The final hand did not hold much drama. A nominal raise was made before the flop and both players watched a flop of 10c8c4d. After De Wolfe checked, Richey made a move on the pot, but was rewarded with a pot bet by De Wolfe. Richey continued the action with an all in and the cards were turned. Richey showed a QdJsw10h9h and De Wolfe showed AdQc8d4h. De Wolfe was in the lead, but Richey has a lot to root for on the turn and river. Both fell harmlessly and Richey only walked with the $152,618 second prize.

Event 26 ended not long after as the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Event did not take long at all to decide a winner. This is far and away the earliest evening so far for the WSOP bracelet events. The tournament came down to Tomas Alenius and Jason Tam. Tam held a considerable chip lead when they went heads up, but Alenius make a Parkeresque comeback and ended up winning the event.

The final hand had Tam raising from the button and Alenius coming right back over the top. Tam was committed at this point and put the rest of his chips in the middle for a 4 bet. The cards were turned and Alenius was way ahead with A4 to Q5. The board didn’t hit either player and Alenius had made the comeback complete by putting on a new piece of jewelry and fattening up his back account with $197,488. Tam received $122,000 for second place.

In other tournaments…

Event 28 still has a rather large field left and while it is early, getting down to a final table will definitely take until the 3am limit. If they don’t get there, they will more than likely have to come back early tomorrow to finish off the event. Joe Simmons is the current chip leader with 485,000.

They are down to the Sweet 16 in the Heads Up Championship and there are still two major names floating around. Both Johnny Chan and Jason Mercier are still alive and playing well. The bubble was 32, so these guys are deep into the cash. At stake would be record tying bracelet for Chan and of course the little matter of the $625,682 for first place. The money really starts to jump from this point forward, so expect some tightening up by the less experienced players.

The final hand of the tournament was during at Omaha-8 game. Chui was holding A5910 to Wahlbeck’s AQ88. He made a pre-flop all in move and Wahlbeck made the call. Both players missed the flop of JJ5, but the turn but Chui ahead with a 10d. However, Walhbeck picked up additional outs as he could now hit a straight in addition to his Q. Of course, the river hits continued to pop and a K showed up to give Wahlbeck both the straight and a World Championship.

Event 11 finally came to a close with Anthony Harb becoming yet another first time bracelet winner. In a tournament that seemed destined for a big name player to take down, Harb put away the likes of TJ Cloutier, Tom McEvoy and Phil Hellmuth. For his efforts, he not only gets the bracelet, but an influx of $569,199 to his bank account.

The final hand of the tournament ended when Rho flopped tow pair, but waited for the turn to make his move. If he would have gone all in off the flop of 98K, we will never know, but the J that hit on the turn sealed his fate. He pushed and Harb made the instacall with a Q10 sitting in his hand. The river was a blank (for once) and Harb won the bracelet. As the tournament director tried to affix the jewelry, Harb gave the classic quote, “Look how fat my wrist it.” Well it just gained a little more in circumference with a great new bracelet.

In other tournaments…

Phil Ivey was making a legitimate attempt at his second bracelet in Event 13, but just as the break was coming he managed to get the worst of it in a huge hand and will be the short stack as play resumes. They are down to 20 players from the original 1088 person field and will play to a bracelet on Sunday. Greg Merkow now leads the field with 932,000 in chips.
Daniel Negreanu has once again made it to one of the top spots of the leader board in Event 14. With only 11 players left, he is by far the best at the tables. Daniel took this event down last season and it would be absolutely incredible to see him manage to do the same again here. After a miserable 2007 WSOP, Daniel bounced back with some decent success in 2008 with 5 cashes, 2 final tables and one bracelet. He has already had two cashes (including this one) in this year’s event and if he can manage to win the bracelet here, he is poised at a run of his best WSOP ever.

