40 players will resume play at noon Tuesday - here they are with their chip counts:

These are the folks who cashed out today with some extra spending money:

Three players took the flop for the minimum: T 7 6 . Asa Smith checked, ElkY bet 25k, Glen Chorny called, then Asa raised it to 125K. ElkY got out of the way and Glen moved all in for another 350k. Asa insta-called, showing 98 off for the flopped nut straight. Glen held 76 suited for two pair. Flopping the nuts is sometimes not enough, however, as the turn was another 6 giving Glen the full house and giving Asa the boot.

In his first-ever live tournament, Asa Smith finished in 41st place, earning $24,000.

That's it for today. The final 40 are bagging and tagging. Chip counts will be posted here when they are available.

ElkY was getting close to the danger zone, but then doubled up when his pocket 9s out-raced Kris Kuykendall's AJ.  He then busted Hevad Khan when Hevad called all-in with AJ and was up against ElkY's AQ.  Hevad took 45th place and $24,000.

Jose Cuenca moved all in on a flop of 9 8 2 and after a bit of thought, Kris Kuykendall made the call, showing pocket Tens. Jose held AK suited and needed to hit, but the last two cards came 8 3 and Jose was dispatched in 44th place.

Asa Smith moved in and all folded to Jon Friedberg in the big blind. Jon agonized for a bit as Asa had him covered. He finally made the call, showing KQ off. Asa held pocket 8s. Board came 6 3 2 7 3 and Jon headed for the payout table (43rd place).

On the turn, the board read K J 9 Q . Both players checked. River was the 6 and Peter Jetten announced all-in. Emil Timberg went into the tank and asked for a count. Peter had 312k and Emil had him covered, but not by much. Finally Emil made the call and Peter insta-mucked. Emil showed K Q for top two pair. Peter gets 42nd place and $24,000.

41 players remain and they are now playing hand-for-hand until one more is eliminated.

Level 18: Blinds 6k/12k with 2k antes. Play has resumed.

Another level is over. 45 players remain and 5 more must go today. Of course they will each leave with $24,000, so it's not all bad.

David 'the Dragon' Pham is now sitting on 2.11 million in chips and is definitely the chip leader.

James D'Ambrosio raised to 28k from the cutoff and Victor Ramdin called from the button. Flop came Q T 4 and both checked. Turn was 7 and James bet 40k, which Victor called after a couple of seconds. River was the 4 and both checked. James showed 42 off (no kidding!) for trip fours to take the pot.

Christian Taepper moved in and Kristoffer Edberg called all in for 280k. Christian's pocket Kings had Kristoffer's AQ off in bad shape, but the board came 9 6 3 A T and Kristoffer caught a break to double up.

Jose Cuenca doubled through ElkY when his JT out-flopped Elky's AQ, sending ElkY into a bit of fit.

William Thorson busted Jeff Neuman when his QJ out-performed Jeff's AT on the board.

David McNew moved in for 66k and Jeff Neadom called the extra 56k from the big blind, showing A8 off. David's pocket 5s were ahead. The flop came K J T giving Jeff a gutshot to go with his overcards. Turn was another Ten, which gave Jeff even more outs. The river happened to be one of them, another Jack, double-pairing the board and counterfeiting David's pair. Jeff's Ace kicker played and David was done.

After an up-and-down day, Diego Perez moved his last chips in and got called by his nemesis, Christopher Klodnicki. Diego held T8 off and was trailing Christoher's QJ off. Board came Q J 3 3 A and Diego joins the growing crowd on the rail.

On a flop of J Q J, Mike Gorodinsky (button) got all in against Patrick Kelly (big blind). Mike's Q7 (pair of Queens) was crushed by Patrick's J9 (trip Jacks). No help on the last two cards and Mike was busted.

Just as I was walking past the Dragon's table, the dealer called "two seats open" and David Pham was pulling in a huge pile of chips. Apparently no one caught the action, but David busted two players on one hand.

49 players remain. Average is almost 464k. The payouts have increased to $24,000 for the 50th to 41st place players.

Level 17: Blinds 5k/10k with 1k antes. Play has resumed.

	David 'the Dragon' Pham

Diego Perez doubled though Jacques Zaicik in a huge pot with pocket Tens versus AK. No help for big slick and Diego doubled up. Then Christpher Klodnicki got all in pre-flop against Diego Perez. Christopher's pocket Jacks had Diego's pocket Tens crushed. A Jack on the river just added salt to the wound and Diego shipped a massive amount of chips across the table.

Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier busted Per Ravn just as the level ended.

David 'the Dragon' Pham is the chip leader with 1.321 million chips.

End of level 16 and the remaining 57 players are on break.

