Here are the 36 remaining players with their chip counts and table/seat assignments for day 3:

	Michael Baker - End of day 2 chip leader

The end of day 2 chip leader is Michael Baker with 952,500. The rest of the chip counts will be posted here when available.

	Isabelle Mercier - 37th place

That's it. The clock has been stopped with 54:36 remaining in this level. They busted 9 players in just over 35 minutes. The last one to go was Isabelle Mercier, who was all in with a flush on the turn, but got rivered by a full house. Isabelle gets 37th place and $10,000.

Here are the players who cashed out today:

Another MSSSA: Erick Lindgren and Noah Jefferson get all the chips in. Erick's pocket Kings were in bad shape -- Noah held pocket Aces. No miracles here and Noah's Aces held up. The stacks were close and had to be counted down. Erick was left with just 5k in chips. Noah double up, but no bounty for him.

On the next hand, Erick Lindgren was all in with AQ against pocket Queens. An Ace on the flop and another on the river gave Erick a quadruple up.

Soon after, Erick was all in for 23,500 with pocket 3s and called by Jimmy Tran with AQ. This time a Queen hit the flop and Erick was busted in 40th place, earning $10,000.   Jimmy collects the $5k Shooting Star bounty.

Another MSSSA: Isabelle Mercier was all in with pocket Queens and doubled up to over 180k.

Level 16: Blinds 1,500/3k with 500 antes. Play has resumed.

Of the 45 remaining players, 5 of them are women, which is highly unusual in this type of event. The ladies, Jennifer Harman, Isabelle Mercier, Clonie Gowan, Anna Wroblewski, and Serena Liu, now represent 11% of the field.

	Ralph Perry - bubble-boy

End of level 15 and players are on break. There were a couple of big hands in progress just as the level ended, which Matt announced for us:

John Phan made a full house to double up to over 340k.

Ralph Perry got all-in against Clonie Gowan on a flop of 8 7 5 . Clonie had pocket 8s for top set.  Ralph had a monster draw: 6 5  (bottom pair with the open-ended straight-flush draw).  Unfortunately for Ralph, the last two cards were offsuit J T and Ralph Perry is today's bubble-boy.  Clonie was over 450 with that pot.

With that elimination, 45 players remain and all are in the money!

Oliver Tse just came over and told me Brandon Schaefer busted out 47th. With 46 players remaining, it is bubble-time! They are now playing hand-for-hand. The next player to bust with also get zip, zilch, nada (unless there is a tie).

Just back from another visit to the tourney floor:

	Paul Wasicka

After getting a big chunk of Steve Billirakis' chips earlier, Mike Baker just got the rest of them. On a K 6 3 flop with two hearts, Mike put Steve all in and Steve obliged, calling all-in with the flush draw. Mike had top two pair. Last two cards were bricks and Steve is gonzo. Mike is up to ~575k.

On a board of T 9 6 T Paul Wasicka (utg) moved all in over the top of Clonie Gowan's 25k bet (big blind). Clonie tanked for a couple of minutes, then called the extra ~12k, showing K9 for two pair. Paul showed pocket Aces for a better two pair. River was another Ten and Paul doubled up.

Joe Hachem moved in on the turn with the board showing J T 4 8 . Thanh Che gave it some deep thought for a few minutes, then mucked his hand.

On a flop of K J 4 Blair Hinkle (small blind) bet 35k in an already large pot. After a couple of minutes, Dan Morris (button) made the call. Both checed the turn, which was the 4 . The river was the 7 and Blair took a couple of minutes, stacked up some chips, counted some more, then finally checked. Dan checked behind and showed pocket 9s. Blair mucked his hand.

Matt Savage's latest announcements:

	Huckleberry Seed - burried

On a flop of K 9 7 rainbow, chip leader Mike Baker bet enough to put Shooting Star Jennifer Harman all in. Jennifer made the call, showing AK off for top pair. Mike held QJ off (gutshot). The last two cards came 2 Q and Jennifer doubled up to about 250k.

