Play for the night ended at approximately 5:45 a.m. PDT when the players were allowed a vote, and the majority chose to stop.  There are 18 players remaining in the tournament.  The official chip counts are in the table below.  Play resumes Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. PDT.

Chris Ferguson called Evan McNiff's all-in re-raise and was ahead with AK off. Evan held A9 off and was very far behind. A King on the turn left Evan drawing dead and Jesus doubled up -- again! He's over 500k now.

The clock had to be stopped during the level while the staff checked with surveillance again. This time it was due to two players chips getting mixed up. Once the chips were counted and restored, play resumed, but the end of the level was approaching. The break will be cut down to only 10 minutes.

29 players remain and they must continue until only 9 are left....unless the players mutiny, that is.

After the break, play will resume in Level 19 with 8k/16k blinds and 2k antes.

Chris Ferguson only had ~20k at the last break, but don't count him out yet! He moved in for ~30k utg and Michael Ium re-raised to get head-up with Jesus -- not a good idea, apparently. Chris held pocket Jacks and Michael's AT could not catch up. Chris more than doubled up to about 75k.

Todd Holley's AK out-flopped Melvin Jones' pocket Tens when it came K Q 5, but then the board finished A J giving Melvin the Broadway straight. Todd Holley got the rest of the night...I mean morning...off.

In a flurry of pre-flop action, three players got all-in: Brian Haas held 86 off; Chris Poma held K9 suited, and Grant Hinkle held pocket Aces and had the other two covered. The board bricked out and Grant killed two stacks with one pair of rockets, sending the other two to the payout table.

Lars Bonding got his chips in with AT off and got action from Evan McNiff's pocket 5s. Lars caught a Ten on the flop, but Evan caught a set and sent Lars packing.

Chris Ferguson was all in again against James Akenhead. Chris held the pocket Aces this time and was crushing James' KQ suited. The Aces held and Chris doubled up again.

Anthony Meeker got his last chips in with A5 off against Perry Friedman's pocket Tens. No miracle for Anthony and he's outta-here.

Deja-vu: Chris Ferguson was again all in against James Akenhead. Chris held pocket 6s and was racing against James' AK suited. The board brought nothing but bricks and Chris doubled up, again.

Ginikachukwu "Gin" Izuogu tanked very quickly. In just two hands he lost his whole stack, first with AQ versus AA, then with JJ versus AT. 45th place brought him $14,480.

It was Thomas Fuller's turn to get all his chips in and called by Chris Ferguson. Thomas held A8 off and Chris held KQ off. This time Jesus had to give some back as he was unable to improve his hand and Thomas took the pot with Ace-high. Chris was still over 200k after losing that pot.

Johnny Menus got all in with AT only to run into Theo Tran's AJ. Theo's kicker was good and Johnny hit the rail. Then Theo sent Mike Souza packing when his pocket Aces stood up to Mike's AT. Another one bites the dust and Theo chips up to over 900k, good for the chip lead.

36 players remain. Play must continue until only 9 remain. No Doze, anyone?

Pia Jeppesen is on a monster rush. Joe Gotlieb moved all in with AK and Pia called with pocket Queens. She flopped a set to send Joe to the rail and take solid possession of the chip lead with close to 700k in chips.

Perry Friedman's Royal has got him on a rush -- he just took a big pot from Scott Montgomery to increase his stack to over 500k.

Level 16 came to an end with 51 players still alive. Players took a 30 minute break while the staff colored up the purple 500 chips.

About 1:40am, Level 17 began with blinds of 5k/10k with 1k antes. With 51 players, the average stack is now over 231k. Each level will cost a player 24k to play, so the "M" is still less than 10 for an average stack.

Places 37 - 45 will each earn $14,480. Places 28 - 36 will each earn $18,771.

Level 17 didn't actually get underway until about 1:53am. During the color-up process, they caught an error when auditing the chips exchanged and had to go to surveillance to figure out the error. In the end, it turned out that Aaron Coulthard was given one extra 25,000 chip and it had to be taken away.

As of that break, Pia Jeppesen was the chip leader with ~665k. Aaron Coulthard was second with ~591k. Theo Tran was third with about 530k and Perry Friedman was fourth with about 520k.

51 players remain and they will continue playing until only 9 are left -- no matter how long it takes. The final table will begin on Tuesday, ten hours after they reach the final 9.

