UPDATE: Day 1 of the Main Event will play 60 minutes of level 5. The 90-minute dinner break will take place at the end of level 3.

The World Series of Poker, to most people who don’t follow poker, finally gets underway this afternoon with day 1a of the $10,000 No-Limit Holdem World Championship, better described as the Main Event. A field of 6,500 players are expected to show up at the Rio in Las Vegas, seating themselves at tables in the Amazon and Pavilion rooms, hoping their two chips and a chair will turn into something much larger over the next 12 days when the last 9 players return in November to play down to a winner.

The main concern for this year’s Main Event will be if Thursday’s day 1d, which had the highest number of pre-registered players, may mean some players could be shut out. Throw in the schedule (four two-hour levels scheduled for each day 1), and it’s possible not enough players will be eliminated on days 1a and 1b to accommodate the much larger fields expected for days 1c and 1d.

While the Main Event gets underway today with updates at PokerNews and wsop.com, or follow Pauly’s live blog. There’s still two more bracelets to be awarded today along with the rest of Sunday’s action.

Alaei wins 10k PLO

The final table of the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship concluded with Daniel Alaei defeating Miguel Proulx heads-up to win $780,599, along with his third career WSOP bracelet. Proulx, winner of the $2,500 PLO event earlier this WSOP, collects $482,265 for the runner-up finish. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report coming soon at wsop.com.

Huck Seed, TOC winner

The final day of the WSOP Tournament of Champions concluded with 1996 Main Event winner Huck Seed defeating Howard Lederer heads-up, winning $500,000. Lederer adds $250,000 to his results, with Johnny Chan earning $100,000 for third. Full results at wsop.com.

1k, 2.5k final tables today

The final two preliminary bracelet events will be awarded this afternoon, both with a start time scheduled for 3pm, but the Main Event may throw a hitch in those plans. Follow the updates at PokerNews or wsop.com. First, here’s the final table for the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem:

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Note: At the time of this post (6:00am PT), registration is temporarily closed for days 1c and 1d of the Main Event.

A busy 4th of July awaits the WSOP with three bracelet events and the Tournament of Champions finishing today, maybe.

WSOP TOC finally resumes Sunday

It’s an early day for the remaining 17 poker celebrities as the WSOP Tournament of Champions plays down to a winner starting at 11am. Mike Matusow will lead the field with 85,500 in chips when play gets underway, follow the gripes, complaints and other action around the felt at PokerNews.

Proulx leads 10k PLO final table

With 18 players left, the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship looked like it would feature a strong final table. That fizzled when Tom Dwan, Phil Hellmuth, and Jason Mercier were eliminated in the final two tables, leaving a very international final table when play resumes at 4pm with this lineup:

Seat 1: Ludovic Lacay – 2,279,000
Seat 2: Daniel Alaei – 1,800,000
Seat 3: Miguel Proulx – 2,440,000
Seat 4: Matthew Wheat – 745,000
Seat 5: Ville Mattila – 490,000
Seat 6: Trevor Uyesugi – 435,000
Seat 7: Alexander Kravchenko – 330,000
Seat 8: Stephen Pierson – 570,000
Seat 9: Dmitry Stelmak – 1,285,000

Peters leads day 3 1k NL field

Day 3 of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem is scheduled to play down to a final table when play resumes at 3pm. David Peters leads the remaining 47 players with 594,000 in chips, with bracelet winner Jesse Rockowitz (320,000) and Alex Jacob (163,000) among the notables remaining. The full list of chip counts and results are at wsop.com.

Mackey’s Million leads 2500 NL

Day 3 of the $2,500 No-Limit Holdem finds 73 players returning at 3pm, attempting to reach a final table. James Mackey (1,011,000) holding a large chip lead over the field. Other notables who come back to the Rio include Mike Wattel (428,500), Jon Turner (288,000), Dan Shak (215,500), Isaac Baron (194,000), Craig Marquis (152,000) and Court Harrington (145,000). Full chip counts and results available at wsop.com.

One bracelet already awarded, another bracelet possibly awarded tonight, the mess that is the Tournament of Champions and other tournament action:

Kelly wins 25k 6-max, Brunson 10 Deal

The final table of the $25,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max took less than four hours to complete, as 21-year old Dan “djk123” Kelly took down the bracelet along with $1,315,518 when his A-10 ran down Shawn Buchanan’s pocket jacks with an ace on the river. Kelly also became the 7th member of the Brunson 10 with the win, as he was part of a competition during the WSOP to award the spot. Buchanan earned $812,941 for his second place finish, he also won a big hand on the river a few minutes earlier, when the money went in on an open-ended straight draw against Frank Kassela’s flopped two pair. The straight on the river meant a 3rd place finish for Kassela ($556,053), along with 60 POY points to give him a stranglehold on the title. Jason Somerville ($386,125), Mikael Thuritz ($272,804) and Eugene Katchalov ($194,559) rounded out the final table. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report at wsop.com.

