The flow of eliminations has slowed to a trickle coming up to the start of level 13 (1200/2400 with a 400 ante) late on day two in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queenstown Main Event.

The remaining players have just been condensed into three tables of nine (thanks to former Queenstown mayor David Bradford, who just sent Wilbur Tarn to the rail), and we're still on target to make the money this evening.

While the Friday night crowd chase their fortune on the gaming tables, the proximity of the money is clearly impacting on play with just 27 players chasing one of the 18 spots in the money. But with a chip average of 80,000 and a load of short stacks in the room, the temporary lull in action can't last.

One of the most remarkable stories of the day surrounds the comeback of New Zealander John Guthrie. Down to just 1200 chips during level 12, he has rocketed to more than 140,000.

Along the way, he's sent PokerStars.net Team Australia pro Tony Hachem to the edge of sanity after hitting a rich run of cards. After a quick breath of fresh air, Hachem has settled and clawed back to 60,000 after being down to less than 40,000.

Most of the action in the past hour has been on table seven. Day 1D chip leader Julius Colman steadily leaked chips all day and was eliminated when his pocket fives raced the A-K of Tim Clarke, with an ace in the window enough for Clarke to rake the last of Colman's chips.

Andrew Scott's up and down run is currently in the ascendant after he crippled Julian Cohen (who was subsequently KOed by his good mate Andrew Hinrichsen), which helped boost his stack to more than 120,000. He then lost two big pots after moving to the black hole that is table seven before doubling through Guthrie and is now on 60,000.

We're down to four tables and 35 players midway through level 11 late on day two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queenstown Main Event. This may be a small venue, but the atmosphere matches that of any major poker tournament with a packed rail and the local equivalent of the "big game" underway on a cash-game table in the tournament area.

PokerStars.net Team Australia pros Grant Levy and Eric Assadourian, Team Asia's Celina Lin and PokerStars Sponsored Player Lee "Final Table" Nelson have all been keeping a close eye on the action as the bubble looms closer.

The lone PokerStars.net Team Australia pro Tony Hachem is also being closely monitored by fans and friends, and after a tough start of the day, has underlined why he is the only player to have cashed in all three ANZPT events so far and trails only Chris Levick in the overall ANZPT points chase. He's close 100,000 and starting to loom as a serious threat in this tournament.

John Pye remains the outright chip leader on 170,000, but several players have broken through the 100,000-chip barrier including PokerStars qualifier Tim Clarke, Mark Walker (110,000) and Robert Wang (108,000).

Other notables still in the hunt for the title include Erich Stadler, the owner of local bar Surreal, Mark Iskander, Andrew Scott, James Honeybone, Josh Egan and Raj Ramakrishnan.

Players to have been eliminated in the last level included NZ celebs Brooke Howard-Smith and Darcy Waldegrave, Lyle Smith, Darko Balaban and Daniel Neilson.

The outcasts have returned from the "official" poker table here at SKYCITY Casino with 48 players still in the hunt for the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queenstown Main Event title.

As the mercury plummets into single digits outside (snow fell on the nearby hills around Queenstown last night), the temperature is steadily climbing with all remaining players now seated in the same room for the first time.

John Pye returned from the casino floor with the bulk of his stack in tact and has since boosted it to 170,000 to be a clear chip leader. Well known Auckland player Robert Wang has 110,000 while Australian PokerStars qualifier Aaron Golledge (started the day with less than 20,000 but has climbed to more than 90,000.

But the tournament is over for PokerStars.net Team Australia pro Emad Tahtouh after the last of his chips went in with pocket eights against the pocket jacks of Andrew Hinrichsen. The board of Q-10-6-K-6 always favoured Hinrichsen, who sent the 2006 PokerStars EPT London runner-up to the rail.

There have been some interesting confrontations between former chip leader Julius Colman and Kevin victree Bryniczka, a PokerStars Player from Arlington Heights, Illinois (near Chicago). Still too young to play in a US casino, the 20-year-old is having a great time in Queenstown and is planning some time in Australia after the tournament ends.

He looked a slab of chips from Colman when his pocket nines improved to a set against Colman's pocket aces, but the wily veteran regained most of them when he bet the river of a nine-high board. Colman is back up to 60,000, while Bryniczka is riding the roller coaster on 32,000.

Players have just returned from the first break of the evening, with blinds now up to 600/1200 (ante 200). The chip average is just over 51,000.

For the first time, all remaining players are seated in SKYCITY Casino for the charge to the money and the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Queenstown title.

The 28 survivors from today's first session have been joined by 32 players from the second session of the day. The latter session produced far more cautious play but eliminations continued steadily.

With only five tables in the tournament room, the official SKYCITY Queenstown poker table - that's right, one table - has been called into action until at least 10 players have been eliminated.