Events 15 and 16 both wrapped up their first days in fine fashion. Only 165 players remain from the original field of 655 in Event 15. Calixto Clemenceau leads the way with 186,300 in chips. Event 16 has also had a very good amount of eliminations as the late starting tournament of the day. Only 97 players remain from a starting field of 359. That is rather unbelievable considering the fact that this is a Seven Card Stud Event. David Levi is at the top of the leader board with 49.600 in chips, but there are still a ton of big name players left in this one including Jason Mercier (already has a bracelet this year), Dutch Boyd, Jeff Lisaandro, Thor Hansen and Eli Elezra. The pros still have a legitimate shot at taking this one down.

The final hand of the tournament, Drache found himself very short stacked and in deep trouble. The 100,000/200,000 blinds had all but gobbled up his stack and it was time for an all in. Drache raised on the river for his final couple of chips and that was all she wrote. Ellis finished the hand by hitting a flush and Ellis was sent to the rail. Ellis walks away with $373,751, a bracelet and the respect of every player that sat down at his tables. Other notable finishes were Max Pescatori (4th), Greg Mueller (7th), Jeffrey Lisandro (9th) and Daniel Negreanu (10th).

Event #8, the $2,500 Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball No Limit Event, was about as entertaining as it gets. In all likelihood, Ivey had more on side bets than he would win by taking down the bracelet, but he can’t collect unless he gets the jewelry. It was rumored that he stood to win more than $1,000,000 if he took down a tournament.

John Monnette was equal to the task and the two players went head to head for over three hours. At one point, Ivey was all but out and then made a huge run and it looked like the tournament was over as Ivey had over 900,000 of the 1,100,000 in chips. Then with two quick double ups, Monnette had Ivey on the ropes. It was Ground Hog Day all over again as within a few minutes, the situation was reversed and Ivey was back on top. After a few hands, the chip stacks evened back out and the player started trading blinds again for a bit.

The final hand finally happened about 3 and a half hours into heads up play. Monnette was on the button and made a raise when Ivey pushed everything into the middle of the table. Monnette never hesitated and everyone stood up in anticipation. Each player would be taking only one card on the draw. Ivey has holding 7-6-4-2 and Monnette held 9-7-5-2. Monnette was unlucky and drew a 7 to give him a pair and was now officially dead in the hand. Ivey turned over his 5 and the tournament was over.

Ivey now has 6 WSOP bracelets and not one of them is for a NL event. While Ivey is taking down $96,367 for his win, the real payday will come when he walks around the room and collects the money from all the side bets that are out there for a player to win a WSOP event. The will all more than likely ante up again, but Ivey has to feel good about this one.

In other tournaments…

Event #7 is at the final table, but we are still quite a ways from a winner. As of this posting, there are still 7 players remaining in the $1,500 No Limit Event. Craig McConville is currently the chip leader with 3,100,000.

Event #9, the 6 Handed $1,500 NL Hold’em Event is now down to 42 players. This one still has a long way to go with barely a recognizable name left in the field. There has been plenty of action and the number by the end of play today should have us pretty close to a final table.

Event #10, the $2,500 Pot Limit Mixed Game has players dropping like flies. As of this posting, there were only 36 player remaining in what appears to be one of the better fields for this deep in the tourney. A name we have not heard much from in recent times, David Sklansky is still hanging in but times are getting dire with only 32,000 left in his stack.

Event #11 started today and we have seen about half of the field walk away from the tables. The $2,000 NL Hold’em event is moving a bit slower than the bulk of the other tournaments, but the pace is still okay to hit the final table as scheduled. The story of the day in this tournament is Jason Mercier who is making an early bid for his second bracelet of the season.

The second World Championship event kicked off late tonight with the $10,000 World Championship Mixed Event. Negreanu, who has already gone deep in the 7 Stud World Championship Event is playing great poker and catching cards. This is not good news for the rest of the field as there are few better when he is on his game. He is already at the top of the leader board and seems like he is a man possessed. We all know how aggressive he is and he is just as likely to continue his run as he is to be broke by the time the blinds get back to him. However, after last year’s showing, you would have to think he will play a little more conservative when he gets a big chip lead this time around. Forget that, its Kid Poker, full steam ahead!

