Chris “Jesus” Ferguson – Mr. Ferguson, more affectionately known as “Jesus” was the first person to come to mind when I was making this list. Owner of 5 World Series of Poker bracelets and more then 50 cashes, he is up there on the list of all time earners, taking home more then $4 million in the Series alone. Now Chris hasn’t won a bracelet in some time, but he is still one of the best all around players in the world and he had six cashes and 3 final tables last year. Jesus is the definition of due and I think he will get that long awaited bracelet when the 2009 Series roles around. He hasn’t won a bracelet since 2003, but in that time frame he has won three circuit events and has multiple big finishes including a heads up loss in the Seven Card Stud World Championship in 2008. Feel free to place a bet on Ferguson this year, he is due and I think 2009 might just be the year of Jesus.

Daniel Negreanu – Coming off a big World Series of Poker Europe in 2008, the Canadian born Negreanu will be looking to cash in again in 2009. Daniel has four career bracelets including a limit holdem title in 2008, previous to that he hadn’t won a bracelet since 2004. I don’t know what it is, but “Kid Poker” seems to show up for the big events, he has tremendous skill and great ability to make his way through big fields. Negreanu is the kind of guy you like to root for, not only is he one of the top players in the world, but he is fun at the tables. If my opinion counted, if I had one bet to make heading into the 2009 Series in would be for Daniel to win a bracelet. He will be looking to follow up a great 2008 with an even better 2009.

Allen Cunningham - You might not hear as much about Allen as you do some of the other great players in the world, but he is up there with 5 career bracelets. Allen didn’t win a bracelet in 2008, and I don’t think he will get shut out 2 years in a row. Cunningham is one of the most intelligent and methodical holdem players in the world and I don’t think you can keep him down long. Still just 30 something Allen has a real chance to put his name in the mix as one of the best all around players to ever play the game. The smart money heading into 2009 might be on Allen Cunningham, he is one of the best players in the world who will be hungry for his 6th bracelet.

Phil Hellmuth – You can’t make this list without including the “Poker Brat”, well he does have 11 career bracelets. Phil is the best no limit holdem player in the world, at least he’ll tell you that. I happen to agree that if its no limit Phil’s the favorite. With 11 career bracelets all in holdem you can’t fight the fact that he has earned his spot on top of the list. Phil had 6 cashes in last years Series in Vegas and although he didn’t win his 12th he did make 3 final tables. The one thing about Phil you know is that he takes the World Series of Poker seriously and will do whatever he can to be known as the best holdem player to ever live. You can’t blame a guy for striving for greatness and if you get a price on Phil in 2009 jump at the chance to gamble with him.

Mike Matusow – I don’t; know why, but this one is kind of a gut feeling. “The Mouth” has had a lot of great showing in big tournaments over the years, especially in the main event. He did manage to win his 3rd bracelet last year in a low ball event and made a deep run at the main event once again finishing 30th. If I had to place my money on a big named pro to win the main event, I think I would choose Mike, he has proven he shows up for the big ones.

Well, obviously this is just my opinion, and there are a lot of names to choose from. Special mentions to Erik Seidel,  Layne Flack and the 2008 Europe main event champ John Juanda. Always remember gamble only with money you can afford to loose, and that no bet is a sure bet.

The big names were out in force. Among those playing were Marco Traniello, Daniel Negreanu, Roland de Wolfe, Brian Townsend, Nenad Medic, Jennifer Tilly, David “DevilFish” Ulliott, John Juanda, Phil Laak, Tom “Durrrr” Dwan, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Doyle Brunson, Mel Judah, Gavin Smith, David Williams, Annette Obrestad, Gus Hansen, Juan Carlos Mortensen, Allen Cunningham, and Jean-Robert Bellande.

The first big name to get knocked out was Allen Cunningham. He apparently showed up about an hour late to the event. Sometime during the second level he was eliminated. John Tabatabai apparently got a good portion of his chips. He claimed that Cunningham had made an incredibly ridiculous bluff.

During the first couple of levels, Jack Effel tried to get a Turbo £1,000 satellite going for the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. 362 players total had registered for the event, which happened to be the exact number as last year’s event. I guess he was trying to push the number over that so they can claim growth in the event. Apparently noone took Jack up on his offer as the field remained at 362 players after the registration period was completed.

