WSOP Event #2 Recap – $40,000 NL Holdem Day 1
The first open event of the World Series of Poker kicked off on Thursday with the $40,000 NL Holdem Event. 201 players put up the massive $40,000 buy-in for this event. Many of the top names in the poker world came out for this event. Among those in attendance were Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Michael DeMichele, Daniel Negreanu, and Mike Matusow.
The event was a perpetual who’s who of both live and online poker. However, there were a few notable names that did not play in the event. Gus Hansen, Allen Cunningham, Jeff Madsen, and even 8 time bracelet winner Erik Seidel chose to sit out of this event. Seidel had an important excuse as he was attending the graduation of one of his children. It goes to show that for some, there are things more important in life than poker. Phil Hellmuth waited until almost the last minute to register for the event, and in true Hellmuthian fashion, he made his customary grand entrance.
Jonathan Little, Daniel Negreanu, and John Juanda were among those eliminated in the early going of the event. Doyle Brunson showed the field that he can still hang with the best in the world as he built his stack up to over 200,000 and chips and built his stack to 244,000 by the end of the day. One of the early stories of the event was Chris Moneymaker. Moneymaker shocked a lot of people when he vaulted into the top 10 in chips for the event. The 2004 Main Event Champion seems determined to prove that he still has what it takes to compete at this level.
2009 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate will have to wait a bit before getting his next bracelet as Charles Lehr knocked out Eastgate with a set of jacks. Johnny Chan will also have to wait to tie Phil Hellmuth for the all-time bracelet lead as he was knocked out by Vanessa Rousso. Rousso has been on an incredible heater lately having finished runner-up at the National Heads-Up Championships and taking down the EPT High Rollers Event in Monte Carlo.
Andy Black now has an autographed copy of Ace on the River as he eliminated Barry Greenstein from this event. Chris Ferguson was one of the victims of the Moneymaker steamroller. Annie Duke was shown the door by Antonio Esfandiari.
By the end of the day, only 89 players remained to move on to Day 2 of the event. Only 27 players will receive prize money, with first place taking home a whopping $1.89 Million.
Bruno Fitoussi is the current chip leader with 812,500 in chips. Chris Moneymaker continues to roll and is 2nd in chips with 805,000. Other players that remain in strong contention are Justin Bonomo, Michael DeMichelle, Andy Black, Phil Gafond, and Ted Forrest. Other players that can still make a move into contention include Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Huck Seed, and Greg Raymer. Hoyt Corkins and Mike Matusow are among the short stacks and need to make a move to have any shot at this title.
Day 2 of this event kicks off on Friday. We will bring you a recap of the action as the players begin the march to the money.
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