BY TOM SOMACH

After two rounds of play in the main event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, a total of 337 players are left standing–or sitting, as the case may be.

That’s just a sliver of the 6,358 people who entered the WSOP main event,=A0 but still a far cry from the total of nine who will make up the final table next week.

The latest big name to join the casualty list of poker players who have been knocked out of the tourament is Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, the California poker pro who looks like Jesus Christ in a cowboy hat and who won the WSOP main event in 2000.

In addition to gunning for his second WSOP main event title, Ferguson, 44, was looking for his sixth championship gold WSOP bracelet.

He has been a consistent winner in WSOP play.

In the past 12 years, Ferguson has finished in the money at 51 WSOP events, including five this year.

Four years ago, he moneyed in eight WSOP events, a WSOP record he shares with Phil “Poker Brat” Hellmuth Jr. and Humberto “El Wacko” Brenes.

Only five former WSOP main event winner are still alive in this year’s main event.

They are: Berry Johnston, who won it in 1986, Huck Seed, who won it 1996, Scotty Nguyen, who won it in 1998, Carlos Mortensen, who won it in 2001, and Robert Varkonyi, who won it in 2002.

Besides Ferguson, other well-known former WSOP main event winners who have been knocked out of this year’s main event include Hellmuth, Chris Moneymaker, Joe “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” Hachem, Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, Johnny “The Orient Express” Chan, Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson, Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston Jr. and Jamie “Good As” Gold.

Also knocked out were Josh Arieh, Andy Bloch, Annie Duke, Rene Angelil, Sam Farha, Shannon Elizabeth, Rick Tocchet, John Juanda, Aaron Kanter, Nelly, James Van Patten, Jen Tilley, Phil “Unabomber” Laak, Antonio Tarver, Phil “Poison” Ivey, Howard “The Professor” Lederer, Brad Garrett, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Jason Alexander, Men “The Master” Nguyen, David Williams, Montel Williams, Jane “I’m Jamie’s Mother” Gold, Marcel “The Flying Dutchman” Luske, Daniel Negreanu, Jose Canseco, Janet Jones Gretzky, T.J. Cloutier and Allen Cunningham.

The final table of nine at this year’s WSOP main event is scheduled to begin play on Tuesday.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)