Back in January at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas, a young player approached media row and said: "I've busted. I know I have to tell you."

He was wearing a Team PokerStars Pro patch on his shirt, beside a small Belgian flag. The reporters thanked him, heard the details of his elimination, and offered their condolences. Certainly one of the major downsides to life in the media spotlight is the necessity to report on your own demise, and as a reporter, it's often difficult to know what to say to players when they are fresh from the slaughter.

Something you really don't want to have to say - and something that is probably even harder to hear - is the next question that came from a few of us: "I'm sorry, but what is your name?"

It's not that we didn't know his face. We did. And it's not that we didn't know the main part of his name. We knew that too. It's just that even with that information, we were still facing a coin flip.

Ever since Team PokerStars Pro hired the identical De Meulder twins as the Team's Belgian representatives, our job has become one notch more difficult.

Both Matthias and Christophe de Meulder are great poker players. They are both young and good looking and as friendly as you could possibly want. They are former child television stars, having hosted a celebrity interview show from the age of 10, and now they both play poker as a sideline to their study at the University of Antwerp. They are perfect ambassadors for poker in Belgium - but damn, do they look alike. Without reference to photographs or asking them outright, it's often impossible to know which is which.

One day, one of them might be wearing glasses and the other not. Or one might be wearing a hoodie and the other not. But I remember at Snowfest on the EPT they teased the media coordinator, Mad Harper, that they wouldn't necessarily stick with these identifying motifs; they might mix it up.

The De Meulders arrived in Vegas towards the end of last week, and both played the $1,500 no limit hold 'em event starting on Sunday. Our photographer went off to snap them and came back with one picture. Learning that Christophe had made it into day two with a playable stack, I included the picture and a little blurb about him in yesterday's diary. Problem: the picture was of Matthias (although I didn't notice until later in the day.)

Matthias, who was the first of the twins to take up poker, had been eliminated some time after the picture was taken, which meant that on day two, only Christophe was still in the field. Off the photographer went to get Christophe so we now have a reference point.

Christophe managed to ease into the money in the tournament before losing a critical race with pocket eights against ace-ten in a 700,000 pot. Only three players returning to play out the final four tables have more than that now, so that pot could have sent Christophe in search of his first bracelet.

And that's probably what we all need. If one De Meulder wins a bracelet, we'd always be able to identify him. (Until the other brother wins one, of course. Damn. That won't work either.)

The De Meulders weren't the only brothers appearing at the World Series yesterday. Although Joe Hachem has been in town right from the start this year, his brother Tony, also a member of Team PokerStars Pro Australia, only arrived recently and took to the felt for yesterday's $3,000 triple chance tournament. Joe played too.

The Hachems don't look quite as alike as the De Meulders, but there's something clearly fraternal about their manner, with each a past master at extracting information through their table talk. Yesterday, Tony found himself on a short stack pretty early, but managed to ride it past midnight after finding the right spots to shove and the right to fold.

He quadrupled up at one point when his [ad][6h] rivered a straight, but but he only had 900 chips to start with, and couldn't get anything more going and bust before the close of play.

At least he won't have to take any trash talk from his brother. Joe Hachem also couldn't make it through day one of the triple chance, but will likely be back in the Amazon or Pavilion Rooms today for the $25,000 six max shootout that gets under way.

*****

AROUND THE (OTHER) TABLES

A couple of days ago, the Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin spent some time talking to PokerStars Blog describing his World Series so far as an "absolute disaster". He had played about 17 events and only made day two on two occasions. It wasn't quite the performances we expect from poker's first Triple Crown winner.

The very good news from the Rio yesterday was Griffin's apparent return to form. He was also involved in the $3,000 triple chance hold 'em event and at the end of the day bagged up 134,400, which is fourth overall from the 189 remaining. The bubble will burst sometime today - 90 players from the starting field of 965 will be paid - and Griffin will be hoping to press on into the very deep stages.

Julien Brecard, of France, is also fighting still in that event. He has 42,000 and is in the centre of the pack.

It was also a good day yesterday for another pair of Team Pro thoroughbreds who haven't yet dazzled as they would have liked at the World Series. Jason Mercier, who won a bracelet last year, wins so many tournaments that it's nothing short of baffling that he hasn't yet been on a final table during this renewal.