Jeff Madsen was one of the next big names to bite the dust. He was the victim of a player that probably 100,000 players have lost to in the past, Doyle Brunson. The flop was 7d-6h-7s when a player in seat one bet 1,100. Madsen moved all in for 3,900 and Brunson made the call. Seat one folded. Brunson had 7c-9c for a set of sevens. Madsen held 9d-8d for a straight draw. The turn fell the Ks and the river the 9h, filling up Brunson’s boat and sending Madsen to the rail. Doyle Brunson just goes to show that no matter how old you are, you can still play poker at a high level.

Sorel Mizzi was eliminated during level 3. Mizzi made a reraise to 2,625 and Florian Langmann made the call. On a flop of 6s-7h-3c, Langmann bet 7,500. Mizzi tanked for a bit before moving all in. Langmann made the call showing Ah-Ad. Mizzi showed As-Kc. The turn fell the 3d and the river the 7d and Mizzi was eliminated.

Sean Deeb made a bit of a splash during the Pot Limit Omaha event here at the WSOP Europe. His deep run will not be repeated in the Main Event. He was all in on a flop of Ac-6s-10. He held Ad-Jd, and his opponent held As-Qs. The turn fell the 9d and the river the 2h, and Deeb was eliminated.

Juan Carlos Mortensen was next to fall to Brian Powell. Powell raised to 850 preflop, and Mortensen raised all-in to 5,500. Powell made the call and showed As-9s. Mortensen showed 4s-4h. The flop hit Powell like a ton of bricks when it fell 9c-5h-9d. Mortensen would need a four, or he would be done. The turn fell the Ks and river the 6d and Mortensen was out.

Daniel Negreanu took the chip lead about the mid way of Day 1b. Preflop, Negreanu raised to 800 and was called by Lars Hougaard from the big blind. The flop fell 9h-8d-6. Hougaard checked to Negreanu, who bet out 800. Hougaard check-raised to 3,200, and Negranu appeared to go into the tank. Negreanu said, “Hmmm. I have to think about the best way to approach this.” He then moved all in for 50,000. Hougaard started talking to himself and Negreanu asked, “You have a pair AND a straight draw? OK, so you hit your miracle flop and have to fold?” Hougaard then proceeded to fold his hand. Negreanu showed 6c-6s for the set of sixes. After the hand, Negreanu moved up to 95,000 in chips and was the chip leader.

The winner of the PLO bracelet, Theo Jorgensen, moved all in preflop for 2,775. Barry Greenstein made the call. Greenstein held Ah-Ad and Jorgensen held 7c-7h. The board missed both players, and Jorgensen will have to settle for just one bracelet at the WSOP Europe this year. Gus Hansen soon followed. On a flop of 3-4-7, Hansen was all-in against Jennifer Tilly. Tilly held A-A and Hansen 3-4 for two pair. The board paired on the turn when a 7 fell, giving Tilly a better two pair. These pairs held up and Hansen was gone.

The World Series of Poker Europe will have a new Main Event Champion. Annette Obrestad was all-in with pocket Kings against the A-Q of Marco Traniello. Unfortunately for Obrestad, Traniello spiked an Ace and Obrestad will not repeat as Main Event Champion.

Gavin Smith got a taste of his own medicine in tonight’s event. He was all in with pocket Kings. His opponent held 9c-10c. The board flopped an open ended straight draw when the board fell J-8-6. The turn missed both players, but the river Q gave Smith’s opponent a straight and sent Smith to the rail.

Day 1b of the World Series of Poker saw 203 players come together to take their shot at the last bracelet of the World Series of Poker Europe. 97 players survived the session and will join the 86 players from Day 1a on Monday to continue play. Many top names were able to survive Day 1b. Among those are Doyle Brunson, Chris Ferguson, Scotty Nguyen, Surinder Sunar, Barry Grenstein, Jennifer Tilly, Nenad Medic, and John Juanda. Daniel Negranu lost the chip lead for a while, but was able to regain it by the end of the day. Below are the current chip leaders for day 1b.