Pia Jeppesen moved all in with AK, only to run into Ryan Roeder's pocket Kings. The last woman sitting is still sitting as she flopped an Ace to crack those Kings and stay alive, not to mention chipping up to over 300k.

Frank Sinopoli got all in with AK suited and called by Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson, who held pocket 9s. A King hit the flop giving Frank the lead and Jesus might be able to turn water into wine, but Chris could not turn his pair into a set. Frank doubled up, crippling Chris's stack to under 20k.

Pia moved in again with AK suited and this time got called by Anthony Young, who held QJ offsuit. This time the best hand held up and Pia took another monster pot.

Perry Friedman has been working a short stack most of the day today and got it all in with A J facing a player holding KQ offsuit. The flop came K Q T -- yes, that's right, Perry flopped the ROYAL FLUSH, the stone-cold-uncrackable-nutz. His opponent hit the rail.

54 players remain, making the average over 218k.

Places 55 - 63 each earn $11,262. Places 46 - 54 each earn $12,871.

Places 82 - 90 earn $6,972. Places 73 - 81 earn $8,045. Places 64 - 72 earn $9,654.

Paul Felig got all in with AK and ran smack into the pocket Aces of Aaron Coulthard. The Aces held up and Paul was felted.

Edward Nassif raised to 16k from the button and James Atachazo moved all in for another 39k from the small bind. Edward tanked for several minutes, counting out his chips, then finally made the call. James' A Q was ahead of Edward's K T, then the flop came 9 6 6 to give James the flush draw. Turn was the 4 which also gave Edward a flush draw, but the river was the T, shipping the double-up to James and leaving Edward with only about 20k.

On a flop of Q J 9 Ginikachukwu (Gin) Izuogu got all in and called by James Akenhead. Gin held A 3 for the flush draw; James held pocket 9s for the set. Turn was the K which added a guthshot draw to Gin's outs. Then the T hit the river completing the flush and doubling up Gin. James was left with about 50k while Gin is now approaching the 400k mark.

Speaking of 400k, the only player I can find with over 400k is Karim Vegas, who is leading the pack. Due to table breaks and balancing, Karim now shares his table with Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson and former chip leader David Bach.

After one limper, Shane 'Shaniac' Schleger limped from the button.  Three players took the flop of T 7 5.  Jeff Wiedenhoeft (big blind) checked, Shaniac fired 8k, the limper folded, and Jeff min-raised to 16k.  Shane kicked it on up to 56k, leaving himself with only 34k behind.  Jeff raised enough to put Shane in and Shane called, showing pocket Kings.  Jeff held 75 off for two pair and the lead.  No help for Shane in the last two cards and he was bounced to the rail.

The utg player raised to 11k and got three callers, including the big blind. On the flop of Q Q 4 it was checked to Arnold Spee, who moved all-in. All folded and Arnold picked up a nice pot.

On the last hand of the level, Craig Brennan moved in for ~45k, which Karim Vegas called. Then Dale Morrow moved in over the top. Karim insta-called, showing pocket Aces. Dale's pocket Tens were in bad shape, and Craig's AQ off was even worse off. The board came 9 4 2 6 8 and when the chips were counted down, Karim had Dale covered and busted two players in one hand.

Also Departed:  Erica Schoenberg and Terrence Chan.

91st - 99th places each earn $5,899.

Alan Puzantyan has taken the chip lead with chips he took off of David Bach. Alan is now sitting on ~360k in chips.

Level 14 ended and the final 95 players were sent on a 20 minute break while the black 100 chips were colored up.

Dale Morrow raised to 11k up front and Pia Jeppesen moved all in for another 44k. After about a minute's thought, Dale let her have it.

Michael Ium is up to about 285k and making a push for the chip lead, but Scott Montgomery's ever growing stack is up to about 310k.

On a board of 8 5 3 8 K, Anthony Meeker fired from the big blind and Quynam Nguyen moved all in for about 40k more. Anthony thought for a bit, then made the call. Quynam was reluctant to turn up his cards, which were A 2 for nothing but Ace-high. Anthony rolled over A 3 for a pair of treys (I kid you not) to take the pot and bust Quynam.

Aaron Coulthard was all in with pocket Queens against Dale Morrow's pocket Tens. The board came K 9 5 J J and Aaron doubled up, leaving Dale with about 40k.

