Day 2 is Done: Redux

According to the offical time board in the Rio Pavilion this morning there are 568 players left, though I'm hearing 566 and 567 from others around the room. It's a big difference when only 560 will get paid.

After counting up the chips, the young Tim Phan is no longer the man with the most, a title now held by Las Vegas resident Rod Pardey, Jr. who is the son of a two time gold bracelet winner in seven card stud and himself finished 4th in the seven card stud event at the 1998 WSOP when he was just 21. Pardey's chip count: $ 464,000.

Raymer is indeed among the chip leaders, standing 9th with about $318,700 in chips. Michael "The Grinder" Mizarchi is still, as he would boast, "a machine at the table" with around $294,800, and staying strong is his feature table mate Layne Flack with $188,100.

Impressively still building his stack is Belize's Bob Hotchandani who has $372,700 and is in 5th position. We got word from Bob when he was at Arnold Spee's table the other day that he plans to build a casino back home. A win or final table apppearance here will certainly make that feasible.

Right behind Hotch is Lee Watkinson who is continuing his superb play from Day One, banking $336,800 after Day Two. Just as strong is Russell "The Muscle" Salzer with $326,000.

Minneapolis Jim Meehan is still on a roll, with both his irreverent remarks (see several posts below) and his chip count that now stands at $211,900.

Finally, here's how some notables look going into Day Three: Phil Ivey (89,600), Mike Matusow (120,100), Clonie Gowen (64,400), Howard Lederer (127,800), Layne Flack (188,100), Paul Darden (144,000), Dutch Boyd (103,800), John Juanda (141,100), and Atlanta's Matthew Hilger (60,900).