Daniel Negreanu 154050
Jamie Rosen 139225
David Benefield 126775
Sargon Ruya 114100
Jean Thorel 98675
Marco Traniello 96750
Mikael Norinder 91650
Yuval Bronshtein 85675
Roland de Wolfe 84000
Talal Shakerchi 83025

Play for Day 2 of the World Series of Poker Main Event continued on Monday at 1 p.m. London time.

The “DevilFish” was the first of the big names to fall and it didn’t take long. On a board of Kd-Jc-5d, Ulliott moved all-in and was called by Markus Golser. Golser claimed to have the Fish in bad shape, but Ulliott disagreed. DevilFish flipped over Ks-Kh-7c-2s for a set of kings. Golser flipped over Ad-Qd-10c-4s for a wrap and a flush draw. Golser was actually the favorite at this point with 17 outs. The turn fell the 9h, giving Golser a straight. DevilFish needed the board to pair, otherwise his day was over. The river was the 6c and DevilFish swam down stream.

Jason Mercier extended his chips lead after eliminating two players, one being Robert Williamson III. On a board of 6d-Ac-10d, Williamson checked to Mercier, who bet out 10,500. Williamson then check-raised pot and Mercier flat called. On the turn of the 5d, Williamson moved all-in for around 16,000. Mercier called and flipped over Kd-Jd with two other cards for a king high flush. Williamson showed two aces with two random cards for a set of aces. He would need the board to pair to win, but alas, the river fell the 8s and Williamson was eliminated. Mercier moved up to 340,000 chips with his win.

Doyle Brunson was the next player eliminated when both he and Erik Friberg flopped a set. Brunson had flopped a set of nines and Friberg a set of tens. All the money went in on the turn and Brunson was unable to catch a fourth nine. Brunson will have to win the Main Event to win his 11th bracelet.

Shortly after the first break, Andy Bloch was all in against Erik Friberg. Bloch had flopped two pair and a gutshow straight draw. Friberg had a better gutshow straight draw and a pair of queens. The turn improved Bloch’s two pair, but the river completed Friberg’s straight and Bloch was out the door.

Erik Seidel was eliminated in 25th place by Theo Jorgensen. Seidel had aces and Jorgensen with some semi coordinated straight cards. Unfortunately for Seidel, Jorgensen flopped two pair and Seidel never improved on his aces. Bruno Fitoussi was the next player to fall just before the dinner break. He moved all in with aces on a jack high flop but Tomi Nyback had flopped two pair. The two pair were good and Fitoussi got an extended dinner break.

Only 18 players would be paid from this event. It wasn’t long before we would reach 19 players and the bubble period began. Pot Limit Omaha is usually a game where the bubble period is not that lengthy due to the drawing potential of a lot of hands. It does induce a bit of gambling. The bubble period didn’t even last 10 minutes in this event as Alex Kravchenko was all in preflop against Ilkka Koskien. Kravchenko held Ah-Ad-9c-10d. Koskien held As-Ac-2c-10c. This hand had split written all over it. That is until the flop anyway. The flop fell Qc-Qd-7c to give Koskien a flush draw. The turn fell the 7h. This pot would be a chop unless a club fell, and indeed a club did fall on the river. The 8c fell, and Kravchenko was this event’s bubble boy.

Elimination then became fast and furious. Jolyne Thompson moved all in with her short stack holding Js-Jc-2c-9h. Allen Cunningham made the call holding Kd-7s-6h-4s. Cunningham would take the lead with trips when the flop fell 7d-3d-7h. Thompson would need a jack to survive, but a jack did not come on the turn or the river. Jolyne Thompson was our 18th place finisher making £14,438.

Stephen Kjaerstad was the next to fall. Kjaerstad raised preflop and was called by Theo Jorgensen. On a flop of 5s-6s-Jd, Kjaerstad bet out 21,500 and Jorgesen potted. Kjaerstad called and was all-in. Jorgensen held 4s-3d-3s-4c and Kjaerstad held 7d-As-8d-Ad. The Qs fell on the turn, giving Jorgensen the flush and eliminating Kjaerstad in 17th place.

