The World Series of Poker Circuit continued at Ballys-Paris in Las Vegas. At the end of Day Two, Raed 'Ray' Abukartomy enjoys a decisive chip lead. Abukartomy currently has 161,500 in chips. J.C. Tran is in second place with 118,600.
This is Abukartomy's first serious stride towards winning a WSOP-related event. The 39-year-old businessman who lives in Huntington Beach, CA finished twice in the money at this year's California State Poker Championships. However, he faces a formidable challenge going into Day Three. Several well-known names, including two former WSOP champions remain very much alive.
Most interesting was the fact that there was little chip movement on Day Two. Only three players have more than 100,000 in chips. Sixteen players remain bunched together in the 30,000-90,000 range. Eight players are short-stacked, with less than 25,000 in chips.
The day's biggest disappointment clearly belonged to Scotty Nguyen. The chip leader after Day One, 1998 World Series of Poker champion Nguyen lost ground falling to 9th place. His stack diminished from 118,000 to 55,300. Meanwhile, current WSOP champion Joe Hachem continues to move steadily upward. The Australian-based champ is in 14th place with 43,400. Of the 27 remaining players, ten have won at least one WSOP gold bracelet. Doug Lee, from Canada, who won the WSOP Circuit event at the Rio last season, is also in contention.
Ninety players were eliminated on Day One. Then, 17 more bit the dust on Day Two. The 27 survivors will return to play on Day Three. Play starts at 2 pm.
Payouts are as follows:
1st - $453,456
2nd - 251,920
3rd - 138,556
4th - 100,768
5th - 88,172
6th - 75,576
7th - 62,980
8th - 50,384
9th - 37,788
On Monday, the current field of 27 will be reduced to the final table of nine players. The nine finalists all receive prize money and will also be featured on ESPN's television broadcast of the Ballys-Paris championship. Play on Tuesday starts at 2 pm.
