Ring Event #10: $1,675 Main Event

The second day of the Horseshoe Tunica Main Event saw Moneymaker, players make money, and a man named Kruger who was his tablemates' worst nightmare. But before we get to David Kruger, who leads the final 11 players in this tournament, let's go back to where the day started.

Play began with 126 players and only 72 making the money, but that didn't stop the players from busting at a frantic pace during the first two hours of play as names like Chris Moneymaker, Shawn Rice, Paul Sokoloff, Josh Turner, Steve Karp, Jeremy Gaubert, Jonathan Gaviao, and Jesse Capps all bust short of the money.

The bubble burst when Gil George busted in 73rd place at the hands of Orlando Romero, who made the most of his chips by going on a run that saw him bag up at the end of the day. From there, each player was guaranteed at least a $2,713 payday. Some of the notable who made the money, but failed to survive the day included BJ McBrayer (70th), Josh Palmer (68th), John Holley (64th), Mina Greco (45th), Chris Conrad (38th), Eric Crain (31st), and a trio of Biloxi Circuit Main Event winners, Kyle Cartwright (35th), Jerry Monroe (29th), and Martin Zentner (25th).

As the field dwindled, one player rocketed to the top of the counts. Kelly Koenig, who is one of the 11 players returning for Day 3 on Monday, was the first player to hit a million chips thanks to a series of big hands, like the elimination of former big stack Marshall White. Koenig peaked at nearly 1.8 million before ending the day with 785,000.

While Koenig started tapering off, Kruger started making his presence known, eliminating Frank Kirkpatrick in a massive pot where Kruger had pocket kings.

Kruger continued to bully his opponents, pick up pots, and knock out players like Sean Small (17th) to end the day out front with 2,805,000. The start of day chip leader Jeremy Drewery is not too far behind though. While the late stages of the day saw Drewery's stack fluctuate extensively, he managed to bust both Jessie Bryant (14th) and Christopher Staats (12th) to end the day with 2.1 million. The only other players in seven-figure territory is Memphis local Matthew Laawrence, who quietly chipped up to end the day with 1,830,000 and Circuit ring winner Christian Rodriguez, who bagged 1,115,000.

Though the rest of the field is in six-figure territory, they are not to be counted out. Ryan Tepen is a ring winner and Circuit regular, and Chris Trotter is a popular name among the Circuit regulars as well. And, of course, there is Russ Head, who battled through a brutal cold today to bag up and attempt to qualify for the WSOP Global Casino Championship a second time after taking down the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Main Event.

Play resumes on Monday at 12pm. Here is a look at the remaining players and their stacks:

1. David Kruger - 2,805,000
2. Jeremy Drewery - 2,100,000
3. Matthew Lawrence - 1,830,000
4. Christian Rodriguez - 1,115,000
5. Ben Thomas - 835,000
6. Russ Head - 825,000
7. Chris Trotter - 820,000
8. Ryan Tepen - 810,000
9. Kelly Koenig - 785,000
10. Orlando Romero - 670,000
11. Charles Belcher - 350,000

Christopher Staats - 11th Place

Christopher Staats moves all in from middle position for 194,000. Everyone folds around to Jeremy Drewery in the big blind, and he calls.

"You have the best hand," Staats tells Drewery when he sees the call. It turns out he's wrong, though. Staats shows   , and he's in good shape against Drewery's   .

The board comes      , and the king on the turn gives Drewery a winning two pair - kings and queens. Staats is eliminated in 12th place, earning $14,942.

Jeremy Drewery - 2,140,000 (89 bb)
Christopher Staats - Eliminated

Russ Head raises to 52,000 from under the gun and Kelly Koenig reraises to 104,000 from the cutoff. Head calls and they go heads up to a flop of    , which they both check.

The turn brings the  . Head bets 80,000 and Koenig calls.

The river is the  . Head bets 120,000, Koenig folds, and Head takes the pot.

Russ Head - 1,360,000 (57 bb)
Kelly Koenig - 1,100,000 (46 bb)

Jeremy Drewery raises to 52,000 from under the gun, and Christian Rodriguez calls from the button. The flop comes    , and Drewery continues for 85,000. Rodriguez calls.

The turn is the  , and Drewery bets again, this time for 165,000. Rodriguez thinks for a minute, then raises to 400,000. Drewery moves all in, and Rodriguez quickly calls.

Rodriguez:   
Drewery:   

Rodriguez has the lead with bottom set, but Drewery has outs with both straight and flush draws. The river is the  , a complete brick. Rodriguez wins with his set and doubles up.

Christian Rodriguez - 1,435,000
Jeremy Drewery - 1,550,000

Jessie Bryant moves all in from middle position for his last 266,000 and Jeremy Drewery calls in the small blind. Drewery holds    and Bryant trails with   . Bryant fails to get enough help from the       board and the three-time ring winner is eliminated.

Jeremy Drewery - 2,180,000 (110 bb)
Jessie Bryant - Eliminated in 14th place for $12,161

Harold Evans moves all in from middle position for 269,000. Chris Trotter calls.

Evans:   
Trotter:   

The flop is    , giving Trotter an open-ended straight draw. The turn improves him even more, as the   falls to give him top pair. Then the river is the  . For a moment Evans thinks they split the pot with the straight on the board, but Trotter has the ace for a higher straight.

Evans is eliminated in 15th place, earning him $12,161.

Chris Trotter - 660,000
Harold Evans - Eliminated

There is around 175,000 in the pot and the board reads     when Christian Rodriguez checks in the cutoff and Ryan Tepen bets 100,000 on the button. Rodriguez check-raises to 225,000 total and Tepen takes some time to think before moving all in for around 400,000 total. Rodriguez takes some time to deliberate too, ultimately folding and giving Tepen the pot.

Ryan Tepen - 925,000 (46 bb)
Christian Rodriguez - 230,000 (12 bb)

David Kruger raises to 50,000 from the hijack, and Sean Small moves all in from the button. Kruger quickly calls.

Kruger:   
Small:   

The flop comes    . Kruger pairs his king to take the lead. The   on the turn gives the players a sweat, as Small picks up an open-ended straight draw. But the river is the  . Kruger wins with trip kings, and Small is eliminated. He earns $10,019 for his 17th place finish.

David Kruger - 2,300,000 (115 bb)
Sean Smalll - Eliminated

Frank Kirkpatrick raises to 48,000 from middle position and David Kruger reraises to 128,000 on the button. Kirkpatrick calls and quickly checks the     flop. Kruger just as quickly announces a bet of 200,000. Kirkpatrick takes some time to think, then announces he is all in for somewhere between 750,000 and 800,000 chips. Kruger calls, having him covered, saying, "I hope you don't have a set," as he turns over his   .

Kirkpatrick shows    for an open-ended straight flush draw and Kruger says, "Well, may as well be a set, I have a lot to fade."

Kruger does manage to fade it though, as the turn brings the   and the river the   to score him the massive pot and send Kirkpatrick to the rail.

After Kirkpatrick leaves and Kruger starts stacking his bounty of chips, tablemate Christian Rodriguez tells Kruger, "Merry Christmas."

A couple of players at the table say they don't know how festive the hand was considering the giant draw Kirkpatrick flopped, but Rodriguez remains confident in his assessment.

"You just got 700,000 from seven-eight suited. Merry Christmas."

David Kruger - 2,200,000 (138 bb)
Frank Kirkpatrick - Eliminated in 18th Place ($10,019)