With 39 minutes left in level 19 the WSOP staff came over the intercom and announced that play was done for the evening with 189 players remaining. All players left in the field are guaranteed at least $38,600. Play will resume at noon tomorrow where they will play the last 39 minutes of level 19 and then continue on.

In case anyone was worried, we haven’t been intentionally ignoring Dan “wildman75″ Buzgon in this year’s WSOP Main Event, he just didn’t want us to know he was here at first. Apparently Dan started the day with a less than average stack of 86k and didn’t feel he needed the coverage. With around 200 players remaining Dan finally felt the need to inform one of our reporters of his presence. At some point during the day his pocket kings cracked pocket aces to help build his stack. When we checked on him an hour after dinner he had a much more impressive stack of around 710k and was seated with Mark Vos.

Dan was spotted raising pre-flop with no callers and showing both pocket queens and pocket tens. He said “I’m an online nit playing live!” and the table laughed. His table has been one of the more amusing ones left in the field with lots of calls to the cocktail waitress and abundant laughter. Someone walking by the table commented “Don’t they know they’re playing for $9 million dollars?” We’re pretty sure they do and they’re just having a little fun along the way.

Andy “Tufat23″ Teng (pictured left) found a way to end a turbulent Day 4 on a high note. With blinds at 5k/10k/1k, Teng’s opponent raised to 35k out of the small blind and Teng re-raised to 105k from the big blind only to have his opponent move all-in for 350k total. Teng called instantly and his JJ was well ahead of his opponent A7. The board ran true for Teng, who ascended to just over one million right as the announcement was made that play was done for the day.

Ladbrokes team pro Jeff Kimber ended the day with 870K in chips after an exciting day chipping up.  At his peak today, he was nearly 1M in chips after getting a running start early yesterday.  He took advantage of his early momentum and continued the trend straight through Day 4, finishing well above the average stack.  The Barcelona World Heads-Up Champion player continues on at 12pm PST tomorrow to contend for the bracelet and $9.1M prize!

With play ceasing rather abruptly, we were unable to get a complete list of the end of day chip counts, but here are a few we spotted as players were bagging up their stacks:

Keith “damurdera3″ Ferrera - 1.26M
Peter “number1pen” Neff - 1.16M
Owen “ocrowe” Crowe - 1.05M
Jonathan “therookieqq9″ Plens - 1M
Dan “wildman75″ Buzgon - 775K
Adam “Roothlus” Levy - 720k
Jeremy “thechemist83″ Gaubert - 700K
Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki - 615k
Garrett “GBecks” Beckman - 515k
Jeff “jpapola” Papola - 480K
Allen “AawwNutz” Carter - 460K
Andy “BadgerPro” Schultz - 450k
Cort “thecortster” Kibler-Melby - 250K
Joshua “theNorfman” Norris - 212k
Jon “pokertrip” Friedberg - 140K

• July 12, 2008 -- Looking Back in the Rearviewmirror
• July 11, 2008 -- Levy Cruising at Hellmuth’s Table
• July 11, 2008 -- Catastrophic Day Ends for Mikkelsen
• July 11, 2008 -- Rasmussen Crippled, Tripled, Then Out

Players recently returned from the dinner break and cards were in the air shortly after 9:40pm PST at the Rio. Play will continue this evening until 180 remain or until we complete one more two-hour level.

Just before the crowd in the Amazon Room dispersed for their suppers, several noteworthy things occurred, not the least of which was the crushing and subsequent elimination of Jon “PearlJammer” Turner (pictured at right). Turner was recently reseated at the second featured table, just to the side of the ESPN arena. He was reunited with Jeremiah Smith, with whom he sat next to during yesterday’s play and who still guarded a huge stack.

In a hand that will inevitably haunt Jon for a long time, he raised preflop to 21K and the player on the button called him. The dealer flopped out AT8 and Turner, first to act, bet 41K. His opponent raised him to nearly twice the pot’s size and Jon pushed alll in for 340K more. His opponent thought for a long time before calling down with 89 and was completely dominated by Jon’s pocket aces, which had flopped top set. However, the Q on the turn gave his opponent a flush, and Jon was looking for the board to pair. The meaningless 4 came on the river and Jon was sent to the sidelines looking like his puppy had been stolen.

Joe “LatestLines2″ Ward (pictured at left) also experienced heartbreak on the very last hand before the break when he faced off with Gus Hansen. On a flop of AT5, Joe tossed 100K into the pot and Hansen made the call. The dealer turned the 9 and Joe checked; Hansen took the opportunity to bet 200K, which Ward check-raised for 385K more when he went all in. Hansen ended up making the call and showing A-T to Joe’s A-Q; and Joe’s pair of aces couldn’t catch a queen on the river to make a better two pair. He was eliminated in 218th place and will take home $38,600 for his efforts.

In better news, Andrew “tufat23″ Teng has managed to chip up substantially after break, more than quadrupling his pre-dinner stack, which had been down to 200K in the middle of the last level. He now sits much more comfortably with 800K in front of him.