On the turn, the board read K 8 2 4 and Terrence Chan moved all-in. Andre Boyer called all-in fairly quickly showing pocket Kings. Terrence held Q T for the flush draw. River was the T however and Andrew took the double-up, leaving Terrence with less than 5k.

In a 3-way all-in, Matt Brady was ahead with pocket Kings; Hooman Nikzad held pocket Tens and Aaron Kanter held AK. Matt was ready to pull that big pot, but the ubiquitous Ace hit the flop giving Aaron the double-up. Hooman was busted and Matt was left with about 40k. A few hands later, Matt got all in with pocket Tens and raced against a player holding AK. This time Matt's hand held up and he doubled up to get back to about an average stack.

On a flop of 7 6 6 , Andre Boyer checked to Josh Engerdahl, who fired 9k. Andre made it 21k and Josh made it 61k. Andre made it all-you-can-eat and Josh obliged, showing Q J for the flush draw with two overs. Andre held pocket Kings, again. Last two cards were Q 7 and Andre doubled up, again, to over 300k. Josh was left with about 100k.

Ken Shaevel got all in with pocket Jacks against Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson, who held AQ suited. It was a race that Ken looked to win as the board came four bricks, but the Ace on the river saved Jesus, who stacked up to ~225k which Ken headed for the payouts queue.

More departures: Mark Vos and Todd 'Dan Druff' Witteles.

117 players remain. 100th through 126th place earn $4,827.

Level 13 came to a close and play continued into Level 14 with blinds of 2k/4k with 500 antes.

Players returned from dinner break about 8:50pm to Level 13 with blinds of 1,500/3,000 with 400 antes.

With 152 players still in the hunt, the average stack is about 77,500. Given the blinds and antes, the cost per round (CPR) is 8,100. This means the average stack has an "M" of less than 10 (M is the number of rounds they can play before blinding out).

Play must continue tonight until only 9 remain.

On a flop of K J 6 , Michael Goetsch (button) moved all in for ~40k. Ginikachukwu Izuogu  (A guy with a name like that needs a nice, short, nickname, so we'll call him "Gin".) tanked for a couple of minutes, then made the call. Michael showed pocket 4s and was trailing Gin's KQ off for top pair. Last two cards were 7 5 and Michael hit the rail. Gin chipped up to about 270k, challenging for the chip lead. 

Brian Haas was headed for the door when he found himself all-in with pocket 3s against Quynam Nguyen's pocket Aces. Arnold Spee had announced that he folded a 3, so Brian was dead to the case trey. Guess what landed on the river?? The case trey. Brian's set was good to take the pot and double up.

MJ Bernstein limped in early and got 3 more lemmings behind. Flop came 5 3 2 and MJ moved all in. A player called, showing pocket 8s. MJ was ahead with top set, but the river brought the crushing 8 giving his opponent the bigger set and the 55k pot. MJ finished in 158th place. MJ has been warming up with the $500 daily tournaments over at Bellagio where he has booked four final tables, including one win.

Erica Schoenberg is just hanging on with about 20k in chips.

163rd - 198th places earned $4,296.  127th - 162nd places will earn $4,559.

Level 12 has expired and the 152 remaining players were sent on a one hour dinner break. Play will resume at about 8:50pm.

After Ryan D'Angelo raised to 4k, a player moved all-in for 20k. Action folded to the big blind and Ryan said "call" and turned up his pocket Kings. The player in the big blind had not yet acted (Ryan said he could not see the bb's cards as they were covered by his hands). Nevertheless, the bb folded and Ryan's Kings were crushing the short-stack's pocket 6s. The board bricked out and Ryan won the pot, pushing his stack up to about 230k. The floor-person who had been summoned when Ryan exposed his hand with action pending, presented Ryan with a one-orbit penalty. He's one of the few players who can actually afford to sit out for nine hands...or 18 hands...or 27 hands...

Terrence Chan got all in with pocket Kings and called by Gavin Griffin, who held pocket Tens. The Kings held, doubling up Terrence, and leaving Gavin with less than 1k in chips. He busted out on the next hand.