About 15 minutes later, Theo Jorgensen raised to 11,000 and Allen Cunnigham potted to 39,000. Jorgensen called. On a flop of 10s-4h-4s, Jorgensen put Cunningham all in holding 9h-4c-Qh-10c for fours full and Cunningham held As-Ah-Qd-2d. An ace did not fall on the turn or river, and Allen Cunningham become our 16th place finisher.

Chris Bjorin followed Cunningham out the door soon after when he was all-in against Joe Beevers. Bjorin held Aces at the river but Beever was sitting on nines full. Bjorin was the 16th place finisher making £16,500. Justin Smith was the next out when Tomi Nyback flopped the nut flush. Smith didn’t have any redraws and exited in 14th place, also taking home £16,500.

Padraig Parkinson was eliminated next. He had flopped a straight draw, but his opponent Jason Mercier caught running aces to make trips and Parkinson was the 13th place finisher. Joe Beevers was knocked out next when his As-5s-Kc-8c ran into the Ah-Ks-Jh-10d of Jason Mercier. Beever flopped a pair of fives on a 5d-Qs-6d board, but the 9d gave Mercier a straight draw. He completed his straight draw with the 8h on the river and Beevers became the 12th place finisher, taking home £18,562.

Neil Channing was knocked out next in 11th place when his pair and straight draw couldn’t outdraw Tomi Nyback’s flopped two pair. Ilkka Koskinen then was our final elimination of the day. He was all in on the turn of 8h-7-h-3d-Jc against Theo Jorgensen. Koskinen held Ac-Jh-10h-9d for a straight and a gutshot straight flush draw. Jorgensen held Js-9s-9c-8c for jacks and eights. The river fell the Jd, which gave Jorgensen a full house and make Koskinen our final table bubble boy.

Our final nine looks like this:

Seat 1: Erik Friberg 189,000
Seat 2: David Penly 162,000
Seat 3: Jason Mercier 650,000
Seat 4: Sorel Mizzi 290,000
Seat 5: Tomi Nyback 434,000
Seat 6: Theo Jorgensen 897,000
Seat 7: Max Pescatori 126,000
Seat 8: Eric Dalby 277,000
Seat 9: Chris Ferguson 282,000

Theo Jorgensen made a late run to take the chip lead from Jason Mercier. Overall, this will be one of the stronger final tables of this World Series of Poker with several big names and a couple of bracelet winners in the mix. The final table will start at 4 p.m. London time on Friday.

Many big names put up the cash for this event. Daniel Negreanu, Jens Voertmann, Gus Hansen, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Josh Arieh, Brandon Cantu, Patrik Antonius, Ross Boatman, Phil Hellmuth, Nanad Medic, Layne Flack, John Juanda, Freddy Deeb, Eli Elezra, David Benyamine, Barny Boatman, Andy Black, Tom “Durrrr” Dwan, Thor Hansen, Doyle Brunson, Allen Cunningham, Erik Seidel, Robert Willaimson III, Chris Ferguson, and Andy Bloch all were on hand as well as many other known players.

This event gave each player the option of a free 10,000 chip rebuy that could either be taken at the beginning of their tournament or at the any time during the first 3 levels. Daniel Negreanu was the first big name to be eliminated from the event. He apparently took his rebuy at the start of the event and proceeded to lose it in quick fashion.

Action was hot and heavy early on. The 2007 WSOP Europe Pot Limit Omaha Champion Dario Alioto was eliminated shortly after Negreanu. Jens Voertmann was also eliminated around the same time. Voertmann won the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the WSOP in Vegas in June.

Gus Hansen was eliminated by Jason Mercier. At showdown the board showed Ad-8-6d-Q-J. Mercier held 8-7-6-4 for two pair and Hansen held 9-7-5-3 for a couple of draws that missed. Mike “The Mouth” Matusow did not make it to the dinner break in this event. We aren’t sure of how he was eliminated but when someone mentioned how quiet it was, we realized it was due to his departure.

Josh Arieh and Phil Ivey were eliminated not long after the dinner break. Arieh was all in against Donnacha O’Dea. Arieh had a straight and O’Dea a set of aces. The river card paired the board, giving O’Dea the full house and Arieh the shaft. Phil Ivey was down to around 3,000 after the dinner break and shortly was eliminated. He’s probably looking for Mike Matusow to try and start a Chinese Poker game.

