43 players survived day 1 and will return at NOON central time for day two. Here they are, sorted by chip count (to see this list sorted by day two table/seat assignment, go to the day two blog):

Michael 'carwash' Schneider finished the day in good shape with over 116k, good for 6th place in the end of day one standings.  Michael wanted to send his children (who better be in bed sleeping right now) a good night and lots of love to Jarod, Jacob, and Isabella!

	Chad Brown

Then on the last hand, Chad Brown got all-in and called by James Taylor on a 7-high flop with two hearts. James had 75 for top pair, but Chad had K 7 for top pair with better kicker and flush draw. The board bricked out and Chad doubled up, leaving James short at the end of the day.

Two tables over, Vanessa Rousso did not fare as well. On the turn with the board showing 9 4 3 6 Jeremy Gaubert moved all-in for ~41k. Vanessa tanked for a couple of minutes, then folded.

That's it for day one and players are now getting their day two seat assignments, bagging and tagging their chips. When the chip counts have been compiled, they will be posted here.

	George Eon - ejected

On a flop of A T 8, George Eon got all-in and called/covered by Michael Wang. George held AJ for top pair, but Michael held AT for top two pair and the lead. The turn was a 9 and gave George more outs -- he needed a Jack or Queen to suvive. River was a 2, however, and the former chip leader is now toast, history, outta here. Michael is still stacking chips, but I've guesstimated he's over 250k and way out in front of the field.

The other Michael at that table, 'Carwash', pointed out the distinctive rectangular bruise on Michael Wang's head, caused by getting hit repeatedly with the deck. He can laugh about it because he's not (yet) been on the receiving end of Michael Wang's rush.

	Jordan Smith - jilted

Michael Prichard opened for 4k on the button and Jordan Smith shoved for 13,700 more from the big blind. Michael called, showing pocket 8s. Jordan held AQ and was racing for his tournament life. The flop was completely dry and no help for Jordan. Then an 8 hit the turn, giving Michael a set and Jordan was drawing dead. He hit the rail.

Kenny Milam opened for 2,400 utg+1 then seat 4 raised to 9,300 in the middle. Action folded back to Kenny, who open-mucked his pocket 7s.

48 players remain. Average stack is 52,500. Just under half an hour to play before calling it a night.

	Michael Wang

Mike Leah landed at table 49, between David Diaz and Chad Brown.

On the turn with the board showing 7 5 3 J Georghe Gradinaru got all-in for his last 21k. Seat 6 gave it some thought, then made the call, tabling pocket Kings (both red). Georghe held A 8 for the nut flush and had his opponent drawing dead. Georghe doubled up.

Wilbur Futhey busted out and his table was broken. Jeremy Gaubert ended up in the seat two to the left of Vanessa Rousso. Vanessa opened for 2k utg, Jeremy called, then seat 6 (who was left short after getting his Kings cracked by Georghe) called, making it a three-way. The flop came 8 6 4 rainbow. Vanessa checked, Jeremy bet 4k, seat 6 raised to 10k, Vanessa opted out and Jeremy moved all-in. Seat 6 called all-in showing pocket Jacks, but was crushed by Jeremy's pocket Queens. The last two were 5 8 and Jeremy took the pot, sending another player home.

Level 8: Blinds 400/800 with 100 antes. Play has resumed. This will be the last level of the night!

End of level 7 and they have paused the clock to color-up the green 25 chips. 57 players remain. Average is over 44,200.

	Paris Heard

On a flop of Q 7 3 Paris Heard got all-in and called by Wilbur Futhey, who held AK (nut-no-pair). Paris was ahead with AQ for top/top. The last two came safely 7 4 and Paris doubled up -- to ~70k! He's been on fire since the last break, when he was down to only 16k!

Jerry Milanos raised, Tony somebody re-raised, and Jerry called. On the flop of T 8 4, Jerry checked, Tony moved all-in and Jerry insta-called. Tony held pocket Aces. Jerry held A J and had flopped the nutz. Tony was dead to runner-runner, so when the 6 hit the turn, he was drawing dead and busted. Jerry's up to ~50k.

