Play will resume on Tuesday at 3:30pm PST.

It has been done! The bubble has burst, and play has ceased for the day.

I'll have chip counts when they're posted, but suffice it to say that 54 players are in the money and will sleep well tonight.

Interesting happenings! (I'm awake now... Thank you, Red Bull.)

Isaac Haxton doubles up with 6-5 when he flopped two pair, a win which put him into contention.

Paul Wasicka lost a huge hand consisting of a 600k pot.

And Kristy Gazes just brought the field down to 55 by eliminating her opponent with pocket A's.

Action will now be hand for hand until the next opponent is forced to leave the building.

Two more players have been eliminated.

It has been announced that play is not going round for round, but each table is being monitored for stalling. When one more player busts, play will be hand for hand.

As has been the case for what seems like a lifetime, 59 players remain.

Players are on a 15-minute break. One gentleman is curled up on a couch in the lobby, and another is sprawled over an empty poker table to catch a few moments of rest and relaxation.

Rick Munro moved all in, Prahlad Friedman called all in (covered by Munro), and Jacobo Fernandez went into the tank until the clock was finally called on him.  Fernandez folded with only seconds to spare and says he folded K's.  Munro turns over A's, and Friedman shows 9's.  The board came J-5-J-7-J, and Friedman was eliminated from the tournament.

There are 61 players remaining in the shrinking field, and the fatigue is quite apparent. Weary eyes stare at cards and chips, and players consistently look up at the leader board to see how many more must fall before sleep can ensue.

Players, staff, and media alike are rubbing their eyes, yawning, stretching, and trying to focus - all the while making frequent visits to the coffee/tea stand and the snack bar for sodas and Red Bulls.

An incredible hand just played out. Paul Wasicka raised preflop to 20k, and the BB called. The flop came A A Q , Wasicka checked, BB bet 24k, and Wasicka called. The turn came 4 , Wasicka checked, BB bet 51k, and Wasicka called. The river was a 5 , Wasicka checked, BB bet 150k, and Wasicka called. Wasicka showed Q 9 , and the BB player mucked without showing. What an amazing call down by Wasicka!

Daniel Alaei, short-stacked, moved all-in preflop with pocket 6's. Seat 4 thought for some time, then called with A-Q. The board showed K-10-K-8-10, and Alaei was eliminated from the event.

There are 68 players left, and they're playing down to 54 tonight - however long that takes. Play has tightened up a bit, but the short stacks are finding it necessary to take their chances now.

Nam Le is on a roller coaster ride with his remaining chips, but Le's history dictates that he can easily come back from the deficit. He is using his short stack aggressively.

Chau Giang made a prediction to anyone who would listen - in Vietnamese and English, by the way - that the final three players in this tournament will be Le, JC Tran, and himself. We shall see...

Barry Greenstein has been eliminated from the tournament.

The last woman standing is officially Kristy Gazes. Lori Conn was eliminated within the last hour, but Gazes is looking strong with about $125,000. On behalf of women everywhere, go Kristy! (No pressure, eh?)

Joe Awada doubled up just before the break. Players will return in 15 minutes.

Due to more eliminations, Joe Tehan and Nenad Medic among them, the field is thinning. Currently, the board show 85 players remaining, and tables are breaking faster than most observers expected. With the blinds escalating - as they are prone to do - the shorter stacks simply can't sit around for long. Whether they're ready to put their lives on the line or not, it becomes necessary at one point or another.

Note to PokerPages fans: Jon Eaton, blogger and tournament reporter extraordinaire, has been eliminated from the tournament.

More eliminations include Minh Ly, Steve Dannenman, and Quinn Do.

Cheri Dokken, tournament director, is hoping the field will thin to 54 - the money mark - before midnight tonight, at which point play will end for the day.

Two big names are out of the event: Erik Seidel and Ted Forrest. Both players fought a long, tough battle but simply couldn't get enough chips to dominate their respective tables.

Action has resumed at the LA Poker Classic.

Play has ended to color up and get those pesky $100 chips off the tables, then everyone is free to head off for a 1-hour dinner break. Cards will be back on the tables at 8:00pm PST.

Play has slowed to a snail's pace after a fairly interesting start to the day. Dinner break is approaching in about 30 minutes...

There are approximately 110-115 players left in the tournament.

Walking around the room, I keep being drawn back to JC Tran's table, as he and Jacobo Fernandez continue to end up in pots together. Nothing too significant has happened, but the rivalry is apparent.

Barry Greenstein is wandering around the room... He's not out of the event; he's simply walking off a 20-minute penalty for misdirecting his cards toward the dealer. It was a purely innocent mistake, but everyone is asking Greenstein if he uttered the forbidden word. C'mon folks... it's Barry!

The most recent eliminations include Michael Mizrachi, Crispin Leyser of 2007 WSOP Jamie Gold incident fame, and Jesse Jones who founded the World Poker Association (WPA).

Anthony Mak has been eliminated from the tournament. This newcomer to the poker tournament world made a good first impression, and with Daniel Negreanu coaching him, we can be assured of more Mak sightings in the future.

All of the action just centered around one table moments ago - the table with JC Tran. As the hand played out and the pot increased, media and railbirds (and staff and players from other tables) gathered around the table. The board was showing 4 Q 3 7 8 , and Tran moved all in after the river. His opponent, Jacobo Fernandez, took quite a long time to think about it, then called with his tournament life on the line.

Tran showed A-5 of clubs, and Fernandez showed pocket A's. Fernandez stood up, and his girlfriend let out a screech of happiness, as they took a brief moment to celebrate together.

Tran sat stoic, as usual, simply counting out his chips to hand over to his opponent. The pot was estimated at 640,000, and Tran lost his chip lead with that one hand.

There is a lighter attitude in the room today. More players are smiling, laughing here and there, and chatting with their opponents than during Day 2. Some, like JC Tran, are still rock solid and motionless, but everyone has their own style and does what works best...

I must own up to something. There are actually 3 women left in the field; when I mentioned Lori Conn and Kristy Gazes, I mistakenly omitted An Lu. She is staying alive with around 50k in chips.

On another note, Nick Schulman just raked a nice-sized pot to put him around the 100k mark.

Cheri Dokken is welcoming players as they double-check their chip stacks and evaluate their tablemates. The button is going to be at seat 7 on each table, play starts at level 12, and antes are 300, blinds are 1000-2000.

Shuffle up and deal!

With 152 players left in the L.A. Poker Classic main event, Day 3 will begin at approximately 3:30pm PST today. The following is a list of players and their chip counts...