Photo Recap: Day 2 of WPT L.A. Poker Classic

By BJ Nemeth

At the start of Day 1, there were about 450 players, and that number increased to 666 by the end of that day. Registration remained open overnight until the start of Day 2, and the field eventually filled out to 681 players.

By the end of Day 2, the field had diminished to 238 players, and the tentative plan is to play long enough to burst the money bubble on Day 3. The top 63 will finish in the money, earning at least $22,230, while the winner of this event will take home $1,654,120.

With the average stack around 85,500, here’s a look at the top 10 players on the leaderboard:

1. Joe DeNiro – 366,700
2. James Carroll – 264,800
3. Jason Senti – 258,200
4. Mike Sowers – 252,500
5. Michael Mizrachi – 227,600
6. Nikolay Evdakov – 213,200
7. Carlos Mortensen – 204,900
8. Evan McNiff – 203,100
9. Allen Cunningham – 196,400
10. Ted Jivkov – 195,900

And now, a photographic look back at Day 2 of the WPT L.A. Poker Classic:

Even though Phil Ivey had a short stack in the second-to-last level of the day, everyone at the table folded to his preflop raise, forfeiting the blinds and antes. They may have been afraid of doubling up the player generally considered to be the best in the world, but it didn’t matter, as Ivey eventually built his stack to finish the day with a nearly average stack of 76,500.

Two-time WPT winner Freddy Deeb was one of the 24 players who skipped Day 1 entirely to begin Day 2 with the starting stack of 30,000 in chips (75 big blinds). Deeb finished the day with a slightly-below-average stack of 64,400.

Royal Flush Girl Sunisa Kim checks out the field in the middle of Day 2. Day 1 started with about 450 players, but when registration finally closed at the start of Day 2, the final tally was 681.

As WPT Borgata Poker Open champion Dwyte Pilgrim pulls in a pot, you can see he is wearing his WPT winner’s bracelet and two of his four WSOP Circuit rings. Unfortunately, Pilgrim won’t be adding a matching bracelet to his other wrist, as he was eliminated in the middle of Day 2.

Erik Seidel has gotten off to a very hot start in 2011, finishing top four in three different high-roller events and winning one of them. Seidel has already cashed for more than $3.4 million this year, and he has the potential to cross the $5 million mark for the year if he wins this event. Of course, there is still a long way to go for that to happen, and Seidel finished the day with an average stack of 83,300.

WPT Anchor Kimberly Lansing (right) interviews Kara Scott during one of the breaks. Scott’s t-shirt shows the "Four Little Ponies of the Apocalypse," which is probably the most menacing version of the classic childhood toy "My Little Pony" that you’ll ever see. Scott finished the day with 40,500, which is about half the average stack.

In the second-to-last level of the day, Vivek Rajkumar moved his short stack all in on the river with the board showing [Kd10d10c6cQd]. His opponent eventually folded, and Rajkumar took the pot. This may have been a turning point for Rajkumar, who finished the day among the top 15 with 176,100.

Steve Sung, who just missed his fourth televised WPT final table a year ago when he finished eighth in this event, is a tough player with a very quiet presence at the table. Sung heads into Day 3 with an average stack of 88,500.

Joe Hachem (right) got a big laugh from Liz Lieu when he proclaimed that he finally figured out why so many young online players wear sunglasses — "It’s because they’re all high." Hachem finished the day above average with 135,000, while Lieu finished with a below-average stack of 50,700.

Andrew Lichtenberger, more famously by his online name "Lucky Chewy," moves all in preflop during the last level, and doubled up when his [Jh10h] made a heart flush. Unfortunately, he gave some of it back by the end of the day, finishing with 19,200 (16 big blinds).

Nam Le final tabled this event back in Season VI (the year Phil Ivey won), and ultimately finished fourth. Le is among the top 20 heading into Day 3 with a double-average stack of 162,100.

Maria Ho, who cashed in this event two years ago, has a smile on her face even with a short stack. Ho finished the day with a less-than-half-the-average stack of 36,200, but with the excellent Matt Savage blind structure, that still represents 30 big blinds heading into Day 3.

Josh Arieh (left) and Barry Greenstein chat between hands during the last level. Arieh wouldn’t be smiling a short while later, when he was eliminated on the last hand of the day. Greenstein, a two-time WPT winner, is still alive but faces an uphill climb on Day 3 with just 35,600 in chips.

Jennifer Tilly (left) takes down a pot against Osmin Dardon on her way finishing the day among the top 15 with 174,100 in chips. (Dardon was eventually eliminated.) Tilly, who was nominated for an Academy Award in 1994, will be spending "Oscar Sunday" on the green felt rather than the red carpet.

During the last level, Joe DeNiro emerged as the overwhelming chipleader, finishing with 366,700 — nobody else is even within 100,000 of him. Despite the famous last name, the New York Yankees cap, and somewhat of a resemblance, DeNiro tells us that he isn’t related to actor Robert DeNiro.

Day 3 begins Sunday at 12:00 noon. Return to WorldPokerTour.com for continuing live coverage, including hand updates, frequent chip counts, video interviews with Kimberly Lansing, and another episode of "The Jess & BJ Show."