It took just six hours to slash the 2009 WSOP Main Event field from 407 to 185 players, with all players assured a minimum payout of $36,626. However, it’s the $8.6 million first prize that is still the focus for the remaining players with just three days until the November Nine is decided.

Day five started with 11 Australians in contention, and finished with six still in the hunt to become just the third to reach the WSOP Main Event final table.

The leading Aussie is APL qualifier Charlie Elias. The Sydney tradesman set the tone for the day when he crippled 1995 world champion Dan Harrington with an amazing call on the river.

He finished the day on one of the two ESPN feature tables along side poker luminaries such as Antonio Esfandiari, and is placed ninth overall in the chip count with 2,740,000 (the chip average is now just over 1,000,000).

Tian Shou chipped up to almost 2.3 million inc hips at the mid-point of the day and never looked like donating any of his stacks as the young PokerStars Supernova Elite from Sydney finished the day just outside the top 10.

The biggest developing story, however, is the performance of 2005 WSOP Main Event winner Joe Hachem, who finished the day with 1,000,000 in chips. One of only two former world champs still alive in the Main Event (along with 2008 winner Peter Eastgate), Hachem remains on track for an unthinkable double.

Joey Lawrence steadily climbed the chip count today and finished with just over 1,000,000 in chips, while Daniel Neilson (720,000) and veteran Mike Comer (350,000) will also be back tomorrow.

Australians eliminated on day five were Emma Grace, Jonathan Wertheim, Chad Awerbuch, Craig Ivey and Jarrod Holmes.

Nick Schulman, Kevin O’Donnell, Kyle Bowker, Vitaly Lunkin, Andy Black, Dan Shak, Nick Binger, Dan Harrington, Bobby Baldwin, Kevin Saul and Sorel Mizzi were among the players eliminated. It’s expected that we’ll play down to approximately 90 players on day six.

Overall chip count (approximate after level 20, thanks to www.worldseriesofpoker.com)

Warren Zackey 4,977,000
Kasper Cordes 4,295,000
Bernhard Perner 3,220,000
Darvin Moon 3,218,000
Tom Schneider 3,168,000
James Akenhead 2,900,000
Herbie Gelman 2,900,000
Matt Affleck 2,820,000
Charlie Elias 2,740,000
Steve Begleiter 2,630,000

Australian chip counts (approximate after level 20)

Charlie Elias 2.74 million
Tian Shou 2.25 million
Joey Lawrence 1.05 million
Joe Hachem 1 million
Daniel Neilson 720,000
Mike Comer 350,000 

248th Jonathan Wertheim (Sydney) $32,963
256th Chad Awerbuch (Sydney) $32,963
267th Craig Ivey (Adelaide) $32,963
401st Jarrod Holmes $27,469
404th Emma Grace (Gold Coast) $27,469

Posted by Sean Callander, 7.15pm, 12/7/09

It looms as another early night for the remaining players in the 2009 WSOP Main Event with less than 200 players still in the field and a target set for 175 on day five.

Six of the 11 Australians who started day five are in line to return tomorrow. Charlie Elias goes from strength to strength with more 2.5 million in chips. He’s just been moved to the secondary feature table for the first time; a well deserved moment in the spotlight for the 25-year-old Sydneysider who’s barely put a foot wrong in this tournament.

Likewise, Tian Shou has enjoyed a memorable day, taking his stack from one million to 2.2 million, clearly among the chip leaders.

Tian Shou is firmly entrenched in the top 10

Joe Hachem has just returned to the ESPN feature table where he is seated next to PokerStars teammate Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier. Hachem is on one million in chips is the last remaining former world champion still standing in the 2009 Main Event.

Daniel Neilson (720,000) is seated on the same feature table as Charlie Elias while Joey Lawrence (840,000) and Mike Comer (350,000) are also solidly placed to return tomorrow.

