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Event #57, $10,000 Main Event, End of Day 2B ReportWorld Series of Poker Main Event Headlines (Day 2-B)
The Main Event ContinuesThe 2009 WSOP Main Event continued with the second of two flights of the jointly designated “Day Twos.” Day One was played over the initial four days of the tournament, which began on July 3rd. Day 2-A and 2-B (Day Two) were played July 7-8. Day 2-A began with 1,478 players. The day ended with only 607 survivors. Day 2-B began with 2,922 players. The day ended with only 1,436 survivors. This means 2,044 players remain in contention for the 2009 world poker championship. This day included the largest number of restarts ever in WSOP history. Normally, the field is reduced to about half the starting size after one full day of play. But due to larger starting stacks this year (30,000 in chips) combined with a larger-than-expected turnout for Days 1-C and 1-D, this created a record carryover for Day 2-B. This is the 42nd day of the WSOP. Play continues for seven more days, plus the finale to be played in November. Tomorrow (Thursday) is an off day. This is the first day of the WSOP with no official tournaments, other than the Media Invitational. A media press conference is also scheduled for 11 am at the Rio. Any player dealt four jacks in this year’s Main Event receives a special prize from Jack Link’s Beef Jerky valued at $100. So far, 27 packages have been given away (through six completed days). Play on Day 2-B began on July 8, 2009 at 12:15 pm. Play on Day 2-BDefending champion Peter Eastgate remains very much alive in the 2009 Main Event. He was down to just 8,000 in chips late in the day but went on a fortuitous rush during the final hour of Day 2 and ended up with about an average-sized stack entering Day 3. Former world champions who continued play on Day 2-B included – Bobby "the Owl" Baldwin (1978), Phil Hellmuth (1989), Dan Harrington (1995), Scotty Nguyen (1998), Robert Varkonyi (2002), Joe Hachem (2005), and Peter Eastgate (2008). Notable celebrities who continued play on Day 2-B included – Lou Diamond Phillips, Robert Iler, Sam Simon, and Marlon Wayans. Phil Hellmuth was placed at ESPN’s feature table. Players competed for four complete levels. Play ended after Level 9. When play resumes at Level 10, blinds will be 600-1,200 with a 200 ante. The average stack size is about 105,000. Day 2-B started with a field of 2,922 players and ended with 1,436 survivors. This means only 49 percent of starters survived past the second day. Players who survived Day 2-B will return to continue their quest for the 2009 world poker championship gold bracelet and $8.5 million in prize money on July 10th, starting at noon. They will merge into one combined field with the survivors of Day 2-A (played on the previous day). Day 3 will be the first time this year all players play in the same day. Play on Day Two ended at 10:40 pm. This is expected to be the last "short day" of the Main Event. Most remaining days are predicted to go at least five levels. Day 2-B Chip Leaders (More about Amir Lehavot)The overall chip leader is Amir Lehavot. He is a 38-year-old poker pro who lives in Weston, Florida -- near Ft. Lauderdale. Lehavot was born in Israel. He arrived in the U.S. at the age of 16. Prior to playing poker for a living, Lehavot worked as an engineer, specializing in design. Although all players started the tournament with 30,000 in chips, during his low point on Day 1-D, Lehavot was down to 7,000 in chips. He crawled back up the leaderboard and ended the day with 80,000 in chips. On Day 2-B, Lehavot took his initial stack of 80,000 and ran it up to 610,500. He is currently ranked first out of the 2,044 remaining players. This marks Lehavot’s third consecutive year to play in the Main Event. He has yet to cash in a WSOP tournament. However, he did go deep last year (without cashing). Lehavot recently started a poker website (with strategy content) which can be found at: www.pokerwit.com. The site contains Lehavot’s comments about key hands he played at various times during the WSOP. Lehavot’s poker nickname is “AmirSF.” Prior to moving to Florida, Lehavot lived in San Francisco, CA. QUOTES: "During Day One, I was at 7,000 (in chips). So, it really feels nice to come back. I even had to make a suck out on Day One. So, it feels nice." "I had some really nice hands most of the day, and (30 minutes before Day 2 ended), I had a huge hand. I got another 250,000 in chips. I had just moved to this table and had just sat down. There was this other big stack that had 250,000. I had pocket threes and flopped a set. Most of my chips came from that one pot." "Last year (I played at the WSOP), I got up to 200,000. But I got too aggresive and lost it." "It feels great. But I have played in a lot of tournaments and I know. There is a long way to go and it does not necessarily mean that much (to be chip leader) at this point. It's nice, but there is still a long way to go." "If I cash, it is really not lk\ife-changing for me. I am looking to go deep." The highest-ranked former WSOP gold bracelet winner from Day 2 is Phil Ivey, from Las Vegas, NV. Ivey is now in the top 20, with 346,200 in chips. Combined NotesHere is the current status of all former WSOP Main Event champions who played in this year’s championship:
Here is the current status of all former WSOP “Player of the Year” champions who played in this year’s championship:
Here is the current status of those players with notable results from this year’s WSOP:
Here is the current status of notable non-pro celebrities from this year’s Main Event:
Here is the current status of last year’s “November Nine” (the 2009 Main Event Final Table participants):
Daily elimination percentages are as follows:
The Top-12 overall chip leaders going into Day 3 are:
Of the Top 100 players in chip standings from Day 2-A, 42 are international (non-American) players. Nations amidst the Top 100 includes:
Of the Top 100 players in chip standings from Day 2-B, 33 are international (non-American) players. Nations amidst the Top 100 includes:
Putting Day Two into PerspectiveIn 2008, at the conclusion of Day 2, the eventual champion Peter Eastgate was ranked in 484th place. In 2007, at the conclusion of Day 2, the eventual champion Jerry Yang was ranked in 26th place. In 2006, at the conclusion of Day 2, the eventual champion Jamie Gold was ranked in 155th place. Based on WSOP figures during the mega-era (2006 to present), five out of six Day Two chip leaders have cashed. The previous results are as follows: 2008 2-A – Brian Schaedlich finished in 456th place 2007 2-A – Jeff Banghart finished in 41st place 2006 2-A – Yuriy Kozinskiy did not cash |
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