Casualties included PokerStars.net Team Australia pro Grant Levy, who committed all but 100 of his short stack pre-flop with A-Q, but found Australian-based New Zealander William Mauga waiting with A-K. The final 200 went in after the raggy flop, and Levy was out after a typically up and down session.

Mauga was one of the most impressive performers of the session, consolidating his stack from 40,000 to almost 70,000 to hold one of the bigger stacks of the session.

Levy's teammate Emad Tahtouh chipped up early then sidestepped his way around trouble to finish handily placed for this evening's play with 31,000 in chips.

Other impressive performers in the late-afternoon session on day two were PokerStars Sponsored player Ray Sukkar (51,500), David Bradford (70,000) and Julian Cohen - proudly wearing the guernsey of his beloved Australian football team the Melbourne Demons - on 53,600.

John Pye remains the overall chip leader on 135,000 as the remaining 60 players take their seats for this evening's session of play, after a brief dinner break, with the structure:

Level 8: 400/800 (ante 100) - 30 minutes left
Level 9: 500/1000 (ante 100)
Level 10: 600/1200 (ante 200)
Level 11: 800/1600 (ante 200)
Level 12: 1000/2000 (ante 300)
Level 13: 1200/2400 (ante 400)
Level 14: 1500/3000 (ante 500)

The first hour of play in the second session of day two in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queenstown main Event has been completed, with only five of the 45 starters eliminated - half that of the first session earlier today.

The SKYCITY Casino tournament room is packed to capacity with railbirds and players from the earlier session eager to keep an eye on friends and rivals.

It was an early finish for German PokerStars Player Sven Ellrich, Rachel Vis and Mike Marvanek on table seven but in contrast Andrew Scott, runner-up in the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Macau High Roller, was among the early movers.

Scott doubled through on the second hand of play, then found himself covered in a three-way all-in against Reg Lowe and Finland's Ville Nurmi. Lowe showed A-J, Scott held pocket nines and Nurmi pocket aces. The board ran out 7-8-5-8-6, giving Scott the straight. His stack is now above 30,000, not bad given he started with just 4500.

It's been mixed fortunes for the PokerStars.net Team Australia duo Grant Levy and Emad Tahtouh. Levy lost a big pot after flopping a jack-high straight only to find he was already behind his opponent's flopped flush, but has clawed back from just 7000 to 18,000.

Levy has also had a few laughs along the way, especially when an opponent folded a hand to him because he was "Joe Hachem's brother". Where's Tony Hachem when you need him!

Poker's own Alberto Tomba, Emad Tahtouh, has won a couple of races (he just about felted Jeffrey Bucher when he flopped top-pair with A-K against pocket eights) to climb above 42,000.

Other notables in action this afternoon include Daniel Neilson, James Honeybone, local broadcaster Darcy Waldegrave, Ray Sukkar and top Aussie online player Anthony pkerbl Chow.

Play for this session will be at levels six and seven, plus 30 minutes of level eight before the remaining players rejoin the field at 6pm:

Level 6: 200/400 (ante 50)
Level 7: 300/600 (ante 75)
Level 8: 400/800 (ante 100)

After a head-spinning two-and-a-half levels of action in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queenstown Main Event, the day's first group was slashed from 46 to 28, and now another 45 players have taken their seats in the tournament poker area at SKYCITY Casino.

The big mover of the opening session was respected local player John Pye, who placed third in the 2008 NZ Poker Champs Main Event behind David Borg and PokerStars.net Team Australia pro Tony Hachem.

Pye shot to the chip lead when he made a big call for more than 50,000 with [ah] [ad] against the [ac] [ks] of Mark Walker on a flop of [jd] [9c] [7c]. The board ran out [5d] [5s], sending Pye to more than 130,000 in chips while Walker was left crippled.

It was also a solid session for Hachem, who ended the tournament of an opponent when he turned a straight with [6s] [7s] on a board showing [2d] [5h] [9c] [8s]. His opponent pushed all-in, Hachem called and found himself up against a set of fives. The [3h] on the river gave the overall ANZPT Points leader a nice pot and leaves him well placed heading into tonight's session with more than 60,000.

Robert Wang doubled through Tim English on the second last hand of the session to climb within a whiff of 100,000 while former chip leader Julius Colman dropped back to 80,000 but is still well placed. Brooke Howard-Smith, Raj Ramakrishnan, Josh Egan and Darko Balaban are also through.

Other players who won't be returning for this evening's session include reigning NZ champ Soren Eriksen, UK PokerStars qualifier Daniel Reeves, 2009 Aussie Millions winner Stewart Scott, PokerStars Team Asia pro Celina Lin, Dan Sing, Dennis Huntly and Kristian Lunardi were all eliminated.

