H.O.R.S.E.: All-Star Game for top players

Las Vegas - Allen Cunningham, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Patrik Antonious showed up late.

Phil Hellmuth and David Williams departed early.

And six hours into the first day, dealers united in one thought -- change the setups. All of the decks used during the first two levels of play were taken out of action and replaced.

So it went in the USD 50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. tournament at the 39th annual World Series of Poker, being held in the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino here.

A total of 148 players entered; going into Day Two Thursday, 140 remained, with 11-time bracelet winner Hellmuth and young standout Williams among the players eliminated.

The chip leaders after the first day were James Mackay (USD 214,000); Chris Reslock (USD 210,200); Pat Pezzin (USD 200,400) and Joe Cassidy (USD 198.000). Players started with USD 100,000 in chips.

H. (Hold-em) O. (Omaha hi-lo split), R. (Razz, stud low ball) S. (Seven-card stud) E. (Eight-or-better seven-card stud) are the games.

The tournament will run through Sunday, with the winner receiving USD 1.989 million out of a prize pool of USD 7,104,000. The winner will also receive the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy, named in honor of the first USD 50,000 H.O.R.S.E. winner. Freddy Deeb is the defending champion.

The last 16 players will cash, with the minimum payoff USD 124,320.