Barry Greenstein, Lyle Berman and Doyle Brunson headline a group of 67 players vying for a first-place prize of $1,989,120 and the inaugural Chip Reese Memorial Trophy. Brunson and Greenstein have been hovering near the chip lead since the end of Day 1, but Berman picked up momentum by crippling Mike Matusow in the Stud-8 round — the same Matusow who began harassing Berman as soon as he joined the table.
Joseph Michael is one of the surprise names at the top of the Day 2 chip counts with over 400K ñ but not to those who have run into him online. Bigjoe2003, as heís known on the internet, is one of the more prominent high-stakes sit-and-go players around and has stepped up to play with the big boys at the Rio.
James Mackey is another of the young guns firing bullets in his first H.O.R.S.E. event. Already with a WSOP bracelet and a runner-up finish under his belt, the calm youngster from Missouri is once again displaying his talent at limit games – a rarity given the fact that he began his poker career online with the rest of the teenage no-limit junkies.
Justin Bonomo and Tom Dwan are two of the other young rising stars attempting to place their name amongst the all-time greats, but theyíll need to battle their way through a list of polished professionals that includes Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren and Steve Zolotow. Zolotow made a big splash near the conclusion of the day when he eliminated defending champion Freddy Deeb in the Omaha-8 Round. Deeb flopped top two pair and got his all of his chips in against Zolotowís set of aces. Phil Hellmuth was seen consoling Deeb in the hallway after his exit from the Amazon Room.
Others with big stacks going into Day 3 of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. are Chris Reslock, Mihn Ly and limit hold ëem expert Bill Chen.
The winner of Thursdayís $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo final table (Event 43) was Germanyís Martin Klaser, a 21-year-old student eager to eventually become a professional poker player. He got his foot in the door, earning $216,249 by weaving through a tough table that included veterans Casey Kastle and Eric Seidel. Seidel missed out on his ninth WSOP bracelet by taking fourth in the event.
Jesse Chinni stormed to the chip lead of the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em w/Rebuys as play ended early Friday morning. Chinni eliminated Jamie Rosen on the final table bubble with a flopped full house against Rosenís trip threes. He will hold more than twice as many chips as any other player when action kicks off at 2:00 PT on Friday.
Scott Freeman, better known by his online handle ìSCTrojansî, will join Chinni at his second final table of this yearís World Series; Freeman took ninth in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em (Event 21) on June 11th. Other notables reaching the 1,000 No Limit Hold’em w/Rebuys final table were Alex Bolotin and Albert Iverson. Bolotin will be showcased at his third final table already of this World Series ñ all in No Limit Hold ëem. He took eighth in the $2,000 (Event 7) for $72,436 and fourth in the $3,000 (Event 29) for $137,343
Ninety-six of the original 805 players will return for Day 2 of the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-handed event. Notables at the top of the leaderboard include Nick Binger, Eugene Todd and Davidi Kitai, who already earned a bracelet this week for his victory in the $2,000 Pot Limit Hold ëem event. Alex Jacob, Shannon Shorr and Darrell Dicken are all in the hunt for a massive first prize of $ 911,855.
And finally, Marco Traniello, Ryan Hughes, and who else but John Phan are the chip leaders of the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi/Low event. One-hundred forty-four players will return to the Rio at 3:00 PT on Friday. Phan is looking to take home his third bracelet of the series ñ and all within two weeks! Phil Hellmuth, Men ìThe Masterî Nguyen and David Singer will all be in his way.
