Amar Anand snags overwhelming chip lead after 2A/2B at WSOP Main Event

Amar Anand of Shrewsbury, Mass., had the overwhelming chip lead at the conclusion of Day 2A/2B of the World Series of Poker’s $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em World Championship.

Anand, who has never cashed in a WSOP event, had 603,500 chips when play finished early Thursday at the Rio Convention Center.

The Main Event continues at noon today at the Rio with Day 2C. The tournament runs through Tuesday, and the final nine players return Nov. 8 at the Rio’s Penn & Teller Theater for the final table.

The top 1,000 places are guaranteed to take home a minimum $15,000 payout, and each member of the “November Nine” final table will earn a seven-figure score, with ninth place worth $1,001,020.

The Day 1A starting flight featured 470 players, while Day 2B saw 1,154 survivors in action. More than 2,700 runners will play Thursday before all the remaining players come together Friday for Day 3.

Playing in the 1A flight, Anand chipped up in the final two levels after Joe Lu of Edmonton, Alberta, held the unofficial lead at the dinner break. Lu ended in seventh place overall with 387,400 chips.

Calvin Lee of Brooklyn, N.Y., was the only other player to cross the 500,000-chip threshold and is comfortably in second place with 500,700. Luther Tran of Bayou La Batre, Ala., is third with 479,700 chips.

Several notable pros were still alive including Las Vegas resident and four-time bracelet winner Mike Matusow (200,700). Canadian Jonathan Duhamel, the 2010 Main Event champion, was just outside the top 100 with 177,400 chips, while 2004 Main Event winner Greg Raymer took a big hit on the final hand of the day when his set of sixes lost to Fatima Moreira de Melo’s set of nines.

CHIP COUNTS

1, Amar Anand (Shrewsbury, Mass.) 603,500

2, Calvin Lee (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 500,700

3, Luther Tran (Bayou La Batre, Ala.) 479,700

4, Charles Chattha (London) 423,300

5, Alan Mastic (Reno) 400,000

6, Sotirios Koutoupas (Vienna) 393,000

7, Joe Lu (Edmonton, Alberta) 387,400

8, William Molson (Westmount, Quebec) 370,300

9, Daniel Fuhs (San Diego) 368,800

10, Brian Hastings (Hanover Township, Pa.) 367,300