Daniel Neilson has joined the action at one of the TV tables


Overall chip count (approximate late in level 20, thanks to www.worldseriesofpoker.com)

Warren Zackey 3,950,000
Matt Affleck 2,900,000
Tom Schneider 2,900,000
James Akenhead 2,890,000
Ben Lamb 2,560,000
Charlie Elias 2,400,000
Bernhard Perner 2,300,000
Tian Shou 2,280,000
Julien Brecard 2,175,000
Steve Begleiter 2,150,000

Australian chip counts (approximate late in level 20)

Charlie Elias 2.4 million
Tian Shou 2.28 million
Joe Hachem 1 million
Joey Lawrence 770,000
Daniel Neilson 720,000
Mike Comer 350,000

Posted by Sean Callander, 6pm, 12/7/09

It’s taken almost five days of play but now everyone wants to know the Charlie Elias story. Everything changed a few minutes ago when Elias bravely called the 400,000 bluff of 1995 WSOP Main Event winner Dan Harrington.

The ESPN cameras were there to catch all the action as Elias boosted his stack to more than 2.2 million, good for fourth overall behind James Akenhead, Matt Affleck and Tom Lutz.

Oh crap ... Dan Harrington walks into a world of hurt

But Sydney uni student Chad Awerbuch has been sent to the rail after Eugene Katchalov made a set of kings against the pocket aces of the Full Tilt Poker qualifier. We suspect that this won’t be the last we here of Chad Awerbuch, whose first career cash is a top 300 finish in the WSOP Main Event. WP.

And two of the players who’ve peddled a short stack for the past two days, Craig Ivey and Jonathan Wertheim, have also been eliminated. Ivey though his trip twos were good from the big blind only to watch the player in the small blind river a flush to end his gallant run.

Wertheim found it tough to gain traction on his ultra-tough table and was forced to make a move with his short stack holding J-9, only to find five callers waiting.

    

Craig Ivey (left), Chad Awerbuch and Jonathan Wertheim have been eliminated

And amid the myriad awards and titles handed out each year at the WSOP, we can announce that Dennis McCollum from Reno has been named the 2009 WSOP Dealer of the Year.

Over seven weeks of poker at the Rio, McCollum (in his 20th year dealing at the WSOP) did not once have the floor called to his table. He wins a Corum watch for his efforts.

And after a five-week process that saw hundreds of votes cast weekly on WSOP.com, members of the public has made clear who they think should be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

It will now be up to the current Hall of Famers and a panel of media representatives to determine who actually does join this exclusive club. The 10 players nominated by the public were Tom Dwan, Barry Greenstein, Dan Harrington, Phil Ivey, Tom McEvoy, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel and Mike Sexton.

Australian chip counts (approximate after level 19)

Charlie Elias 2.2 million
Tian Shou 1.2 million
Joey Lawrence 920,000
Daniel Neilson 720,000
Joe Hachem 700,000
Mike Comer 350,000

Posted by Sean Callander, 4.30pm, 12/7/09 

Players have just returned from their first break of the day with almost 100 players being sent to the rail during the opening level on day five of the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

Jarrod Holmes joined fellow Aussie Emma Grace on the rail after he committed his short stack with 8-6 on a board of 4-K-8-A but Mark Fisher had flopped a set of kings and Holmes was already drawing dead.

Jarrod Holmes collected $27,469 for finishing 401st 

It’s no often that Joe Hachem stays under the radar, but the 2005 WSOP champion and PokerStars Team Australia Pro has been quietly going about his business and claimed another victim during level 18.

Joe Hachem is slowly climbing the chip count on day five

In a scenario that was played out many times during his run to the title four years ago, Hachem called Ross Mallor’s all-in pre-flop with A-Q against pocket kings, with an ace falling on the turn. Hachem took 700,000 to the first break, and remains one of only two past world champs (along with Dan Harrington) still in the running.

Sydney online qualifier Chad Awerbuch also found a double-up during the first two hours when the board of 4-6-4-6-5 counterfeited Coba Cao’s pocket threes, with Awerbuch’s ace kicker (A-Q) coming into play.

Charlie Elias took a hit when he called an all-in of 350,000 with A-K against A-Q, only for the flop to come 10-Q-5, sending him back to 1,350,000 – virtually the only big pot Elias has lost in the past four days. Tian Shou also remains above one-million in chips and looks extremely poised.