Sherkhan Farnood was playing in this event while playing the £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. final table. On a board of 4h-Qh-3s-9h-Jd, Farnood was all in against Erik Seidel and Andreas Krause. Farnood showed Qs-8s-10c-9c for the nut straight. Seidel only held a pair of aces. Krause mucked his hand. After the hand Farnood tripled up to 37,000.

Annette Obrestad was soon eliminated by David Williams. Obrestad had flopped a full house with the board showing 5-5-7 on the flop. She had a 5-7 in her hand. Sadly, Williams had pocket sevens for the nut boat. As a result, Obrestad floated down the river.

This event will not bring John Phan his third bracelet of the year. On a flop of 8h-7h-7c, Phan bet out 3,000. Jani Sointula raised the size of the pot, followed by Phan moving all-in. Sointula called. Phan showed Ad-Ah-8c-10c for aces up. Sointula showed Qs-8s-5h-6h for two pair and the straight flush draw. The turn fell the Kh, giving Sointula the flush and the river card fell the Kc, sealing the win for Sointula.

Three big names were eliminated in short order. First Richard Ashby was eliminated by Surindar Sunar. Soon afterwards, Sunar was eliminated when his two pair were outdrawn by another opponents better two pair. Patrik Antonius went all in holding a pair of queens but the hand was outdrawn and he was sent to the rail as well.

Barry Greenstein was eliminated by Neil Channing. As a result Greenstein is short another copy of his book. Channing made the final table in the Event #1 of the World Series of Poker Europe. Adam Junglen and Tom “Durrrr” Dwan didn’t fare much better and were eliminated shortly after the beginning of the last level of the night.

David Williams had a roller coaster of a day. He was down to just 13,000 chips at one point in the evening but increased it to over 100,000 by the last level. Part of that stack came at the expense of Jeff Madsen. Williams crippled Madsen when he flopped a set of kings, outdrawing Madsens’ aces. Then shortly afterwards, Madsen was all in with a straight draw and a pair. Williams had a pair of queens and a backdoor flush draw. The board came running hearts to fill out Williams’ flush and Madsen was out the door.

Jason Mercier finished the day as the chip leader with 209,800 in chips. Shaun Deeb was next with 190,700. Bruno Fitoussi was the high pro of the day with 123,700. Other notables are David Williams at 122,400, Phil Laak at 111,400, and Andy Bloch at 109,200. Chris Ferguson, Erik Seidel, Robert Williamson III and Allen Cunningham are all around the middle of the field. Doyle Brunson is still alive in his hunt for his 11th bracelet, but he is one of the short stacks with 36,500. Don’t count him out however as this a few well timed pots could turn him from a short stack to a chip leader.

Many pros bit the dust in this day one, including fan favorite Daniel Negreanu. David Benyamine and Phil Hellmuth also did not make it through the day. 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Champion Freddy Deeb couldn’t find any magic on this day.

The day started with 165 players but in the end only 45 players remained in this Pot Limit Omaha Championship. While the pace of play on Day 1 was fast and furious, expect Thursday’s play to be a little more subdued due to the large stacks that will be in play. Players will return at 3 P.M. on Thursday London time to make a march towards the final table in this event.

Play progressed somewhat slow to begin with but soon picked up as the structure for this even seems a little fast. Phil Ivey took down a nice three way pot during a stud 8 round against Jason Newitt and Thomas Bihl. Ivey led the action on fourth and fifth streets. Bihl caught a pair of queens on sixth, and bet out showing a board of (X-X)Jc-9s-Qd-Qc. Ivey raised showing a board of (X-X) 6c-5s-6s-Jd. Newitt folded. Seventh Street was dealt face down and Bihl checked to Ivey, who fired out a bet. Bihl made the call. Ivey showed 6d-5c for his down cards for the full house and Bihl mucked. At this point in the event, Ivey was around 18,000 in chips.

Several tables had very strong lineups but none compared to table 8. Table 8 had Doyle Brunson, Chad Brown, Max Pescatori, Thor Hansen, John Juanda, Chris Bjorn, Jean-Robert Bellande, Robert Wiliamson III, and some unknown guy. Oh wait, the unknown guy is the dealer.

