Bodog Beat

Poker pro Jeff Madsen is the chip leader with 16 players remaning at the LA Poker Classic HORSE event. (Bodog Beat Image)

As we said yesterday, we could've bet money that the LA Poker Classic HORSE event wouldn't get down to the final eight players today, and we were right. As always. There are actually 16 players remaining, two tables, and poker pro Jeff Madsen is the top dog heading into Day 3 of the tournament.

Behind Madsen on the leader board are several recognizable and talented players, so the make up of those eight players for the final table is still very much up in the air. Currently creeping up on Madsen are Chino Rheem, Amnon Filippi, Gavin Griffin, Scotty Nguyen, Kenny Tran and Steve Billirakis and those guys are just in the top ten.

Toward the bottom of the chip counts are lurking Nick Schulman and Howard Lederer, either one capable of climbing the ranks. Just barely missing out on the final day of competition were Bodog poker pro Jean-Robert Bellande, LA Lakers owner Jerry Buss and "Miami" John Cernuto. Unfortunately for them, only the final table gets to go home with some cash, so they'll head out with just their memories to comfort them.

Play gets back underway at 12:30pm local time, so 3:30pm ET. The $340,993 first-place prize is still up for grabs and it should be very interesting to see who makes the final table. Stay tuned to the Beat for more random poker tournament updates, and if you want to head out to a tournament yourself, check out the Bodog Poker Flight Club prmotion and qualify online for major poker tournaments all over the world.