July 14  |  9 p.m. ET

The day's roundup (from The Associated Press)

DAY: 11 (Officially known as Day 6).

BIG NEWS: Every move Monday at the World Series of Poker brought players closer to a ticket to the tournament’s final table and the $9.12 million payday that goes with the title.

The winner — to be decided in November after the no-limit Texas Hold ’em main event takes a four-month break — will have never won a world series tournament before. The last two gold bracelet winners, Phi Nguyen and Brandon Cantu, were eliminated Monday after the cards fell in favor of opponents.

STUD OF THE DAY: Dean Hamrick, 25, of East Lansing, Mich., who started the day with one of the lowest stacks at the three remaining tables but was third in chips after six hours of play, with 12 million chips and 15 players remaining.

BUSTED OUT: Gold bracelet winners Brandon Cantu and Phi Nguyen, actress and poker player Tiffany Michelle.

UP NEXT: The tournament takes a four-month hiatus before the nine players remaining return to Las Vegas for the final table Nov. 9.

POKER TALK: Sent to the rail: When a player is eliminated from a tournament by an opponent. Being sent to the rail refers to a player moving from the table to the spectators’ area. Albert Kim, a 26-year-old professional poker player from Staten Island, N.Y., lost all his chips with an unsuited ace-king when the community cards didn’t improve his ace high. Chris Klodnicki, 23, of Voorhees, N.J., won with a pair of nines, sending Kim to the rail in 19th place.

HE SAID WHAT?: “That’s a super call.” — Joe Bishop, who won a 5 million-chip pot with a pair of fives after calling a bet of 1.4 million chips by 22-year-old Peter Eastgate on the turn with a board showing an ace, five, four and two. The final community card was a 10, meaning Bishop would have been beat if Eastgate held, among other cards, a three, 10 or ace.

Bishop, a 35-year-old salesman from Cincinnati, won entry into the main event by winning a series of events at his hometown poker club.

July 14  |  4 a.m. ET

The "Poker Brat" is gone, but not quietly
Phil Hellmuth busted out of the main event on Sunday in 45th place, but not before some theatrics.

Hellmuth, known as the "Poker Brat" for his prodigious ego and occasional eruptions at the table, went bonkers on Saturday night after losing a tough pot when a player called his huge bet with only 10-4, then drew the winning cards on the board, beating Hellmuth's Ace-king.

Hellmuth reportedly had some tough words for his opponent, Cristian Dragomir, who ended up finishing in 29th place, calling him an idiot, and the worst player in history.

The rant was so fierce that Hellmuth drew an orbit penalty, meaning he would have to sit out nine hands on Sunday morning. But after some talk, he ended up getting off with a warning.

There is no doubting Hellmuth's skill, as he is the owner of a record 11 World Series bracelets, including the main event title in 1989. And he knows it, too, having once said "If it wasn't for luck, I'd win every hand."

But while he certainly draws attention and viewers to the game, some say he also draws an unsavory element to what is sometimes viewed as a gentleman's game. (Read a good breakdown on the topic, here.)

Hellmuth was clearly frustrated when he spoke to the folks at WickedChops.com on Sunday, saying, among other things, that "It's sad to me that you can be the best player in the world at the top of your game, and finish 46th anyway." (View the interview here.)

But don't worry, Hellmuth will be back. In fact, you can watch him play in the next "Poker After Dark" taking on, among others, Tom Dwan, a young internet star whose play ellicited another Hellmuth rant during the NBC National Heads-up championship. Could be interesting. (Click here for the schedule.)

Who to root for now?
With Hellmuth (and Mike Matusow) gone, fans will need someone new to latch onto. Of course there is Tiffany Michelle, vieing to become only the second woman to make the final table. She's in third place with 27 remaining. (See standings)

But look a little further and you see Ylon Schwartz, a Brooklyn man with 11 career cashes at the World Series.

Apparently, Schwartz has a wicked sense of humor. At least judging by some of his answers to the questionaire all players are asked to fill out.

Thanks to the good folks over at Tao of Poker for digging up these gems:

Name: Ylon Schwartz
Occupation: Frisbee Salesman
Nationality: Betazoid
Education: Boodles School for Future Juniper Addicts
Amateur or Pro: Unclear
Hobbies: Laying in Hammocks
What's on your iPod: "It was stolen at the WSOP."
Proudest Poker Accomplishment: Won a badbeat jackpot.
First thing you do after you win the main event? "Go somewhere my friends would never find me."

Some good clicks ...

• The Couch Slouch talks (what else?) poker. (WashingtonPost.com)
• Lessons in table etiquette, complete with BLEEPS, with Dutch pro Marcel Luske. (CardPlayer.com)
• Poker still has its dark side. (Gambling911.com)

July 14  |  3 a.m. ET

DAY: 10 (Officially known as Day 6).

BIG NEWS: Phil Hellmuth was eliminated from the World Series of Poker main event on Sunday, ensuring that the no-limit Texas Hold ’em tournament will have a new champion.

Hellmuth, who won the main event in 1989 and has won a record 11 events at the world series, pushed in his last 405,000 chips with an ace and a queen but found himself up against the jacks of New York poker player Andrew Rosskamm.

Hellmuth had an ace-high flush draw after the turn, the fourth community card. But a two of spades fell on the river, and Hellmuth was eliminated in 45th place. He won $154,400.

STUD OF THE DAY: Tiffany Michelle, an actress and poker player from Los Angeles, who started the day in fifth place and won pot after pot on Sunday, building a stack of more than 5 million chips. Michelle was one of two women remaining in the tournament at the start of play Sunday. The other, Lisa Parsons of Franklin, Tenn., quickly busted out. Tournament officials estimate that 209 women played in the main event this year. The last time a woman made the final table was in 1995, when Barbara Enright finished fifth of 273 players, winning $114,180.

BUSTED OUT: 11-time gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, H.O.R.S.E. final table player Victor Ramdin, 2004 gold bracelet winner Thomas “Thunder” Keller, onetime chip leader Jeremy Joseph.

UP NEXT: On Monday, the 27 players remaining will play as long as it takes to determine the main event’s final table.

POKER TALK: Check in the dark: When a player announces he will make no bet to start the round as the dealer turns over the flop, turn or river. Checking in the dark can confuse opponents about the strength of a player’s hand. David Saab of Melbourne, Australia, checked in the dark as the dealer turned over an ace, king and eight on the flop. Joe Bishop of Cincinnati also checked, and called bets by Saab on the turn and river. Bishop won the hand with an ace-queen for a pair of aces.

HE SAID WHAT?: “This could be it, honey. ... Really scary stuff, but I’m not giving up.” — Phil Hellmuth, complaining to his wife that each time he picked up a hand Sunday, an opponent hit a larger hand when they should have folded before seeing the flop.

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