Perhaps that will change this week. Mercier is 10th out of the remaining 31 players in the $5,000 pot limit Omaha event, which will play down to a winner today. Mercier was all in at one point, with [qc][qs][6s][3c] against two other players. And although he rivered trip threes, all he picked up was the side pot, worth 82,000. Still, it was enough to set him up for the day and put him on the road to his third cash of the Series.

To get to the summit, however, Mercier will have to beat his Team Pro colleague Jose "Nacho" Barbero, who is third in the overall standings. Barbero gives Mercier a run for his money as the "form" player in world poker, having won back-to-back LAPT events this season. He has one 12th placed finish in this year's World Series, but with a massive stack in front of him, Nacho is irresistible. Today will be fascinating to see those two giants go head to head.

The latest $1,500 tournament played down to its final table yesterday, and along the way there were three Team PokerStars casualties - in the money, but out before the last nine convened. We have heard about Christophe de Meulder, but George Lind (166th - $3,433) and JP Kelly (208th - $3,089) also troubled the cashiers.

*****

TEAM POKERSTARS PROBE

In an occasional series, we (gently) quiz a Team Pro on their World Series. It's really just an excuse to use the headline Team PokerStars Probe. Today: Martin Hrubý.

Name: Martin Hrubý
Age: 35
Hometown: Čelákovice, Czech Republic

Poker experience: I have been playing poker for more than five years already and I playing the major online MTT tournaments. Live I play EPTs and the biggest tournaments in Czech Republic
Main game (live and online): No-limit hold 'em tournaments
Proudest achievement: In 2009, I won the Czech Championship. My 22nd place at EPT Monte Carlo was my biggest live cash. My biggest online success was 2nd place in the last WCOOP tourney.
Describe your style in one sentence: I´m always trying to vary my game according to the situation and my opponents.

Describe your World Series so far: I've played eight tournaments and made two cashes, I´m quite disappointed, because I ´m always losing with better hand, but that´s a part of poker - it sucks! I have two more tournaments to go, so hopefully I´ll get all my luck during the Main Event.
Ambition for the rest of the Series, and beyond: Bracelet would be cool, but a final table would also make me happy. My general poker ambition is to win a major tournament.

Away from the tables, I like to... spend time with my family, chill out. The most important thing is not to turn my laptop on. I love sports, fishing or to go to the forest to have some fun with my quad bike.

How has life changed since you joined Team PokerStars Pro?: Since I have the PokerStars sign on my avatar, people never fold anything! I got more exposure in the media, more fans, bigger opportunity to reach my goals. And it´s a big satisgfaction that I´m first from my country and second from Central Europe.

What would it mean to become the first Czech winner of a World Series bracelet? It´d be big satisfaction, because that´s why I´m playing poker and it´d be even better if I´d bet he first from my country. I´ve been grinding a lot, so I´d definitely take a short break from poker.

*****

TWEETS OF THE DAY

@MarcinHorecki puts on a brave face despite early setbacks: "Got coolered for 0:2 in 2 WSOP events so far after a good start in both. Great, all the luck will come for Main Event bracelet ;D"

@aakkari prepares for a deluge of people saying "None"?: "How many chips i ll get in the first break of 3k? 30 dolars on Poker Stas for the winner! Just one shot/ follower!!! Go get it!!!"x

@aakkari confounds expectations: "I had 5375 n the first break! End of promotion!!!"

Cryptic caution from @MarcelLuske: "The Road of no return is always taken 1 time 2 many..dont forget that.?"
*****

Previous WSOP Diary entries

WSOP Diary: Day 33: Rio here and Rio there. The World Series Brazil style
WSOP Diary: Day 32: Bracelets only for Tournament of Champions
WSOP Diary: Day 31: Soccer sickness infects the Rio as WSOP pauses for World Cup
WSOP Diary: Day 30: Climbing the cash ladder with Humberto Brenes
WSOP Diary: Day 29: Mandy "roxy24" Thomas mixes it with the big boys
WSOP Diary: Day 28: Barry Greenstein eyes final as shark attacks the Rio
WSOP Diary: Day 27: PokerStars party goes Dogg style
WSOP Diary Day 26: Bill Chen: Poker player, wedding planner, bridesmaid
WSOP Diary Day 25: Cutting through the throngs
WSOP Diary Day 24: Last chance to join us in Las Vegas
WSOP Diary Day 23: Anh Van Nguyen, remember the name

Read all WSOP diary entries here.