Soheil Shamseddin has vanished into the mist (well, humidity here in Mississippi).

About 57 players remain with one level to go tonight.

	James Taylor

On the river with the board showing K 9 3 7 9 Georghe Gradinaru fired 17k after the lady in seat 5 (bb) checked. Georghe had less than 3k behind and the lady gave it some thought, then let it go.

On a flop of K J 8 Jim Rumptz (utg+1) moved all in for 7,200. Seat 5 (hijack) and George Eon (bb) called. Turn was the A and they checked the dry side pot. River was the 9 and seat 5 casually tossed in a single 5k chip. George called, showing K6 off for a pair of Kings. Seat 5 showed KT off for the same pair with better kicker to take the side pot. Jim showed A Q for a pair of Aces to take the main pot, tripling up in the process.

	Roy Hill

Luther Lewis opened for 2,050 utg and Georghe Gradinaru called (utg+1). On the flop of K J 9 Luther led out for 5k and Georghe called quickly. Turn was the 6 and Luther launched a 19k salvo. Georghe tanked for about a minute, then let it go.

On the turn, the board read 8 7 2 3 and seat 6 (middle) bet 5,700. Roy Hill (button) called. River was the T. Seat 6 bet 8,300 and Roy called. Seat 6 announced AK (nut-no-pair). Roy held A 7 for a pair of 7s to take the pot.

	Adam Junglen & Mike Leah

Level 7: Blinds 300/600 with 75 antes. Play has resumed.

Adam Junglen busted out before the break.  He tweeted this about his departure:

"Busto. Mistepped A9o into TT on JJ95, then got my last 14k (at 200/400/50) in with AKo vs Mike Leahs KK. Frustrating."

Here are some rough chip counts as of the break:

End of level six and players have been sent on a 15 minute break, their last of the day.

	Jeremy Gaubert

On a flop of K J 2 seat 6 (sb) checked to George Eon, who bet 3k. Seat 6 called and the turn was the 8. Seat 6 checked again, George fired 5k, and got the call. River was the 5 and both checked. George showed his lowly pocket 3s and we were all surprised when they turned out to be good. Seat 6 showed A 7 for the busted flush-draw. George has now taken the chip lead with about 110k.

70 players remain.  Average is 36k.

	Luther Lewis

Seat 7 raised from the middle, then Luther Lewis (hijack) raised to 3,100. Georghe Gradinaru (cutoff) then four-bet to 13k. Back to seat 7, who called all-in for 11,900. Luther then moved in over the top and it was another 10,275 for Georghe to call, which he did.

Seat 7 held pocket Queens. Luther held pocket Aces, and Georghe held K 7 (I kid you not.) The board came T 8 3 4 2 shipping both main and side pots to Luther. He more than doubled up to ~60k. Seat 7 was busted and George was left with ~40k.

Jerry Lee has also joined the dearly departed.

	Chris Bell - rung

On the river, the board showed A Q 3 5 4 and Mike Leah moved all-in. Michael 'Butch' Scott made the call, showing AK for top pair, top kicker. Mike rolled over Q 3 for two pair to take the pot and double-up. These two have been trading pots back and forth all day.

Chris Bell got his last chips in holding AK on the button, only to run into the pocket Aces of James Taylor (no, not the singer) in the big blind. The board ran dry for Chris as it came 9 8 8 7 4 and he was busted.

Jeremy Byrum has also busted out.

Level 5 concluded and play continued into

Level 6: Blinds 200/400 with 50 antes. 79 players remain. Average stack is almost 31,900.

On a flop of A 4 3 rainbow, seat 7 checked to Michael 'carwash' Schneider, who bet 800. Seat 7 folded and Michael took the pot. "Write that down" Michael said. "That's the first pot I've won off him today." And so it is written.

