One of the 45 major events forming part of the 2006 World Series
of Poker has reached a final table complement after two days of intense
play in Las Vegas.
The $1,500 No-Limit Event boasted a starting field of 2726 ambitious
poker players, which by the end of day one this week had been taken
down by over half. 1 200 hopefuls started Day 2 in the massive Amazon
Room at the Rio Hotel and Casino where the first cards of the no-limit
tournament were dealt at 2 p.m. PDT.
The field was soon reduced to 122 remaining players, and these took
their places at the final 13 tables, watched by a growing crowd of
spectators. Big names who did not make it past this second day included
Phil Hellmuth, Phil Gordon, Paul Darden, Bill Gazes, and Tuan Le.
Shortly after midnight, Tom Nguyen was knocked out of the tournament
in tenth place and the final table was set. Brandon Cantu looks like
the chip leader at the final table on $867 000. The big game starts
at 2pm Vegas time Thursday, with the following at the table:
Brandon Cantu $867 000
Brent Roberts $581 000
Mark Swartz $504 000
Ron Stanley $421 000
Lee Padilla $394 000
Mark Ly $392 000
Juan Carlos Mortensen $386 000
Drew Rubin $365 000
Don Zewin $313 000