Contact: blog@pokerstars.com

Covering poker tournaments these days means a lot of international travel, and as a happy corollary us reporters can get to see cities that otherwise would be out of reach.

The single most memorable sight from my six years on the road remains the peerless 360 degree vista over Rio de Janeiro from beside the feet of the statue of Christ the Redeemer. There, Mother Nature and hundreds of years of frantic urban growth combine to offer dazzling skies and seas, smudges of sandy beaches and vast jungles of city sprawl, all blessed from on high by the towering figure of the Messiah. It is awesome, in all senses of the word.

Yesterday morning in Las Vegas, I got to see another breathtaking sight - and again it had a Brazilian flavour. On the 30th floor of the Panorama Towers, across the street from the new Aria Casino, the Team PokerStars Pro Maria "maridu" Mayrinck hosted a party to coincide with her native Brazil's World Cup soccer match against Chile.

Countless rooftop bars and hotel brochures claim to offer the best views of the Las Vegas Strip, but for my money Casa Maridu trumps them all. Through a window running the length of the apartment, one can view everything of the Strip, from the Mandalay Bay and the airport at the south end, all the way to the Stratosphere in the north. Desert and mountains stretch off into the distance once the buildings run out.

After about 15 minutes gorping, I twigged why they called this place the Panorama. I'm quick like that.

Back inside the room, all eyes were fixed on a television screen almost as wide as the window. Fifteen avid football fans, including the Team PokerStars Pros Andre Akkari and Gualter Salles, were in attendance, as were Akkari's two daughters, a film crew and staff from a Brazilian poker website. Alexandre Gomes had also been on the invite list, but had last been seen at around 6am celebrating his good friend Thiago Nishijima's third place in event 45, good for $315,828 - and a night of partying.

The apartment and all the guests were decked out almost flawlessly in the canary yellow and lime green of the Brazilian soccer team. It was as though Maridu's shopping list had read:

2 x bags of balloons (green and yellow)
1 x flag (green and yellow)
1 x pair flipflops (green and yellow)
2 x vuvuzelas (green and yellow)
9 x soccer shirts (green and yellow)
2 x party plates (green and yellow)
2 x packets of napkins (green and yellow)
1 x pair of headband antennas (with green and yellow stars on springs)
3 x Team PokerStars Pros Brazil (in green and yellow)
2 x soccer shirts (blue - Brazil's second strip)

Even David "Bakes" Baker, Mayrinck's boyfriend, was in a yellow Brazil shirt. "They want to get you a Brazilian passport," said Mayrinck, translating from her countrymen. "I want one too," Baker said.

The game itself started inauspiciously. Watching people watch football can sometimes be as much fun as watching the match itself, and with the stakes so high (the losers would be eliminated), there was a tangible nervous tension. As Luis Fabiano burst into the Chile penalty area for an early chance, six people leant forward to the edge of the couch, teeth clenched and arms raised in preparation for a tight-fisted celebration. When Brazil's star striker dragged his shot wide, the room deflated as everyone slumped back and groaned.

Maridu was anti-vuvuzela, despite two of those "instruments" primed on the table. "OK, we'll do the vuvuzela if there's a goal," she said - and soon enough the Panorama reverberated with the drone that had come to define the World Cup. Brazil's centre back, Juan, powered in a header to send his team into the box seat, and send shudders down to the building's foundations as the Vegas gathering rose to its feet.

The pattern repeated moments later as Luis Fabiano atoned for his earlier tardiness and added a second. Even Maridu now reached for the vuvuzela and her guests put down their party snacks to leap around the room once more. Young Miss Akkari was hoisted into her father's arms and tossed in the air in celebration.

At half time, the television interviewer asked for thoughts on how Brazil could ensure they carried the two goal advantage until the end. Akkari shouted down the question, insisting they wanted eight goals. Everyone then poured out onto the balcony to sample some of the blistering Las Vegas air, before being lured back inside by the chance to touch Baker's World Series bracelet, won in the $10,000 deuce-to-seven lowball championships earlier this Series.

For all the boisterousness of the soccer, the humble Baker was another star attraction. The walls of the apartment are already adorned by photos of him from his two final tables in this Series - snaps ordered and framed by his doting, proud girlfriend - and he has two other souvenirs on the coffee table as evidence of a couple of other great runs. There's the signed copy of Barry Greenstein's "Ace on the River" awarded to anyone who eliminates the Team PokerStars Pro from a major tournament. Plus there was a signed fossil, handed over by Greg Raymer when he is sent to the rail. "Bakes" has done them both this summer.

