Event #57: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT - World Championship

After eight levels of intense tournament poker, Day 2a has come to a close in Event #57: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Championship!

At midday, 2,412 wide-eyed and poker-ready players walked eagerly through the doors of both the Amazon and Pavilion Rooms to see what fate awaited them throughout the course of the day.

Corwin Cole began the day as the tournament chip leader, but only saw his stack slide downward as many around him began closing ground. Multiple WSOP bracelet holder Jesper Hougaard, cash game specialists Patrik Antonius and Cole South along with Robert Mizrachi were just a few of those that rose up the leaderboard.

Unfortunately, many would find themselves on the rail including previous champions Carlos Mortensen, Berry Johnston, Tom McEvoy and Bobby Baldwin, along with 2010 bracelet winners Dutch Boyd and Daniel Alaei. The international brigade shrunk slightly with James Akenhead, Marcel Luske, Rob Hollink and Luca Pagona a few to book their flight home early.

Approximately 1,260 players have booked themselves a place on Monday for Day 3, and currently it seems as though Boulos Estafanous will be leading the charge with an amassed 344,100 in chips. Snapping on his heels however will be Randy Dorfman (337,000) Jesper Hougaard (316,200), Rodney Sherry (316,000), Sam Abueid (314,000) and Cole South (304,200).

Throw in a chipped-up Sammy Farha and Patrik Antonius, the dangerous Jason Somerville and Carter Phillips, along with previous champion Johnny Chan and a load of tournament veterans and amateurs, and it is truly still every players tournament to win!

Make sure to join the PokerNews Live Reporting Team tomorrow from 12:00 p.m PST as the cards hit the air for Day 2b where players will again begin jostling for a position where they can mount a challenge for the prize everyone is chasing; the coveted gold bracelet, title of champion and $8,944,138 in first prize money!

Antonio Esfandiari was all in with the    against the    for his opponent. The flop came down     and Esfandiari pumped his fist because he hit a jack. A player at another table asked Esfandiari if he doubled and Esfandiari said, "I'm on my way."

The turn brought the   and then the river the  . Esfandiari's opponent made a straight on the turn and river and he eliminated Esfandiari on one of the last hands of the night.

Following a     flop, a player in the blinds checked, and Johnny Chan, in early position, bet 5,300. His opponent check-raised all in for 20,200. Chan was there with the call.

Chan showed    for top pair, while his opponent tabled    for a diamond draw. The turn was the   and the river the  , and Chan has sent another player packing.

Chan moves well up over the 200,000-chip mark as we near the end of play for the night.

Dewey Tomko, ye formidable poker foe of old, was on the button. Realizing he had the advantage of position, he strategically raised 3,000. Not too be bullied, Van Marcus, defender of the big blind, reraised to 10,000. Not one to back down from a gentleman's duel, Tomko made the call.

Spectators watched in bedazzlement as the flop came down    . Marcus, much like the former emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius, courageously took the fight to his opponent with a bet of 11,000. Tomko, who had more chips than Marcus, valiantly stared down his opponent and uttered the most dreaded words in poker, "All in."

It was at this point Marcus realized he was up against a true legend. Tomko, who has had such success in past Main Events, was to be the victor this day. Marcus admitted defeat and honorably laid down his hand. In the process, he kept 17,000 in reserve while Tomko bolstered his stack to 65,000.

Michael Mizrachi just busted a player with the    on a board of      . The all-in player had pocket tens. We're not sure when the money went in, but we are sure that Mizrachi is now up to 200,000 in chips.

On the flop of    , Sandra Naujoks fired 5,200 into Court Harrington. He opted to raise to 13,700. Naujoks made the call.

The turn brought the   and both players checked. They also checked the   on the river.

Naujoks tabled the    and Harrington the   . The two both played the two pair on board with their ace kicker and chopped up the pot.

Heather Sue Mercer hasn't had many chips all day, but when she picked up queens, she found herself in the position to eliminate a player with even fewer. He was all in with  , and she called with  . The   flop didn't help her opponent, and he was drawing dead with the   on the turn. ESPN's cameras crowded around, and one of the other players dropped a few f-bombs in the background. "There goes your tv time," someone said to Mercer's victim. He tried to salvage it, however, with a handshake and a smile for Mercer. After his graceful exit, Mercer is up to 42,000.

Antonio Esfandiari was all in for 26,500 preflop holding    , and he was racing for double or nothing against an opponent with    .

Things were not so good for The Magician on the       flop, but he smoke-and-mirrored an   on the turn to pull him into a big lead. The   river was safe and sound, and Esfandiari has pulled in a double up to 55,000.

On the flop of    , Sandra Naujoks fired 2,500 after her opponent checked. The player made the call and the two were off to a turn of the  . The player check-called a bet of 4,200 from Naujoks before the river completed the board with the  . The player checked again. This time, Naujoks didn't bet and just checked behind.

Naujoks tabled the    and her opponent mucked. She's now up to 105,000 in chips.

With three and a half of today's four scheduled levels complete, over 1,000 of today's 2,412 starters have already been eliminated. Dennis Phillips, Matt Glantz, Lee Markholt, Greg "FBT" Mueller, Brock Parker, David Bach, Quinn Do, and Playboy model Sarah Underwood all ended their tournament in the last level and approximately 1,400 players remain in the Day 2A field.

Lex Veldhuis was cruising with close to 100,000 in chips but fell all the way to 42,000 after losing a few unfortunate hands, including a coinflip where his pocket sixes fell to ace-jack. Michael Mizrachi, however, took his stack up to 142,000 in a hand that you're sure to see on television later this summer. Mizrachi was all-in against two players, his pocket aces holding up against pocket kings AND pocket queens! Allie Prescott is also climbing the leaderboard-- he's up to 155,000 after eliminating Soren Kongsgaard.

The plan is to play one more hour, finishing off half of Level 9 before we bag and tag for the night.