At the start of Day 2, 380 players entered the Imperial Ballroom with a dream dancing around their heads. That dream? Winning the 2009 PCA and taking home a cool $3 million. Each player had their future in their own hands and a once-in-a-lifetime chance to transform a pipe dream into a reality.
By the end of the day, 102 players remained out of the original 1,347 runners.
David Baker ended Day 2 at the top of the pack as the unofficial chipleader with 925,000. Former bracelet winner Dan Heimiller was not far behind with 837,000.
End of Day 2 chipleader - David Baker
Dan Heimiller
Some noteworthy players who advanced to Day 3 included.... 2008 WSOP champion Peter Eastgate, Ylon Schwartz, Team PokerStars player Alexandre Gomes, Team PokerStars Pro Vicky Coren, PokerStars Sponsored player Kathy Liebert, Mark Seif, Johnny Bax, Max Pescatori, Nenad Medic, Capt. Tom Franklin, Eric Liu, Kevin Saul, Joao Barbosa, and Matt Glantz.
Alexandre Gomes
Felipe Ramos from Brazil began Day 2 as the chipleader with 360,100. He would lose the lead early in the day as it changed hands several times. Russia's Sergey Rybachenvo held the top spot for a brief moment before Simon Muñoz Marin snagged the lead late in the afternoon. The Spaniard would eventually lose the lead to David Baker who jumped out way ahead of the pack.
Sadly, several Team PokerStars Pros were eliminated on Day 2 and walked away with nothing. That list includes Vanessa Rousso, Lee Nelson, Humberto Brenes, Greg Raymer, Victor Ramdin, Katja Thater, and Andre Akkari.
Vicky Coren and Vanessa Rousso
Other notables who busted out before the money included Veronica Dabul (PokerStars Sponsored player from Argentina), Alexander Kravchenko, Thomas Kremser, Eric "Rizen" Lynch, Raj Patel, Brandon Adams, Evelyn Ng, Jon Little, and Michael Martin.
At 5:19pm, the money bubble officially broke and the remaining 199 players were guaranteed prize money.
A couple of Team PokerStars Pros cashed including Tom McEvoy (134th), Barry Greenstein (148th), and Marcin Horecki (185th).
Some notable players who cashed included... Scott Freeman (104th), Leo Fernandez (107th), Matt Stout (114th), James "mig.com" Mackey (120th), Arnaud Mattern (134th), Geroge Danzer (138th), James Worth (150th), Ricky "FiveFingerz" Puelo (152nd), Jon "ApeStyles" Van Fleet (161st), Thomas McLaughlin (167th), Shane "Shaniac" Schleger (168th), Adam Junglen (172nd), Alex Kostritsyn (189th), Jon Friedberg (191st), and VIP qualifier Friso Zwerver (193rd).
See you back here at 12 noon for the kick off of the main event's Day 3.
All photos Joe Giron IMPDI and Neil Stoddart.
