A Look At The Celebrities Remaining in the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event

The beauty of poker is that anyone with a buy-in and the guts to put it all on the line is welcome. Rank amateurs and professionals are all given the same opportunity to win and the World Series of Poker is no different.

Every year, tens of thousands of players make their way to the Rio in Las Vegas for the summer series, so it’s not surprising to see familiar faces out of Hollywood or professional athletes sitting among the sea of participants.

As we enter day 3 of the main event, there are still quite a few notables scattered throughout the field of 1,860 players.

Sam Simon, best known for his role in creating the incredibly popular animated series The Simpsons, has managed to build up an impressive 317,900 in chips over the first two days, good enough for 24th place overall.

Simon is an avid poker player and has earned over $320,000 on the felt since 2005. His biggest score came in March of 2010 when he won $57,308 for taking down event no. 7 in the Winnin O’ The Green series at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles.

Seinfeld star Jason Alexander leads the way for Hollywood, sitting in 348th place overall with 167,000 in chips.

Alexander has been a familiar face in the poker world for the better part of the last four years and has played in numerous WSOP event as well as making appearances in the NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship. In 2007, he narrowly missed making the final table of the Ante Up For Africa Event busting in 10th place and earning just over $12,000.

Sitting on the short stack is comedian and Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett, who is in 1,525th place with 46,000 in chips.

Garrett is known for being extremely jovial at the tables, cracking jokes with the other players, the dealer and even those watching from the rail. Garrett has also made appearances in the NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship, but has never managed to cash in a live tournament. If he’d like to change that, he’ll need to chip up in a hurry on day 3.

Boston Celtics superstar Paul Pierce made headlines on day 1 after finding his way to the top of the leaderboard, but wasn’t able to navigate his way through day 2. The six foot, seven inch Pierce stood out among the rest of the field and was gracious enough to take photos and sign autographs for those on the rail.

When asked what he enjoys the most about poker, Pierce referred back to his competitive drive. “Poker really helps you use your brain, plan and implement some strategy,” he said. “You have to play your cards and your opponent. I have always been a competitive person, and this drive comes out in me at the poker table. I love the competitiveness of poker. I’ve been playing the game for a few years and I think I’ve gotten pretty good.”

Other celebrities who played in the main event included comedian Ray Romano, rapper Nelly, professional boxer Audley Harrison, ex-NFL player Eric Stocz, Hungarian model Kristztina Polgar and Australian cricket pro Shane Warne.

For all of the latest WSOP information, check out Card Player’s WSOP landing page.

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