DAVID COSSIO LEADS RECORD-SETTING HAMMOND MAIN EVENT AFTER DAY 2

Day 2 of the Hammond Main Event is complete, and David Cossio finished the day atop the leaderboard with 6,650,000 in chips. Play began with 224 players who returned from Day 1A and 1B, and after 10 levels, only 15 remain. They will return on Monday at 1 pm.

The tournament featured a record-setting field, boasting a total of 1,717 entries over two starting days. No other WSOP Circuit Main Event has ever had more. The previous record was 1,615, set in Hammond in 2011. The massive field gave this event an equally massive prize pool of $2,575,500, easily surpassing the $2 million guarantee. The top five finishers will all walk away with six-figure payouts. The winner will receive $418,526 to go with a WSOP Circuit ring and an entry into the National Championship at Caesars Atlantic City in the spring.

Cossio is well ahead of the second-place player, James Dorrance, who finished the day with 5,085,000. Steve Maniaci is third with 4,650,000. No other player has more than 3 million in chips.

Two players who won rings earlier at the Hammond Circuit stop made it deep in the Main Event. Kevin Meeuson won Event #4, a $365 pot-limit Omaha tournament, for $35,812. He was eliminated from the Main Event in 23rd place, earning $16,380. He had a chance at winning Casino Champion honors, but has been surpassed by Micheal Oshana, who won Event #3 for $29,983. Oshana defeated Ari Engel heads-up to win his ring last week, and he is still alive in the Main Event. He finished Day 2 with 2,840,000, good for fourth place. He is already guaranteed 20 points in the Casino Champion race, which would tie him with the leader, Mark Morris. Kenny Nguyen also has a shot at Casino Champion. He is currently 2 ½ points behind Oshana, and is also still alive in the Main Event with 1,100,000 in chips.

Players who were eliminated in the money today include Kyle Julius, John Holley, Gillian Epp, and bracelet winners Aaron Steury and Owais Ahmed. Erik Roussakis also made the money, despite starting Day 2 in last place with only 25,000 in chips. Roussakis final tabled this event each of the past two years, but finished in 45th place this year.

Here are the chip counts for the remaining 15 players. Full results are available on the results tab.

  1. David Cossio – 6,650,000
  2. James Dorrance – 5,085,000
  3. Steven Maniaci – 4,650,000
  4. Micheal Oshana – 2,840,000
  5. Scott Anderson – 2,800,000
  6. Millard Hale – 2,260,000
  7. Amalim Onyia – 2,055,000
  8. Steven Hensley – 1,320,000
  9. Kevin Eyster – 1,200,000
  10. Diane Dines – 1,170,000
  11. Kenny Nguyen – 1,100,000
  12. Bryan Moon – 1,035,000
  13. Michael Skomac – 1,015,000
  14. Austin Buchanan – 785,000
  15. Maurice Sessum – 385,000