Huckleberry Seed got his short stack in with AQ and ran into the AK of Lu Wang. Huck couldn't catch up and busted out. Lu collected the $5k bounty. 6 Shooting Stars remain.

Phil Hellmuth has returned and now has the microphone, touting the accomplishments of the players remaining in the field.

Level 14: Blinds 1,200/2,400 with 400 antes. Play has resumed. 56 players remain (apparently there was a bust-out right before dinner). Average is over 134k.

End of level 14 and time for dinner!

Play will resume in about an hour at 6:05pm PDT.

57 players remain and 7 of those are Shooting Star bounties.

Another MSSSA: Joe Hachem was all-in pre-flop with A9 suited. His opponent held QT offsuit. Board came K 6 4 K 6 and Joe's Ace kicker was good for the double-up.

Another turn on the tourney floor:

I discovered that Maureen Feduniak had busted out. She moved in from the button for her last ~24k and ran into Paul Niemela's pocket Queens in the big blind. Maureen held KQ and couldn't catch a break.

	Mike Baker

Barry Greenstein was all in again with pocket Jacks. This time he ran into Taylor Raines' A K . The flop was 8 6 4 . The Bear was still ahead, but Taylor had picked up a flush draw. Turn was the 5 which added the possibility of a chopped pot with the gutshot. Barry had been dodging bullets all day, but he couldn't dodge the 3 that landed on the river to complete the flush and ship his chips to Taylor. Taylor also gets the $5,000 bounty, t-shirt, and a copy of Ace on the River autographed by Barry himself.

I'm not sure how the action went down, but at the river the board read A Q J 3 Q . Jason Gray was all in against Brandon Cantu for 146,400. Brandon held AT offsuit (Aces-up) but Jason held pocket Jacks for Jacks-full to double up.

Erick Lindgren was all in on the turn with a board of 8 7 7 Q . His opponent held 8 6 for 8s-up, but Erick held pocket Aces for Aces-up. His opponent was drawing slim to one of two remaining 8s. River was the 4 and Erick doubled up.

Mike Baker is the new chip leader with ~470k. Mike just doubled up through Steve Billirakis when he rivered a set to beat Steve's two pair.

WPT is reporting that Quinn Do, LA Poker Classic runner-up, has just been eliminated by Anna Wroblewski. He got all in on the turn holding top pair and Anna had flopped a set.

	Joe Hachem

Another MSSSA: Joe Hachem was all-in with pocket Queens against a player holding pocket Jacks. The Queens held up and Joe doubled up to ~48k.

Level 14: Blinds 1k/2k with 300 antes. 72 players have returned to the felt. Average is over 104k.

	Barry Greenstein and Blair Hinkle

Another Matt Savage Shooting Star Announcement (MSSSA):

Barry Greenstein was all in with pocket Jacks and up against Blair Hinkle holding Q 9 . The flop was 8 7 6 with one heart, giving Blair more outs with the open-ender. Then the turn was the A , giving Blair even more outs with the flush draw. Barry can dodge bullets, though, as the river was an offsuit 9 and Barry doubled up again to ~60k.

Level 13 has ended and players are taking ten.

I've just come off the tournament floor and play has definitely settled down -- thought not necessarily slowing down, the players seem to be much more deliberate in their actions, not splashing around in a lot of pots.

	Erick Lindgren - Bluff Masterson

On the river with the board showing Q J 9 5 K , seat 6 (small blind) checked to Erick Lindgren (button). There was about 70k in the pot and Erick bet 26k, leaving himself with only 7k behind. The bet sent his opponent into the tank for a few minutes. (It sure smelled like a value bet to me!) His opponent was torn over the decision, but finally mucked his QJ off (two pair) face up. As the dealer was pushing the pot to him, Erick tossed his A2 offsuit on the table face-up, so everyone could see his value-bet-bluff. I have to give him big props for that play. With that pot, Erick was over 100k.