Proulx leads 10k PLO, Hellmuth’s chips throw TOC into chaos

What was expected to be the final day of the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship is currently on a dinner break with 18 players remaining. Miguel Proulx, who won the $2,500 PLO event earlier in the WSOP, holds the chip lead with 1,966,000, with Ludovic Lacay (830,000), Jason Mercier (794,000), Tom Dwan (501,000) and Phil Hellmuth (181,000) among the notables remaining. Live updates available at wsop.com.

Hellmuth’s stack is causing problems for the Tournament of Champions, which was scheduled to resume at 7pm. With Hellmuth still in the TOC, the other 16 players were hoping for Hellmuth’s elimination tonight to get the field down to a final table and avoid a long day on Sunday. After Hellmuth made the dinner break, there was discussion about playing one level during the PLO dinner break, but with Joe Hachem asleep and Huck Seed unable to be found, that idea was scrapped and the TOC will be played out starting at 11am, unless some other problem arises in the next few hours.

Phil Gordon wins Ante Up for Africa

A field of 83 poker pros and celebrities, took the felt in the $5,000 Ante Up for Africa charity tournament, with Phil Gordon beating Shannon Elizabeth heads-up, with Gordon donating the entire $129,086 to Ante Up for Africa. Erik Seidel and Jerome Bettis also appeared at the final table. Annie Duke tweeted that over $300,000 was raised in total from the event. Full results and Dalla’s tournament report at wsop.com.

$2,500 NL nears the money

After a delay in the $2,500 No-Limit Holdem due to a shortage of available dealers, 222 players remain for day 2, with the final 196 making the money. James Mackey is the current leader with 240,000 in chips, followed by Isaac Baron (170,000), David Singer (144,000), Andy Philachack (100,000), Jamie Gold (82,000), Tom Franklin (74,000) and Jason Dewitt (63,700). Updates and chip counts available at PokerNews.

1k NL makes the money

Less than 200 players remain in the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem with at least four more levels scheduled for tonight. Check the results and updates at wsop.com.

Recapping Monday afternoon’s WSOP action:

Matusow leads TOC, resumes Saturday night

Another four hours of play in the WSOP Tournament of Champions Monday afternoon, with 17 players still remaining after eight levels have been played. Since ESPN wants a final table of nine on Sunday July 4, another day of play has been scheduled for Saturday, July 3 at 7pm. However, those plans get scrapped if one or more of the 17 are still involved in the $25,000 6-max event or the $5,000 Ante Up for Africa tournament. Whenever play resumes, Mike Matusow (85,500) will hold the chip lead, followed by Huck Seed (73,000) and Johnny Chan (68,600). The full list of chip counts is available over at wsop.com.

Sung slips into lead at Mixed Event final day

Ten players remain as the $2,500 Mixed Event went to dinner break with Steve Sung leading the field with 581,000 in chips. Other notables returning include Matt Vengrin (522,000), Scott Seiver (218,000) and Todd Brunson (145,000). Full chip counts and updates available at wsop.com.

Busquet leads 1k NL into the money

Day two of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem is now deep into the money with around 200 players remaining with WPT winner Olivier Busquet leading the field with 185,000 in chips. Team Pokerati member John Harris unfortunately fell just short of the money, while veteran poker tournament reporter Mike Paulle squeaked into the money, finishing in 318th for a mincash. Among the players still with chips: Andre Akkari (132,000), Scott Montgomery (83,000), Antonio Esfandiari (65,000) and Carter King (42,500). The other person who Pokerati may be following Richard Ferro, there has not been any updates or in the results at wsop.com so he’s probably still in the field.

JP Kelly leading 1500 NL day 1

A field of 2,543 started in the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem, with less than 900 returning after their dinner break with Vegas/Europe WSOP bracelet winner JP Kelly holding the lead with 48,000 in chips. Some other notables: Roland de Wolfe (39,000), Theo Tran (23,000), Amnon Filippi (21,000) and David Pham (13,500). The money will be reached with 270 players remaining, with the winner earning over $600,000. More updates and chip counts over the final four hours of action over at wsop.com.