Chad Brown ended up being the first big name eliminated from today’s H.O.R.S.E. event. In an Omaha 8 or better round, Chad Brown made it two bets to go on a flop of 5h-2c-7h. Both Robert Williamson III and Jean-Robert Bellande made the call. The turn of the Qc and the river of the 10h were checked down. Williamson showed 8h-6c-3s-Ac for the nut low and Bellande showed 6d-3h-2h-Kc for the flush. Brown mucked his hand and headed out of the tournament area.

Andy Black was the next big name to hit the door. During a stud round, Black made a raise on Fourth Street showing a (X-X) Jd-4h. The original bettor, Ivo Donev, made the call showing (X-X) Jh-5s. Black caught a 3c on fifth and Donev caught the 3s. They both checked. On sixth, Donev fired out a bet after catching an Ah. Black only had three 25 denomination chips and made the call after catching the 2c. Donev showed Js-9h for a pair of jacks. Black showed A-Q for a wheel draw. Donev caught a nine on the river for jacks up and Black only caught a king, and Andy faded to Black.

Phil Hellmuth has been really holding his own today. He has been near the top of the chip lead for most of the session. In an Omaha 8 hand between himself, Layne Flack, and Neal Friets, Hellmuth bet out on a board of 5h-6s-4h-6d and Flack moved all in. Hellmuth and Friets called along. The river fell the Jd and Hellmuth bet out. Friets made the call. Friets showed 2s-3d-9c-7s for a seven high straight and a 6 low. Hellmuth then flipped over Ac-3c-6h-6c for quad sixes and second nut low. Flack commented, “Quad sixes and the second nut low, is that all you got?” He then mucked his hand and departed from the tournament area.

Shortly afterwards Mike “the Mouth” Matusow started razzing Hellmuth about the fact that Hellmuth has not won a bracelet in a non-holdem event. This is actually true. Hellmuth has 11 gold bracelets, but all in one form of holdem or another. Norman Chad has been quoted as saying, “He is a one trick pony, but boy, what a trick.”

H.O.R.S.E. is not the only thing being played today. During the breaks Mike Matusow, Doyle Brunson, John Juanda, and Phil Hellmuth decided to play some $1,000 a point Chinese Poker. Unfortunately for Matusow, he didn’t win a hand. The crowd could hear his tirade across the room after the break.

Thor Hansen again could not summon help from Odin and busted out from today’s event, although we do not have the details of his bustout. Dave “DevilFish” Ulliott busted out shortly after losing a big stud pot against Gary Jones “ace high.” Michael Binger was eliminated by David Williams when Binger’s buried queens could not outdraw Williams split aces. Chris Ferguson and Mike “Timex” McDonald were also casualties of the last level.

After a 12 and ½ hour session, the first day of the H.O.R.S.E. event concluded with Phil Ivey in the lead. This should come as a shock to noone since Ivey is considered by many to be the best overall poker player alive. In a shocking development to all, Phil Hellmuth is in second place with 54,200 chips. Woody Deck is third in chips at 37,500. Daniel Negreanu and Howard Lederer are both hovering around the 30,000 chip mark. At present it appears that Richard Ashby is the short stack at 3,200 in chips. For some unknown reason, Mike Matusow did not report the amount of chips he had remaining, but he is indeed still in this event. It also appears that Doyle Brunson busted somewhere around the end of the day, but we do not have any information on how this occurred.

56 players survived Day 1 of this £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. event. Tomorrow promises to be a long day as we are expected to play to the final table. With the fast structure of play, expect a lot of early bustouts and then play to slow to a grind as we approach the money bubble. Only 16 players will be paid in this event with 16th place paying £4,812. The winner of this event will take £76,999 and the coveted gold bracelet. Day 2 of this event will start Sunday at 2 p.m.

Many players arrived late for today’s tournament, including the man that historically likes to arrive late and put on a show, Phil Hellmuth. Today was no exception. Phil came in with his typical manner of going around the table and shaking everyone’s hand and letting them know that “The Man” had arrived.

Mike Matusow was wired for sound on this Day 1b. First he went into a little monologue regarding the crowd hanging around the rail. He mentioned that “There’s more people in that square than Sarah Palin was ever governor of in that little town of hers in Arkansas. Or Alaska or whatever.” Later he gave a clue regarding why he is always so wired. He said that is was coffee. Apparently the caffeine gets to him. He said, “I went from sleeping to can’t shut up.”

