button in SafariEntrepreneur Jeff Fenster Bags a Big Stack on Day 2d of the 2026 WSOP Main Event
The players who filled up the Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas ballrooms today on Day 2d of the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event heard the number they had all come to hear: $10 million.
A total of 820 new entries took advantage of late registration and joined the returning 3,638 players from Day 1d to create a total field of 9,208, the fourth-largest in WSOP history. Once the numbers were crunched, the prize pool ended up at more than $85 million, with each of the final nine earning at least $1 million and the next world champion taking home an eight-figure score.
After learning about the life-changing money they would all be playing for, the rest of the day became a battle to see who would position themselves to make a run at the big money and the Main Event bracelet. Michael Rossitto ended up as the unofficial chip leader with 770,500 as 2,034 players survived the day. They’ll be joined by the 1,260 players from yesterday’s Day 2abc once the field combines into one tomorrow on Day 3 at 11 a.m. local time, each trying to become one of the 1,382 players who secure a piece of the prize pool.
Unofficial Day 2d Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Rossitto | United States | 770,500 | 385 |
| 2 | Jeff Fenster | United States | 747,000 | 374 |
| 3 | Yannick Schumacher | Germany | 738,000 | 369 |
| 4 | Robert Gill | United States | 728,500 | 364 |
| 5 | Joseph Baghdalian | United States | 705,000 | 353 |
| 6 | Farid Jattin | Colombia | 630,000 | 315 |
| 7 | Dhiraj Sharma | Canada | 623,500 | 312 |
| 8 | Victor Dong | United States | 620,000 | 310 |
| 9 | Patrik Jaros | Czechia | 614,500 | 307 |
| 10 | Terrance Reid | United States | 597,500 | 299 |
Jeff Fenster was right behind Rossitto with 747,000. The California restaurant owner, entrepreneur, podcast host, and best-selling author wasn’t even planning on playing the Main Event and only joined the field at the start of the day. He made the most of the last-minute decision and climbed up all the way to second place on the leaderboard.
“I started today. I bought in on Day 2. Ran pretty good. Had some cool spots. Dodged a few bullets, but, you know, I like my chances. It was really good. Caught a lot of flops. A lot of good texture went my way. Avoided some landmines. A lot of action at my table, which is always good. It was a great day,” Fenster said.
Fenster hasn’t cashed in a WSOP event since 2018, but the 43-year-old says he’s not short on poker experience. He’s playing his third Main Event, and began playing poker online more than 20 years ago. He has the opportunity that thousands of players who’ve already been eliminated can only dream of, making a deep run in the biggest tournament in the world. “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I wasn’t even going to be playing it. I flew in late last night and saw that Day 2 was today, so I was like, I’m going to go play today. So it was a last-minute thing,” he said.
“It’s the Main Event. It would be the best. Just for the sheer enjoyment of this is the main tournament. This is poker. This is where you get to actually play. The structure is fantastic. And the amount of people who come from all over the world. It’s a very enjoyable experience to get to meet all different types of poker players and watch all different styles come together. I wish it was more than once a year.”
Other big stacks included Farid Jattin, who busted Martin Kabrhel late in the day on his way to 630,000. “Had to take care of him,” Jattin said while bagging up his chips. Terrance Reid (597,500), Alex Foxen (493,000), Stephen Song (430,500), Shaun Deeb (368,000), David Peters (365,000), and Ren Lin (322,000) are also in a good position to make a deep run.
John Cynn leads the contingent of past champions to make it through, bagging up 403,000. The 2018 champion is followed by Ryan Riess (395,000), Hossein Ensan (235,000), Chris Moneymaker (221,000), Joe Hachem (135,000), and Joe McKeehen (102,500). Others coming back for Day 3 include Jesse Lonis (266,500), Jimmy D’Ambrosio (257,500), Viktor Blom (238,500), Benny Glaser (193,000), 2024 runner-up Jordan Griff (179,500), and Kristen Foxen (143,000).
Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu were among those who had their Main Event dream end today. They were joined on the rail by Francis Anderson, Jeremy Becker, Gus Hansen, Alejandro Lococo, Nick Schulman, Liv Boeree, and last year’s finalist Jarod Minghini.
A total of 3,294 players return for Day 3 tomorrow. The action picks up on Level 11 with blinds of 1,000/2,500 and a 2,500 big blind ante. Everyone who has made it this far has already outlasted thousands of others, but there is still a long way to go if they want a chance at poker immortality.
Stay tuned as PokerNews returns tomorrow to follow the first day the entire field will be in the same room as they chase the money bubble.