Better Late Than Never?

In an unprecedented day in poker, registration for the Bellagio Cup was extended until the start of Level 2 on Day 3. Over 20 high profile players arrived in the last level of registration including Andy Bloch, Tom “Durrrr” Dwan, Daniel Negreanu, John Hennigan, Jimmy Fricke, Chris Ferguson, Lex Veldhuis and Kathy Liebert.

Of course, the king of late arrivals made sure to keep everyone waiting, not joining until the absolute last moment. With the Royal Flush Girls by his side, and escorted by a camera crew, Hellmuth entered the Fontana Lounge and was issued a chip stack in what very well could be the latest entrance in tournament poker history. Unfortunately for the poker brat, the late registration strategy did not work well as he was eliminated within an hour of sitting down.

For others late registration worked exactly as planned; rest for an extra two days, skip the first 10 or 11 levels, double up a few times and bam – just like that make it to the money.

Several players successfully accomplished this in Pam Brunson, Todd Brunson, and David “Bakes” Baker. A few more did even better, making it to Day 4 including Phil Ivey, Vadim Trincher, Jeffery Liscandro, and Takashi Ogura.

Here's a look at the top five going into tomorrow:

Eric Panayiotou - 1,225,000
Ravi “Govshark2” Raghaven – 959,000
Mortiz Kranich – 953,000
John Caridad – 838,000
Paola Martin – 760,000

31 player remain in the field and tomorrow the tournament will play down to it's final six before the television final table on Thursday.

Click to Read the Day 3 Coverage >>