Over at the table of doom, Andy “BadgerPro” Schultz joined Keith “damurdera3″ Ferrera, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Jeremy “thechemist83″ Gaubert and Phil Hellmuth. It didn’t take long into the new level for Schultz to make a move. On a board of 652, Gaubert bet 45K and Shultz check-raised all in from the big blind from 94K more. Gaubert made with call with 99 and needed to come from behind to beat the 65 of Schultz. The turn and river bricked for Gaubert, increasing Andy’s stack to over 200K.

More chip counts (and hopefully, better news) to come shortly as we get this level under way!

• July 11, 2008 -- Double Double (or Toil and Trouble)
• July 12, 2008 -- Friedberg Busts, Beckman Builds Stack
• July 12, 2008 -- Pocket Fives No Good vs Pocket Kings
• July 11, 2008 -- People Don’t You Know It’s About Time?

A host of P5′ers were featured at perhaps the most ballyhooed table on Day 4 of the Main Event. Playing amidst a strong contingent of photographers, film crews and spectators at this table was none other than Phil Hellmuth, who had a formidable table that included Adam “Roothlus” Levy (pictured left), Tracey “xtrACEy” Nguyen, Keith “damurdera3″ Ferrera, and Evelyn Ng.

Nguyen was playing her short stack very patiently throughout with blinds at 4k-8k-1k and finally made a stand with KQ, moving all-in for 68k but ran into Hellmuth’s TT. Nguyen situation look dire on the turn when the board read 7864. Hellmuth mentioned that a five wouldn’t be so bad and sure enough the 5 peeled on the river. Although he could have bemoaned his fate to the ESPN cameras capturing the draw out, he congratulated Nguyen in what seemed like a genuine act of sportsmanship.

“I don’t care what they say…you’re a sweetheart Phil,” said Nguyen. “You’re okay in my book.”

Moments later, Nguyen moved in for her last 88K from under the gun and a player in middle position made the call. Nguyen’s A7 needed a lot of help against the AA of her opponent and couldn’t find a miracle as the board ran out QJ3Q6. Tracey earned $35,383 for her four days of work. And to make things even more interesting, Jeremy “thechemist83″ Gaubert has taken Tracey’s seat at the table with a monstrous stack of 915K chips.

Levy and Ferrera (pictured right) played an interested hand a few hands earlier when Ferrera made it 20k from early position and Levy called. Ferrera bet 35k on a 442 flop and Levy called. The 9 dropped on the turn and both players checked. The 4 came on the river and Ferrera checked and Levy bet 55k and Ferrera called. Levy tabled the KK for a full house and Ferrera mucked. Levy’s stack has grown in the last level to over 800k and Ferrara’s has been steady over 1.1 million.

Edward “zaner1″ Zane hadn’t been too active today but when we walked by his table we noticed his chip stack had doubled in size. When we asked Edward about the hand he said that he “got lucky” and ran his pocket queens into another players pocket jacks all-in preflop and they held. He was sitting with around 375k in chips.

Unfortunately for Edward those chips didn’t last long. In one hand he raised on the button and when the big blind re-raised he pushed all-in. The big blind insta-called and Edward had to show the hammer, the 72 which was way behind the big blind’s KK. The board ran out AT296 and Edward’s stack dropped to around 150k.

It wasn’t long after that the rest of his chips went in preflop with pocket queens, but he ran into another player who held pocket kings. Edward was excited when the flop brought a third queen to give him a set, but the other player made a straight on the river to send Edward to the rail.

Garrett “GBecks” Beckman is playing at the featured table and with the flop already showing Q66 his opponent bet, Garrett raised, and his opponent pushed all in. Garrett instantly made the call with his KK and was ahead of the other players AQ. The other player had Garrett covered so his tournament life was at stake. The turn brought the harmless 9 and the 8 on the river was meaningless as well and Garrett doubled up to around 700k.

It seems like Chris “panamatony” Barrile is an action magnet today as we can’t walk by his table without finding him involved in a big hand. Most recently he got involved in an all-in preflop confrontation with a player holding the 99 which was ahead of Chris’s AK. The flop made Chris’s hand look even worse when it came 963. The 8 on the turn and 8 on the river were no help and Chris doubled his opponent up while his stack dropped down to around 470k.

Here’s a look at the chip counts as players go into their dinner break:

Owen “ocrowe” Crowe - 1.2M
David “Raptor517″ Benefield - 1.1M
Keith “damurdera3″ Ferrera - 1.1M
Peter “number1pen” Neff - 1.025M
Adam “Roothlus” Levy - 830K
Garrett “GBecks” Beckman - 755K
Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki - 585K
Chris “panamatony” Barrile - 570K
Brent “astrolux85″ Roberts - 570K
Cort “the cortster” Kibler-Melby - 460K
Jeff “jpapola” Papola - 360K
Josh “theNorfman” Norris - 300K
Steve “MrSmokey1″ Billirakis - 260K
Andrew “tufat23″ Teng - 260K
“therookieqq9″ - 185K
Jon “pokertrip” Friedberg - 60K

