Day 2A - The 2006 WSOP Main EventDay 2 Begins As Players Chase Down The $12,000,000 First Place Cash Prize |
|
Did we say $11.5 million? We meant to say $12 million. Even.
Harrahs officially released the payout structure for the 2006 main event and the dollar figures reflected the size of the starting field: record-breaking.
The money bubble bursts with the 874th elimination, and 12 players will walk away from the tournament with at least $1 million.
The payouts for the top five finishers are as follows:
1st place - $12,000,000
2nd place - $6,102,499
3rd place - $4,123,310
4th place - $3,628,513
5th place - $3,216,182
For a complete list, please visit http://www.cardplayer.com/tournaments/payout/3229.
Before news of the richest first-place prize in WSOP history hit, the 1,637 survivors of days 1A and 1B returned to the Amazon Room to participate in the first "day two" of the 2006 main event. Rio assistant general manager David Patent ushered in the action with his announcement over the P.A. system to "shuffle up and deal."
The first cards hit the air at noon PDT and the level 7 play featured $250-$500 blinds and $50 antes.
Annie Duke entered action with $26,725 in chips. She and other remaining top female poker stars (Kathy Liebert, Kristy Gazes, and Cyndy Violette) were among the 207 women who entered the championship event, a number that represented 3 percent of the starting field.
The players from last year's main event final table made up a much smaller percentage of the overall entrants, and the number dwindled even more with the elimination of Andrew Black. The fifth-place finisher in 2005, Black joined runner-up Steve Dannenmann (eliminated on day 1C) on the rail after being crippled by an opponent's two pair.
The end for Barry Greenstein came via a two-outer. After a 8
5
2
flop, Greenstein pushed all in and Luke Neely called. The K K made Greenstein a huge favorite over Neely's Q
Q, but the Q turn gave Neely a set. Left with only $2,800, Greenstein exited the tournament soon after.
The player at the top of the WSOP Player of the Year board also hit the rails during the day shift. Twenty-one-year-old two-time bracelet winner Jeff Madsen's main event run ended when his K-Q failed to improve against an opponent's A-2. While Madsen missed out on the $12 million first-place prize, the young pro still walked away from the WSOP with $1.5 million in tournament cashes.
Other notables to make an early departure from action included Mike Caro, David Williams, Berry Johnston, Mike Sexton, Men "The Master" Nguyen, John Juanda, David Sklansky, and Dave "The Devilfish" Ulliott.
Team Full Tilt member Layne Flack survived and at the dinner break he gave his theory on why so many pros hit the rails. "I think the players [Internet and amateurs] are just getting better," Flack said.
"All the players that come off the Internet, they learn extremely quick," Layne continued. "Now they get a little test of the brick-and-mortar [casinos] and they're ready."
Scotty Nguyen had different feelings on the matter. He felt confident a pro would win the main event. Which pro? Scotty Nguyen, of course.
Although making the prediction jokingly, Nguyen still demonstrated his trademark confidence and humor. "If you ask me 10 years from now, I'm gonna tell you - Scotty Nguyen gonna win it all, baby."
While Nguyen may not have to wait a decade, 2006 would not be his year, as "The Prince of Poker" bowed out of the action late Monday night.
As day 2A approached 11p.m. PDT, tournament director Jack Effel announced that play would conclude after the next half-level, as opposed to the original goal of playing down to 500 participants. The decision received close to the same level of applause from players as the 10 p.m. payout structure announcement.
A number of pros made strong finishes at the end of the truncated day. Jeffrey Lisandro built his stack up to $211,000 after his A 3 made two pair against an A J and an A K, while Humbreto Brenes took down an $80,000 pot with an ace-high flush, putting his stack at $110,000.
The half-level ended at 11:53 p.m. PDT, closing action on the first "day two" of the 2006 main event.
Some notables moving on to the lone day 3 include Allen Cunningham, David Chiu, Theo Tran, David Pham, Mark Vos, Juan Carlos Mortensen, Annie Duke, Chris Ferguson, and Phil Ivey.
Other big names eliminated during the day were Eric Froehlich, Kristy Gazes, Allen Kessler, Bill Gazes, Eugene Todd, Pamela Brunson, and actor Danny Masterson.
Final day 2A chip counts can be found via the "Featured Chip Count" link on the CardPlayer.com home page.
The road to the final table continues with the 1,736 players from 1C and 1D returning at noon PDT for day 2B.
The top five chip counts going into Day 2B are as follows:
1. Hung Tran - $177,475
2. Stephen Grasostri - $142,925
3. Richard Gryko - $128,575
4. Adam Jones - $125,525
5. Daryn Firicano - $121,225
Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com for live updates, chip counts, photos, videos and for a new episode of "The Circuit."
For more information on bracelet winners and other WSOP news stories, please visit http://www.cardplayer.com/tournaments/wsop/2006s.
Quote of the Day: "I'll raise your big blind all night. Keep pushing. It'll be an early World Series for you." - Theo Tran to an opponent at his table.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
