Two more bracelet winners became known Sunday morning, and the rest of Saturday’s action:

Papola denies the Master bracelet #8

Jeffrey Papola defeated Men Nguyen in the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max event, earning $667,443 and his first career bracelet. Nguyen earned $412,746 for the second-place finish, moving into a three-way tie for first in the WSOP Player of the Year race with Michael Mizrachi and James Dempsey. Erick Lindgren finished sixth for $82,303. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report are available at wsop.com.

Velador slams the door on his second bracelet

Luis Velador took down the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha/Pot-Limit Holdem title as he defeated David Chiu heads-up, good for $260,517 and his second career WSOP bracelet. Chiu earned $160,902 for the second place finish, moving into a tie for 6th in the WSOP Player of the Year race. Full results and Dalla’s tournament report can be found at wsop.com.

10k NL Heads-Up down to an Elite 8

The final day of the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Holdem Championship resumes at 3pm with these matchups:

Jason Somerville vs. Kido Pham
Faraz Jaka vs. Ayaz Mahmood
Alexander Kostritsyn vs. Ludovic Lacay
Ernst Schmejkal vs. Vanessa Rousso

The matches will be single-elimination until the finals, a best of three match. Follow the action at PokerNews.

Minetti leads Seniors’ event, Schneider among final 23

Day 3 of the $1,000 Seniors’ No-Limit Holdem Championship resumes at 2:30pm with Michael Minetti leading the final 23 players with 1,038,000 in chips. Other notables returning include Michael Woo (523,000), Jack Ward (519,000), and Team Pokerati/Loudmouth Poker pro Tom Schneider (284,000). The full list of chip counts is at PokerNews.

Montgomery leads day 1a of 1k NL

Original November Niner Scott Montgomery (75,200) led the day 1a survivors in the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem event as the field played halfway through level 9 to get down to 286 players. Other notables: Neil Channing (64,500), Michael Gracz (52,700), Fabrice Soulier (39,125), Liv Boeree (24,275) and Leo Margets (22,875). The full list of chip counts is available at wsop.com.

Siegel super at day 1 of 3k HORSE

Day two of the $3,000 HORSE resumes at 3pm with Jordan Siegel leading the 207 players who remain with 66,900 in chips. Other recognizable names include: Darus Suharto (55,100), Dan Heimiller (52,100), Howard Lederer (44,400), Chau Giang (36,400) and Eugene Katchalov (29,900). The full list of chip counts is available at wsop.com.

Sunday’s tournaments

12pm is day 1b of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem event, with a field of at least 1,000 expected. The 5pm tournament is the $10,000 Pot-Limit Holdem Championship, won last year by John Kabbaj in a field of 275 for $633,335.

Time to recap the Saturday afternoon action:

Lindgren and Nguyen highlight 5k 6-max FT

Six players remain at the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max final table with Jeffrey Papola (2,340,000) leading when play resumed at 9pm. The rest of the final table is made up of Erick Lindgren (1,670,000), Men Nguyen (1,505,000), Orlando Delacruz (1,100,000), Bruno Launais (1,003,000) and Mark Radoja (480,000). Follow the action at PokerNews.

Velador vibrant at PLO/PLH FT

Eight players remain in the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha/Pot-Limit Holdem final table with Jose Luis Velador (985,000) holding the chip lead. Kevin MacPhee (631,000), David Chiu (437,000), Rob Hollink (323,000), and Victor Ramdin (200,000) are the notable names remaining, follow the action at PokerNews.

10k NL HU at Round 4

The $10,000 No-Limit Holdem Heads-Up Championship is currently at round 4 with players now in the money. Among the round 4 winners: Faraz Jaka, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Brian Rast, Kido Pham, Ludovic Lacay and Jason Somerville. One more round is scheduled for 11pm tonight, with the 8 survivors playing to a winner Sunday afternoon. See who else moves on at wsop.com.

Seniors’ sauntering along at day 2

Less than 150 players remain as play continues on day 2 of the $1,000 Seniors’ No-Limit Holdem Championship with Duane Gerleman (210,000) reported as the chip leader. Other notables in the hunt: Team Pokerati/Loudmouth Poker pro Tom Schneider (181,000), Berry Johnston (110,000), Susie Isaacs (60,000) and John Spadavecchia (55,000). Find more info over at wsop.com.

