New WSOP guidelines state that no event will go longer than 14 hours in any one day. Noon events are to end by 2 AM and Day Two restarts, usually at 2 PM should end by 4 AM. Well today will test that "guideline". Event #2 the record-setting (3,929) $1,500 NLHE comes back today with a combined field of 447 players, which in theory will play down to a final table of nine.
In all likelihood that will not happen today and the survivors will come back tomorrow a couple of hours early to play down to the final nine. The crunch will come after midnight tonight when tournament officials will have to look at the remaining field and somehow balance the need to shrink the field without making the players play all night.
This problem is inherent in events with multiple Day Ones. Tournament officials had to stop Day 1A early because they could not afford to have the money bubble burst on Day 1A, actually they had to estimate what the money bubble would be since Day 1B registrations were still open. They did a good job here. A total of 378 places will be paid and they are bringing back 447 players. Day 1A produced 225 players from a field of 2048 and Day 1B saw 223 players make it through from a smaller starting group of 1881.
That is actually cutting it a little close (447/378) but it just shows how the WSOP Tournament Director's staff really do know how to run the biggest events in the poker world. Nicely done, Ladies and Gentlemen.
