Day 2a In The Bag; Estafanous In The Lead!
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After eight levels of intense tournament poker, Day 2a has come to a close in Event #57: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Championship!
At midday, 2,412 wide-eyed and poker-ready players walked eagerly through the doors of both the Amazon and Pavilion Rooms to see what fate awaited them throughout the course of the day.
Corwin Cole began the day as the tournament chip leader, but only saw his stack slide downward as many around him began closing ground. Multiple WSOP bracelet holder Jesper Hougaard, cash game specialists Patrik Antonius and Cole South along with Robert Mizrachi were just a few of those that rose up the leaderboard.
Unfortunately, many would find themselves on the rail including previous champions Carlos Mortensen, Berry Johnston, Tom McEvoy and Bobby Baldwin, along with 2010 bracelet winners Dutch Boyd and Daniel Alaei. The international brigade shrunk slightly with James Akenhead, Marcel Luske, Rob Hollink and Luca Pagona a few to book their flight home early.
Approximately 1,260 players have booked themselves a place on Monday for Day 3, and currently it seems as though Boulos Estafanous will be leading the charge with an amassed 344,100 in chips. Snapping on his heels however will be Randy Dorfman (337,000) Jesper Hougaard (316,200), Rodney Sherry (316,000), Sam Abueid (314,000) and Cole South (304,200).
Throw in a chipped-up Sammy Farha and Patrik Antonius, the dangerous Jason Somerville and Carter Phillips, along with previous champion Johnny Chan and a load of tournament veterans and amateurs, and it is truly still every players tournament to win!
Make sure to join the PokerNews Live Reporting Team tomorrow from 12:00 p.m PST as the cards hit the air for Day 2b where players will again begin jostling for a position where they can mount a challenge for the prize everyone is chasing; the coveted gold bracelet, title of champion and $8,944,138 in first prize money!