And Then There Were Ten

Coming into Day 2 of the 2011 World Series of Poker Circuit Caesars Palace Main Event, Cody Slaubaugh had a commanding lead. Yet by the time the day was done, Slaubaugh was long eliminated and the new player at the top of the heap was Chris Johnson (1,600,000). He leads the 10 players who will return on Saturday to play out the conclusion of the tournament. Hot on his heels are Alex Santiago, Adam Hui and Brian England, each of whom is within 200,000 chips (7 big blinds) of the lead.

Of the 84 players who came back for Day 2, 54 made the money. Notables who busted without cashing included Steve Billirakis, who got tagged twice by Lance Oliver; David Pham, whose exit came at the hand of J.J. Liu; and Chad Brown, who hung on with a short stack for a few levels but came up just short. Recognizable quantities with better luck included J.J. Liu (12th place), David Williams (22nd), Amanda Baker (35th), Erica Schoenberg (38th), David Levi (42nd), Jimmy Fricke (44th), and Day 1 leader Slaubaugh, who had a miserable Day 2 and slid all the way to a 47th place, minimum-cash finish.

On Saturday the remaining 10 players will return at noon local time to fight it out for the $153,599 top prize. Blake Kelso may want to pay attention to what happens at the final table. He's currently leading the race for Casino Champion and an automatic entry into the $1,000,000 National Freeroll. Hui and Kulish can both overtake him. Play will begin at Level 27, 15k / 30k / 5k, with these stacks:

Seat 1: James Martini (922,000)
Seat 2: Chris Johnson (1,600,000)
Seat 3: Alex Santiago (1,478,000)
Seat 4: Jon Seaman (617,000)
Seat 5: John Kulish (1,168,000)
Seat 6: Brian England (1,390,000)
Seat 7: Dave Stann (510,000)
Seat 8: Matthew Leecy (470,000)
Seat 9: Derrick Kuenzel (486,000)
Seat 10: Adam Hui (1,393,000)

Johnson has a small leg up on the field, but as Slaubaugh's Day 2 demonstrates, anything can happen. Until tomorrow, you can find us at the bar.

Tags: Chris Johnson