5k PLO underway

The 50th event of the WSOP, $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, drew a field of 460 players, an increase of nearly 100 from last year took the felt this afternoon. The very early leader is Michael Mizrachi with 35,000 in chips, with plenty of big names in contention. Some of those names: Greg Raymer (26,000), David Singer (22,000), Ville Wahlbeck (19,000) and JC Tran (14,000). The field still has four levels of play as well as their dinner break so catch the proceedings at wsop.com.

A reminder that day 2 of the WSOP Tournament of Champions resumes shortly after 12pm PT this afternoon. ESPN3 will be streaming the action with 22 players remaining as they play four more levels before concluding the action on July 4. To see how the field stands and get updates for those unable to watch, head to wsop.com.

Two more players picked up their first WSOP bracelets this morning, and the rest of Sunday night’s WSOP tournament action:

Rockowitz hammers Coburn to win $1500 NL

The final hand of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem event may have brought delight to some poker bloggers, as Jesse Rockowitz held the suited hammer (7h-2h), flopping two pair against Ray Coburn. Coburn turned a straight draw, but the river was of no help, giving Rockowitz the bracelet along with $721,373 for his victory. Coburn was resigned to collecting $446,274 from the cashier for the runner-up finish. Full results along with Nolan Dalla’s tournament report at wsop.com.

Bell rings up a bracelet in 5k PLO 8

Chris Bell, good friend of recent bracelet winner Gavin Smith, won a bracelet of his own, defeating Dan Shak in a lengthy heads-up battle to win the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better bracelet along with $327,040. Shak earned $202,142 for the runner-up finish, with David “Devilfish” Ulliott third for $150,925. Erik Seidel concluded his lengthy day after playing the Tournament of Champions by finishing in 5th for $85,800. Full results and Dalla’s report at wsop.com.

Yakovenko leads final day of 2500 Mixed Event

Day three of the $2,500 Mixed Event begins at 3:00pm today with Nikolai Yakovenko (310,000) leads the remaining 20 players in the field. Other notables returning include Matt Vengrin (276,600), Kirk Morrison (214,900), Scott Seiver (197,700), Alexander Kravchenko (178,100), Dario Minieri (145,600), Todd Brunson (101,400) and John D’Agostino (60,600). Full chip counts and updates during the afternoon at wsop.com.

$1k money day

Day 2 of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem gets underway at 2:30 this afternoon with around 445 players returning to the Rio as they first reach the money when they reach 324 players, then try to get close to a final table, although that’s unlikely. The leader of the final 188 players who survived at the end of day 1b remains Ben Klier with 65,675. Other notables from day 1b: Pokerati fave Richard Ferro (64,375) Olivier Busquet (59,100), Jeff Madsen (43,000), Chris Moneymaker (41,125), Terrence Chan (29,200), David Sklansky (23,850) and Faraz Jaka (17,700). For Team Pokerati followers, John Harris finished with 12,425, Full chip counts now available at wsop.com.

Monday’s tournaments

Two more tournaments get underway this afternoon, starting with the seventh and final $1,500 No-Limit Holdem tournament of the WSOP. Last year’s winner was Tony Veckey, who defeated a field of 2,818, winning $673,276 for his only career cash. The 5pm tournament is the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, won by Richard Austin last year for $409,484 in besting a field of 363.

A review of Sunday afternoon’s action, starting with the first day of the WSOP Tournament of Champions:

Seidel leads after four levels of TOC

With several players in the WSOP Tournament of Champions involved with other bracelet events, it was decided to play four one-hour levels today, another four levels on Monday, then the remainder of the field returning on July 4th to determine a winner. When play resumes at 12pm, it’ll be Erik Seidel holding the lead with 72,075 in chips with 22 players remaining. In the random table draw, Daniel Negreanu and Annie Duke were seated next to each other at the feature table as both spent the day avoiding to look at each other, even when involved in hands together. Johnny Chan will start tomorrow second in chips with 71,325, followed by Mike Matusow in third with 70,575. The full list of chip counts is available over at wsop.com.

Odell leads 1500 NL final table

Kevin Odell (4,300,000) will hold a commanding chip lead at the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem final table when play resumes momentarily. In second is Brazilian Thiago Nishijima (1,775,000), with Ray Coburn (850,000) the most notable name remaining. Updates available at PokerNews.

Shak sharp in 5k Omaha 8

The start of day three of the $5,000 Omaha 8 or Better tournament was delayed as Erik Seidel was still involved in the Tournament of Champions, with play eventually underway after 4:30pm. Seidel started the day 20th out of 21 players, but he’s still in the field, although currently 9th with 10 players remaining. Dan Shak has moved into the chip lead with 815,000, followed by Leif Force (725,000), Perry Green (400,000), and Seidel (280,000) among the notables. Follow the action at PokerNews.