Gualter Salles rallied the troops to return for the start of the second half, and it was remarkably easy for the men in canary yellow. Robinho scored a third - cue vuvuzelas, dancing and child tossing - and they even had time to focus on the poker.

Mayrinck and Salles were planning to play the $1,500 no limit hold 'em event starting that day. Baker was preparing for the $5,000 pot limit Omaha. Akkari was returning for day two of the $1,000 no limit hold 'em event - and was jeered for his participation in the lowest buy in event of the Series.

Baker leapt to Akkari's defence: "He said if he played, he might as well make day two. If he made day two, he might as well get the chip lead. If he's got the chip lead, he might as well win. He's got nothing else to do."

It all sounded so easy, much like the Samba Boys' effortless cruise into the quarter-finals of the World Cup. On the final whistle - at the end of a 3-0 victory - fists were pumped, flags were draped over shoulders and, yes, there was another toot or two on the vuvuzela.

Soon a silence had descended, empty cans and scattered plates were moved back to the kitchen, and Maridu fired up her scooter to ferry her back to the Rio (not that one) for a shot at a bracelet. There's just about room on the walls for photos of her with poker's most sought-after jewelry. "His n Hers" would be a nice touch.

*****

A ROUND WITH THE TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

The second day of the Tournament of Champions played out on the television stages and after another four levels there were still 17 champions left in play. That meant a quick rethink in the schedules. They will now play down to a final table on July 3 and finish the event, as previously advertised, on July 4. (Unless it changes again.)

Certainly, Team PokerStars Pro retains high hopes of a solid representation. Although Joe Cada perished during today's action, all of Joe Hachem, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein and ElkY remained alive and fighting.

At somewhere close to the midpoint of the day, I stopped by the ESPN stage to prepare another "A Round With..." feature. It's worth repeating the format: entirely at random, we follow every move around for an orbit around the table during the early stages of a major tournament. It shows the kind of stuff that usually gets left on the cutting room floor, but which is crucial to the progress of any tournament.

I always include a disclaimer that the action might not be too thrilling. And in this case it's really worth underlining.

The lineup was as follows:

Seat 1 - Chris Ferguson
Seat 2 - Mike Matusow
Seat 3 - Daniel Negreanu
Seat 4 - Howard Lederer
Seat 5 - Phil Hellmuth
Seat 6 - empty
Seat 7 - Huck Seed
Seat 8 - ElkY
Seat 9 - TJ Cloutier

And here's how the orbit went (blinds were 400-800):

Hand 1 - Matusow on the button
Phil Hellmuth raised to 1,600 under-the-gun and Howard Lederer was the only caller from the big blind. The flop came [10c][jh][8h], which they both checked, and the [2h] turned. Lederer, who had a short stack, led for 2,500 and Hellmuth put in a raise. Lederer moved all in for 14,700 total and Hellmuth called in a flash:

Lederer had turned the nuts with his [ah][4h], but Hellmuth still had outs to a full house with his [2c][2d]. The [ac] on the river helped only Lederer, however, and he doubled up.

Hand 2 - Negreanu on the button
Chris Ferguson raised to 2,200 from the hijack and won the blinds.

Hand 3 - Lederer on the button
Folded to Mike Matusow, he made a standard raise, which was called by Huck Seed in the big blind. They both checked the [10c][5c][9h] flop, and they also checked the [9h] turn. The [5d] rivered, and they both checked again. "Mike shows ace-king for the nut no," said the announcer (meaning "nut no pair"). "And he will win this pot."

Hand 4 - Hellmuth on the button
Folded to Hellmuth on the button, his standard raise too the blinds.

Hand 5 - Seed on the button
It was folded all around to ElkY in the small blind. His raise was enough to take TJ Cloutier's big blind.

Hand 6 - Elky on the button
Daniel Negreanu opened to 1,800 from early position, but his old jousting partner Phil Hellmuth re-raised to 3,800 a couple of seats along. The three bet was good as everyone else got out the way.

Hand 7 - Cloutier on the button
ElkY raised from the cut-off and won.

Hand 8 - Ferguson on the button
Hellmuth raised to 2,000 from early position and won the blinds.

Hand 9 - Matusow on the button
An under-the-gun limp from Phil Hellmuth set the tone as Matusow joined the two blinds in getting to the flop for the minimum. It cam [qc][7s][5d] and after Negreanu and Lederer checked, Hellmuth bet 2,600 which was enough to persuade the other three to fold.

