Posted by Andrew Feldman
3:10 p.m. ET: Finally, Day 2AB is here and under way. Players filed into the room starting at 11:45 a.m. PT and look a little bit tired. I'm not sure what half these players have been doing for the past two or three days (depending on their start day), but many of them look exhausted. Blank stares, coffee and yawns are quite the trend right now. When players reach their tables, they must give their dealers a copy of the receipt they filled out on Day 1. The dealer then checks the receipts to make sure the right player is in the right seat, and then the chip bag is opened.
Getty Images
After playing together on Day 1A, Jason Alexander and Brad Garrett have been separated, with Alexander moving to the feature table.
From media row today I have a good view of a medium-stacked Cairan O'Leary, a loud Mike Matusow and Erik Seidel. Out of those three Matusow is the shortest, but it seems that being the short stack on Day 2 is just the way he likes it. Last year, Matusow made it through Day 1 with just a few chips, but made his move on Day 2 to gather one of the bigger stacks of the day. Matusow lives for this tournament, and from what I can tell, he recognized only one other player at his table (I can't tell who it is from here).
To kick the day off, Jeffrey Pollack congratulated the players on making Day 2 and Jack Effel said that the field is approximately 1,500 players. There will be five levels today (through Level 9) and dinner break will be after the day's third level. Less than seven minutes in, a player was eliminated right in front of me at Orange Table 69. I'm sure he was happy to have hung around Vegas these past few days to be eliminated that quickly.
At the feature table we have Jason Alexander sitting directly next to 2004 WSOP main event champion Greg Raymer, while the secondary table has Chris Ferguson and Roland De Wolfe.
Small blinds: They are breaking the Orange Table Region first today. … The player to the left of Matusow was just eliminated. … The feature table area is packed, but until I realized Raymer and Alexander were at the same table, I didn't think anyone could get as big a turnout as Daniel Negreanu. … I think even the "cricket" sounds from the chip shuffling are quieter today. … I saw 96-year-old Jack Ury chowing down at the Sao Paolo Cafe during breakfast. I'm not sure which is worse for him: the food there or 10 hours of poker. … Cash games are back in action after stopping momentarily as Day 2AB started. … Norman Chad is walking around the room making friends. … You can follow everything ESPN Poker on Twitter at @ESPN_Poker.
Poker