	Vanessa Rousso

On the river the board showed Q 9 7 5 8 and Carwash bet 2,300 (sb). Jeremy Byrum (hijack) made the call and Carwash showed AQ off for top/top. Jeremy mucked and Carwash took the pot. He's up to ~36k.

Three players took a flop of Q 9 4. Seat 8 (bb) checked, Vanessa Rousso (utg+1) bet 800, seat 4 (hijack) called and seat 8 folded. Turn was the 9 and both remaining players checked. River was the T and Vanessa led out for 3,300. Seat 4 counted out the chips to call in his right hand, then picked up a 5k chip in his left. He dropped the call in, then dropped the 5k chip, intending to raise. The dealer called that a string bet and made him take the 5k chip back, making it just a call. He showed A9 off for trip 9s. Vanessa rolled over pocket 4s for the full house, so it ended up costing her chips, but she still pulled a nice pot, chipping up to ~65k.

Down to ~81 players at nine tables.

	David Diaz

In a battle of the blinds, on the turn the board showed 8 4 2 5 and Wilbur Futhey (small) bet 1,500. Jeremy Guabert (big) called. River was a Ten. Wilbur fired 3k and Jeremy called, showing 54 off for two pair. "You got me" said Wilbur as he mucked his hand.

On a board of K 9 5 J seat 9 bet 2k and David Diaz (button) called. River was the Q and seat 9 bet 5k. David announced he was all-in. Seat 9 mucked and David pulled the pot.

On the river with a board of 6 3 3 4 8 Mike Leah (button) fired 1,800. Butch Scott (bb) called. Mike held pocket 7s, but Butch held Q3 for trips to take the pot and reclaim some of his chips.

Level 5: Blinds 150/300 with 25 antes. Play has resumed.

88 players remain. Average stack is over 28,600.

End of level 4 and players are taking a 15 minute break.

	Soheil Shamseddin

In a battle of the blinds, Georghe Gradinaru raised to 800 from the small and Vanessa Rousso called from the big. The flop came 5 4 2 rainbow and Georghe fired 1,200. Vanessa called. Turn was another 4 and both players checked. River was a King and Georghe checked. Vanessa bet 5k and Georghe called fairly quickly. Vanessa showed 63 off for the flopped straight. Georghe patted the table and mucked his hand.

Mike Leah limped on the button and Butch Scott raised 600 from the big blind. Mike called the raise and the flop came Q 8 3. Butch bet 800 and Mike called. Turn was the 6 and Butch fired 1k. Mike called. River was the T and Butch fired 3k. Mike tanked for a couple of minutes as he was getting fairly short on chips. He finally opted to call and Butch showed A K for nut-no-pair. Mike rolled over pocket Jacks to take the pot.

Level 4: Blinds 100/200 with 25 antes. Play continues with about 35 minutes remaining in this level.

Here are some rough chip counts as of dinner:

The dinner bell has rung and 96 players are headed out for chow.

The final player count was 126 creating a prize pool of $601,100. The final 18 players will get paid as follows:

	Chad Brown

Gary Gibbs got the last of his chips in holding KQ and got action from Jim Rumptz who held AK. The board blanked out and Jim took the pot with nut-no-pair. Gary took the walk.

On a flop of T 4 3 Chad Brown (bb) bet 600, seat 7 (sb) check-raised to 1,800, and Chad called. Turn was the K. Seat 7 led out for 3,200 and Chad called. River was the 7 and both checked. Chad showed K T for top two pair. Seat 7 flashed the A and mucked his hand. Chad is up to ~38k.

96 players remain.

Level 4: Blinds 100/200 with 25 antes. Play continues.

They will take a 90-minute dinner break at 6:30pm central time, which will fall in the middle of this level.

	Wilbur Futhey

On the river with the board showing Q 5 4 A Q Soheil Shamseddin (big blind) bet 2k. Adam Junglen (hijack) gave it some thought, then raised to 5,500. Soheil then tanked for about a minute, finally opting to call. Adam showed 32 off for the wheel. Soheil mucked and Adam took the pot.