Jason Mercier won his first WSOP bracelet in Event #5, the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event. He did what he was supposed to do as the most talented player on the final table, win! With all of the other professionals coming up short, he finally took one down in a large field. In all, 809 players entered and Jason will take home $237,462 for his efforts. Jason Mercier is a young player, but you would never know it from his demeanor at the tables. Calm, cool and collected is an understatement. This is a name that we are going to hear a lot about in future.

Event #6, the World Championship 7 Card Stud event was also supposed to crown a champion by the end of the evening, but last report still had 2 people remaining. Look for the final results of this tournament in the next report. All we can really say is that Eric Drache and Freddie Ellis are still alive.

Event #7, the $1,500 NL Hold’em event wrapped up day two with only 59 players remaining. This was another huge field with 2791 players starting the tournament. There are very few big names left in this tournament and an unknown by the name of Jason Kalb is currently leading the way with 680,000. Plenty of short stacks in play here and we can expect some fast and furious eliminations when play resumes.

Event #8, the $2,500 Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball wrapped up play with only 7 people remaining. The one name that sticks out like a sore thumb on the leader board is Phil Ivey. While the chip leader has a better than 2:1 advantage on him, we all know his aggressive style could have him up there in a heartbeat. This is the table to watch today! Here are the rankings and chip counts for the remaining players:

1) John Monnette – 259,000
2) Raphael Zimmerman – 238,000
3) Yan Chen – 159,000
4) Elia Ahmadian – 139,900
5) Eric Kesselman – 119,400
6) Phil Ivey – 106,300
7) Rodeen Talebi – 94,500

Wednesday was a busy day as there were also 2 new tournaments starting off. Event #9, the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em 6 Handed event got started with a field of 1459 players. It was an absolute massacre with 1354 players going to the rail on day one. This year’s series has proven the effect that both television and the internet have had on poker. Play is aggressive and fearless. It is tough to recall so many players going out so early in tournaments. As play wrapped up, Doug Lee was leading the way with 200,000 in chips.

The last event of the day was the $2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha game. 455 players entered the tournament and almost 300 of them were shown the door. Seidel’s tournament was all but ended when he flopped middle pair on an all in, but it could not hold up against a flush draw that hit on the river. He was left with a mere 125 in chips and they quickly found their way into the center of the table. Day two will resume on Thursday.

So far, this is a pretty interesting WSOP. The early going seems to be fast and furious and then they all slam on the brakes once the final two tables or so are reached. You can see a dramatic change in the way people are playing from that point forward. The pros continue to have a tough time of it, but they are starting to break through. Mercier is an up and coming young player who made his mark and Ivey is still alive on the final table. Two more tournaments get kicked off on Thursday as the craziness continues.

The best two players left in the field also happen to hold the number one and two spots on the leader board and have a significant edge over the remaining players. The winner is going to walk away with $771,106. Your standings and chip counts for the final table are:

1. Dan Heimiller (4,155,000)
2. Steve Sung (3,395,000)
3. Vilandos Panayote (1,940,000)
4. James Matz III (1,885,000)
5. Jeff Oakes (1,680,000)
6. Lary Sidebotham (1,500,000)
7. Phong Huynh (1,310,000)
8. Nathan Mullen (1,120,000)
9. Danny Fuhs (965,000)

The $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Event has also reached its final table. Event 5 also had a strong turnout with 809 players starting the event. An Tran and Jason Mercier are the two biggest names left playing, but the lead is held by Kevin Iacofano. He only had one WSOP cash under his belt and it was a 53rd place finish in a NL event. It will be interesting to see how he handles the final table pressure. Your final tables chip counts and standing are:

1. Kevin Iacofano (770,000)
2. Jonathon Tare (639,000)
3. An Tran (445,000)
4. Jason Mercier (384,400)
5. Dario Alioto (315,000)
6. Matt Giannetti (311,000)
7. Seven Burkholder (263,000)
8. Chris Biondino (182,000)