Seiver surges into lead in 2500 8-game

Another tournament that experienced a delay because of the TOC was the $2,500 Mixed Event as Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson still playing in that event. Approximately 70 players remain with their dinner break coming shortly. Scott Seiver holds the lead with 122,000 in chips. Other notables include David Steicke (86,000), Bill Chen (85,000), Michael Mizrachi (66,000), Steve Sung (54,000), Dario Minieri (45,000), Harman (41,000), Frank Kassela (39,000) and Ferguson (31,000). Team Pokerati’s Julie Schneider was one of the day 2 eliminations. Further updates and chip counts can be found at wsop.com.

Klier leading day 1b of 1k NL

Day 1b of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem brought 1,369 players to the Rio this afternoon, around 400 remain as the field returns from their dinner break. The report chip leader appears to be Ben Klier with 54,000, followed by Mike Beasley (32,000), Faraz Jaka (28,000), Chris Moneymaker (23,000) and Jeff Madsen (13,200). A little over three levels of play are scheduled, unless the field falls under 200 before that point. More updates and chip counts at wsop.com.

Recapping Saturday night’s action, with the list of great players without a bracelet had another named crossed off the list.

Ole G Smith wins mixed holdem bracelet

Gavin Smith, one of the most popular players on the tournament circuit, finally won his first WSOP bracelet this morning, defeating Danny Hannawa heads-up to win the $2,500 Mixed Holdem event along with winning $268,238. Full results at wsop.com

Tournament of Champions starts today

The WSOP Tournament of Champions gets underway at 12pm today, as the 27 participants will play four one-hour levels today and Monday, with the survivors returning on July 4 to determine the winner. Besides being filmed to air on ESPN later this year, ESPN3 will be streaming a feature table both days. Here’s the feature table when play starts today:

Doyle Brunson
Daniel Negreanu
Annie Duke
Howard Lederer
Joe Hachem
T.J. Cloutier
Antonio Esfandiari
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier
Scotty Nguyen

Trickett on top final day of $1,500 NL

Day three of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem returns at 3:00pm with Sam Trickett (922,000) leading the 35 players remaining as they play down to a winner. Other notables in the hunt include: Dutch Boyd (619,000), Ray “ExitOnly” Rayburn (560,000), Paul Magriel (460,000), Alex Outhred (444,000), and Zachary Clark (176,000). Team Pokerati’s Tom Schneider finished 128th, good for $4,348. Full chip counts available at PokerNews.

Altbregin ascends to 5k PLO 8 lead

Day 3 of the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better resumes at 3pm with Sergey Altbregin (486,000) holding the chip lead with 21 players remaining. Other notables returning: David “Devilfish” Ulliott (415,000), Perry Green (367,000), Dan Shak (331,000), Dan Heimiller (247,000), Allen Kessler (117,000), Andy Black (100,000) and Erik Seidel (65,000). Full chip counts and updates available at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2010-wsop/event-46/“>PokerNews.

Brickner blasts his way into day 1a 1k NL lead

The next to last $1,000 No-Limit Holdem event of the WSOP drew a field of 1,759 entries for day 1a Saturday afternoon. That field was whittled down to around 300 players when they return on Monday afternoon, and the reported leader is Justin Brickner with 86,000 in chips. Other notables include Antonio Esfandiari (35,000), Scott Montgomery (30,000), Matt Glantz (28,000) and Carter King (17,000). Full chip counts along with updates for Sunday’s day 1b action available at wsop.com.

Jaffee leading $2,500 8-Game

Day one of the $2,500 Mixed Event brought 453 players to the Rio Saturday afternoon, with 162 returning at 4:10pm today. The reported chip leader is Jared Jaffee with 71,125. Some of the notables returning include: Justin “Boosted J” Smith (58,225), Michael Mizrachi (56,875), Brandon Cantu (41,000), Scott Seiver (37,350), Dario Minieri (32,175) and Gavin Griffin (29,150). Team Pokerati’s Julie Schneider returns with 18,975 in chips. Other chip counts and updates at wsop.com.

Pokerati Dan on 2+2 Pokercast

Dan has already noted the final table of the 50k Players’ Championship, scheduled to start at 3pm in front of the cameras for ESPN. While Benjo and Pauly were talking about the final table, Dan was at home, doing an interview with the 2+2 Pokercast (starting around the 1:23:00 mark) to talk about the new-and-improved Rio as well as stories about the NAPT-Venetian and Jeffrey Pollack’s move to the PBR. Don’t forget to check out the links over on the right hand side! He follows Phil Laak discussing his upcoming attempt to set a Guinness record for longest single poker session ever.

