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Day 7 of the 2011 WSOP Main Event is currently at the dinner break. The day started with 57 players and the field has been shrunk to 32 already.

Among those knocked out so far are Erick Lindgren, Tony Hachem, Sebastien Ruthenberg, David Bach, and Guillaume Darcout.

Devo has been in the top 10 in chips for three days now.

A new chip leader has emerged as Matt Giannetti is in the top spot with 14.36 million. Ryan Lenaghan started the day as chip leader and sits 2nd in chips at present with 13.825 million. Ben Lamb is currently third with 13 million.

Two big names still alive in the event, and both in the top 10 in chips, are JP Kelly and Bryan Devonshire.

They are the focus of my “who to watch” as we work our way to the final three tables.

JP Kelly Looking for Third Career Bracelet

PokerStars Pro J.P. Kelly started Day 7 just below the chip average with just 3.75 million.

He doubled up with Ah-Kh through the Ac-Jc of Matt Gianetti to move up to 7.42 million and from that point, Kelly moved up to 10.25 million in chips.

Kelly hails from Aylesbury, England and has two WSOP bracelets to his credit.

He took his first bracelet in 2009 when he took down the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em Event, and later in the year he took down the £1,000 No Limit Hold’em event at the WSOP Europe.

The next year, Kelly almost successfully defended his title but finished runner-up in the 2010 WSOP Europe £1,000 No Limit Hold’em.

For his career, Kelly has $1.3 million in live tournament winnings and has won over $1 million online.

Devo Looks for His First Major Poker Title

Bryan Devonshire has been in the Top 10 in chips over the last three days at the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

“Devo” is looking for his first WSOP bracelet and his first final table since 2007.

Devonshire is a live poker pro from Henderson, NV and has several high-profile finishes in the game.

He started out as a dealer and hit his first major poker score at the 2006 WSOP when he finished 2nd in the Employee’s Event. The next year, Devo finished runner-up in the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo Event.

Devo hit some hard times in the game at the end of 2007 and was admittedly close to busto. That all changed in March of 2008 when he finished 2nd at the WPT’s World Poker Challenge.

The $271k he earned for his runner-up finish was his second-largest cash of his career and relaunched his career, which included a sponsorship deal with UB.

Devo also won a WSOP Circuit Main Event in 2010 when he took down the Rincon Circuit Main Event.

For his career, Devo has $1.2 Million in live earnings and over $600k in online earnings.

Outside of poker, he is a well known outdoor enthusiast and has admitted that he misses being outdoors more this summer but is psyched for his deep run.

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As a side note to the Devo story, I actually have played a bit with Devo.

Back in 2006, both of us were traveling the poker circuit and our paths crossed some during a series in Shakopee, MN.

At the time, Devo was a relative unknown but has definitely made a name for himself.

He is indeed one of the nice guys of the game and I personally am rooting for him.

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More November Nine Predictions

I’ve been looking at the remaining players in the field and it is very tough to make predictions regarding who will indeed make the final table.

With the exception of Ben Lamb, only Bryan Devonshire has seemed to put up consistent performances out of the players at the top of the leaderboard.

With that said, I do feel that we are going to see J.P. Kelly make the November Nine this year. Kelly is currently 7th in the Main Event and he has the most big game experience out of the remaining field.

That will become huge as we get down the final three tables.

As far as Bryan Devonshire is concerned, I think his is right on the bubble as far as making the November Nine.

If he can start to challenge for the chip lead a bit, maybe he will have a chance. Otherwise, he may not keep his current momentum to make the final table.

Aleksandr Mozhnyakov is another name I think you will see when we get to the November Nine. Out of the top 10 players, he has been regularly hanging around the top 20 in chips for a while now and I don’t remember him being in any significant trouble.

While that may not result in him winning the Main Event, that is usually enough to make the final table.

Also, I hate to admit it, but I don’t see Erika Moutinho making the November Nine. In fact, I see her as being eliminated in the next couple of hours.

She is the 2nd-shortest stack, and her play has not impressed me at all.

With that said, she has played well, but not well enough to make the November Nine.

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Play will continue for two more levels tonight unless we somehow make it to 18 players.

I set the line at 24, but with five stacks coming back from dinner with less than 20 big blinds, we might get closer to 18.

Regardless of the number of players remaining after five levels, those players will return to the Rio on Tuesday and play down to the November Nine final table.

I’ll be back tomorrow to bring a recap of the action and a rundown of the 2011 November Nine. See you then!

For daily recaps of all the action at the 2011 World Series of Poker, check our WSOP news section.