The day began with 148 players who had each survived five grueling days of tournament competition.  But four full levels and eight hours later, well over half the field has been carved away, leaving less just 57 aspiring champions with their eyes on the ultimate prize – poker’s world championship, a gold and diamond bracelet, and $8,711,956 in prize money.

The end of Day Six chip leader is Ryan Lenaghan, from New Orleans, LA.  He has a gigantic-sized stack.  Lenaghan achieved his lofty position by enjoying what he described as the biggest rush he’s ever had in a poker tournament.  Almost everything he touched turned to gold.  Every pot he entered, he seemed to win.  His stack size went from about 3 million to 12 million within only a few hours time.

The mid-day chip leader had previously been Phil Collins (Las Vegas, NV).  Shortly before the dinner break, he became the first player in the tournament to cross the 10,000,000-chip mark.  By contrast, the second-ranked player at the time had about 6,500,000 in chips.  Collins, a 26-year-old professional poker player originally from Rockford, IL, is a graduate of the University of South Carolina.  Collins ended the day ranked a very respectable fifth in the chip count and remains very much alive in the coming days ahead.

Other notable Day Six developments included the elimination of two notable players who have made names for themselves in other arenas outside of poker.  Chamath Palihapitiya (Palo Alto, CA) finished in 101st place in the tournament.  He is a former venture capitalist who was an original executive with Facebook, until earlier this year.  Another notable player who went out but played well for more than five days was Matt Salsberg Studio City, CA), Executive Producer of the Showtime TV series, “Weeds.”  He was also a producer of the HBO series, “Entourage.”  Salsberg exited in 70th place.

Some notable names that remain very much alive in the Main Event include – Ben Lamb (Tulsa, OK), David Bach (Athens, GA), Bryan Devonshire (Henderson, NV), Sam Barnhart (Little Rock, AR), J.P. Kelly (Aylesbury, UK), John Esposito (Las Vegas, NV), Tony Hachem (Northcote, Australia), Steve Brecher (Reno, NV), Erick Lindgren (Las Vegas, NV), and others.

However, several well-known players were not so fortunate during the first half of Day Six.  Among those who busted out and hit the rail was Joseph Cheong (La Mirada, CA) -- who finished third in last year’s Main Event.  He ended up in 114th place, which is still a remarkable two-year run.  Another notable player eliminated was Allen Cunningham (Newport Beach, CA) who went out 69th  as well as well known high-stakes pro Eli Elezra (Las Vegas, NV) who finished in 107th place.  Former gold bracelet winner Tyler Bonkowski (Regina, Canada) also hit the rail, finishing 60th.

Every player remaining in the tournament is now guaranteed to receive at least $130,997 in prize money.  A complete list of payouts can be seen at WSOP.COM. 

Day Seven will include four more full levels of play, which is eight total hours of competition.  Play is expected to conclude at 10:45 pm (PST).  Players who survive Monday’s session will then come back on Tuesday.  As for Day Seven, that leaves just 48 hours remaining before the 2011 “November Nine” are finally known.

QUICK FACTS

Of the 57 remaining players, 44 are aged 29 or less.  13 are aged 30 or higher.

Of the 57 remaining players, 24 are from outside the United States.

There are 14 nations with players remaining.  The breakdown of nations still represented in the Main Event reads as follows:

United States – 33

Canada – 6

U.K. – 3

Russia – 2

Australia – 2

Brazil – 2

Chile – 1

France – 1

South Africa – 1

Ukraine – 1

Netherlands – 1

Sweden – 1

Czech Republic – 1

Germany – 1

Switzerland -- 1

The youngest player remaining is Andrey Pateychuk, at 21 years.

The oldest player remaining is Steve Brecher, at 65 years.

There is one woman still remaining in the Main Event (see more below).

Of the 57 remaining players, 6 are former WSOP gold bracelet winners.

WOMEN IN THE MAIN EVENT

Special Note:  The WSOP recognizes that player characteristics such as gender, race, etc. do not typically warrant special mention.  However, since many members of the media and public wish to know details about female participation and status, the staff is providing this information for media use.

At present, there is only one woman remaining in the Main Event.  Her name is Erika Moutinho (Easton, CT).  She has about an average-size chip count entering Day Seven.

The field included a total of 242 female players.  This figure represents 3.5 percent of the field.  When there were 100 players remaining, there were 3 females still playing, which was just about in line with the percentages.

Here are the highest-female finishers (by year) in the WSOP Main Event (Note:  Only players who finished in-the-money were recorded):

No female cashed in the Main Event between the years 1970-1985.

1986 – Wendeen Eolis (25th)

1987 – None

1988 – None

1989 – None

1990 – None

1991 – None

1992 – None

1993 – Marsha Waggoner (19th)

1994 – Barbara Samuelson (10th)

1995 – Barbara Enright (5th)

1996 – Lucy Rokach (26th)

1997 – Marsha Waggoner (12th)

1998 – Susie Isaacs (10th)

1999 – None

2000 – Annie Duke (10th)

2001 – None

2002 – None

2003 – Annie Duke (47th)

2004 – Rose Richie (98th)

2005 – Tiffany Williamson (15th)

2006 – Sabyl Cohen-Landrum (56th)

2007 – Maria Ho (38th)

2008 – Tiffany Michelle (17th)

2009 – Leo Margets, a.k.a. Leonor Margets (27th)

2010 – Breeze Zuckerman (121st)

RESULTS, LIVE UPDATES, and CHIP COUNTS for all remaining players can be seen at WSOP.COM.