World Series of Poker (The Big Dance, Day 2, May 14, 1996)

Texas Hold'em (No Limit) -- Standings

End of Day Two

1995 Champion: Dan Harrington

The following report is courtesy of Paul R. Pudaite, 5/15/96

The Survivors.
The Story.

The Survivors

 1. Men "The Master" Nguyen     321,100    Bell Gardens, CA 
 2. Paul Ladanyi                301,300    Las Vegas, NV 
 3. John "Akron" Franjesh       274,800    Akron, OH 
 4. Huck Seed                   248,800    Las Vegas, NV 
 5. Dr. Bruce Van Horn          207,500    Ada, OK 
 6. Peter Vilandos              203,300    Houston, TX 
 7. John Bonetti                187,300    Houston, TX 
 8. Andre Boyer                 144,200    Las Vegas, NV 
 9. An Tran                     138,700    Las Vegas, NV 
10. John Esposito               134,800    Las Vegas, NV 
11. Chau Giang                  113,800    Las Vegas, NV 
12. Hal "Deadman" Kant           84,400    Reno, NV 
13. Lucy Rokach                  72,500    Stoke-on-Trent, England 
14. J.P. Schamlz                 72,400    Houston, TX 
15. Larry Gordon                 62,300    Los Angeles, CA 
16. Dan Harrington*              55,200    Las Vegas, NV 
17. John Saer                    52,600    Phoenix, AZ 
18. Tom Hufnagle                 45,800    Las Vegas, NV 
19. David Chiu                   40,700    Lakewood, CO 
20. Mike Laing                   40,000    Franklin, PA 
21. Berry Johnston**             29,300    Las Vegas, NV 
22. Steve Beam                   25,800    Las Vegas, NV 
23. Frank Henderson              22,400    Houston, TX 
24. Fernando Fisdel              21,800    New York, NY 
25. Steve Melton                 21,000    Noble, OK 
26. Donn O'Dea                   15,800    London, England 
27. Jeff Burdsall                12,500    Cincinnati, OH 
 
* Defending Champion 
** 1986 World Champion

The Story

Binion's Horseshoe, May 14, 1996 -- Men "The Master" Nguyen vaulted into the lead at the 1996 World Championship of Poker when he won a huge pot with a pair of Aces against Alex Brenes's pair of Kings. Both players were all in before the flop, with Men making the final raise and Brenes calling. Neither hand improved, but it took several minutes for the pot to be awarded because both player's stacks had to be counted down. Brenes came up slightly short and was eliminated from the tournament. Men amassed nearly $300,000 from the pot.

After the hand, Dan Harrington (who was also at the table) commented "that's a tough beat." Men responded that Brenes could have laid down the pair of Kings, adding "I've laid down kings many times." Harrington again replied "that's a tough beat."

Internet Coverage of the 1996 World Series of Poker is brought to you
by Binion's Horseshoe
and ConJelCo

Day Three. Day One