Jennifer Tilly and Marcus Golser were among the first big names to exit early in today’s field. Golser pushed with the powerhouse hand 8c-2d. Unfortunately, a player woke up with the “mediocre hand” A-A. The flop did come with an 8 on it, but the rest of the board bricked out and Golser hit the rail. Tilly exited much quieter and we didn’t get details on the bustout. I must say that I cannot see how she can afford to keep playing these events. After watching her play at the World Series at different times, one has to wonder who the money pit she is tapping to keep being bought into these events. Before you say Phil Laak, remember that he isn’t doing much better either. At least Laak cashed twice at the WSOP this year. Tilly was 0 for whatever.

Just before the end of the third level, both Phil Hellmuth and Annette Obrestad were eliminated. Hellmuth was all-in on a flop of 6h-8h-Qh. He held Ah-Ad, but unfortunately his opponent held Qc-Qd. As irony would have it, Hellmuth had 11 outs to win the hand. (11 is the number of bracelets Hellmuth holds.) The turn fell the 3d, which reduced his outs to 10. The river fell the 6d, which completed his opponent’s full house and sent Hellmuth packing. Annette Obrestad was all in on the turn with a pair and a flush draw, facing two players with better pairs. She was unable to neither pair her kick nor catch her flush, and her day is done.

Topics from politics to religion were discussed at today’s event. Mike Matusow and Robert Williamson III were discussing politics and Williamson said “Biden sucks . . . He’s old! He’s almost as old as McCain. That’s the only one out of the four I don’t like.” For those of you that are reading overseas, Biden is the vice-presidential candidate of John McCain in the US presidential election. Mike Matusow later on mentioned that he knew the reason why Jerry Yang won the Main Even in 2007. He said, “The reason Jerry Yang won the World Series was because he prayed harder than everyone else.”

Sadly, Mike Matusow was eliminated during level 5 of today’s event. Mike Matusow was all-in preflop and called by Costas Artemi. Matusow held pocket kings and his opponent held Ad-Kd. The flop hit neither player, but the turn produced an ace that put Artemi ahead. Matusow did not catch a miracle two outer on the river and the tournament area became significantly quieter after the hand.

In a “hand” that should have brought back great memories, the dealer at John Phan’s dealer dealt out a flop before dealing any cards to the players. Phan was greatly amused by this. David Williams at an adjoining table asked “You moved in, right?” For those of you that don’t know, during the $3,000 No Limit final table at the World Series of Poker in Vegas, John Phan and his heads up opponent moved all in blind three times in a row. The flop, turn, and river were all dealt before they turned up their cards one at a time.

The eighth and final level of the night saw the departure of Allen Cunningham. Cunningham tried to make a move from the button, pushing all in with 9d-2d. Jerome Bradpiece made the call with As-Qd. The board missed both players and Cunningham’s tournament is over.

John Phan had a roller coaster day. At one point he was around 50,000 in chips but slowly bled off chips throughout the evening. Finally in the last level, he was all in with As-Qs. Unfortunately, he was against Ks-Kd. The board missed both players and Phan had to get off the ride.

David Williams and Jean-Robert Bellande were the last two big names eliminated in the last level of play. Bellande pushed from the small blind holding 9h-8h. The big blind called with Kh-7s. The flop came with two hearts, giving Bellande hope. A king on the turn left Bellande needing a heart to win. The river fell the Ad, and Bellande was off to watch Survivor reruns. David Williams moved all in preflop with Ac-5d but ran into the pocket queens of Andy Black. The turn produced a gutshot wheel draw for Williams, but neither an ace nor a five fell on the river and Williams was gone.

48 players survived today’s Day 1b and will join the 41 player from yesterday tomorrow for Day 2. Phil Laak, Andy Bloch, and Andy Black all survived with decent stacks. Adam Junglen emerged as the chip leader, with 83,600 in chips. Junglen will enter Day 3 as the overall chip leader.

Day 2 will begin tomorrow at 1 p.m. London Time. The 90 player field will then play down to the final table.