Now that the hum of the rest of the 2011 World Series of Poker has come to a halt, as all but the Main Event are completed, we can focus on what’s going on in the No-Limit Hold’em Championship on this, Day 1C of the action.
The third of the four starting days of this event saw a bigger turnout than the first two days combined; while Day 1A had 897 entrants and Day 1b had 985, today’s turnout was a whopping 2,181, making all the naysayers who previously spoke of the drastic decrease in play this year rethink their theories. The turnout on Day 1D has always been the largest of all, and over 2,000 players are already registered for the final first day of the Main Event. Most previous estimates said that this year’s WSOP would have more than 5,000 but less than 6,000 entrants, but with 6,000 guaranteed, we’re now looking towards the elusive 7,000 mark.
All eyes were on Phil Hellmuth tonight, even though the day was full of other players who have won a Main Event bracelet before (Chris Moneymaker, Bobby Baldwin, Scotty Nguyen, Dan Harrington, Joe Cada, and Jonathan Duhamel were all in attendance; Moneymaker was the only one sent to the rail today). Hellmuth’s entrances to the Main Event have been legendary in past years, when he’s appeared dressed as Julius Caesar and surrounded by a harem, a NASCAR driver, General Patton, and a mixed martial arts outfit, complete with fighter’s robe. This year, however, he merely wore a suit and had an ESPN microphone, as he’s been filming some pieces for the network.
Hellmuth gets attention not only because of his flashy entrances, or because he won his first WSOP Main Event bracelet over 20 years ago. Hellmuth is also in the running for Player of the Year, despite constant disappointment that he hasn’t been able to nab another bracelet this year (he already has 11, more than any other player, but he’s been looking for a twelfth). He leads the race, but the Main Event could turn everything around, depending on how he plays. Hellmuth had a frustrating day as his chip stack dropped to around 5,000; he was able to regain a little ground and get back up to 11k, but he’ll still be struggling to catch up to the other players on Day 2.
Jonathan Duhamel, last year’s Main Event winner, ended the day with around 41k chips, which still puts him considerably behind today’s leaders, Kevin Song (163,325), and Christopher McClung (162,375). Both of the Day 1C chips leaders are behind Day 1A leaders Fred Berger (209,500) and Shane Sigsbee (182,600) in chips. On Day 2A, the remaining players from Days 1A and 1C will combine (for a considerable field, as 1,471 players survived Day 1C).
Other noteworthy players today included Boston Celtics basketballer Paul Pierce, the comedic pairings of Ray Romano and Brad Garrett, Audley Harrison, a former Olympic boxer, Shane Warne, who is a legend in Australia for his cricket playing, and Hungarian model Krisztina Polgar. Perhaps the most interesting entry, however, came from the 91 year old grandmother of Shaun Deeb, one Mrs. Ellen Deeb, who was a crowd favourite as soon as she sat down.