 for the runner-up finish, while Don McNamara finished third for $73,803. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report can be found at wsop.com.

Play Pauses Prior to Payouts in Pot-Limit

After much discussion, tournament directors decided to halt play with 65 players remaining, two players short of the money in the $1,500 Pot-Limit holdem event. James Dempsey ended the day as the leader with 205,900 in chips. Original November Niner Scott Montgomery is in 2nd with 193,300. Notables in contention: JJ Liu (123,900), Joe Serock (70,400), Melissa Hayden (64,800), and Christian Harder (45,200). Team Pokerati’s Tom Schneider is also hanging around with 20,100 in chips. The full list of chip counts is available over at wsop.com.

Mizrachi and Schmelev 1-2 in Stud

The $10,000 Seven Card Stud World Championship concluded play after eight levels with the top two finishers in the $50,000 Players’ Championship, Michael Mizrachi (191,900) and Vladimir Schmelev (180,000) 1st and 2nd in chips with 85 players remaining. Plenty of notables are remaining, the full list is at wsop.com. Just 16 will make the money when play resumes at 3:00 this afternoon.

Friday’s Festivities

The third $1,500 No-Limit Holdem event of the WSOP gets underway at 12 noon today with another 2000+ player field expected. For comparison purposes, Mike Eise is the defending champion of this event, besting a field of 2,638 for $639,331.

At 5pm is the $1,500 Limit Holdem event, won last year by Tomas Alenius in a field of 643.

Recapping the Thursday afternoon action, with one bracelet already decided:

Tieman Takes Down Title

The $5,000 No-Limit Shootout final table with Joshua Tieman eliminating the final four players to take down the coveted WSOP bracelet, along with $441,692. Tieman disposed of veteran British pro Neil Channing in heads-up play, earning $273,153 for Channing. Stuart Rutter ($179,617), Joseph Elpayaa ($125,387), Nicolas Levi ($92,543) and Brent Hanks ($71,998) rounded out the final table results.

2-7 Lowball Final Table

The $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball is down to three players with Raphael Zimmerman the chip leader (865,000), followed by Dan McNamara (675,000) and Peter Gelenscer (612,000). David Chiu ($50,517), Jameson Painter ($34,843). and Leonard Martin ($24,723) were the others at the final table. Follow the action over at PokerNews.

$1,500 NL Day 2

The $1,500 No-Limit Holdem event is down to under 80 players as the field is now at their one hour dinner break. The chip leader is Jose Gatmaitan at 350,000. Notables with chips: Josh Schlein (196,000), Matt Stout (150,000), Phil Hellmuth (145,000), and Steve Sung (85,000). The field returns to play five one-hour levels or reach the final table, whichever happens first. Follow PokerNews to get all the latest updates.

Taking it to the Pot-Limit

The first tournament to start on Thursday, $1,500 Pot-Limit Holdem starting with a field of 650, with under 200 remaining when they return from their 90-minute dinner break to play four more one-hour levels. The final 63 players in the field cash, with the winner earning $197,470. Chad Batista is the current chip leader (52,000), followed by notables Justin Bonomo (32,000), Liv Boeree (26,500), Team Pokerati’s Tom Schneider (22,000) Lex Veldhuis (17,000) and Eric Froehlich (15,000).

World Championship Stud Starts

The $10,000 Seven Card Stud World Championship got underway at 5pm this afternoon, with a field of about 148 when registration closed. Yuval Bronshtein has already doubled up his starting stack of 30,000 to take the early lead. He’s followed closely by Daniel Negreanu (51,800), Robert Mizrachi (49,000) and Scotty Nguyen (35,000). For updates and a full list of entrants, check out wsop.com for more information.

Recapping Wednesday night’s WSOP action, starting with the awarding of two more WSOP bracelets:

Daya Takes down $1,000 NL bracelet

The first $1,000 No-Limit Holdem bracelet of this year’s WSOP was awarded to Canadian Aadam Daya defeating Deepak Bhatti in heads-up play. Daya won the sixth-largest live poker tournament in history, besting a field of 4,345 players to earn $625,872. Bhatti picked up $385,106 for the runner-up finish. The full list of results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report is available at WSOP.com.

Bansi’s Best for bracelet #2

Praz Bansi picked up his 2nd career WSOP bracelet, winning the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem bracelet, defeating Vincent Jacques heads-up to prevent a Canadian sweep of bracelets on Wednesday. Jacques earned $320,913 for falling just short of a bracelet, the full list of results and Dalla’s report are online here.

Channing, Levi headline Shootout Final Table

The final table of the $5,000 No-Limit Shootout gets underway at 2:30pm this afternoon with these six players, each with the same starting stack of 1,500,000:

Neil Channing
Stuart Rutter
Nicolas Levi
Brent Hanks
Joseph Elpayaa
Joshua Tieman

Triple Draw almost reaches their final table

Play at the $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball ended earlier this morning with its final table just out of reach, returning at 4pm this afternoon to determine a winner. Among those who made the money: Team Pokerati’s Pat Poels (10th for $12,232), Ted Forrest (12th for $9,972), Jordan Seigel and Allen Kessler (16th and 17th for $7,663 each). The rest of the results can be found here. Here’s the eight players looking for a bracelet:

David Chiu 436,000
Peter Gelencser 400,000
Don Mcnamara 370,000
Raphael Zimmerman 262,000
Tad Jurgens 223,000
Leonard Martin 195,000
Shunjiro Uchida 173,000
Jameson Painter 127,000

Schlein Leads $1,500 NL for Day 2

Josh Schlein leads the remaining 270 players returning at 2:30pm for day 2 of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem with 127,300 in chips. Other notables on the leaderboard: Jean-Robert Bellande (89,200), Phil Hellmuth (84,700), and Amnon Filippi (55,800). The full list of chip counts can be found at PokerNews.

Thursday’s Tournaments

The $1,500 Pot-Limit Holdem event starts at 12pm today, won last year by John Paul Kelly for over $190,000 in besting a field of 633. A compact field is expected at 5pm today for the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud World Championship won by Freddie Ellis last year, winning over $370,000 as the last man standing in a field of 142.

A few years ago, Mike Matusow was drinking pink Vitamin Water for the critical focus he needed during the WSOP. The next year it was just a matter of keeping up with his meds and occasionally mumbling about happy thoughts. Then, somewhere in there, he threw away his laptop and asked friends to forcibly prevent him from playing online.

Heading in to the 2010 World Series, we’ve learned from reliable sources, Matusow has retained the services of Sam Chauhan to give him a mental edge. Two other well-known TV pros also apparently signed up to become Sammy’s mindset disciples, but based on my own eavesdroppings, they want to keep the relationship private … so I’ll respect that (for now).

But maybe his luck is running out? He dad have a few clients on Team USA in this week’s WTP, including Matusow and team captain Phil Hellmuth, and yet the Americans had no one make the final table.

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