On the river with a board of 7 4 2 8 3, Tommy Vedes bet 8,300. Seat 5 tanked for a bit, eventually making the call. "Good call" Tommy said as he showed his AQ (Ace-high). Seat 5 held 87 for two pair to take the pot.

	Kenny Milam

Despite my warnings about the 'seat of death' (table 53, seat 4) Justin 'LockDownTex' Allen has already hit the ejector button. He got his chips in with a set of 7s, but Kenny Milam had a set of Kings and sent Justin to the rail. Kenny is now up to ~70k and vying for the chip lead.

The seat of death, to the right of Chris Moneymaker, is currently empty and awating its next victim. It has already dispatched Manny Minaya, Shaun Deeb, and Justin Allen.

	Shaun Deeb - done and dusted

Shaun Deeb has lost the last of his chips and departed (I think he was hoping to get into the Sunday tournaments online). Justin Allen has been moved into the "seat of death", which was formerly occupied by Shaun and Manny Minaya before him.

Vanessa Rousso landed in seat two at table 54, then had chip leader Georghe Gradinaru moved into the one seat on her right.

Level 3: Blinds 100/200. Play has resumed.

	Georghe Gradinaru

End of level two and players have been dispatched for 15 minutes away from the felt.

Georghe Gradinaru is the chip leader with almost 70k.  Chris Moneymaker is up to ~55k and virtually tied for second with Tommy Vedes at ~55k.  Jerry Lee has about 44k.  Adam Junglen is up to ~40k.  Mike Leah has ~34k.

On the river with the board showing Q T 5 7 A Jeremy Byrum got all-in and called by seat 7, who held AQ off for top two pair. Jeremy produced K 8 for the nut flush to take the pot and double-up.

	Mike Sica & Gary Gibbs

Seat 6 raised to 450 from the cutoff and Anita Vasquez called from the button. They both checked the flop of J 6 3 rainbow. Turn was the 9 putting two diamonds on the board and again both checked. River was the 2 and seat 6 checked. Anita bet 1k and and seat 6 surrendered.

The utg player limped, Mike 'Little Man' Sica completed the small blind and Gary Gibbs checked his option. The flop came 9 8 6 and it checked around. Turn was the 3 and Little Man led out for 450. The other two folded and Mike pulled the pot.

On a flop of A Q 2 seat 8 (big blind) bet 3,600, Kenny Milam (utg+1) moved all-in for 8,775, then Shaun Deeb moved all-in over the top for 12,825. Seat 8 called and it was a three-way. Kenny held K J for the Royal draw. Both Shaun and seat 8 held A2 for two pair. Turn was the Q and changed nothing, but the river was the 7 completing the flush for Kenny. He tripled up to almost 30k. Shaun split the side pot and was left with just under 4k.  (Shaun is now in the seat between David Diaz and Chris Moneymaker.)  Kenny made the final table of the WSOP Circuit Championship at Harrah's New Orleans back in May, finishing 8th.  Shaun finished 14th in that event.

	Michael Schneider - chipping up

On the river with the board showing T T 5 J 7, seat 7 bet 600. Michael 'carwash' Schneider gave it some thought, then made the call. Seat 7 showed KJ offsuit for Jacks-up, but Carwash had his kicker notched. He was holding AJ suited for the same two pair with top kicker to take the pot. Michael's now up to ~35k.

At the river, the board read Q 6 4 J K and seat 3 (big blind) checked it over to Jerry Lee in seat 9. Jerry was giving it some thought when seat 3 gave him a speech indicating he was calling any bet up to all his chips. Jerry asked what he had and seat 3 stacked his chips out. Jerry tossed in a bet of 6,425 to cover and seat 3 called all-in, showing T9 suited for the King-high straight. Jerry rolled over AT off for the Ace-high straight and the stone-cold nuts. Jerry took the pot and seat 3 took the walk.