Day 1a of 1k NL underway

A field of 2,485 1,987 started day 1a of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem with around 550 players remaining, scheduled to play 10 levels or down to about 360 players, whichever comes first. Notables who’ve grown their 3,000-chip stack: Scott Montgomery (25,000), Liv Boeree (24,700), Neil Channing (18,000) and Lee Childs (11,000). More updates and chip counts can be found at PokerNews.

3k HORSE field saddles up

The 5pm tournament today, $3,000 HORSE, drew a field of 478 entrants with the top 48 making the money, with the winner earning $329,840. The early leader is Robert Willamson III with 16,000 in chips, followed by Andre Akkari (13,000), Shaun Deeb (12,500), Matt Savage (11,700) and Scotty Nguyen (10,500). More updates as eight levels of play is scheduled at PokerNews.

Recapping Friday night’s WSOP tournaments with the two latest bracelet winners finally determined Saturday morning, but first some breaking news for Pokerati fans:

DonkeyBomber leads 1k Seniors’ field

Day 1 of the $1,000 Seniors’ No-Limit Holdem Championship concluded with 427 players remaining at the end of 10 levels of play. The reported chip leader is Team Pokerati/Loudmouth Poker pro Tom Schneider in front with 94,000 in chips. Other notables with chips when play resumes at 2:30pm: Berry Johnston (62,900), Lon McEachern (27,200) and Sam Simon (23,100). A full list of chip counts is now available at PokerNews.

Ellis wins bracelet #4 for the UK

The $1,500 No-Limit Holdem event reached a conclusion first as Mike Ellis overcame a large chip deficit heads-up against Christopher Gonzales to win the bracelet along with $581,851 as the Briton wins the fourth bracelet this year for the UK, moving them into second in the WSOP world standings. Gonzales earned $360,906 for the runner-up finish. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report are available at wsop.com.

Puchkov punches his way to HORSE victory

The $1,500 HORSE event finally concluded in the wee hours of the morning as Konstantin Puchkov defeated Al “Sugar Bear” Barbieri to earn $256,820 and a WSOP bracelet. Barbieri earned $158,647 for the second place finish. Full results and Dalla’s tournament report will be available at wsop.com shortly.

Lindgren, Nguyen feature final day of 5k NL 6-max

The final day of the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max event gets underway with 12 players remaining. Here’s how the field will be seated when play resumes at 3pm:

Seat 1: Orlando Delacruz – 301,000
Seat 2: Anthony Roux – 668,000
Seat 3: Evan Panesis – 299,000
Seat 4: Jeffrey “jpapola” Papola – 598,000
Seat 5: Mark Radoja – 1,493,000
Seat 6: Darren Elias – 841,000

Seat 1: Bruno Launais – 875,000
Seat 2: Men Nguyen – 264,000
Seat 3: Erick Lindgren – 1,165,000
Seat 4: Taylor Mcfarland – 848,000
Seat 5: Paul Sheng – 712,000
Seat 6: Lucas Greenwood – 425,000

Follow the updates of this event at PokerNews.

Velador and Chiu top two in 2500 PLO/PLH

Day 3 of the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha/Pot-Limit Holdem resumes at 3pm with 14 players remaining. Jose-Luis Velador (455,000) and David Chiu (451,000) are the leaders, while Rob Hollink (423,000), Victor Ramdin (262,000) and Phil Ivey (207,000) also return. PokerNews will be there until a bracelet winner is determined.

10k NL Heads-Up down to final 64

Two rounds of play have finished in the $10,000 No-Limit Holdem Heads-Up Championship with 64 players remaining when the field returns at 3pm. The 32 round three winners will make the money, with some of the notables returning include: Phil Ivey, Gavin Smith, Phil Gordon, Antonio Esfandiari, Sorel Mizzi, Jonathan Little, Josh Arieh, Vanessa Rousso and Vivek Rajkumar. The full bracket for this event is now online at wsop.com.

Saturday’s tournaments

The 12pm tournament is day 1a of the fourth $1,000 No-Limit Holdem event of the WSOP, with a field of at least 3,000 expected over the weekend. The 5pm tournament is the $3,000 HORSE event, which drew a field of 452 players last year with Zac Fellows coming out on top for $311,899.