In a battle of the blinds, there was a flurry of action and then the small blind, believing they were all in, turned up his hand, which was A7 suited. Johan Berqvist was the big blind and kept his hand covered as he knew there was still action pending. The flop came J 5 2 and Johan moved all in. The small blind, who had him covered, made the call with his Ace-high. Johan tabled pocket 6s and he was ahead, but in a stunning reversal of fortune, a 7 came on the turn giving the small blind a bigger pair. No save on the river and Johan was busted.

66 players remain. Average is over 344k.

Chris Pearsall moved his chips in (38k) and got called by monster stack Peter Jetten in the big blind. Chris held AT off and was leading Peter's K7 off, but the board came K 9 3 T 6 and Peter headed for the pay table.

Richard Fohrenbach moved his short stack in with K3 off and got looked up by Cero Zuccarello, who held QJ suited. Board came A T 5 T 7 and Richard doubled up with King-high.

	Eric 'Rizen' Lynch

On a flop of A T 7 , Eric Lynch checked to William Thorson, who checked behind. Turn was the J and Eric lead with 30k, which William called. River was the 6 and Eric fired 50k. After a bit of thought, William folded.

With the board showing K 7 2 , Richard Furay bet 32k and Hafiz Khan made the call. Turn was the 6 and Richard checked to Hafiz, who fired 70k. Richard went into the tank, then folded.

Thierry van den Berg got all in with pocket 9s against Hunter Frey's pocket Queens (both black). Thierry took the lead when the flop came A 9 3 giving him a set. The 8 on the turn gave Hunter a club draw with his Q , but the river was the K and Thierry doubled through, leaving Hunter with only about 30k. He busted out soon after.

Peter Busch has also departed, earning $16,000.

Level 16: Blinds 4k/8k with 1k antes. Play has resumed.

Another level done and another break is in progress. 82 players remain. Average is ~277k.

Brian Lindsay found himself all in with pocket 7s and racing against A9 off. The board came K Q T J x giving his opponent the straight and bouncing Brian out of the event. GG - take $16,000.

Ross Romash got his chips in good with pocket 9s against Jared Mahoney's pocket 3s, but four spades hit the board and Jared held the 3 giving him the flush and the pot. Ross gets to settle for $16,000.

Julian Thew got his chips in with AT and got looked up by Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier, who held pocket Tens. No help for Thew and he is through. William Pilossoph got his chips in with pocket Tens, only to run into the pocket Kings held by Craig Hopkins. The best hand held up and William joins the line waiting to get paid.

92 players remain making the average about 247k.

Andre Akkari got his chips in with A J and was up against Brian Lindsay's pocket 8s. The board brought no help for Andre and he was ousted, albeit $16,000 better off.

Carlos Liu fell prey to Emil Timberg's flopped quads. Jonah Til's pocket 9s were no match for Glen Chorny's pocket Kings and Jonah was jilted. Irina Liepina ran pocket Queens into pocket Kings and she is done.

Ross Romash's AJ cracked Jon Friedberg's pocket Kings and Jon takes another hit, doubling up Ross.

	Peter Jetten

Peter Jetten is out in front with about 990k. Emil timberg is his closest rival with ~840k. Here are some other random counts:

Level 15: Blinds 3k/6k with 500 antes. Play has resumed. 108 players remain. Average is over 210k.

Tony Cousineau has been nursing a short-stack all day and he finally shoved with AT, only to get called down by William Thorson's AQ. No help for Tony and he's toast, but he's got $16,000 now so he can afford some jam.

Lee Markholt got his chips in behind with QJ facing Duy Le's AT. No help for Lee and he also departs with an extra $16,000. Jacob Petersen ran his QJ into big slick, which held up to bust Jacob -- taking $16,000 for his troubles.

Zack Stewart has also been eliminated ($16,000 richer). Looks like Peter Jetten is nearing 1 million chips and is the chip leader by far. He is currently sharing a table with Eric Lynch and William Thorson.

End of level 14 and time for break.

Stephen Kjerstad moved all in with AQ suited and got looked up by Mauro Stivoli, who held pocket Tens.  It was off to the races.  An Ace came on the flop, changing the lead to Stephen, but the killer Ten hit on the river, giving Mauro the set and the pot and giving Stephen the boot in 122nd place (bubble + 1).

So much for tightening up on the bubble. It has already burst and they are now in the money. 120 players remain and the next 70 to depart will earn $16,000 as a parting gift.

Frederick Agersnap is today's bubble-boy.  On a K 7 4 rainbow flop, Frederick shoved all-in, only to get looked up by Peter Jetten, who held KQ for top pair.  What did Frederick have?  T 2  (no pair, no draw).  His only hope was running diamonds, but that didn't happen.  That bluff cost Frederick a cool $16,000 and he is outta here in 121st place.

