136 players chose to enter the second Day 1 of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Manila Main Event. Add those 136 with Day 1a's 149, and you get an impressive 285 total players, a full 30 players more than last year's tournament.

Of those Day 1b players, quite a few big name pros stood out including Lee Nelson, John Phan, JJ Liu and Carter Gill. Nelson survived the difficult day but all three others headed to the rail, along with 96 of their fellow competitors, leaving only 39 players left by the end of the second flight.

Day 2 begins today, with 77 players including Nelson, Ivan Tan, Priscilla Meirelles (Miss Earth 2004) and Day 1b chip leader Natasha Ellis. Unfortunately, only 32 of those can make the money so it truly looks to be an exciting day of poker in the Philippines.

For more information on the 2008 APPT Manila Main Event visit www.appt.com. Story by Mark Anderson