WSOP Update

Here are who the bookies pegged as the top choices to win the 2005 WSOP and their current status:

Phil Ivey - 180/1 -
Daniel Negreanu - 180/1 - OUT
Phil Hellmuth - 200/1 - OUT
Howard Lederer - 200/1
Gus Hansen - 200/1
Chris Ferguson - 210/1 - OUT
Erick Lindgren - 215/1
Johnny Chan - 225/1 - OUT
Barry Greenstein - 235/1 - OUT
Dan Harrington - 225/1
Erik Seidel - 225/1 - OUT
Doyle Brunson - 225/1 - OUT

Can you believe that? We are not even into the official day 2 and already half of the top players have been eliminated. Wow!

The official numbers are out. There were 5619 players and a $52.8 Million prize pool. The top payouts are as follows:

1st = $7,500,000
2nd = $4,250,000
3rd = $2,500,000
4th = $2,000,000
5th = $1,750,000
6th = $1,500,000
7th = $1,300,000
8th = $1,150,000
9th = $1,000,000

If you do the math - the total should come out to over $56 million but the casino takes a small cut and some of the remaining money is used for tips for the dealers.

As always Tao of Poker is the best spot for WSOP info. For instance how else would you know that Shannon Sharpe is in this year's WSOP? I wonder if the Anna Benson mentioned is Kris Benson of the Mets Anna Benson? Must be.