| DAY TWO REPORT
'We're in the Money'- The 27 finalists of the championship event are all in the money. Prize money ranges from $9,162 to $589,990. First place includes a $25,000 buy-in to the World Poker Tour Championship.
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The World Poker Open is truly an international spectacle. Of the 27 remaining players, there are five different countries represented - England, France, Greece, Israel, and the United States.
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Building a big stack on the first day of the four-day championship event appears to have almost no significance. Consider that each of the top four chip leaders after Day One - Gary Jones, Toto Leonidas, Andy Pachman, Frank Kasella - were eliminated on Day Two.
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The point might seem obvious, but the players who were lowest in chips after Day One went out quickly on Day Two. None of the 12 lowest stacks after Day One survived. Asher Derei was 85th in chips (13th lowest after the first day) and managed to make it to Day Three. He is currently in 21st place.
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The biggest chip increase from the previous day was by Robert Willis, from Grenada, Mississippi. Willis came into Day Two with only $8,625 in chips. He went on a remarkable run on Day Two, and now has $90,100, which currently ranks 5th among the active players.
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Of the seven former World Series of Poker champions that entered, there are only two still in the main event. Tom McEvoy (1983) and Phil Hellmuth (1989) are both in good chip position going into Day Three. McEvoy is currently 15th in chips. Hellmuth is 7th in chips. All of the former World Poker Open champions are out.
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The 2003 World Poker Open has been an unusual experience for Tom McEvoy, to say the least. Two weeks ago, the 1983 World Poker Champion was rushed to a nearby hospital and spent seven days confined to a bed, following an emergency operation. McEvoy later returned to the tournament only one day before the main event started. He now has $48,100 in chips and appears to have fully recovered from the unexpected surgery.
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Dayne Baverman, from Cincinnati, Ohio, is the current chip leader. He came into Day Two with just $12,200 in chips and now as 12 times that number.
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An interesting tip about tournament strategy from an anonymous source:
'I think how you play the blinds is the most important aspect of a no-limit hold'em tournament. If you play the blinds well, you can build up some serious chips. If you play weak, you don’t have a chance to win. All the guys playing in this tournament are aggressive. They are raising every single pot. If you can wake up with a big hand, or know when to make a stand in the blinds, you've got half the battle won.'
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Bad Beat of the Day: The hand that eliminated Erik Seidel and left Paul Darden short-stacked was brutal. Darden was the largest stack and had two players all-in. Erik Seidel had J-J. Johnny Donaldson had A-3. Darden was delighted to see the flop come with an ace since he had top pair with the better kicker. However, a 3 fell on the river (for two pair) and tripled-up Donaldson. Seidel was out, and Darden was left shaking his head wondering what might have been had he won that critical hand. Darden went out a short time later.
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Are pocket queens overrated? In a no-limit hold'em tournament, the answer is positively yes. More tournament players seem to be eliminated with Q-Q than any other hand. I lost count of the number of hands where Q-Q went up against either A-A, K-K, or A-K -- and lost.
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On Day Two, Table 27 provided a first for the World Poker Open. Mike Pauley from Tennessee sat next to his grandfather, Paul McKinney from West Virginia. There have been many cases of father and son duos playing together in major tournaments, but this may have been the first grandfather-grandson confrontation. Paul McKinney is still in the tournament going into Day Three.
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More wisdom from Englishman Paul Costas:
'What I love about tournaments like this is the challenge. Anyone can play pocket aces or kings. It's ‘the play that turns me on. The opportunity to outplay your opponent - without holding good cards - is unlike any other game in the world.'
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Larry Beilfuss, from Wisconsin, was the chip leader during much of Day Two. Before he took a beat and ended up in 13th place going into the third day, Beilfuss demonstrated why he rightly deserves a spot in the money. On a key hand, Beilfuss called down a large river bet by 2001 World Series of Poker Champion Carlos Mortenson. Beilfuss then confidently showed A-6, for ace-high, but no-pair. Mortenson, who was obviously bluffing, could not believe the call and quietly mucked his hand. A short time later, Mortenson was out of the tournament.
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Tomorrow, the 27 players who survived after Day Two will play down to the final table. That means, twenty-one players are destined to be eliminated, while six players will make the final table. Each of the six finalists will be profiled in tomorrow's report.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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