2008 WSOP MAIN EVENT, End of Day 2-B

2008 World Series of Poker
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada

Official Report
Event #54
World Championship
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In:  $ 10,000
Number of Entries:  6,844
Total Net Prize Pool:  $64,333,600
Number of Places Paid:  666
First Place Prize:  $9,119,517
Total Players Remaining:  1,308
July 3 - November 10, 2008

Tournament Notes from Day 2-A:

·        This is the largest World Series of Poker in history.  A grand total of 58,720 players entered into 55 gold bracelet events surpassed last year’s number of entries, which was 54,288.  These figures represent an 8 percent increase over 2007.

·        This was the richest World Series of Poker in history.  A grand total of $180,676,248 in prize money awarded in 2008 makes this the richest event in all of sports.  Note:  This figure does not include the upcoming four events to be played at WSOP-Europe.  These figures represent an increase of 13 percent over 2007.

·        This ranks as the second-largest live poker tournament in history.  This year’s turnout surpassed 2007 attendance (6,358) by 7.4 percent.  Only the 2006 WSOP Main Event was larger than this tournament — with 8,773 entrants.

·        This is the second-largest tournament prize pool in history.  The total prize pool amounts to $64,333,600.  The top 666 finishers will collect prize money.

·        The official “second day” is split into two flights spread over two consecutive days.  Due to the large size of the field, it has become necessary in recent years to play the Day Two sessions in two groups, divided as Days 2-A and 2-B.

·        Five days ago, the World Series of Poker Main Event began on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008.  Day 2-B was played on July 9th.

·        This is the 41st of 47 total days which comprises the vast majority of the 2008 WSOP schedule (not counting WSOP-Europe, which takes place September 19th through October 2nd and the Main Event final table to be played November 9-10).

·        Day 2-B started at 12:10 pm PST.

·        The number of players who started Day 2-B was 2,378.  This second day field was considerably larger than the proceeding day because far more players chose to play on Days 1-C and 1-D.  The combined number of players entered into the 2008 Main Event totaled 6,844.

·        This is the largest tournament re-start in poker history.  The total number of players who returned to play on this day nearly matched the number who entered the entire 2004 Main Event (2,576)

·        At this time, there are at least 118 different nations and territories represented by all players who entered the 2008 Main Event.  By contrast, there were 87 different countries present last year.

·        The 2008 WSOP Main Event winner will collect $9,119,517 in prize money.  The minimum payout this year is $21,230.

·        The day’s traditional “Shuffle Up and Deal” honor went to Kim Dean, a Producer who works for ESPN, celebrating her birthday.  Dean has now worked five straight years at the WSOP.  ESPN has been the official WSOP broadcast partner since 2003.

·        ESPN poker commentators Lon McEachern and Norman Chad were both out on the tournament floor much of the day (and most days here at the Main Event), gathering material for the upcoming new season of WSOP broadcasts.

·        Due to the vast size of the tournament re-start, all poker tables inside the Amazon, Tropical, and Brasilia Ballrooms, plus those located on the main casino floor at the Rio were put into play.

·        ESPN designated two “feature” tables.  The table on the main stage included 2003 world champion Chris Moneymaker.  The secondary feature table was located off to the side and included defending world champion Jerry Yang.

·        All seat assignments and re-draws at the WSOP are completely random.  However, ESPN selects “feature” tables each day, which are presumably tables with the greatest public interest.  Those two tables are then transferred to the main and secondary stages.

·        The average stack at the start of the day (for all Day 2-B players) was 37,024 (this number does not reflect the players who failed to report).

·        Former WSOP Main Event champions who played on Day 2-B included Jerry Yang, Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, Carlos Mortensen, Brad Daugherty, Chris Moneymaker, and Joe Hachem.  However, Yang, Daugherty, Mortensen, and Hachem were eliminated.  This means there are only three former champions remaining in the field, including Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, and Chris Moneymaker.

·        Jerry Yang was the first former champ to bust out.  He was low on chips when the day started, but got his money all-in with the best hand — holding A-J versus his opponent’s A-9.  A nine flopped and Yang failed to improve, which put the defending world champion on the rail.  Yang’s elimination means that a new champion will be crowned at the 2008 WSOP.  Winning the Main Event back-to-back has proven to be a near impossibility given the huge size of the fields in recent years.  The last time a champion won back-to-back titles was in 1987 and 1988 by Johnny Chan.  The closest player to do this recently was Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, who won the Main Event in 2004 and then made it down to the final three tables the following year.

·        1991 world champion Brad Daugherty was eliminated in mid-afternoon.  He was short-stacked and moved all-in with 9-9 which lost to A-Q when an ace flopped.  Daugherty is noted as being the first player to ever win a million dollar prize in a poker tournament.

·        2001 world champion Carlos “the Matador” Mortensen busted out late in the day when his set of deuces was crushed by his opponent’s set of queens.  Set over set is a nightmare scenario for the player on the losing end of the hand, and Mortensen was forced out of the tournament.

·        2005 world champion Joe Hachem busted out late in the day when he missed a flush draw in a three-handed pot.  Hachem managed to cash twice at this year’s World Series, more than any other former recent champion.

·        This ended up being a tough WSOP for the other recent world champions.  The last six Main Event winners – Varkonyi, Moneymaker, Raymer, Hachem, Gold, and Yang – combined for just three total cashes at this year’s World Series (Hachem with 2 and Raymer with 1).

·        Two former Main Event runner-ups are still alive in the tournament – John Strzemp (1997 – second to Stu Ungar) and Glen Cozen (1993 – second to Jim Bechtel).

