Day 5 of the 2008 World Series of Poker main event is in full swing, with chip leader Jeremy Joseph wielding a big stack for the second day in a row. Joseph was the chip leader coming into day 4, and he’s maintained that chip lead going into day 5. There are 189 players remaining, and all of the players are guaranteed close to $40,000.

It’s been an exciting main event so far; there are many big names remaining. Those players include Brandon Cantu, Gus Hansen, David “Chino” Rheem, Shawn Sheikhan, Mark Vos, David Benefield, Allen Cunningham, Matt Matros, Jeff Madsen, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, and others.

Yesterday’s featured table featured Phil Hellmuth berating player after player for their awful plays, and saw the former World Champion’s stack dwindle and dwindle. A crucial end of the day double up put Hellmuth back in contention with over 500,000 in chips, but he still has work to do.

Jeremiah Smith has come out of the woodwork to be a force to be reckoned with. Jeremiah, who worked for Pokerwire as a reporter, is proving his mettle as a player. He held the chiplead for awhile, and still has enough chips to make a run at the final table.

First prize this year is $9,100,000. The format of the final table is also much different. The final 9 will be determined, but the final table won’t be played until November. Each player will be paid at least 9th place money prior to leaving the World Series of Poker, but they will come back 4 months later to battle it out on the World’s biggest stage. This decision by Harrah’s is seen as a blessing and a curse to poker; many players think it ruins the game, while others think it will be great for our sport.

180 players to go before we find the next 9 poker stars in 2008!