With the board showing 3 3 2 T J , Steve Billirakis (middle position) moved all-in, effectively putting Hasan Habib (button) all in. Hasan tanked for several minutes. At some point, he apparently said he had a Jack. I heard him ask Steve "Why so much?". The floor was called over because Hasan had revealed the contents of his hand. Matt Savage ruled that Hasan would be assessed a penalty after the hand was over. Hasan found a way around that as he decided to call all-in. Steve rolled over Q 7 for the flush made on the turn. Hasan mucked his hand and left.

Maureen Feduniak's table broke and she was moved to a new table which could be even tougher:
1 - Michael Binger
2 - Ralph Perry
3 - Huckleberry Seed
4 - Mary Jo Belcore
5 - Maureen Feduniak
6 - George Panagakis
9 - Aneel Choppa

Theses folks have vanished into the mist at some point today: Justin Bonomo, Ryan Young, Lee Markholt, and Paul Smith.

Level 13: Blinds 800/1,600 with 200 antes. Play has resumed.

End of level 12 and players are taking 10. 84 players remain -- 8 of them carry a $5,000 price tag on their heads.

Matt Savage's latest Shooting Star announcement: On a flop of Q 9 8, Cyndy Violette was all in with 98 for two pair. Aneel Choppa made the call, holding KQ for a single pair.  Cyndy was ahead, just needing to dodge the Kings and Queens. Unfortunately that's exactly what the next card was, a King. To add insult to injury, the river was also a King, giving her opponent Kings-full, the pot, and the $5,000 bounty.

	Cyndy Violette

Matt Savage's latest Shooting Star announcement: Cyndy Violette was all-in pre-flop with A J and called by George Panagakis holding K T . The flop was both good and bad news. K Q T gave Cyndy the straight, but gave George two pair. She had to dodge the rest of the Kings and Tens. Last two cards were 5 3 and Cyndy doubled up.

There are only 9 Shooting Star bounties remaining to be collected: Joe Hachem, Isabelle Mercier, JC Tran, defending champion Ted Forrest, Layne Flack, Barry Greenstein, Jennifer Harman, Erick Lindgren, and Cyndy, of course.

Just got back from my time 'in the box'. As usual, the action was frenetic.

On the turn with a board showing Q 4 3 , Paul Wasicka bet enough to put the short-stack on his left all-in. Seat 9 called all-in quickly, showing pocket 7s for the set. Paul said "oops" and rolled over his AJ offsuit (Ace-high) and was drawing dead. River was a 6 and seat 9 doubled up.

	Maureen Feduniak, Rich Belsky, and Brandon Cantu

Robert Cheung raised and the player on his left moved his short-stack all-in. Robert called, showing KJ offsuit. Seat 8 held pocket Aces. The flop was a killer with a King and a Jack, giving Robert two pair and the lead. No Ace or pair appeared and seat 8 was busted. With that pot, Robert was up to 170k.

Maureen Feduniak is slowly and quietly building her stack. She's currently up to 73k, but she's got a tough table, though. From her 1 seat, she has to deal with Rich Belsky in the 3, chip leader Brandon Cantu in the 4, and Paul Wasicka in the 7 seat.

Barry Greenstein got all-in with AQ off and was looked up by a player holding QJ suited. Neither hand improved with the board and Barry's Ace-high was good to double him up to about 50k.

On the river, the board read A Q 8 T T . Attoine Tran has bet enough to put 'Miami' John Cernuto all in (16k). Miami John tanked for several minutes, obviously struggling with the decision. He finally mucked his K 9 face up (2nd-nut-flush). Everyone was stunned by the fold. Attoine mucked his hand.

On the next hand, Miami John was utg and moved in for 15,800. Jimmy Tran moved in over the top from the middle to isolate and everyone else folded. John held the two black 8s; Jummy held K J and it was race time. Jimmy won the race as the board came J 3 2 7 K giving Jimmy two pair and the pot. Jimmy also picked up the $5,000 bounty on John's head. He should thank Miami John for making such a great laydown against Attoine, who later confided that he held pocket Aces for the full house in the previous hand.

