Paddy Power Poker

A monster 2,924 strong field took to the green felt on Day 2b of the WSOP Main Event at the Rio casino. A host of stellar names were seen competing, including the likes of Tom Dwan, Jennifer Harman and Bertrand ‘Elky’ Grospellier.

Canadian Erik Lindgren’s miserable World Series continued, as he was sent to the rail following a bad beat. On a board of 9-8-4 Lindgren’s QQ had his opponent’s JJ dominated, however a J on the river condemned the Full Tilt pro to the sidelines. Phil Ivey meanwhile holds an ominous 325,000 chip stack, which saw him finish the day in 6th place. Ivey had declined media coverage on the opening day of the main event, citing exhaustion after spending nearly two days playing at Bobby’s Room. Bobby’s Room, located at the Bellagio, is the high stakes arena for top pros, where $1000/$2000 blinds make for brutal action.

Phil Hellmuth rode his luck to accumulate a respectable 135,000 stack,  but not without controversy on the way. Featuring on the ESPN coverage table, a fellow player called Dan Druff tried to give the 11 times bracelet winner a hairy time. When Hellmuth raised UTG, Druff sarcastically chimed, ‘Can you see my cards? Oh wait, I forgot, we're not on Ultimate Bet’ (referring to the Ultimate Bet cheating scandal, which saw UB employees with master accounts swindle players out of thousands). Rather than back down, Hellmuth responded, ‘So a company has some low-level employees do some dishonest things that people don't know about for awhile. Do you blame everyone in the company for that?’. Before discussions could go any further, a WSOP floor man intervened, and gave players a final warning.

Chip leader is Amir Lehavot, who roosts on a 610,500 stack. Other notables to advance into Day 3 included Stud master Jeff Lisandro, and Simpsons star Sam Simon. Hevad Khan, known for his final table antics two years ago at the Main Event, also progresses.