Reviewing the start of week 4 at the WSOP:

Seniors’ event sets record

The $1,000 Seniors’ No-Limit Holdem event drew a record 3,248 entries this afternoon when play started shortly after 12pm today. Not only was this a record field for a Seniors’ event, it was the largest field to start a tournament on a single day in poker history. The current leader is Team Pokerati and Loudmouth Poker’s own Tom Schneider with 29,000 in chips. Other notables include: “Minneapolis Jim” Meehan (16,000), Lon McEachern (14,500), Alan Boston (13,000) and TJ Cloutier (11,000). The field is currently on their dinner break with four levels remaining for the field to play. Follow the occasional updates over at PokerNews.

10k Heads-Up sells out again

The $10,000 No-Limit Heads-Up Championship drew a sold-out field of 256 entries, with two rounds scheduled for today. Winners of round 1 matches include Gavin Smith, Tom Dwan, Jason Mercier, Annette Obrestad, Josh Arieh, Phil Gordon, Blair Hinkle and Phil Ivey. The 128 winners will return at 10pm for round 2 action. See who moves on and who moves out at PokerNews.

Barbieri leading HORSE final table

The final table of the $1,500 HORSE has returned from their dinner break with eight players remaining. Here’s the chip counts when play resumed:

Al Barbieri 635,000
Konstantin Puchkov 605,000
Blake Cahail 540,000
Hani Awad 520,000
Andrew Revesz 475,000
Dustin Leary 420,000
Robert Mizrachi 250,000
Ken Lennaard 250,000

Follow the updates over at wsop.com.

Gonzales leads 1500 NL day 3

Christopher Gonzales (2,700,000) holds a large chip lead in the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem final day with 11 remaining. The field will be returning from dinner break shortly, see if anyone can run him down at wsop.com.

Brady leads bunch at 5k 6-max day 2

Dinner break ends shortly for the 56 players remaining in the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max event, with 54 making the money. Matt Brady (465,000) holds a slight chip lead over McLean Karr (460,000) when play resumes. Other notables include David Ulliott (265,000), Christian Harder (255,000), Isaac Haxton (185,000) and Eric Baldwin (157,000). PokerNews will be there to follow the action when play resumes.

Tieman leads during day 2 of PLO/PLH

The $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha/Pot-Limit Holdem field is on dinner break with 54 players remaining, but only 45 make the money. Joshua Tieman is looking for his 2nd WSOP bracelet this year as he leads the field with 209,500 in chips. Victor Ramdin (155,000), John Kabbaj (98,000), David Chiu (87,600) and Burt Boutin (67,000) are among the notables looking to get a return on their investment when play resumes. The fine reporting team at PokerNews will be there to see who bubbles and who bounds into the lead.

It looks to be a long night for some of these events to get finished, but for those who don’t want to stay up that late, another report will be forthcoming in the morning.

Our Team Pokerati player-correspondents may not be giving us much to talk about at the tables, but they do have the parking lot beat at 3700 W. Flamingo covered. Check it out … a few new vanity spottings seen (Just) Outside the WSOP … can you guess which one might belong to Scotty Nguyen?

Also … think there’s any connection that ♥2BLUFF is driving the PT Cruiser, not a Bentley or a Jag?

Recapping the action from Sunday afternoon:

Hellebuyck wins Ladies’ Championship

The $1,000 Ladies’ Championship just finished as Vanessa Hellebuyckmade quick work of Sidsel Boesen in heads-up play. Hellebuyck wins the specially designed ladies’ WSOP bracelet along with $192,132, with Boesen earning $118,897 for her runner-up finish. Timmi Derosa, fiance of veteran pro Lee Watkinson finished third for $74,389. Team Pokerati Asia member La Sengphet finished in 7th for $22,278. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report will appear later over at wsop.com.

Dutch Boyd looking for second bracelet

The $2,500 Limit Holdem 6-max field is down to a final table of six as they take a one-hour dinner break. Russ “Dutch” Boyd is the current chip leader with 745,000. He’s followed by Albert Minnullin (696,000), Brian Meinders (635,000), Al “Sugar Bear” Barbieri (305,000), Domenico Denotaristefani (282,000) and Art (formerly known as Julian) Parmann (219,000).