Erick Lindgren got all in on a K 8 7 rainbow flop. He got called by a player holding KQ for top pair, but Erick held pocket 7s for the set. Last two cards came 6 2 and Erick doubled up. With that pot, he was up to ~90k.

Level 12: Blinds 600/1,200 with 200 antes. Play has resumed. Here are the chip leaders:

Level 11 has ended and players are enjoying a 10 minute break from the grind. 106 players remain, which means we lost 32 players during the first 90 minute level.

The Shooting Star announcements are coming in droves:

	Scotty Nguyen - "See you later, Baby"

Kathy Liebert was all in with KJ against Ryan Young's AQ. Kathy caught two pair on the flop of K J 3, but that also gave Ryan outs to a straight. Turn was a 3 and changed nothing, but then the dreaded Ten hit the river, giving Ryan the Broadway straight and busting Kathy. Ryan collected the $5,000 bounty.

On the turn with the board showing 9 8 5 3, Scotty Nguyen got all in with T8 (one pair) but was drawing dead against Joe Graziano's 76 for the straight. Another Shooting Star shot down.

With a board of K 8 5 9, Allen Cunningham moved in with K8 (two pair) but Steve Billirakis held pocket Kings and had Allen drawing dead. Another Shooting Star bites the star-dust.

Just spent an exciting 15 minutes in the box:

In a battle of the blinds, Lee Watkinson (small) checked the river with the board showing 9 8 6 T Q. Hasan Habib (big) fired 6k. Lee thought for a few seconds, then made the call. Hasan showed T7 for the flopped straight and Lee mucked.

Allen Cunningham got all in with pocket Queens against pocket 8s. The board came 7 7 3 2 K and Allen doubled up.

	Phil Laak signs his bounty t-shirt for Brandon Cantu

Mike Matusow was all in on a flop of T 9 4 . He got called by a player who showed pocket Queens. The Mouth didn't want to turn up his hand, but he had to and it was 98 offsuit (middle pair). He needed to improve to survive, but the last two cards came 4 3 and he was busted. Another bounty gone.

On a flop of 8 7 3 'Miami' John Cernuto got all in with K Q (flush draw, two overs) against Anna Wroblewski's pocket 6s. Turn was the 7 and no help, but the river was the 9 and John made his flush to double up.

Phil 'Unabomber' Laak got all in with AK and ran into the pocket Aces held by chip leader Brandon Cantu. Phil would need a miracle, but the board came K 8 6 9 T and the Unabomber is history.  Brandon extends his chip lead -- he is now over 320k.

Joe Hachem was all in on a flop of A A 4, holding AQ off. His opponent held pocket 7s. Joe had to fade the two remaining 7s to double up. Last two cards were 3 8 and Joe survives and doubles through.

Another Matt Savage announcement: Barry Greenstein was all-in with KQ on a flop of K T T. His opponent held pocket 4s. Last two cards were 7 8 and Barry doubled up.

As soon as play started, we heard Matt's first Shooting Start announcement. Men 'the Master' Nguyen got his last ~6k all-in with A T and Robert Cheung made the call with a badly-dominated J T. Then the board came A J 7 2 K putting four hearts on the board to give Robert the flush. Men's becomes the first bounty paid out today.

Allen 'Chainsaw' Kessler came by to report that he got his chips in good, but....he shoved from the middle with A 4 and the big blind looked him up with KQ off. A King hit the flop and the Chainsaw was silenced.

Level 11: Blinds 500/1,000 with 100 antes. Cards are in the air.   Tables are all 9-handed today and levels will be 90 minutes long.

Day 2 will begin at 10:30am PDT Wednesday and bring together the survivors of days 1A and 1B. Here is the combined list of players who will get back to it on Wednesday:

*Corrected from original erroneous report of 2,300.

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