Deeb, Smith, Negreanu In Contention At WSOP Main Event

The World Series of Poker main event is supposed to be the place where the professional poker players establish their dominance and show the amateurs what tournament play is all about. Over the past decade, however, it is the amateurs more often than not, that have been left standing when the tournament heads for home with the final table.

This year, the amateurs are again making themselves known early in the main event, but there are plenty of pros that are near the top of the leader board and in contention for the most coveted bracelet in the sport.

Shaun Deeb, Gavin Smith, and Daniel Negreanu have had more than their share of success at the professional poker level, and all three are in position to make a deep run in the most prestigious annual event in poker. Deeb is sitting in third place in the chip count with just over 1,000 players remaining from the starting field of 6,598.

Smith is not far off Gaelle Baumann's chip lead of 505,800 chips. Smith is currently sitting on 279,200 chips. Negreanu has made a strong move and now sits in 37th position, holding 277,200. Negreanu has made significant runs through the main event several times in recent years.

Baumann has become the talk of the main event through two days. There have been female players that have advanced far in the event, but none that have actually held the chip lead this late into the tournament. If Baumann wins she would become the first female player ever to capture the top prize at the WSOP.

The 2012 edition of the WSOP has already set records for the event. On day 1-C, the largest starting field ever began play. The 3,418 players represented the most players that have ever started on a WSOP main event first day. The total of nearly 7,000 players also approached the record for most players entered in a single tournament.

Play will continue throughout the week, and players will be scaled back until the final table is reached. Play will then be hjalted, and resume in November, when the nine finalists will play for the second plargest top prize at the 2012 WSOP. The new $1 million buy-in No-Limit event held a couple of weeks prior to the main event starting had a top prize of $18 million, awarded to eventual winner Antonio Esfandiari.

July 11, 2012
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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