LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 26-year-old New Orleans man is nursing a chip lead at the World Series of Poker main event, hoping to win enough hands to reach a final table as his opponents look to wrangle some of his stack.
Ryan Lenaghan, an LSU graduate who has played cards professionally about two years, led the no-limit Texas Hold ’em tournament with 11.7 million chips after two hours on Monday.
He was relatively quiet to start, though he doubled an opponent’s chips after calling a hand with a 50-50 chance of winning.
The youngest player left, 21-year-old Russian student Andrey Pateychuk, moved to second in chips with 10.9 million after starting the day with 7.3 million.
Players are expected to play 10 hours, or until only 18 entrants remain Monday night.
