The gossip and rumors were few and far between over the past couple of days, and the early controversies have seemed to have died down, so in this installment of the WSOP Notebook I’ll be looking at a couple of the bigger stories to keep an eye on Thursday at the 2012 WSOP.

Scotty Nguyen looks for bracelet #6

Once again the day’s poker headlines were dominated by a Phil, as Phil Ivey reached his third final table of the 2012 WSOP. Ivey’s run came to an end in third place in the $5k O8 tournament, but the storylines for that event didn’t end there as 1998 WSOP Main Event Champion Scotty Nguyen is one of two remaining players still vying for the bracelet –the tournament had to be called for the night, at 3 AM, during heads-up play after a long, hard-fought, final table.

Nguyen will have a tough road ahead of him on Thursday as he trails Joe Cassidy by over 3.5-to-1 in the chip counts. Cassidy would love to deny Nguyen bracelet #6 while at the same time picking up his first WSOP win after a number of close calls in recent years –Cassidy has now made a final table at the WSOP in each of the past three years, and it’s his fourth overall.

Seidel short, but makes Day 3 of $3k PLO

While Phil Hellmuth and Phil Ivey have stolen most of the headlines, there is another well-known poker player who is looking to keep pace with the pair when it comes to WSOP All-Time Greats: Erik Seidel. Seidel will be in action on Day 3 of the $3k PLO tournament, in search of his 9th career WSOP bracelet –Seidel and Ivey are both currently sitting on eight bracelets each.

Seiborg will have some work to do, as he is one of the shortest stacks of the 18 remaining players, but a well-timed double-up would put him right back in the thick of things.

WSOP Player of the Year Race update

Phil Ivey’s third final table has vaulted him ahead of Andy Frankenberger for the 2012 WSOP Player of the Year race. The other Phil, Phil Hellmuth, is currently sitting in 9th place, after finishing second in the POY race in 2011. Here is a look at the Top 10 as they now sit:

1. Phil Ivey — 383.55

2. Andrew Frankenberger — 372.16

3. John Monnette — 310.50

4. Brian Hastings — 303.00

5. Ashkan Razavi — 274.06

6. Aubin Cazals — 251.00

7. Michael Gathy — 250.00

8. Clifford Goldkind — 240.00

9. Phil Hellmuth — 240.00

10. Simon Charette — 237.50

Tags: Close Calls, Controversies, Couple Of Days, Erik Seidel, Frankenberger, Gossip, Joe Cassidy, Notebook, Pace, phil hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Plo, Poker Player, Scotty Nguyen, stacks, Storylines, Time Greats, WSOP Main Event, Wsop Main Event Champion, Wsop Player Of The Year

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