Event 6, The $10,000 7 Card Stud World Championship is the third final table of the day. There are only 11 players remaining and when this tournament gets back up, expect some chips to be flying with the remaining pros putting extreme pressure on the rookies. There are still some huge names left and this tournament is the best shot of a big name pro taking down a bracelet so far. Even though Negreanu is short stacked, do not count him out if he gets a couple of decent hands early. However, the smart money should be on Lisandro as he is sitting pretty and playing great cards. Rankings are chip counts are as follows:

1. Eric Drache (785,000)
2. Hasan Habib (593,000)
3. Freddie Ellis (580,000)
4. Jeff Lisandro (524,000)
5. Ville Wahlbeck (472,000)
6. Max Pescatori (401,000)
7. Ivan Schertzer (368,000)
8. Gret Mueller (208,000)
9. Daniel Negreanu (191,000)
10. Ray Dehkarghani (141,000)
11. Tim Phan (45,000)

In other tournaments…

Event 7, $1,500 NL Hold’em, started out with another large field. 2791 players showed up and almost 80% of them have been shown the door so far. The pro carnage in this tournament was worse than usual. One thing you can always count on though is an early exit from Chris Moneymaker. Once again, he busts out early and does not make the money. In addition to Moneymaker, Ferguson, Juanda, Deeb and Rousso are all looking on from the rail. 297 players will make the money and top prize is $666,727.

Event 8, the $2,500 Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball (No Limit) has had one of the smallest fields of the series so far. Only 148 players signed up and it would be highly surprising to see anyone but a pro take this one down. Mostly because the game is a little off the wall and many people don’t have a clue how to play it. If you ever want a real shot at a bracelet, learn how to play stud, razz and triple draw and you will find yourself in small fields that you just may be able to sneak your way through. Still standing in this event are the likes of Phil Ivey, Erik Lindgren, Freddy Deeb and Phil Hellmuth. The biggest surprise has to be Negreanu going out early as he had to be one of the favorites to take this one down.

Two more tournaments will kick off today so there will be plenty of action to catch up by the end of the night. Keep coming back for the latest at the 2009 World Series of Poker!

Event #5, the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Event, is now down to 27 players. This was supposed to be the game that was going to be featured on the live stream, but they have already stated that they will change the game to the NL Event #4 if that gets extended. The current leader is Jason Mercier with 262,000 in chips.

Event #6, The $10,000 7 Card Stud World Championship, is the third event that is being played down to f final table tonight. There are still 48 players remaining from the 142 man field and play in this one has been dragging for both days. Greg Mueller has a huge chip lead at 206,000. The next closest player is Hoyt Corkins with 148,000. Todd Brunson is still on the leader board, but he is slowly slipping. However, the bulk of the chips in play are sitting in front of the top 8 players so anyone on the front page is still very much in this to make it to the final table.

Two events started today, the $1,500 NL Hold’em event and the always fun $2,500 Deuce to Seven Lowball No Limit tournament. The leader board in the NL Hold’em event is once again littered with names that most people will not recognize. The big name pros are having an extremely hard time in the NL Hold’em events as every one of them has a huge target on their head. With the fields being so large, it is hard to imagine that we are going to see any major pros hoisting a NL bracelet.

The Deuce to Seven Lowball event seems like it is the place to be for a good time tonight. The sheer nature of the game lends itself to a fun time and the pros are eating it up. Just about every major player in the game has signed up for this one. If you are looking for a pro to take this one down, the money would have to be on Ivey or Negreanu. Both players are among the best in the world at this off the wall game and the amateurs are going to have a hard time keeping up with these two.

With all of the events going on, there are quite a few players that have been multi-tabling. It is not something that you see very often, but everyone is looking for a bracelet and players like Negreanu seem to be entered in every event on the board. The tournament staff is doing an incredible job of keeping everything moving and all of the players straight. Tomorrow could be pure insanity though with 3 final tables going and a total of 7 tournaments in all. Should be a fun day!