Jean Robert Bellande Chipping up in 2009 WSOP Omaha Hi/Lo Event

Bodog poker pro Jean Robert Bellande is one of the early chip leaders in the 2009 WSOP Omaha Hi/Lo event. (Bodog Beat Image)"]

About three hours into the $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo 8-or-Better event here at the 2009 WSOP and Bodog poker pro Jean Robert Bellande has found himself sitting close to the top of the leader board. With starting chip stacks of 4,500, Bellande has chipped up to almost 7k and is looking comfortable and concentrated at the table.

Other players up at his level include John Phan, Jeff Madsen, Johnathan Little and Tom Schneider. Last reported entrant count was 918 and registration closed before the break that the players just returned from, so expect that number to be pretty close to the "official" count. That should give us a prizepool around the $1 million mark, which is not too shabby for such a specialized game.

The $40,000 event is still in full swing under out feet as we sit here perched up on media row. The top few players has not changed much really in the hour since they sat down to start playing except that Bodog poker pro Justin Bonomo has moved up to second after Chris Moneymaker hemorrhaged some chips to drop down. Mike Matusow can be seen running between the two events trying to cash deep in the $40k and give himself a shot in the Omaha event.

We'll keep you posted on all the action, and, don't forget, that if you want to get a little peice of this yourself and maybe even a taste of poker immortality,   then head over to Bodog Poker. Qualifiers for a 2009 WSOP $12,000 prize package start for as little as $1 and as many as four seats are guaranteed every Sunday in the Main Event Semifinals.