• July 11, 2008 -- Rasmussen Crippled, Tripled, Then Out
• July 11, 2008 -- Together They Fall
• July 11, 2008 -- Double Double (or Toil and Trouble)
• June 28, 2008 -- CrazyMarco, Roothlus Chip Up

Dag Martin “dmmikkel” Mikelssen began Day 4 with nearly 1 million chips, ranking him fourth among the 474 going into the day. Those chips are now scattered across the Amazon Room, as Mikelsson was eliminated on the final hand of Level 17. He got his last 280K in preflop with KK and found himself against the pocket aces of another player. The board of 843T6 left Mikkelsen with a payday of $35,383 and, like last year, a question of what could have been after losing a big stack in the later stages of the Main Event.

Paul “ComeOnPhish” Lieu has also been on a downward spiral in the past level. First, Lieu reraised an opponent on a board of K97A and his opponent called off the last of his chips with AK. Lieu’s K8 was drawing dead and a sizable portion of his stack had been diminished. Then we caught up with Paul checking a board of KTQJ4. His opponent bet 50K, sending Lieu into the tank. He eventually called and flew out of his seat when his opponent flipped over A6 for a straight. Lieu is down to 225K.

Two-hundred seventy nine players remain and the average stack in 490K. Here’s a look at some notable chip counts as Level 17 came to a close:

David “Raptor517″ Benefield (right)- 1.2 Million
Keith “damurdera3″ Ferrera - 1.1 Million
Peter “number1pen” Neff - 970K
Owen “ocrowe” Crowe - 860K
Adam “Roothlus” Levy - 780K
Garrett “GBecks” Beckman - 700K
Steve “MrSmokey1″ Billirakis - 660K
Andrew “tufat23″ Teng - 700K
Joe “LatestLines2″ Ward - 490K
Cort “the cortster” Kibler-Melby - 450K
Edward “zaner1″ Zane - 230K
David “Bakes” Baker - 180K
Tracey “xtrACEy” Nguyen - 100K

• July 11, 2008 -- People Don’t You Know It’s About Time?
• July 8, 2008 -- Short Day for Ferguson
• July 5, 2008 -- Viva Las Main Event
• July 4, 2008 -- Zpaceman Lifts Off

Thayer Rasmussen and another player got all the chips in preflop with Thayer holding the AK against the other players QQ. The flop was an incredibly dramatic AKJ to give Thayer two pair and the lead while giving his opponent a gutshot straight draw. That gutshot filled when the turn came with the T putting the other player back in the lead. The 7 fell on the river and Thayer’s stack was knocked down to around 20k.

A few hands later Thayer (pictured left) pushed all in and both blinds called. The other players checked down the board of Q9668 and when Thayer tabled his AQ the other players mucked and Thayer tripled up to 58k.

Thayer then in a later hand moved all in from the small blind for around 46k and the big blind made the call with his TT only to find that he was way behind Thayer’s AA. The flop came J83 keeping Thayer in the lead. The 7 on the turn gave his opponent a gutshot straight draw and the 9 on the river completed it sending Thayer to the rail. Joining Thayer in the past level were Derek “arodss3″ Buanomo, Clayton “clayton_27″ Newman and Bruce “cornellxc11″ Hyde.

Chris “panamatony” Barrile is still staying active. A shorter stacked player pushed all in and Chris made the call with the 66. The other player held the AQ and would need some help to stay alive. The board ran out T43TJ and BChris’s sixes held to scoop up the pot. He currently is back up to almost 800k in chips.

Garrett “GBecks” Beckman continues to march up the board today. He recently doubled when he and another player got all of their chips in preflop, with Beckman (pictured right) holding AK and his opponent QQ. The J73 was gin for Beckman, but the Q on the turn added some excitement as the other player began shouting to his rail “Pair the board!” His request was denied as the T landed on the river and Beckman picked up a pot of close to 300K to increase his stack to 450K. He’s now at 415K.

The average stack is 450K with just over 300 players remaining. Here’s a look at some chip counts:

Owen “ocrowe” Crowe - 930K
Keith “damurdera3″ Ferrera - 900K
Peter “number1pen” Neff - 880K
Adam “Roothlus” Levy - 750K
Andy “tufat23″ Teng - 750K
Matt “Burton1080″ Jensen - 750K
Joe “LatestLines2″ Ward - 490K
Allen “AawwNutz” Carter - 450K
Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki - 440K
Jeremy “thechemist83″ Gaubert - 430K
Garrett “GBecks” Beckman - 415K
Brent “Astrolux85″ Roberts - 385K
Aditya “Intervention” Agarwal - 320K
David “Bakes” Baker - 250K
Jeff “jpapola” Papola - 215K
Tracey “xtrACEy” Nguyen - 140K

• July 11, 2008 -- Levy Cruising at Hellmuth’s Table
• July 11, 2008 -- Together They Fall
• July 14, 2008 -- GBye, GBecks!
• July 13, 2008 -- Reunited