Hellmuth alert

Phil Hellmuth is heading into today's final table of the $1,000 no-limit hold'em rebuy as the chip leader, chasing his record-tying 10th bracelet. He was tied with Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan with nine apiece up until last year, when Doyle and Chan each won events.

Hellmuth has already come close to number 10 once this series, making the final table of an Omaha tournament as chip leader and on the verge of a non-hold'em bracelet that he covets so much. A complete meltdown at that final table (sixth place) denied him once again, but he heads into today's match with a dominating lead in the game he plays best. Still, this will be no cakewalk for Phil, who must still contend with Ralph Perry and Juha Helppi, who each have sizable stacks of their own. He must also face legendary bigmouth Tony G., who comes into today as the short-stack, but armed with a trash-talking style that could provide some fireworks in the early going and put Phil in danger of tilt.

Hellmuth has already made history once this year by setting the mark for most cashes in the series by becoming the first player to reach 50, and he's added several since that time.

Should be an interesting one to watch.