John 'the Razor' Phan was sitting on about 175k, then got involved in a big pot with Ginikachukwu Izuogu. On the turn, with the board showing 7 6 4 J Izuogu (big blind) bet 14,500 into the already large pot. John tanked for several minutes, then made the call. The river was the 8 and Izuogu checked to John. John took a couple of minutes, then pushed out 40k in chips. Izuogu insta-called, showing A 5 for the rivered straight. John jumped up out of his chair, then mucked his hand. The Razor's stack was cut down to less than 100k on that hand.

Players departing in 199th to 234th places each earn $4,022.  Somewhere around 215 players remain, making the average stack almost 55k.

As the end of level 10 was approaching, the bust-outs kept on coming.

Todd Brunson got his chips in with AQ only to face pocket Aces. He collected his first payday of the 2008 WSOP.

Marco Traniello got his last chips in with pocket Jacks, only to run into the pocket Kings of Robert Herman. Marco earned his first cash of this WSOP (he cashed 3 times in 2007 and 4 times in 2006).

Ed Brogdon got all in on a flop of A Q T holding AK for top pair, top kicker, but his opponent showed him KJ suited for the flopped joint. The last two were bricks and Ed was busted. Ed has cashed in each of the last two WSOPs in the first event he has played, so he just extended that streak to three.

Those departing in places 271 through 306 each earned $3,486.

David Bach has re-taken the chip lead with about 216k as of the end of level 10. About 270 players remained as they took a 20-minute break.

Play resumed with Level 11, blinds of 800/1,600 with 200 antes. Players departing in places 235 to 270 will each earn $3,754.

The money bubble finally burst at about 4:08pm when Robert McLaughlin got his chips in with pocket 9s, only to run into pocket Queens. Robert became this event's bubble-boy and they dispatched the players on a 10-minute break while they got set up for the money play.

Play resumed with Level 10 and blinds of 600/1,200 with 100 antes. The tempo of play picked up quite a bit as the short-stacked players who were just hanging on to make the money finally started getting involved. The bust-outs are coming so fast there is a line forming at the payout table so long they had to set up stanchions to control the line (imaging the snaking queues at your favorite amusement park).

The first 36 players to leave will each earn $2,950 for their efforts, almost double their buy-in. David Singer is one of the players collecting that amount. He got his chips in good with AK, but got out-flopped by a player holding AQ.

They are already down to 315 players. Those leaving in places 307 - 342 will each earn $3,218.

Another hour of play has passed and there are still two more players who will leave without a payday. Play will continue with level 9 blinds until they do.

Howard Boyd ran his AK into pocket Aces and was dispatched just short of the money. Arthur Hamilton got his money in good with pocket Aces and called by pocket 3s. His news was just as bad when a 3 flopped and sent him packing without a payday. Mike Wattel, Ryan Morrison, and Michael Binger have also busted out just shy of the money.

Ryan D'Angelo of Binghamton, NY, is taking advantage of the bubble. On the turn with the board showing A 9 9 J , Frank Cremen checked to him and Ryan fired 10,200. After a couple of minutes, Frank made the call. The river was the 4 -- a complete brick -- and Frank checked again. Ryan announced all-in, effectively putting Frank all-in. Frank didn't take quite as long to decide to fold. Ryan has now chipped up to about 160k.

Day 2 of the record-breaking $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event got underway at 2pm and the chips were flying early.  The returning players started with Level 9 and blinds of 500/1,000 with 100 antes.

Only about 100 players had to go to reach the money and as the first hour of play came to an end, they were playing hand-for-hand waiting for the last few players to bust out. The final 378 will get paid at least $2,950.

Level 9 ended without the bubble bursting, so TD Jimmy Sommerfield announced that they would continue hand-for-hand play with the same blinds until reaching the money, then take a break to regroup and move into level 10.

Among those who returned today but will NOT be getting paid are Daniel Alaei and Joe Bartholdi. They departed early today. David Bach seems comfortable with his big stack of chips, but Ryan D'Angelo has passed him to take the chip lead with about 146,000.

The second half of the largest preliminary event in WSOP history took to the felt Sunday. The 1,881 Day 1B entrants pushed the field size to 3,929 players, including the 2,048 that showed up for Day 1A. Day 2 will see 449 of those players return to the Rio, each with hopes of conquering the record-setting field. David Bach ended Day 1B with 115,400 chips and the chip lead. Live coverage of Day 2 begins Monday at 2pm PST.

The table below contains the combined chip counts for the start of Day 2.