1,476 players took to the green felt on Day 2a of the WSOP Main event, but only 630 survived.
Former professional hockey player Eric Cloutier left the confusion of Day 1a behind him to accumulate a monster 384,000 stack, following a hot run of cards after Level 8. Cloutier had incorrectly filed his Day 1a chip count as 150,750 as opposed to 15,750 in a clerical error. Cloutier mused,
‘Funny story is that when I woke up the next day I had about 30 text messages from Canada, Brazil, Louisiana saying congratulations. I was like ‘Why?’ Then I got to the tenth text from my friend in Canada that said I was the chip leader. I went to Antonio Esfandiari’s room to look on the computer and there I was as chip leader. So I called Jack (Effel) to tell him I’m not the chip leader.’
Full Tilt associate Greg Mueller also surpassed the 300,000 chip mark. Day 2A saw many notable names hit the rail. Mike Matusow’s WSOP came to an unceremonious end as his KQ ran into pocket kings. The likes of Gus Hansen, Johnny Chan, Phil Laak, Tony G, Barry Greenstein and 1972 World Champion Amarillo Slim all bowed out. Meanwhile Shane Warne continues to bamboozle opponents with his poker googlies and he, along with the likes of Andy Black, Sam Farha, Rolande de Wolfe, Erik Siedel, Jimmy Fricke and Chris Ferguson will advance to Day 3. Day 2b commences today. Total prize money awarded in World Series of Poker history has now surpassed the $1 billion mark, with $174 million alone awarded in the 2009 series. It’s a far cry from the early days, when just a few local regulars contested the Main Event.