55 Players Survive Day 1a

Level 26: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante

At the start of the day there were 97 entrants, and after six levels only 55 players survived. We haven't received the full list of official chip counts yet, but we've compiled a list of the top 10 chipleaders along with other notables. Day 1b starts tomorrow at 1700 local time (5:00 pm), which equates to 11:00 am Eastern and 8:00 am Pacific for those of you following from America. Day 1a Chipleaders and Notables: 1. Maurizio Carra - 59,975 2. Carl Hostrup - 55,750 3. Piagro-angelo - 50,650 4. Marciano Marc - 46,300 5. Fabrice Soulier - 45,750 6. Max Pescatori - 44,400 7. Henrik Gwinner - 40,775 8. Andre Akkari - 37,050 9. Markus Lehmann - 35,150 10. Joe "Bigegypt" Elpayaa - 34,250 Barny Boatman - 32,250 Christer Johansson - 28,850 Doug Lee - 28,525 James Hoeppner - 23,625 Ted Lawson - 22,150 Peter "Colonel Hazzard" Jepsen - 21,625 Erik Seidel - 20,250 Mike "Timex" McDonald - 19,975 Alex Jacob - 19,625 Barry Greenstein - 19,475 Johan Storakers - 18,500 Jani Sointula - 15,025 Jim "KrazyKanuck" Worth - 15,025 Steve Zolotow - 11,250 Alex Kravchenko - 9,600 Stay tuned for a Day 1a recap, which will be posted later tonight.

Alex Jacob End of Day 1a

Level 26: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante

Day 1A Ends

Level 26: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante

The players have bagged up their chips and day 1A has ended. Fifty-five players remain and they will return Saturday at 5 p.m. local time, which is nine hours ahead of PST, to join the survivors from day 1B. Official chip leaders and recap will be posted soon.

Down to the Wire

Level 26: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante

On a flop of KQ7 seat four bets 2,500 and Jean Michael Didier raises to 5,000. This kills the action from every other player at the table and seat four is visually annoyed. He hems and haws over the call and eventually makes an all-in reraise. Didier makes an all-in call and flips over KQ. His opponent shakes his head and turns over KJ. The turn and river rolls out 57 and Didier doubles up on the hand.

Joe "Big Egypt" Elpayaa Flops Quads

Level 26: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante

After a flop of 855, the big blind checks, Joe "Big Egypt" Elpayaa checks under the gun, and Christer Johansson bets 2,000. The big blind and Elpayaa both call. The turn card is the J, the big blind checks, Elpayaa bets 2,500, Johansson folds, and the big blind folds. As Elpayaa collects the pot, he tosses his cards face up to the center of the table so everyone can see -- 55. He flopped quad fives.

Four Hands Remaining

Level 26: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante

With the clock reading 6:24 seconds, tournament staff has declared the field will play just four more hands.

Pam Brunson Eliminated

Level 26: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante

Pam Brunson was just eliminated from the tournament after being severely shortstacked (about 1,000 in chips) for a while.

JC Alvarado Needs Dinero... Pronto!

Level 26: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante

Chop...Wait...Seidel Takes it Down

Level 26: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante

On a board of JJ66Q with 6,000 in the pot both Erik Seidel and his opponent check. Both players flip up an ace but Seidel also flips over a queen to trump his opponents A-4.

Pam Brunson and "Her" Lucky Charm

Level 26: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante

Doyle Brunson is in town to sign autographs for his new book but he decided not to play. As a result, Pam Brunson gets to use his famous lucky charm, "Casper." Brunson is severly short stacked, so "Casper" needs to work soon.