Players have now returned from their break. Just before we went to dinner the number of players dropped to double digits. The average stack right now is 87,576 and unlike at the start of the day, there are now many players who are deep stacked and have a lot more room to maneuver.
Will Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Hellmuth continue to push around the less experienced players at their tables? We've still got six levels of play remaining this evening so anything can happen!
As the field continues to shrink here on Day 2, three noted professionals have begun to separate themselves from the pack.
After starting the day with only 20 big blinds, Phil Hellmuth stayed patient and waited for the cards to start coming his way. Eventually, with about 40,000 in front of him, The Poker Brat got his wish and woke up with aces, just as an opponent was making an ill timed all-in bluff. This win propelled Hellmuth to a healthy stack and has continued climbing ever since.
Antonio Esfandiari jumped out to a big stack early in the tournament and has been relentless ever since. He fully exploited the money bubble and chipped up during the stages when most players were tightening their ranges. He now holds a stack in excess of 190,000, which puts him squarely near the top of the leaderboard.
Joe Tehan has quietly dodged the pitfalls posed by the event's massive field and has positioned himself for a deep run, building his stack to over 70,000 as we enter the dinner break.
We saw Aaron Massey stacking up a lot of chips and he was kind enough to recount the hand that had just taken place to us.
Massey raised to 4,500 from late position and action folded to the big blind who snap-shoved all in for around 40,000. Massey went into the tank for two minutes before deciding to call.
Massey:
Opponent:
The all-in player held the lead through the flop when it came with two of the cards being clubs. The turn of the gave Massey a flush draw and the on the river completed his flush sending the other player to the rail.
Hearing a spirited debate underway between two players, we stopped by and saw Andrew Higgins' laying on the table, with the board reading .
His opponent held the and while he was best when the chips went in the middle, his ace-high was undone by a jack on the flop. The pot at stake contained more than 80,000 chips and the opponent who lost it was perplexed by Higgin's decision making process.
"How can you call me there?" he asked with frustration dripping from every word, "I haven't made any plays all day and you call all-in with king-jack?"
Higgins seemed a bit offended by the interrogation and responded "I just didn't put you on anything big there ... I couldn't put you on anything big." This answer was not to the opponent's satisfaction, and he continued grilling Higgins.
The questioning prompted Higgins to reply "Listen, you really want to know why I called, or are you just makiing fun of me?" His opponent quickly answered in the affirmative and Higgins gave up the goose.
"My favorite numbers are 11 and 17, and when you went all-in I looked up and saw 117 players left on the screen. That's why I called, it was just meant to be."
The dumbfounded opponent just shook his head in astonishment, refusing to believe that Higgins had called off a stack of over 40,000 with king-high, simply because he saw his lucky numbers. Higgins, seeing his opponent's anger building, tried to assuage him by saying "I just went with my read bro, just had a read."
The opponent finally cracked and exclaimed "Sick f---ing read bro! What a read!" while he stared forlornly at the stack that could have been
We caught up with the action on a flop and the player in the small led out for 4,500. The big blind called, but Phil Hellmuth, with more sinister things in mind, squeezed to 16,000. The player in the small folded but the big flatted.
The turn came the and the big checked. Hellmuth quickly announced a 24,000 bet.
"What the f*** would you do that with?" Hellmuth's opponent quipped.
"I don't know," Hellmuth replied.
Hellmuth's opponent then mucked face up.
Hellmuth returned the favor (partially) by exposing the from the hand and mucking the other.
"I had him beat, I had him beat," Hellmuth's opponent groaned.
"I put you on ace-jack," Hellmuth said. "It might have been a tie."
"I'll tell you one thing, once the big money goes in - I'll always have you beat," Hellmuth added.
Jonathan Driscoll (Event # 8) Has Dominated the $1,000 Events Here at the 2011 WSOP
Hailing from Blainville, Quebec, Canada, Jonathan Driscoll has emerged during the 2011 WSOP as a master of the $1,000 tournaments. With the smaller buy-in and massive fields, these events have been dubbed donkaments by many observers, but for Driscoll, they are simply goldmines.
Driscoll began his WSOP with a run to the unofficial final table in Event # 8: No-Limit Hold'em, eventually falling in 10th place. His finish earned him $38,128 but Driscoll was not finished there. He soon made another deep run in a $1,000 NLH tourney, this time placing 78th in Event # 20 and pocketing $4,572.
During Day 1 of this event, Driscoll continued his torrid pace, quickly building an impressive chip stack and wielding it with precision to advance to Day 2. Today, in addition to securing his third cash of the WSOP, all coming in $1,000 NLH events, he has continued climbing and now sits with over 163,000.
If Driscoll's prior play is any indication, we expect him to make his presence known as Day 2 continues, and he attempts to reach his second final table of the year.
Antonio Esfandiari opened from middle position for 4,600 and found one caller in the big blind.
The flop came and the player in the big checked, prompting a 6,700 c-bet from Esfandiari. His opponent called.
When the fell on the turn, the big checked again and Esfandiari didn't let up - instead betting 12,000. His opponent immediately slid his remaining stack across the table and Esfandiari called just as quickly.
Esfandiari:
Opponent:
The river bricked and Esfandiari scooped the sizable pot - eliminating his opponent in the process.
Esfandiari is now among the chip leaders with 185,000.
with two of the cards being clubs. The turn of the 
gave Massey a flush draw and the 
on the river completed his flush sending the other player to the rail.
laying on the table, with the board reading 
.
and while he was best when the chips went in the middle, his ace-high was undone by a jack on the flop. The pot at stake contained more than 80,000 chips and the opponent who lost it was perplexed by Higgin's decision making process.
flop and the player in the small led out for 4,500. The big blind called, but Phil Hellmuth, with more sinister things in mind, squeezed to 16,000. The player in the small folded but the big flatted.
and the big checked. Hellmuth quickly announced a 24,000 bet.
from the hand and mucking the other.
