World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic Main Event: Day 2

At the start of the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 no-limit hold’em championship many players complemented the tournament structure put together by Tournament Director Matt Savage and his tournament staff at the Commerce Casino. By the end of the night it was hard to tell that the structure was designed to give tournament players a lot of play considering how fast they were busting out of the tournament on day 2 though.

There were 463 players that returned at the start of play today at noon PST, and after five, 90-minute levels of poker just 186 remained. Those survivors will return tomorrow at noon and play another five levels, and if today’s pace is any indication, they should reach the money tomorrow. The top 72 players will all walk away with a piece of the massive prize pool worth $7,152,000 that was created by the huge field of 745 entries. Play should slow down tomorrow, when the inclusion of some blind levels that are often skipped make their way into the tournament structure.

Notable professionals that were lost along the way on day 2 included 2009 Card Player Player of the Year Eric Baldwin, Bertrand Grospellier, Erik Seidel, Gavin Smith, Freddy Deeb, Chris Ferguson, J.C. Tran, Nam Le, Joe Hachem, Phil Hellmuth, and Tom Dwan.

One of the biggest names in poker (and one of the biggest supporters of the tournament structure), Daniel Negreanu (pictured above right), charged to the top of the leader board during day 2. He scored a huge double up with two pair during level 9 that thrust his stack to 240,000 and he kept building from there. He finished the night with 316,500. Eugene Katchalov also staged a successful campaign on day 2 and he ended the night with 279,000. Leading everyone at the end of play is Taylor Paur (318,400), who is also a contender in the Card Player Online Player of the Year race.

Multiple ladies had a great day at the tables on day 2. Vanessa Rousso (221,700), Lisa Hamilton (107,400), and Erica Schoenberg (107,000), Patty Sodja (101,800), and Lauren Kling (99,500) all ended the night with big stacks.

Here is a look at the top 10 chip counts at the end of play:

1: Taylor Paur — 318,400
2: Daniel Negreanu — 316,500
3: Eugene Katchalov — 279,000
4: Michael Woo — 250,000
5: Vanessa Rousso — 221,700
6: Danny Fuhs — 218,300
7: Paul Niemela — 216,000
8: John Cautela — 198,500
9: Gevork Kasabyan — 197,400
10: Mark Seif — 187,000

You can check out the L.A. Poker Classic live updates page if you want to read about the Negreanu double up, as well as the other big hands from the day. Check back tomorrow for more live coverage from the event, including videos from Card Player TV.

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