Batista leads 1k NL day 1b field

A field of 1,358 registered for day 1b of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem has completed six levels of play as the survivors are currently on dinner break. In total, 3289 signed up for this tournament with the top 342 making the money, with the winner earning a cool $503,389. Less than 600 players remain this evening, with the current reported chip leader being Chad Batista with 38,000. Notables with a healthy stack include Eric Froehlich (23,000), Brandon Cantu (15,500), Michael Binger (14,000), Isaac Haxton (9,500) and Robert Varkonyi (8,300). Play will end halfway through level nine, mirroring the day 1a field, with those still having chips combining at 2:30 Monday afternoon.

Dempsey flush with chips in 10k Omaha 8

James “Flushy” Dempsey is looking for his second bracelet of the WSOP as he leads the remaining 73 players with 224,000 in chips as the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better World Championship field returns from dinner break soon. Some of the notables with a decent stack include Sammy Farha (220,000), Chino Rheem (194,500), Eric Baldwin (130,000), Phil Hellmuth (98,000), and Matt Glantz (81,000). The field makes the money when 27 remain, as they’re scheduled to play ten levels or reach the final table.

Follow all the results and updates over at PokerNews or wsop.com.

Recapping the Saturday night action with two more bracelets awarded, and the Year of the Womanâ„¢ almost adding a WSOP open event bracelet winner:

Ashby chuffed to win Stud bracelet

Richard “Chufty” Ashby wins the third WSOP bracelet for the UK this year, taking down the $1,500 Seven Card title, denying Christine Pietsch in heads-up play. Ashby earns $140,467 for the win, with Pietsch pocketing $86,756. Full results and the Nolan Dalla tournament report are online at wsop.com.

Barch tops in Pot-Limit Omaha

John “Tex” Barch makes his third final table the charm, winning his first WSOP bracelet in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event, defeating Klinghammer Thibaut heads-up. Barch adds $256,919 to his tournament winnings, with Thibault earning $158,698. Results and Dalla’s tournament report is online over at wsop.com.

Ladies Championship Final Table

The final table of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem Ladies’ Championship gets underway at 3pm with this lineup, featuring Team Pokerati’s newest member, La Sengphet:

Seat 1: Vanessa Hellebuyck – 277,000
Seat 2: Holly Hodge – 279,000
Seat 3: Allison Whalen – 344,000
Seat 4: Kami Chisholm – 529,000
Seat 5: Sidsel Boesen – 789,000
Seat 6: Bonnie Overfield – 226,000
Seat 7: Loren Watterworth – 75,000
Seat 8: Timmi Derosa – 437,000
Seat 9: La Sengphet – 206,000

“Sugar Bear” looking sweet for day 3 of Limit Holdem

Also starting at 3pm is the final day of the $2,500 Limit Holdem 6-max event, with Al “Sugar Bear” Barbieri holding the chip lead with 12 remaining. Here’s the full list of players and their chip counts:

Al Barbieri – 415,000
Albert Minnullin – 367,000
Christopher Vitch – 352,000
Russ “Dutch” Boyd – 349,000
Brian Meinders – 300,000
Anh Le - 289,000
Julian Parmann – 202,000
JJ Liu – 182,000
Dana Kellstrom – 151,000
Domenico Denotaristefani – 110,000
Jeff Norman – 102,000
Eduardo Miranda – 63,000

Tolbert leads Day 1a 1k NL field

The third $1,000 No-Limit Holdem event concluded about halfway through level 9 with 290 players remaining who return Monday afternoon. John Tolbert leads the day 1a field with 73,900 in chips. The full list of chip counts is now available over at PokerNews.

Katchalov catches cards to lead 10k Omaha 8

Day 2 of the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better World Championship gets underway at 3pm with Eugene Katchalov leading the remaining 144 players with 123,200 in chips. Other notables also coming back this afternoon: David Benyamine (102,500), Sammy Farha (98,500), Vladimir Shchemelev (88,300), Phil Hellmuth (84,300), Barry Shulman (76,200), Barry Greenstein (49,800), and Team Pokerati’s Tom Schneider (11,700).

