By the end of Day 2 of the 5-day event, there were only 67 players left standing in the tournament. The 81 players who have been eliminated left $4,050,000 behind for the others.
Among those gone from the field is reigning champion Freddy Deeb, courtesy of Steve Zolotow in an Omaha-8 hand. Last year\’s second-place finisher Bruno Fitoussi was taken out of this year\’s event by Hasan Habib in a razz hand. David Singer\’s run for a third final table in three years was thwarted by Rob Hollink in a stud-8 hand early on Day 2.
Taking a look at what is possible, there are several players who could make for some interesting stories here:
1. Barry Greenstein cashed in 2006 (12th place) and 2007 (7th place).
2. 2007 final table players who are still in the running to make it happen a second year in a row include John Hanson, Kenny Tran, Thor Hansen, Gabe Kaplan, and Greenstein. It won\’t be possible for Amnon Filippi because though I swore I saw him on Day 1, it seems that he didn\’t play this event as his name is not on the bust-outs or chip count list.
3. Of course, Doyle Brunson could make a run at that 11th bracelet, and he would win the first-ever Chip Reese commemorative trophy. Could there be anything better?
There are more stories to develop as the field thins further. The chip leader going into Day 3, which starts in just moments, is Lyle Berman. Could a WPT guy win the biggest tournament at the WSOP? Let\’s see how it goes! Updates throughout the evening…