Day 2 of the Harrah’s Rincon Main Event is complete. The final table is set, and the 9 remaining players will return on Monday at noon to determine a winner. They are led by Chris DeMaci who finished the day with 1,356,000 in chips.
Play got off to a fast and furious start. After the two day 1 flights, 70 players returned for Day 2. After 40 minutes, only 50 remained. After two hours, they were down to 37. Only 33 players receive payouts, so shortly after the first break, the tournament reached the money bubble. Appropriately enough, it was DeMaci who busted the 34th place finisher.
The day began with a stacked field. One table in particular featured four WSOP bracelet winners: Eric Baldwin, Brent Hanks, Sam Stein, and Robert Cheung. Ring winner Sean Burson was at that table as well. Of the five players, only Burson still has chips. Nearby, Circuit ring winners Cary Marshall and Everett Carlton shared a table with former November Niner Soi Nguyen and 1983 WSOP Main Event Champion Tom McEvoy, who was recently inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Alexandru Masek also made it to Day 2. Masek recently won his seventh career Circuit ring, tying him for first on the all-time list. He started the day with a top-ten chip count, but was eliminated in 25th place.
Thomas Beckstead entered Day 2 with a substantial chip lead. He bagged 367,000 at the end of his Day 1 flight. His nearest competitor was over 100,000 behind. Mary Anne Madruga entered Day 2 with 257,500. Madruga made the final table and will return tomorrow, while Beckstead was the last elimination of the day. He got the last of his chips in the middle in a coin flip situation, holding against Chris DeMaci’s . DeMaci spiked a king on the turn, sending Beckstead to the rail. The hand secured DeMaci’s end-of-day chip lead, and Beckstead finished in 10th place for $8,697.
This Main Event attracted a total of 330 entries over two starting days, an increase of 24 entries over last year’s participation. The players generated a prize pool of $495,000. The top 33 finishers make the money, with $116,325 going to first place. The winner will also receive a WSOP Circuit ring and an entry into the National Championship at Caesars Atlantic City in the spring.
Play resumes Monday at noon PST. Join us here for live updates from all the final table action!
Here are the chip counts entering the final table. You can find the official chip count report and seat assignments here.
1. Chris DeMaci - 1,356,000
2. Erle Mankin - 955,000
3. Steve Firestone - 907,000
4. Paul Sokoloff - 885,000
5. Shahin Eduladju - 630,000
6. Robert Mather - 575,000
7. Mary Anne Madruga - 573,000
8. Sean Burson - 371,000
9. Craig Francis - 353,000