Over on table 56, they got to the river with a board of 9 7 5 8 J. Jim Naifeh (middle) moved all-in and seat 4 on his left burned some think time, then put his chips all-in. He held pocket 7s for the flopped set, but Jim held pocket Tens for the rivered straight. Jim took the pot and another player hit the rail.

	Chris Reslock - reported to the rail

Chris Reslock got his last ~9k in good holding pocket Kings against Frank Evans' pocket Jacks, but Frank caught a Jack on the turn to make a set, busting Chris in the process.

On the river with the board showing T 9 3 5 6 Chad Brown (cutoff) bet 1k. Seat 1 (button) gave it some thought, then made the call. Chad showed K 6 for just a pair of 6s (on the river). Surprisingly, seat 1 mucked and Chad took the pot. He's up to ~25k.

Alan 'BodogAri' Engel was here, briefly, but has already busted out.

	Manny Minaya - felted

Level 2: Blinds 75/150. Play continues.

Just before the end of level one, Manny 'the Maniac' Minaya got his last chips in holding JT on a Q T x flop (middle pair). He was trailing Chris Moneymaker's QJ (top pair). The board bricked out and Chris took the pot, sending another player to the rail.

Mike Leah is up to 35k.

	BJ McBrayer - busted

BJ McBrayer is one of the first few to hit the rail. He flopped a set of 6s, but Chris Moneymaker turned a set of Kings to finish off BJ with set over set. Chris is now up to about 44k and probably the chip leader.

2004 WSOP Seniors event winner Gary Gibbs has taken his seat to the left of Mike Sica. WSOP bracelet winner Chris Reslock was found hiding under a black baseball cap over on table 49.

	Brent Roberts

It only took 31 minutes for the first player to lose the last of his 20,000 chips and depart the tournament. A couple more 'Seat Open' cries have been heard since then. Registration is still open. The player count is up to 119 (last October only 107 players entered).

Also spotted in the field are Harrah's Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Champion Brent Roberts and Chris Bell.

	Vanessa Rousso & Justin Allen

Soheil Shamseddin, who made the WPT final table at Beau Rivage in January, is sharing his patch of green felt with Wilbur Futhey, who won his WSOP Circuit Championship ring at Caesar's Indiana in April 2008. Also at their table are Adam Junglen and newly signed Lock Poker player Mike 'GoLeafsGoEh' Leah.

Shaun Deeb has arrived and is sharing his table with Michael 'Carwash' Schenider and Anita Vasquez. Anita finished 6th in the main event at Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit event back in May. Shaun took 14h in that event and Justin Allen finished 7th, so many of these players are familiar with each other.

Chad Brown has taken his seat, bringing the count of PokerStars Team Pros to three.

Level 1: Blinds 50/100. Cards are in the air.

	Chris Moneymaker

In addition to Vanessa Rousso, there are several other notables in today's field. 2003 WSOP Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker won event #5, $500 Pot Limit Omaha, which earned him $15,889 and his set in this event.

WSOP bracelet holder Mike 'LittleMan' Sica won his seat along with event # 13, ($300 No Limit Shootout) good for $11,455. BJ McBrayer, who finished second to Clonie Gowen in this event last year, won his seat by winning event #4 ($500 No Limit) good for over $40,000.

BJ and Chris are seated at the same table, surrounding Manny 'the Maniac' Minaya.

Cards fly at 2pm central time!

Vanessa 'Lady Maverick' Rousso is here as hostess and she and new hubby Chad Brown were present at last night's cocktail reception, signing autographs and taking pics with the locals.  Ken Lambert, Director of Poker Operations for the Gold Strike and Beau Rivage, ordered up a feast of garganutan proportions for the occasion.  Shrimp the size of oranges, crab legs, sushi, roast beef, and desserts to die for.  I was looking to smuggle some leftovers up to my room, but alas, I have no refrigerator.  Had to settle for all I could eat on the spot. 

	Kaelaine in the 2006 WSOP Main Event

Kaelaine Minton Reporting

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