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WSOP Main Event participation down almost 30 percent after two days

Participation in the World Series of Poker’s Main Event is down almost 30 percent from a year ago after the completion of the first two starting days.

Two additional starting days will take place Saturday and Sunday at the Rio.

A total of 978 players began play on Friday in the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em World Championship. Combined with the 897 players who competed Thursday, that put the two-day total at 1,875 players.

Last year’s Main Event drew 7,319 participants.

Several big-name poker professionals survived the day and will return to the Rio on Tuesday to compete on the second day of Day 2 action.

Patrik Antonius, Jean-Robert Bellande, Erick Lindgren, David Sklansky, and Allen Cunningham were among the players to move forward. Also joining them was Florida poker professional John Racener, who won $5.5 million as last year’s Main Event runner-up.

Meanwhile, Ben Lamb continued his run through the 2011 World Series of Poker and emerged as one of the chip leaders on Friday.

Lamb won a gold bracelet in the Pot Limit Omaha World Championship in June, as well as collecting second-place, eighth-place, and 12th-place finishes in three other World Series of Poker events.

He is currently in second place behind Phil Hellmuth for the World Series of Poker Player of the Year title.

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