And there ended a fairly pedestrian "A Round With". That, unfortunately, is the danger of this series. It's not fireworks all the time.

*****

AROUND THE (OTHER) TABLES

Remember the plan David Baker had for Andre Akkari in the $1,000 NLHE? Well, the Brazilian did his level best today to fulfill his friend's prediction that he would top the counts at the end of the day.

Akkari raced up to about 90,000 in the early levels, cruised into the money, but then hit something of a downward spiral and bust in 72nd. That was still a decent showing - 3,128 players entered - and it was worth $5,292.

Richard Toth was also in the money, taking $2,589 for 174th place, while Jude Ainsworth picked up his first cash of this Series, earning $2,308 for 197th.

Team Pro also stuck together in the $2,500 event and Dario Minieri, Nacho Barbero and Alex Kravchenko progressed to the final day. Returning with 20 players, the field was soon sliced in two - but there was no room at the final table for anyone in our livery.

Minieri entertained the crowd en route to his 14th place, but Barbero and Kravchenko clearly couldn't bear to be away from their young Italian compadre. Barbero crashed out in 12th and Kravchenko in 11th. More cash, but more agonising final table misses.

Stars were out in force for the first day of the $5,000 pot limit Omaha event, and it was two of Team PokerStars Pro's newest recruits who bagged up the most at the end of the day.

Salvatore Bonavena outlasted both of his early tablemates - Grey Raymer and Florian Langmann - to finish with 76,400, while Barbero hot-footed it from the mixed event to take his place in the PLO. Barbero bagged 61,900.

The day two field will also include Lex Veldhuis (52,800), Team Onine's Jorge Arias has 44,100, Jason Mercier has 34,600, Rino Mathis is alive with 26,400 and Barry Greenstein also progressed. He'll come back with 18,400, alongside Toth (15,000) and Michael Keiner (8,500).

Kevin Schaffel heads the field with 178,900.

It was also a case of "another day, another $1,500 hold 'em tournament" as event 49 played out its opening exchanges. The field was cut from 2,543 to the last 315 and, as ever, the Team is represented into day two.

George Lind is back near the top of the counts, with 96,400, ahead of JP Kelly 61,600 and a decent welcome to Vegas for Christophe de Meulder. The Belgian, with his twin brother Mattias, is playing his first World Series since joining Team PokerStars Pro and he's into day two, with 37,100. This photo is Mattias, but they look very similar indeed.

*****

TWEETS OF THE DAY

@aakkari (Andre Akkari) breaks into English to reveal his frustration: "I just busted n 1k wsop after be the cl, sick! Prize 5100,00, ready to play again tomorrow the 3k..."

@barrygreenstein finds a new way to describe a short stack: "End of the night. 190 left. Average is 37k. I ended up with an anemic t18k."

Movie night with @RealKidPoker (Daniel Negreanu) does not include popcorn:
"Craving junk food and gonna watch Rocky. Haven't eaten any junk in 6 weeks. Not a beer, glass of wine, nada. I'm so lame!"

*****

Previous WSOP Diary entries

WSOP Diary: Day 32: Bracelets only for Tournament of Champions
WSOP Diary: Day 31: Soccer sickness infects the Rio as WSOP pauses for World Cup
WSOP Diary: Day 30: Climbing the cash ladder with Humberto Brenes
WSOP Diary: Day 29: Mandy "roxy24" Thomas mixes it with the big boys
WSOP Diary: Day 28: Barry Greenstein eyes final as shark attacks the Rio
WSOP Diary: Day 27: PokerStars party goes Dogg style
WSOP Diary Day 26: Bill Chen: Poker player, wedding planner, bridesmaid
WSOP Diary Day 25: Cutting through the throngs
WSOP Diary Day 24: Last chance to join us in Las Vegas
WSOP Diary Day 23: Anh Van Nguyen, remember the name

Read all WSOP diary entries here.

Contact: blog@pokerstars.com

There's enough deception inherent in poker to ensure tournament organisers play it pretty straight when issuing official information. A six-max event has six players per table, nothing sinister about that, and the "eight game" event has eight games in it. Do keep up.

Yesterday at the Rio, all the chatter was about the Tournament of Champions (ToC), which got under way at noon. Even the slowest among us can probably discern the door policy for this event: champions only please. Runners-up and also rans are not on the list.