Overall chip count (approximate after level 18, thanks to www.worldseriesofpoker.com)

Matt Affleck 2,600,000
Tom Schneider 2,085,000
Ben Lamb 2,000,000
Tom Lutz 1,900,000
Ludovic Lacay 1,850,000
Kevin Schaffel 1,840,000
Chuck Clark 1,700,000
Bernhard Perner 1,675,000
James Akenhead 1,572,000
Owen Crowe 1,500,000

Australian chip counts (approximate after level 18)

Charlie Elias 1.35 million
Tian Shou 1.25 million
Joey Lawrence 878,000
Daniel Neilson 720,000
Chad Awerbuch 700,000
Joe Hachem 700,000
Mike Comer 420,000
Jonathan Wertheim 196,000
Craig Ivey 100,000

Posted by Sean Callander, 2.40pm, 12/7/09

It’s getting down to the business end of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, with just 46 tables spread across the blue and orange sections of the Amazon Ballroom where the remaining 407 players have just taken their seats for day five.

That figure included 11 Australians, but Emma Grace bowed out on the opening hand after pushing all-in on a board of 6-3-9-6 with pocket sevens only to find Viet Nguyen waiting with pocket kings (the river bricked 2s).

Emma Grace (pictured when the bubble burst yesterday) joins a select group of female Australian players with a WSOP Main Event cash

Grace became the first Australian female to cash in the WSOP Main Event since Angie Italiano in 2007. The single mother of two earns $27,469 for her magnificent effort after nursing a short stack through much of day four.

We’re expecting to play five levels today, with the structure:

Level 18: 4000/8000 (ante 1000)
Level 19: 5000/10,000 (ante 1000)
Level 20: 6000/12,000 (ante 2000)
Level 21: 8000/16,000 (ante 2000)
Level 22: 10,000/20,000 (ante 3000)

Overall chip count (after day 4)

1 Matt Affleck (Seattle, WA) 1,819,000
2 Ludovic Lacay (Paris, France) 1,608,000
3 Tom Lutz (Las Vegas, NV) 1,600,000
4 James Akenhead (London, UK) 1,572,000
5 Charlie Elias (Sydney, Australia) 1,540,000
6 Miika Puumalainen (Kuipio, Finland) 1,492,000
7 Jordan Morgan (Tulsa, OK) 1,489,000
8 Bernhard Perner (Austria) 1,426,000
9 Blair Hinkle (Kansas City, MO) 1,399,000
10 Ben Jensen (Herning, Denmark) 1,394,000

Australians playing on day 5

5 Charlie Elias (Sydney) 1,540,000
28 Tian Shou (Sydney) 1,042,000
45 Joey Lawrence (Sydney) 878,000
87 Daniel Neilson (Sydney) 721,000
159 Joe Hachem (Melbourne) 490,000
186 Mike Comer (Sydney) 420,000
225 Chad Awerbuch (Sydney) 351,000
336 Jonathan Wertheim (Sydney) 196,000
337 Emma Grace (Gold Coast) 194,000
366 Jarrod Holmes 145,000
388 Craig Ivey (Adelaide) 101,000 

The payout structure for the 2009 WSOP Main Event is:

1st $8,546,435
2nd $5,182,601
3rd $3,479,485
4th $2,502,787
5th $1,953,395
6th $1,587,133
7th $1,404,002
8th $1,300,228
9th $1,263,602
10-12th $896,730
13-15th $633,022
16-18th $500,557
19-27th $352,832
28-36th $253,941
37-45th $178,857
46-54th $138,568
55-63rd $108,047
64-72nd $90,344
73-81st $68,979
82-90th $57,991
91-99th $47,003
100-162nd $40,288
163-225th $36,626
226-288th $32,963
289-360th $29,911
361-432nd $27,469
433-504th $25,027
505-576th $23,196
577-648th $21,365

• Remember, you can keep up to date with the latest happening from the 2009 World Series of Poker by following twitter.com/bluffaussie.

Posted by Sean Callander, 12.45pm, 12/7/09