Its
official, the World Series of Poker Main Event kicked off at the Rio All-Suites
Resort and Casino. Day 1a brought a total of 1,297 players, all trying to
locate their color-coded table, but once everything was ready to begin, the
WSOP officials formally initiated the action with the introduction of the Las Vegas legendary
singer, Wayne Newton. Then Newton,
the UNLV marching band and some showgirls officially kick off the Main Event
playing Viva Las Vegas.
The first player was eliminated just a few minutes after the Main Event kicked off and the
action intensified as its best. Actor and comedian Jason Alexander was between
the first players sent to the rail during Day 1A. Alexander will have to honor his bet with Ray Romano $1000 as part of a bet on who was going to last longer at the tournament, he was followed later by Gavin
Smith and Eli Elezra
The field
was drastically reduced a few hours before the day was over and the shouts of
"seat open" became more frequent after the dinner break. Online poker
stars Phil Galfond and Tom "Durrr" Dwan were also busted before the
day came to an end, same as Freddy Deeb and 1995 Main Event champ Dan
Harrington, who against all odds, lost all chance to win the most important poker
tournament of the year. Other pros eliminated during Day 1A include David
"Devilfish" Ulliott, Joe Sebok, Raymond Rahme, Josh Arieh, John
Cernuto, Berry Johnston, Tuan Lam, Roland de Wolfe, David Pham, Erica
Schoenberg, Lyle Berman, Luca Pagano and Juha Helppi,
Only 657
players survived Day 1A, Mark Garner ended up the day as the chip leader with
205,000, followed by Brandon Adams with 200,000, Kellen Hunter in third place with154,000, Patrick
Fortin in 4th position with145,000 and Stefan Mattsson in 5th
with 139,000. Day 1B starts in a few hours; more updates regarding the 2008
WSOP Main Event will be posted as soon as the day comes to an end.
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