The Las Vegas Sun described the Tournament of Champions as "poker's version of an All-Star Game" and that's pretty much on the money. This is not an official World Series event and no bracelet will be issued to the winner. Furthermore, it's a freeroll, meaning all it will cost is the players' time. That said the first prize is $500,000, with the final nine all being paid, and there is a massive amount of pride riding on the outcome.

This exclusive VIP area could seat only 27 players, and with a couple of notable exceptions, it was the poker-watching public who got to determine who they wanted to see. The World Series organised a ballot of the 512 living World Series bracelet holders and invited anyone who cared to register their vote. Tens of thousands had their say.

Team PokerStars Pro is packed with champions, so it surprised no one that four players wearing the familiar livery were voted into the tournament. Daniel Negreanu earned more than 10,000 votes in the ballot, and he was joined by Barry Greenstein, Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem. But it didn't end there. Joe Cada received an exemption as the reigning Main Event champion, and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier snaffled the last spot in a satellite play-off last week.

Not coincidentally, the tournament began on a Sunday, when most casual poker observers were in town and looking for a glimpse of the heroes they had cast their vote to see. The three starting tables were arranged on the featured table stages in three corners of the Amazon Room, allowing media and spectators a perfect view of any of them as they drifted this way and that.

On the main television stage, the action was also being filmed for broadcast on ESPN, and action was going out live on the internet - a policy for poker coverage pioneered by EPT Live on the European Poker Tour. That meant that online observers could watch alongside the punters at the Rio, who packed the bleachers and stood three-deep at the raised "lounge" above the stage.

After Greg Raymer, Barry Schulman and Sam Farha all busted in quick succession from one table, Scotty Nguyen was chosen at random to move from the television table to fill one of their empty seats. That meant a two-minute walk from one side of the Amazon Room to the other - 98 paces, three barriers and two autograph hunters to navigate along the way. "Bye baby!" Nguyen signed off as he exited one stage. "Yeah baby!" he greeted the other.

Play lasted four one-hour levels, allowing those players also involved in the other tournaments the chance to resume the bracelet hunt there. At the end of the four hours, five players had departed, leaving 22 to resume today. Greenstein is third overall (with 56,775), Hachem is fourth (55,650), ElkY seventh (51,575) and Negreanu 11th (36,125).

Joe Cada has some work to do, sitting in 21st, while there's no way back for Raymer. His flush draw didn't get there against Mike Matusow's flopped two pair and Fossilman's wretched World Series continued.

The Tournament of Champions resumes at noon today, and the final is scheduled for July 4.

*****

BULLY OF THE DAY

In the first two hours of play, I only saw Thomas Bichon's cards twice. First up, he showed down top pair tens to oust Stephen Chidwick, who had shoved his short stack in behind a pair of eights. And then he extracted the maximum out of Sam Trickett when he turned a set of fives. (Bichon bet 110,000 on the river, with the board showing [3d][qh][2d][5s][8d]. Trickett call/mucked when Bichon tabled [5d][5h].)

But the vast majority of Bichon's chips came from his bullying tactics, steaming up the leaderboard from an overnight 265,000 to more than a million in a couple of hours.

Shortly after they went down to two tables, Bichon got involved in a pot with Michael Goldfarb, where the French Team PokerStars Pro flexed his muscles in characteristic fashion. Bichon raised to 62,000 from early position (blinds at 12,000-24,000) and Goldfarb called in the big blind. The flop came [ad][as][6h].

Goldfarb checked, Bichon bet 62,000 and Goldfarb made it 100,000 more. Bichon asked for a count, found out that his opponent had about 300,000 more, and duly announced that he was all in. Goldfarb anguished but folded. Bichon added another 200,000+ to his stack.

As can so often be the case, however, living by the sword can mean dying by it too. With 11 players remaining, and everyone angling for the final table, Bichon got involved in a pre-flop raising war with the then-chip-leader Kevin Odell. Once the smoke had cleared on a hand that went raise (from Ray Coburn), call (from Bichon), raise (from Odell), call (from Coburn), shove (from Bichon), call (from Odell), fold (from Coburn), the two remaining players were racing.

Bichon: [ac][kh]
Odell: [qs][qd]

The board tripped up Odell when it fell [8d][jc][qh] and although Bichon now had outs to the straight, they missed and Bichon's comeback charge was halted. He took $41,725 for 11th place.