Sunday’s Tournament

Only one tournament this afternoon, day 1b of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem starting at 12pm. Don’t be surprised of today’s field is a great deal smaller than Saturday’s, as it has been in the first two $1,000 events. Follow all the action over at PokerNews and www.wsop.com.

Going over the Saturday afternoon excitement at the WSOP:

Boesen leads 1k Ladies’ Championship

Day 2 of the $1,000 NL Holdem Ladies Championship is down to 54 ladies, with newly signed member of Team Pokerati La Sengphet is the current chip leader with 296,000, busting Liv Boeree, who had been third in chips. Other notables in the field: Linda Johnson (104,000), Mimi Tran (67,000) and new Full Tilt pro Lacey Jones (32,000). Among those who’ve already made the money: Jess Welman, Maria Ho Jennifer Cox (Jan Brady in the Brady Bunch movies), and Bryce Daifuku, who has the “honor” of being last man standing. Former Pokerati writer Michele Lewis was knocked out just short of the money. Play will continue for six more levels or the final table is reached, whichever happens first.

“Tex” has Texas-sized lead in $1,500 PLO

2005 WSOP Main Event final tablist John “Tex” Barch leads the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha final table with four players remaining. Barch holds 2,025,000 in chips, while Trai Dang (830,000), Nenad Medic (765,000) and Klinghammer Thibaut (315,000) make up the remaining field returning from dinner break shortly.

Pietsch leading Stud final table

Christine Pietsch leads the remaining five players at the $1,500 Seven Card Stud final table with 610,000 in chips. Darren Shebell (471,000), Dan Heimiller (416,000), Owais Ahmed (216,000) and Richard Ashby (86,000) are looking to re-energize themselves on the dinner break in the hopes of overtaking the leader. Sorel Mizzi, who started as the chip leader at the final table, finished in 6th.

Meinders leading limit 6-max as bubble looms

The remaining 47 players in the $2,500 Limit Holdem 6-max event are returning from dinner break shortly, with the money reached with 36 players remaining. Brian Meinders currently holds the lead with 172,000 in chips. Notables looking to cash include: Chris Vitch (109,000), Rafe Furst (94,000), Michael Binger (85,000), Dutch Boyd (75,000) Phil Gordon (70,000), and Justin Bonomo (64,000). David “Bakes” Baker’s win in the 10k NL 2-7 Lowball event last night meant Bonomo won on his prop bets that a Panorama Towers resident would win a bracelet at this year’s WSOP.

Donkament #3 underway

Day 1a of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem event drew a field of 1,931 this afternoon, with around 600 returning from their 90-minute dinner break. The reported chip leader is Alex Kamberis with 22,000, with notables Alex Jacob (15,000), David Sklansky (10,000) and Tom McEvoy (8,700) among the dinner break survivors. The field will either play ten levels or around 280 players left in today’s field.

10k Omaha 8 or Better Underway

The 5pm tournament today was the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better World Championship, which drew a field of 212 entrants. The top 27 make the money, with first place earning over $488,000. The early chip leader is Allen Kessler, taking his 30,000 starting stack to over 46,000 in early action. Among the numerous notables in the field, Scott Clements (41,800), Jennifer Harman (40,000), Mike Sexton (34,500), Matt Savage (33,000) and Tom Schneider, looking stunning in his Loudmouth Poker jacket (20,000). Eight levels await the field this evening.

Follow all the updates during the evening over at PokerNews and www.wsop.com

Two new bracelet winners were determined Wednesday night, two more bracelet events get underway this afternoon, so here’s a brief recap:

Phillips Wins $1,500 NL 6-Max

Carter Phillips became the 7th-youngest WSOP bracelet winner when he took down the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem 6-max event last night, defeating Samuel Gerber of Switzerland in heads-up play to earn $482,744. Phillips, who won an EPT event last year in Barcelona, has now earned over $1,800,000 in his 18-month tournament career. The full results, along with the tournament report from Nolan Dalla is online at wsop.com.

Gee, I just won a bracelet!

Steve Gee of Sacremento, CA defeated Matt Vance to take down the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem bracelet, along with $472,479. The full results and Dalla’s tournament report is now up at wsop.com.

