2011 World Series of Poker Day 35: Hellmuth Rising in $50,000 Poker Player's Championship
Day 35 of the 2011 World Series of Poker was primarily an off day for the Series. While many in Vegas were celebrating our nation's independence, some players still had bracelets to try to win. The field in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event played through the money and significantly thinned as players began the march to the final table. Also, Monday was moving day in the $50,0000 Poker Player's Championship as players tried to amass chips in hopes to make it through to Day 4 with a shot to win the most coveted bracelet among pros.
Event #54: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Fields from the weekend combined and returned to the Rio on Monday for Day 2 of the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event where 638 players remained and the first order of business was to burst the money bubble. In just over a level, the field was trimmed to 468, and everyone remaining either left or will leave with a payday.
Some notable players that finished in the money on Monday were Angel Guillen, Paul Magriel, Greg Raymer, Jeff Madsen, Fatima Moreira De Melo, Shane Schleger, James Schaaf, Terrence Chan, and Vitaly Lunkin.
At the end of Day 2, 45 players remain and are scheduled to return to the Rio on Tuesday to play to the final table and the bracelet. Anibal Andres will lead the returning field with 799,000, followed by Stanislav Alekhin with 786,000. Play will resume in this event at 1430 PDT (2130 GMT) on Tuesday.
Find all the action for Day 2 of this event in our live reporting pages.
Event #55: $50,000 Poker Player's Championship
Monday was moving day for the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship. The day started with 74 players looking to build a solid stack to make a serious run at this title. Ben Lamb started day as the chip leader but by the end of the day, the poker world would once again be watching Phil Hellmuth.
The field was significantly thinned during the day as many huge names fell. Among those not returning for Day 4 are John Racener, Shawn Buchanan, Carlos Mortensen, Bertrand Grospellier, Erick Lindgren, Chad Brown, Eugene Katchalov, Jennifer Harman, David Benyamine, Matt Hawrilenko, and 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Champion David Bach.
Gus Hansen was the first player to amass a million chips and held a sizable chip lead for most of the day but he slipped a bit toward the end of the day and finished with around 774,000. The big story of the day, however, is yet another deep run by Phil Hellmuth. Another bracelet watch is in effect as Hellmuth finished the day on Monday fifth in chips with 1.17 million.
Josh Arieh catapulted into the chip lead by the end of play on Day 3. He will return with 1.8 million in chips. Brian Rast follows with 1.6 million. Last year's runner-up in this event, Vladimir Shchemelev, is fourth in chips with 1.81 million. The field was cut to 29 players on Monday, 16 of whom will receive a payday on Tuesday. In addition, action may even reach the final table. Play will resume at 1500 PDT (2200 GMT) on Tuesday.
Find out how Hellmuth moved up to the top of the leaderboard in our live reporting blog.
On Tap
Players in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event are scheduled to play to the final table and maybe even the bracelet on Tuesday. The $50,000 Poker Player's Championship will play through the most profitable money bubble of the year and the remaining 16 players will start their battle for the final table. Finally, the last two preliminary events kick off. The final $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event should draw a strong field as players take their last shot at a no-limit hold'em bracelet prior to the Main Event. Later, the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo event will kick off.
Podcast
The PokerNews Podcast crew was out celebrating on July 4 and will return on Tuesday to go over all that happened over the weekend and on Monday. In the meantime, check out our archives for some of our recent shows, including our WSOP Ladies Event edition with hosts Kristy Arnett, Elaine Chaivarlis, and Lynn Gilmartin.
The PokerNews hostesses put the sexy back into the podcast. Listen to it in our archives.
Video of the Day
The World Series of Poker just wouldn't be the same without PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes and his little shark. Lynn Gilmartin caught up with the colorful pro on Monday during Day 2 of the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event and spoke with him about what it takes to get through a massive field and about his WSOP in general.
The series is winding down, but our coverage isn't. Follow PokerNews on Facebook and Twitter.
