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Phil Hellmuth, Paul Pierce and Mike Sowers were the names most heard around the Rio in Las Vegas on Day 2a of the World Series of Poker’s 2011 Main Event. 2,031 players began the day, all hoping for a shot at Day 3 and ultimately, the final table. Among the pros that started the day were Praz Bansi, Annette Obrestad, Dan Fleyshman, Sorel Mizzi, Humberto Brenes, JP Kelly, Ted Forrest, Sebastian Ruthenberger, Jason Mercier and Daniel Negreanu.

Paul Pierce of the NBA was also on hand, hoping for his first entry into the money bubble at a WSOP Main Event. Unfortunately, Pierce as destined for the rail before the day came to a close. He was in good company, however, as Brian Hastings, Dan Harrington, Vince Van Patten, Chris Moorman, Scotty Nguyen, Bernard Lee, Isaac Baron, Johnny Chan, Jeff Sarwer, Victoria Coren and Dan Cates were knocked out as well.

Phil Hellmuth was nearly eliminated due to absence. Apparently, he was asleep in his hotel room with his phone turned off and a Do Not Disturb sign hung on his door, thinking that he wouldn’t be playing until Tuesday. After two full hours of the blinds eating his stack, none other than Mike Matusow called Hellmuth’s hotel to have him woken by security. Hellmuth dominated after he finally arrived, turning 7,000 chips into nearly 65,000 before the day was finished.

By the end of Day 2a, the leaderboard was headed by noted pros including:

Aleksandr Mozhnyakov – 478k
Mike Sowers – 355k
Shaun Deeb – 294k
Sebastian Ruthenberg – 289k
Phil Collins – 236k
Dan Shak – 182k
Sami Kelopuro – 175k

Other noteworthy contenders included comedians Brad Garret and Jason Alexander, who hold 56k and 167k chips, respectively.

Those who make it through Day 2a will compete against the Day 2b survivors on Thursday for Day 3, the first day in which all of the remaining Main Event players will be simultaneously active.