WSOP Lake Tahoe Main Event Day 2 | 2007 WSOP Circuit Event - Lake Tahoe

11-17-2007 21:43 UTC-4

Early Chip Leader Kevin Vanderbeek Eliminated

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Kevin Vanderbeek started the day with 88,000 in chips and maintained the tournament chip lead for much of the day. In a shocking turn of events, Vanderbeek's run has come to an end after a major confrontation with new tournament chip leader Michael Banducci.

Vanderbeek had made it 11,000 to go from late position and Banducci re-popped it 16,500 more; Vanderbeek called.

The flop came {Q-Spades}

and Banducci led out with a 20,000 bet. Vanderbeek then moved all in over the top and Banducci insta-called, tabling pocket aces; Vanderbeek produced A-Q for top pair, top kicker.

Vanderbeek would need to spike one of the two remaining queens in the deck to stay alive, but the turn and river came 9-9, effectively eliminating Vanderbeek from the main event.

For his 14th place finish, Vanderbeek took home $8,814 in prize money.

Tags: Kevin Vanderbeek

11-17-2007 21:53 UTC-4

Lane Eliminated by Fox

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The eliminations are happening at an insanely fast pace and we've just lost another one in Dennis Lane who was sent to the rail by Dustin Fox.

The money went in on the {9-Hearts}

flop and Fox had the best of it, revealing {A-Clubs}

for top pair, top kicker; Lane tabled {A-Spades}

and would need to catch a two to stay alive. The turn and river came {J-Spades}

,

and Fox's A-K would hold up to take down the pot.

Lane took hom $8,814 for his 13th place finish.

Tags: Dennis Lane

11-17-2007 22:00 UTC-4

Ferguson Doubles Through Banducci; Takes the Chip Lead!

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In a hand that saw a slew of pre-flop raising and re-raising, Chris Ferguson found himself in a coinflip situation against Michael Banducci, holding A-K against Banducci's pocket queens. The pot was worth a little more than 250,000 in chips - hands down the biggest pot of the tournament, thus far.

Chris spiked an ace on the flop, which was all he'd need to take down the pot, earning himself a commanding chip lead over the field. Though it was a monstrous hit to Banducci's stack, he's still sitting with a very manageable 130,000 in chips.

11-17-2007 22:08 UTC-4

Dinner Break

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Chris "Jesus" Ferguson owns the top stack heading into the dinner break after winning a pivotal hand against Michael Banducci. There are 12 players remaining in the field, all fighting for a spot at the Bluff Media Final Table, which will be broadcast live over the Internet on a one-hour tape delay tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. PST, on the official WSOP website.

Updated chip counts will be available shortly. We'll return at approximately 7:00 p.m. PST for our continued coverage of Day 2 action, as we find out which nine players will be returning tomorrow to play for over $200,000 in first place prize money. Stay with us!

Tags: Chris Ferguson

Level: 12

Blinds: 2,000/4,000

Ante: 500

11-17-2007 23:24 UTC-4

Play Resumes

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The players have returned from the dinner break and the cards are in the air.

Here's (roughly) how the remaining 12 contestants stack up:

Chris Ferguson: 265,000
Aaron Kanter: 185,000
Michael Banducci: 165,000
Gabriel Testa: 152,000
Sylvester "Vesty" Geoghegan: 125,000
Mark Bonsack: 118,000
Dustin Fox: 110,000
Frank Lee: 96,000
John Thomas: 60,000
Travis Erdman: 46,000
Mark Simmons: 39,500
George Saca: 36,000

Tags: Chris Ferguson

11-17-2007 23:29 UTC-4

Substitution?

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At first glance, the player sitting in seat nine at the Bluff Feature table looks like a completely new player. A closer look reveals one John Thomas, who has been with us throughout the Main Event.

Thomas has donned a green and purple baseball hat lined with long, fake hair since coming back from the break.

Tags: John Thomas

11-17-2007 23:43 UTC-4

Kanter Absorbs a Hit, Then Doubles Up

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Aaron Kanter appears to be on quite the roller coaster ride as of late, having lost a serious portion of his stack to Mark Bonsack on one hand, then doubling up through Michael Banducci moments later.

The hand against Bonsack saw Kanter get all of his money in on a jack-high flop holding pocket aces; Bonsack, however, had flopped a set of jacks and would go on to take down the pot. Kanter was left with approximately 43,000 in chips after the hand.

Then, just a couple of minutes later, Kanter was able to run down Michael Banducci's pocket kings holding {A-Hearts}

. All of the money went in before the flop, and the cards panned out: {7-Clubs}

, giving Kanter trip queens and a little extra breathing room.

Tags: Aaron Kanter

11-17-2007 23:56 UTC-4

Ferguson Eliminates Kanter

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Tournament chip leader Chris Ferguson just added to his field-topping stack with the recent elimination of Aaron Kanter.

The hand saw Chris make it 11,000 to go before the flop from the cutoff position, and Kanter responded by moving all in over the top of the raise from the big blind. Ferguson made the call and tabled {A-Hearts}

; Kanter showed the {Q-Hearts}

.

The board filled out {5-Diamonds}

and Ferguson's ace high was good enough to take down the pot.

Ferguson moved past the 300k threshold in chips with the win, and Kanter took a trip to the pay station to collect his $10,170 12th-place payday.

Tags: Aaron Kanter

11-18-2007 00:08 UTC-4

George Saca Gaining Momentum

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George Saca is quickly making a case for himself as the Day 2 MVP. George started the day with just 11,400 in chips -- the third smallest stack of the field. He now has close to 100,000 chips and is one of our final 11 players.

Throughout the day, he's maneuvered the short stack like a seasoned pro, taking down pot after pot with well-timed raises and selective aggression. Most recently, he took 27,000 from Dustin Fox as the two battled in the blinds. Fox opened for 12,000 from the small blind and Saca made the call in the big.

The flop came {3-Hearts}

and Fox led out with a 15,000 bet. A fraction of a section after Fox had pushed his raise across the betting line, Saca moved all in. Fox folded after some considerable thought, and Saca showed him {K-Hearts}

before raking the pot.

Tags: George Saca