Players in the second session have quickly taken their seats, with play due to restart in the next few minutes.

Like the bubbling brook that runs along side the Novotel Lakeside where many of the players are staying, there's been a steady stream of players leaving the tournament area early on day two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queenstown Main Event.

A total of 46 players returned for the first two-and-a-half levels of play, with a further 45 back here at 3pm. It's expected that we'll play down to 18 players or approximately midnight, making this by far the longest day of the tournament so far.

So far today, players eliminated have included PokerStars Team Asia pro Celina Lin, whose [5h] [4h] was drawing to the flush only to find 2009 Aussie Millions champ Stewart Scott waiting with [ac] [ah], which held up. "Limping with aces ... I feel bad," Scott quipped.

Tamara Volkoff was first out for the day when Nick Becker, a PokerStars qualifier from New York, awoke with pocket kings that led all the way against the Melburnian's [ah] [jh]. "I think I almost had a heart attack," Nick's anxious father Dan said from the rail.

Dan's heart received another workout not long after when Nick again found pocket kings, but his opponent's A-K found an ace on the flop and the youngster was out.

Outright short stack Richard Lancaster has been riding his luck - he doubled his short stack of 2000 when his [ah] [4h] improved to trip fours on the turn against Lyle Smith's pocket 10s.

Lancaster then raced another short stack, popular Aussie Dennis Huntly, with pocket sevens against A-Q. Both hit the flop of A-10-7, but it was Lancaster's set that sent Huntly on his way.

Australian PokerStars qualifiers Dane Middlebrook and Andrew Capelin were also KOed in the early going, as was NZ actor/poker player Dan Sing, who walked A-J into A-Q and trailled the board all the way.

Nine players were eliminated in the opening hour of play, leaving 37 in the running to return for the second stanza of play later this afternoon. Julius Colman remains the chip leader with more than 110,000 but Andrew Hinrichsen has been the big mover in the early going, up to more than 90,000. For latest chip counts, click here.

Thursday night presented a variety of opportunities for players tuning up ahead of day two in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queenstown Main Event. Many players and qualifiers had enjoyed a day's skiing at nearby Coronet Peak before others boarded a taxi for the trip up the mountain later in the afternoon where they found ANZPT head chef Danny McDonagh wielding a pair of tongs and cooking up a storm like a Masterchef contestant at the official ANZPT Queenstown barbecue.

PokerStars Team Australia pros Emad Tahtouh (clearly the star performer on the slopes among the pros), Grant Levy and Tony Hachem, along with PokerStars Sponsored Player Lee Nelson mingled with qualifiers, players and their friends while enjoying the stunning vie across the Southern Alps towards Arrowtown and Lake Wanaka.

For those who played through to the end of day 1D, it was out to one of the many eateries in Queenstown although the Botswana Butchery, a magnificent steak restaurant overlooking Lake Wakatipu is quickly becoming a favourite with the card-playing crowd.

But it's back to the serious stuff today as the remaining 91 players target a spot at tomorrow's final table. Players have been split into two groups, with the first taking their seats at 12.10pm, followed by the second at 3pm. The surviving players will then converge for an evening session from 6pm.

Big names in action among the first group of players are Kiwi celebs Brooke Howard-Smith and Dan Sing (albeit with just 2875 in chips), 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event top four finishers Stewart Scott and Raj Ramakrishnan, overall chip leader Julius Colman, day 1C chip leader Andrew Hinrichsen, 2009 NZ Poker Champs Main Event winner Soren Eriksen and a pair of Poker Stars pros - Team Australia's Tony Hachem (the overall ANZPT Points Leader) and Team Asia's Celina Lin, fresh from her latest Red Dragon success in Macau.

Cards will be in the air at approximately 12.10pm, with the structure to follow:

Level 6: 200/400 (ante 50)
Level 7: 300/600 (ante 75)
Level 8: 400/800 (ante 100)
Level 9: 500/1,000 (ante 100)
Level 10: 600/1200 (ante 200)
Level 11: 800/1600 (ante 200)
Level 12: 1000/2000 (ante 300)
Level 13: 1200/2400 (ante 400)
Level 14: 1500/3000 (ante 500)

PokerStars.net ANZPT Queenstown official top 10 stacks (after day one)

Julius Colman (Australia) PokerStars Player 114,425
Matthew Yates (New Zealand) 67,050
Andrew Hinrichsen (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 65,475
David Bradford (New Zealand) 64,500
Mark Measey (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 58,075
John Harman (New Zealand) 57,475
John Pye (New Zealand) 56,725
Mark Iskander (Australia) 49,725
Julian Cohen (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 45,875
Mark Walker (New Zealand) 45,350