*****

AROUND THE (OTHER) TABLES

The $2,500 mixed game played through another eight confusing levels. This discipline tests players in 2-7 triple draw, limit hold 'em, Omaha eight, razz, stud, stud eight, no limit hold 'em and pot limit Omaha and is, as such, a complete real strain on players, dealers and reporters alike.

Although Michael Keiner and Luca Pagano couldn't survive the buffeting, Team PokerStars Pro is still well represented in the late stages. Jose "Nacho" Barbero, Alex Kravchenko, Dario Minieri and Bill Chen are all nestle among the 21 players returning to play through day three today.

They're scheduled to play to a winner - and that's going to be a long, long night.

The latest $1,000 no limit hold 'em event attracted another 3,128 players to the Rio, spread over two days. They contributed to another monstrous prize pool, where the winner will earn $485,791.

The Hungarian Team PokerStars Pro Richard Toth prospered on day 1B, finishing with 42,875, which is comfortably in the top 20. And there was also another big name making a rare appearance in this year's World Series: Chris Moneymaker came out to play.

Moneymaker can look around these monstrous World Series fields and justly claim that he is largely responsible for them. The poker boom ignited shortly after Moneymaker's sensational victory in the 2003 Main Event after qualifying on PokerStars, and every recreational player still dreams of being the man from Tennessee.

Moneymaker has taken it easy in this World Series so far, making only fleeting appearances. But he had on his game face for event 47, and finished with 41,125, which is in the top spots too.

*****

READING MATERIAL OF THE DAY

Michael Binger spent the early levels of day 1B of the $1,000 NLHE tournament reading a book entitled: "Crisis Economics". Make of that what you will.

*****

TEAM POKERSTARS PROBE

In a new series, we (gently) quiz a Team Pro on their World Series. It's really just an excuse to use the headline Team PokerStars Probe. First up, Gavin Griffin.

Name: Gavin Griffin
Age: 28
Hometown: Orange County, CA

Poker experience: Been playing since I was 20; for a living since I was 21
Main game: Live: Limit hold 'em. Online: Tournaments
Proudest achievement: I'm getting married in a month. That'll be my proudest achievement. I never thought I'd get married.
Describe your style in one sentence: Oh boy. Unique. Efficient. In this Series, I've been very efficient.
Describe your World Series so far: An absolute disaster. I've made one day two and one other dinner break, from 17 tournaments. That's what I mean by "efficient".
Ambition for the rest of the Series: For it not to be a disaster. I'll take it if I end the series even. I'd be ecstatic.

I wish a poker journalist would ask me this question: Hmm. I gotta be a smartass for this one. Pause. (At this point, Griffin's friend Jerrod Ankenman interjected: "How about 'How do you feel now that you've won this tournament and salvaged your Series?'") Yeah, that's it.
I would answer: Pretty happy.

Away from poker, I...: Spend a lot of time with my fiancee and my myriad animals. I have three cats, one dog and two turtles.

*****

TWEETS OF THE DAY

@RealKidPoker (Daniel Negreanu) stays active in the Tournament of Champions:

Tweet one: "38,350 so far feel like I'm in complete control despite folding two winners so far. This is like time machine old school poker."
Tweet two: "Ended with 36,125. Felt like a 4 handed game. Me Antonio Hachem and Elky playing pots while the others watched."
Tweet three: "Thought Hachem played better than I've ever seen and Elky made some great plays as well. I thought I played well too despite folding winners."

*****

Previous WSOP Diary entries

WSOP Diary: Day 31: Soccer sickness infects the Rio as WSOP pauses for World Cup
WSOP Diary: Day 30: Climbing the cash ladder with Humberto Brenes
WSOP Diary: Day 29: Mandy "roxy24" Thomas mixes it with the big boys
WSOP Diary: Day 28: Barry Greenstein eyes final as shark attacks the Rio
WSOP Diary: Day 27: PokerStars party goes Dogg style
WSOP Diary Day 26: Bill Chen: Poker player, wedding planner, bridesmaid
WSOP Diary Day 25: Cutting through the throngs
WSOP Diary Day 24: Last chance to join us in Las Vegas
WSOP Diary Day 23: Anh Van Nguyen, remember the name
WSOP Diary Day 22: Love to hate Phil Hellmuth? You gotta see this

Read all WSOP diary entries here.

Contact: blog@pokerstars.com