Phil Ivey Makes Fifth Final Table of the Summer
Day 2 of Event 35: $2,500 Mixed Hold'em began with 87 players returning to action and finished with nine remaining. Sitting at the top of the list is Joep van den Bijgaart with 605,000 in chips. He'll hold the lead coming into Wednesday's final table.
Only 45 spots were set to get paid and it didn't take too long to get down to the bubble with 46 players left. The bubble, though, lasted roughly an hour and a half before Dario Sammartino finally went out at the hands of Michael Malm. Malm came from behind with tens versus jacks to bust Sammartino and send everyone into the money.
Of those who finished the day with a cash were Dan Harrington, Gabriel Nassif, Randy Lew, David Williams and start-of-the-day chip leader Andre Akkari.
Akkari went out in 15th place when he three-bet shoved with the 
, but Erik Cajelais had raised with the 
and made the quick and easy call. The kings held for Cajelais and he sent the Brazilian bracelet winner out the door.
Another notable to fall was James Dempsey and he went out in 11th place. Salman Behbehani got the last of his chips when his 
defeated Dempsey's 
.
The last player eliminated on the day was Jeremy Ausmus in 10th place just before the players were getting ready to bag and tag. Ausmus lost a big pot to cripple him against Samuel Golbuff's trip kings and then he went out right after that thanks to Chris Tryba. That officially set the final table and here's how it will look.
Final Table Seating Assignments
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Tryba | 347,000 |
| 2 | Salman Behbehani | 253,000 |
| 3 | Michael Foti | 105,000 |
| 4 | Michael Gathy | 418,000 |
| 5 | Joep van den Bijgaart | 605,000 |
| 6 | Erik Cajelais | 368,000 |
| 7 | Phil Ivey | 169,000 |
| 8 | Samuel Golbuff | 526,000 |
| 9 | Brent Wheeler | 158,000 |
Among those at the final table, Michael Gathy will be looking for his second gold bracelet of the 2012 World Series of Poker having won Event 21: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em. Even though Gathy's accomplishment and quest is amazing, Phil Ivey is stealing the headlines by making a fifth final table at this WSOP alone.
Just Monday night, Ivey was locking horns with some of the toughest competition in poker in Event 32: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. before getting a late start in this event. He ran his stack up and put himself in a good spot to make a run on Day 2. That's just what he did and has once again maneuvered his way to a final table.
Ivey will enter the final table with 169,000 in chips and that's good for seventh place overall. Even despite not having a large stack, everyone knows Ivey is the biggest threat at the table. He's dying to finally win a bracelet this year and the motivation is higher than ever, setting up for a great show in the finale.
The final day of action will commence on Wednesday at 2:00 PM and you can be certain you'll fine all of the live coverage right here on PokerNews. Until then, goodnight from Las Vegas!