·        The number of players remaining out of the initial 2,378 players who continued play on Day 2-B is 842.  This means only 35 percent of the field survived.  Only 34 percent of the field remains among those who started this tournament.

·        The End of Day Two chip leader is Brian Schaedlich, from Cleveland, Ohio.  He enjoys one of the most impressive chip advantages in years for any player at this stage of the tournament.  Schaedlich ended Day Two (actually 2-A) with 801,000 chips.  His closest rival is Peter Biebel, from Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  He has 531,000 in chips.

·        Brian Schaedlich is 22-years-old.  He is a recreational poker player who works full-time as a Special Education teacher at Shaker Heights Middle School and Mercer Elementary School, both located in the Cleveland area.  Schaedlich is quite proud of his daily work.  He helps students with autism, mental retardation, and behavioral disorders.  “If I somehow win (the WSOP), I will not give up what I do for a living,” Schaedlich said.  “I think what I do is far too important for me to stop just because I won a lot of money.  It’s all about the kids.”

·        Schaedlich graduated from Miami University, in Ohio.  In 2007, he earned his degree in physical education and marketing.

·        Schaedlich’s last name has Germanic origins.  Fittingly, the German translation means “dangerous.”

·        Notable poker players who made the End of Day 2-B cut included:  Nham Le, Victor Ramdin, Nenad Medic, Cliff Josephy, Jean-Robert Bellande, Brandon Cantu, Phil Hellmuth, Matt Matros, Mark Tenner, Johnny Chan, Evelyn Ng, Thomas “Thunder” Keller, Minh Nguyen, Chip Jett, Phil Gordon, Jeff Madsen, Sean Sheikhan, Mike Wattel, John D’Agostino, Pat Poels, Lou Esposito, Chris Grigorian, Hevad Khan, Rolf Slotboom, Men “the Master” Nguyen, Gus Hansen, Jon Friedberg, Tommy Grimes, Bret Jungblut, Mike Matusow, Adam Schoenfeld, Scott Clements, Farzad Rouhani, Matt Lefkowitz, Greg Hopkins, Chris Moneymaker, Glen Cozen, John Strzemp, and Duncan “Pumper” Bell.

·        Notable poker players who made the End of Day 2-A cut included:  Max Greenwood, Patrick Antonius, Vanessa Rousso, Tony Cousineau, Bill Gazes, Jim Pechac, “Captain” Tom Franklin, Toto Leonidas, Alex Kravchenko, Steve Zolotow, Barny Boatman, Lonnie Heimowitz, Hasan Habib, Chris Bjorin, Erik Seidel, Darrell Dicken, Dave Colclough, Phi Nguyen, Thor Hansen, Hoyt Corkins, Ben Roberts, Chau Giang, Tony Hachem, Matt Glantz, Kido Pham, Robert Mizrachi, and Brandon Adams.

·        As Day Three begins, the number of female players remaining in the Main Event is estimated at 26.  It is estimated that 209 female players participated in the 2008 WSOP Main Event.  Note:  This estimate is based on a head count of every player in the tournament room taken at the start of each day.

·        The female player with the highest chip count is Michelle Sainz, from Mexico City, Mexico – with 206,500.

·        Three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Fame Inductee Barbara Enright was eliminated late on this day.

·        Archie Karas, best known for pulling off one of the greatest gambling runs in history back during the early 1990s, was eliminated on this day.

·        After finishing in-the-money in each of the last two Main Events (2006 and 2007), Godsmack front man and recording artist Sully Erna was eliminated.

·        Actress Shannon Elizabeth (American Pie) was eliminated from the tournament on this day.

·        Jack Ury was eliminated on this day.  At 95-years, Mr. Ury is the oldest player ever to play in a WSOP event.  He can boast that he outlasted about two-thirds of the field.

·        Former WSOP gold bracelet winners who were eliminated on this day include – Jerry Yang, John Juanda, Joe Awada, Brad Daugherty, Ryan Young, Bill Chen, Howard Lederer, Mel Judah, David Oppenheim, Rafe Furst, David Sklansky, Joe Hachem, Carlos Mortensen, Antonio Esfandiari, Diego Cordovez, David Singer, and Barbara Enright.

·        Both Day Twos played the exact same length of time.  Play ended after five levels of competition, which means after Level 10.  Each level is two hours long.  Day 2-B concluded at 1:10 am PST.  This day ran longer than the Day Ones because of the necessity to race-off $25 denomination chips, which is the most labor-intensive color-up phase of the tournament.

·        Day Three begins Thursday, July 10th at 12 noon.

·        When play resumes on Day Three, all surviving players will be consolidated into the Rio at the same time for the first time in the tournament.

·        When play resumes on Day Three, Level 11 will begin with blinds set at 800-1,600 and antes at 200.

·        Day Three will include five levels of play.  Therefore, play will end following completion of Level 15.  However, tournament officials have the option of extending play in the event players are very near the money.  In such case, play would end once the prize money level (666th place) is reached.

·        The full payout list for the Main Event (all places) is as follows:

$9,119,517    1st
$5,790,024    2nd
$4,503,352    3rd
$3,763,515    4th
$3,088,012    5th
$2,412,510    6th
$1,769,174    7th
$1,286,672    8th
$900,670    9th
$591,869    10th-12th
$463,201    13-15
$334,534    16-18
$257,334    19-27
$193,000    28-36
$154,400    37-45
$135,100    46-54
$115,800    55-63
$96,500    64-72
$77,200    73-81
$64,333    82-90
$51,466    91-99
$41,816    100-162
$38,600    163-225
$35,383    226-288
$32,166    289-351
$28,950    352-414
$27,020    415-477
$25,090    478-540
$23,160    541-603
$21,230    604-666