From a starting field of 1,304 entries, the final 241 players returned to the Mezzanine at Planet Hollywood on Sunday afternoon for Day 2 of the $1,675 Main Event. After ten levels of play, just 22 remain, with Brian Hansen and his stack of 2,445,000 setting the pace for the survivors.
The prizepool was released prior to the start of play, showing a total of $1,956,000 to be shared by the final 135 players. Brett Murray, Dan Heimiller, Gavin Smith, and Erick Lindgren were among the early casualties, each of them sent to the rail without a payday. The bubble burst during the third level of action, and Alex Santiago was the last player to exit empty-handed. Santiago ran his into Boaz Licht's , and a third king on the flop ended Santiago's day on the direct bubble.
Three-time bracelet winner Dutch Boyd was all in on the same hand, getting his short stack in with on the turn of an board. Boyd was ahead of his opponent's , and he faded elimination with a blank on the river. He managed to sneak into the money before bowing out in 133rd place ($2,914). Fellow bracelet winners Cord Garcia (135th place, $2,914), Kathy Liebert (106th place, $3,443), and Bryan Piccioli (98th place, $3,736) also exited with small cashes, along with Vincent Moscati, Aaron Massey, Tim West, Javier Zarco, Zo Karim, and Josh Field.
Former WSOP Main Event Champions Ryan Riess and Carlos Mortensen were also among the Day 2 starters, and both of them finished in the money, as well. Riess rode a short stack for much of the day before falling in 84th place ($4,068), while a series of unfortunate events knocked Mortensen down and out in 67th place ($4,812).
Maurice Hawkins began the day with 345,000 chips and the overall lead, and he parlayed his stack into a deep run before eventually dropping out in 30th place ($9,545). When Matt Hauge fell in 28th place, the remaining players were redrawn around the final three tables.
Five more players were eliminated over the course of the next level, leaving 22 to return for Monday's finale. Hansen leads the way, trailed by Shawn Rice (2,190,000), Ben Palmer (1,700,000), three-time ring winner Brett Schwertley (550,000), and the last remaining woman, Nancy Nguyen (345,000).
Action resumes at 12:00 PM local time with the blinds at 15,000/30,000 and a 5,000-chip ante. Everyone left is guaranteed at least $13,027, and the eventual champion will earn $347,192 and the gold ring.