DeWitt DeBest for Day 3 of 5k NL

Jason Dewitt (1,873,000) leads going into day three of the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem bracelet event, resuming at 2:30pm with the field of 18 playing down to a winner. Among the day 3 survivors: Jeff Williams (1,323,000), Antonio Esfandiari (883,000), Perry Friedman (361,000) and David Benefield (326,000). Chip counts and updates can be found all afternoon over at PokerNews.

$2,000 Limit Holdem

After ten levels of play on day one, Joshua Honegger leads the field with 87,000 in chips at the $2,000 Limit Holdem tournament. Others in contention for a bracelet include Matt Matros (53,700), Matt Glantz (50,700), Eric Buchman (39,400), Joe Serock (38,000) and Joe Serock (33,400). The field of 109 returns at 2:30pm with 45 making the money, with $203,607 going to the winner. The full list of chip counts is now online at PokerNews.

10k 2-7 NL Draw Day 1

Day 2 of the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball World Championship resumes at 3pm with 72 of the 101 starters returning. Homan Houshiar will start the day as chip leader, with 116,100 in chips. Following close behind include David “Bakes” Baker (104,000), Tom Dwan (64,100), John Juanda (54,050), Daniel Negreanu (46,800), Yan Chen (33,200) and Team Pokerati’s Tom Schneider (18,700). 14 players will make the money, with the winner pocketing $294,314. Chip counts are now available at PokerNews.

Thursday’s Tournaments

Starting at noon is the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event, last year won by Jason Mercier for over $237,000 over a field of 809. Players will start with 1,500 in chips, along with three “rebuy” chips, each good for 1,000 additional chips used during the first four hours. The 5pm tournament today is the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event, won last year by Jeff Lisandro for almost $125,000, besting a field of 359. While waiting for the tournaments to start, check some of the links along the right hand side for more WSOP content than you ever thought was possible.

I like to tell any newbie interested in working the WSOP that the key is simply to show up. As for how to survive the WSOP, on certain days the key is to not show up. One of these days, both Pauly and Benjo will get it. Until then, they’re both consistently hanging around the action, to keep me you within earshot of all that is important going down. You’ll also see why, all things considered, I’m clearly getting the best of any three-way deals.

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Rare Michalski sighting at the WSOP, so Benjo and Pauly ambush Dan the moment that he steps into the press box. Benjo gets compliments for filling in during for Michalski during the important 50K final table. He also reveals how you certain qualified people can win a piece of Pokerati.com.

Episode 11: Laser Show Promotions (w Benjo)

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After two years of cameos and being a special guest, Benjo finally convinces Michalski and Pauly to give him his own key to the castle. Well, not exactly to the entire castle, just a couple of rooms. In this episode, we discuss Benjo’s new and lucrative deal as a partner in Tao of Pokerati, Inc.

A few updates … team captain Tom Schneider is off to a solid start, with a mid-cash and a min cash after four events … playing now in NL 2-7. Still tabulating results from Goldfarb, Ms. Schneider, Noam the Enforcer and a few yet-to-be introduced’s. Harris gives the $1k a second go tomorrow. And even Toothless Bob, bankroll-fortified by his B-squad Vegas alt-tourney wins, played his first ever hands of live PLO in Thursday’s Hard Rock game … and cashed out a small winner.

Fans swarmed all around as the 2-7 triple-draw got to its final two tables, and Pat Poels began to think about his first bracelet in a non-split event.

But so far, getting closest to the WSOP hardware has been Pat Poels, the other 2-bracelet holder on Team Pokerati … who finished 10th in Event #7, $2,500 2-7 Triple-draw for a $13k+ payday. The Casino Arizona host knows he can play, but comes to the 2010 WSOP with cashouts meaning more than they have in previous years and a desire to prove to himself that there’s still room for a player like him to earn a respectable living by outplaying the competition in a wide variety of games.

He says to his Pokerati fans and manager:

My plans are to induce pain, and to collect buy-ins. Bio? Well, I like warm bubble baths and long walks on the beach, and mean people and taxes turn me off. And I’ve had a 3-year gap since my last bracelet. Time to fix that.

Shirt size XL.

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.