41 Left in Donkament

In what is scheduled to be the final day of the first $1,000 no-limit event, Drew Crawford is the chip leader at 800,000 when play resumes this afternoon at 3pm. Like last year’s $1,000 event, there may be a decision to hold the final table Wednesday afternoon if it play goes longer than expected this afternoon. Other notables remaining include Terry Fleisher (489,000), Eric Baldwin (479,000), and Champie Douglas (344,000). The complete list of players remaining is now online at PokerNews.

Omaha 8 down to 26

Day 3 of the $1,500 Omaha 8 or Better event starts at 3pm as well, with three tables remaining as they play down to a winner. Sasha Rosewood starts play as the leader, with 389,000 in chips. Familiar names also returning: Dan Heimiller (211,000), Ylon Schwartz (166,000), Jeff Madsen (148,000), David Bach (107,000) and Huck Seed (57,000). Team Pokerati pros Robert Goldfarb (29th) and Loudmouth Poker sponsor Tom Schneider (32nd) each earning $6,128. The full list of players remaining is at PokerNews.

$1,500 NL near the bubble

223 players remain in the $1,500 NL Holdem when play resumes at 2:30pm this afternoon. 216 will make the money, leading to what should be a short hand-for-hand session. Stephen Foutty leads the field with 207,400 in chips, followed closely by Dwyte Pilgrim (202,000)and Chris Moorman (161,400). Other notables: Praz Bansi (118,700), Lauren Kling (62,800), Shaun Deeb (58,200) and Dewey Tomko (44,900). The full list is also at PokerNews.

Tuesday’s Tournaments

Two tournaments scheduled today, at 12 noon is the $5,000 NL Holdem Shootout, with a cap of 2000 players but expecting just a field of around 300. Last year, Peter Traply won this event in a field of 280, winning nearly $350,000. He’s parlayed this success into appearing in the top 50 for this year’s WSOP Tournament of Champions.

Starting at 5pm is the $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball event won last year by Abe Mosseri, and with Team Pokerati’s own Julie Schneider finishing in 3rd. If she and Daniel Negreanu meet up at the same table again, will there be a new Twitter controversy?

The WSOP Tournament of Champions fan balloting has been underway for over a month, and the top 20 players in voting is full of familiar faces. There are two “sponsor’s exemptions” left to fill out the field, and it appears at least one of them will be available through Harrah’s WSOP-branded online poker site unavailable to US players.

The promotion details two ways to get into their TOC qualifier, either by playing in 100 raked pots between April 15th and June 5th or winning one of the nightly $1 satellite tournaments at 20:00 GMT. The winner of the TOC qualifier will receive an additional $5,000 along with airfare for two from the UK, luxury accommodations at a Harrah’s property, and an additional $2,000 for expenses. The full terms and conditions can be found on the next page:

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Don’t know much about bullfights. I know Carmen ends up at one. And there’s that part in The Sun Also Rises when everybody goes to Pamplona to drink and watch ’em. Apparently your traditional corridas de toros features three distinct stages or tercios, each full of symbolic significance and designed to increase suspense before the final killing of the bull.

This week Juan Carlos Mortensen, a.k.a “El Matador,” successfully completed a third big stage in his World Poker Tour career, besting a field of 143 players at the WPT Hollywood Poker Open in Lawrenceburg, Indiana to take down the $393,820 first prize. That makes three WPT titles for the Ecuador native, tying him with Gus Hansen for the most ever.

As B.J. Nemeth noted in his WPT live reports, the win also makes Mortensen the all-time money leader in WPT history, bringing his total earnings to $5,754,308. Mortensen’s other WPT titles include a victory at the WPT Doyle Brunson North American Championship in 2004 and a win at the WPT Season Five Championship at the Bellagio in 2005.

B.J. also points out that Mortensen has now amassed more than $9.6 million in career tourney winnings. In other words, he’s killing.

Add to all of that Mortensen’s pre-boom WSOP Main Event title in 2001, and he’s certainly helped his candidacy for such things as the vote for the 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions (where as of this moment he does appear among the Top 50 vote-getters). Not to mention helping his cause for possible Poker Hall of Fame consideration.

For more discussion of “El Matador” — as well as the WSOP TOC and other pokery topics of the day — check out this week’s episode of The (award-winning) Poker Beat.