Chris Pearsall checked the flop of J 9 2 and Eric Koskas moved all in. Chris muttered "shitty flop" as he mucked his hand.

After Hevad Khan open-raised to 19k, Johan Til came over the top for another 34k from the small blind. Hevad wasted no time moving all in and Johan called all-in showing A K . Hevad had him crushed with pocket Aces, but the board came givng Johan the runner-runner flush super-suckout and doubling him up. Hevad was left with about 200k.

Kris Kuykendall got all in with pocket Jacks, running smack into the pocket Kings of Jon Friedberg. It looked like Kris would be hitting the rail, until a Jack landed on the river, giving Kris the double-up.

Julian Thew opened for 15k and Evan Tindell hit it for another 15k -- Julian called. Flop came A 9 9 and both players checked. Turn was 8 and Julian lead for 20k. Evan announced "raise" and Julian mucked his hand before the chips hit the felt.

On a flop of K Q 9 Tyler Dickinson checked, John Zioulas bet 40k, and Tyler called. Both players checked the 9 on the turn. River was the 2 and Tyler lead for 60k. John min-raised him another 60k, which Tyler called. John rolled over pocket 9s for quads, the stone-cold nutz. Tyler mucked.

They are at 122 now and play will be hand-for-hand until the bubble bursts.

Level 14: Blinds 2,500/5,000 with 500 antes. Play has resumed.

Paul Holub doubled through Duy Le when he turned the nut flush and they got all the chips in the middle.  After that hit, Duy was down to about 150k.  Paul has stacked up to over 300k.

	Hevad Khan with Barry's book

On a flop with three hearts, Barry Greenstein got all his chips in against Hevad Khan. Barry held pocket Kings with the K but in the cooler of all coolers, Hevad held pocket Aces with the A . Barry needed a King with no heart on the last two cards, but he couldn't catch a miracle and was busted, 133rd place. Always a class act, Barry autograhed a copy of his book, Ace on the River, and presented it to Hevad as he left.

132 players remain. Average ~172k.

End of level 13 and time for break.

Mauro Stivoli's AK was good for a double-up through Rob Lederer's AT (no relation).

ElkY took a pot from Cero Zuccarello when both checked the river with the board showing K K 6 4 J. ElkY showed pocket Tens and Cero mucked.

Daniel Stern got all in bad against Peter Jeten with KT to Peter's AQ suited. Peter was ahead the who way, but a Queen on the turn left Daniel hoping for one of three remaining Kings. No such luck and Daniel was sent packing.

Due to the randomness of eliminations, table breaks, and player moves, the two giant stacks of Eric 'Rizen' Lynch and Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier have ended up on the same table.

Eugenio Carmoneto got in again Hevad Khan and Eugenio's AJ was in great shape against Hevad's A9 -- and it was good enough to double up the shorter stack. Glen Chorny's flopped set was all in against Justin Wright's flush and straight draws. Glen faded all the outs and another short stack doubled up. Bill Ezzo was not so lucky and after doubling up a shorter stack, he was forced all in and busted.

Down to 139 players already. Average is ~163,500.

The plan for today is to play down to 40, no matter how long it takes. at 122 (two from the money) they will go hand-for-hand and that will slow things down a bit, but once the bubble bursts things should pick up again as the money doesn't change until they hit 50.

As expected, the short stacks will have to make moves early. It appears that they're getting the best of it so far. Jeff Neuman doubled thought William Thorson when his AK nut-no-pair was good. The Jens Erikssen doubled through Jeff Neuman when his pocket 3s out-raced Jeff's A9.

Level 13: Blinds 2k/4k with 400 antes. Cards are in the air.

David 'the Dragon' Pham, Joe Hachem, Vanessa Rousso and Bernard Lee have added thier autographs to the soccer ball and I've received lots of entries. If you wish to be entered in the drawing to receive this incredible keepsake drop me an email using the Contact Kaelaine link at the beginning of each day's blog. (A list of pros and celebrities on the ball for starters is in the 12:21pm update of the day 2 blog.) Drawing will take place on the final day when play reaches heads-up.

153 players survived day 2 and will return at noon today to fight for a piece of $8.5 million. Only 120 will get paid so 33 players must leave empty-handed. Here they are sorted by their day 3 table and seat assignments (to see this list sorted by chip counts go to the day 2 blog):

Kaelaine Minton Reporting

Kaelaine is one of the hardest working reporters on the tournament cicruit, and she can play poker, too!  She won the 2007 World Poker Open Media Tournament at the Goldstrike in Tunica, besting a field of 50 to win the event and the WPO gold bracelet!   Her motto is "will do anything poker-related for money".

Contact Kaelaine