Tao of Poker

WSOP Main Event Day 1A

This is the day, we've all been waiting for. The 2006 WSOP Championship is finally here.

12:10pm... The WSOP Championship kicked off with sepcial guest James Garner who uttered the famous words, "Shuffle up and deal." Players start with 10,000 in chips. Levels are 2 hours long. Action will be at least six levels. If there are more than 900 players left at the end of level 6, they will play down to 900 players no matter what.

12:17pm... The frst elimination of the WSOP. I'm sure he's extremely suicidal at this point and back in his room listening to Coldplay after he popped forty valium.


Donkey Hunter
12:45pm... I found the Donkey Hunter (aka fellow blogger David Wong).

1:00pm... I spent the last 45 minutes wandering the floor. Here's the pros and celebs who I've seen: Wil Wheaton, Maureen Feduniak, Daniel Negreanu, Carlos Mortensen, David Benamyine, Hoyt Corkins, Chip Jett, Katja Thater, Denis Ethier, Dutch "Tool" Boyd, Kristy Gazes, Erica Schoenberg, Mimi Tran, Norm MacDonald, Tobey Maguire, Gus Hansen, Juha Helppi, Minh Ly, Noah Boeken, JJ Lui, Julia Garnder, Jim Betchel, Laura Prepon, Clonie Gowen, Amir Vahedi, Barry Greenstien, Chau Giang, David "The Dragon" Pham, Gordon Dill, Matthew Lillard, Andy Black, Andy Bloch, Action Dan Harrington, Dan Alspach, Gank, David Sklansky, Mickey Applebaum, Richard Brodie, Tony G, Lee Watkinson, The Grinder, Bob Feduniak, Shance Schleger, Isaac Galazan, Roland de Wolfe, Terrance Chan, Perry Freidman, Mike Sexton, Kiril Gerismov, Chris Masterson, Danny Masterson, Matt Matros, and William Rockwell.

1:30pm... Recent Eliminations: First named pro out: Chip Jett. First celeb out: Chris Masterson.


Shirtless


Jason Strasser
1:45pm... Bouncin Round the Room: The NGC came down hard on the players and online companies twenty minutes before the main event was scheduled to start. They would not permit anyone to wear something that said "dot com" on it. So players and marketing reps went scrambling for black tape or new shrits or hats. Most guys simply turned their shirts inside out.

2:05pm... WSOP Photo dump: Click on the photos to see an enlarged view.


Tao of Poker's Cute Dealer of the Day


Katja


EPT Creator John Duthie


Erica Schoenberg


Tao of Poker's Hat of the Day


Norm MacDonald


Birds on the Rail


James Garner


Laura Prepon


Tao of Poker's Pothead of the Day


Shaniac


Wil looks sexy

2:30pm... Wil Wheaton Update: Wil took a big hit by a jerkoff sitting at his table who clapped in his face whenever he won a pot from Wil. At the break, Wil had 6,100 in chips after he built his stack up to 14K. Wil's top pair ran into a set when he lost a chunk of his stack.

3:00pm... Recent eliminations: JJ Lui and William Rockwell are out.

3:15pm... Sean McCabe and Kristy Gazes have jumped out to an early lead with over 22K each. John Duthie won a pot with quad 5s.

3:30pm... There's no official number yet. I asked a few suits and all I got was "I don't know." I heard that days 2,3, and 4 were sold out which would mean roughly 8,800 players are in the event. As soon as I get an exact number, I'll post it.

3:45pm... The TD allowed spectators back inside the Amazon Room. Since alternates were having a difficult time getting to their tables, the room was cleared of spectators until the alternate peroid was over. I actually enjoyed the space. I could walk through the aisles with ease. Usually it takes a few minutes to walk from one side of the room to the other, but with spectators clogging up the aisles, it takes up to ten minutes.

3:50pm... Recent Eliminations: Amir Vahedi, David Benyamine, and Wil Wheaton are out. Wil had Kh-Jh in the big blind and hit a King high flop. His opponent rivered a set on Wil with 8-8.

4:00pm... Recent Eliminations: James "Maverick" Garner and Eskimo Clark are out.

4:05pm... I posted something over at PokerStars Blog called Pre-Game Interview: Wil Wheaton. Take a peek.

4:20pm... Smoke break.

4:40pm... Recent Elimination: Jean Gluck is out.


Gavin & Robin
4:45pm... Bouncin Round the Room: I thought I was high when I saw Joe Sebok in a Robin costume. Then I recalled the prop bet he made with Gavin Smith before the WSOP began. Whoever had the least amount of points in the preliminary events had to wear a superhero costume picked out by the winner. Gavin Smith picked Robin.

5:10pm... Back by popular demand.

Last 5 Pros I Pissed Next to...
1. Tony G
2. David "The Dragon" Pham
3. Humberto Brenes
4. Tex Barch
5. Allen Kessler

5:40pm... Recent Elimiantion: Hilton Sisters 1, Spiderman 0. Tobey Maguire busted out when he flopped top pair with A-10. His opponent had Q-Q and flopped a set. Maguire rivered a 10 but it was too late. Spiderman has left the building.

5:55pm... Recent Elimiantion: Mekhi Phifer is out.

6:15pm... Norm MacDonald was the chipleader for a while after he flopped trip aces. He built up his stack as much as 48K before he had his A-A cracked by Mark Vos' Q-Js. Vos is now the chipleader with almost 80K. MacDonald has around 15K.

6:35pm... WSOP Photo Dump: You can click on the photos to see an enlarged view.


What prop bet did this guy lose?


Tao of Poker's Hat of the Day


Hyde


Minh Ly


No comment


B&W Photo of the Day


Tony G


Andy Black


Tao of Poker's Blonde of the Day


Sister Mary Maggie and Gank

6:50pm... Recent Eliminations: Norm MacDonald, Antonio Tarver, and Clonie Gowen.

7:00pm... Players are on a ninety minute dinner break until 8:30pm.

7:30pm... Bouncin Round the Room: I took a smoke break and roamed the hallways while all the players went to eat. I bumped into two people who filled me in on some gossip. My unidentified source gigled when she said she saw Shannon Elizabeth and Joe Sebok sucking face last night at the Doyle's Room after-party at Light. Joy mentioned to me how she won $1,500 from Gavin Smith. He offered her $1,500 to make out with another girl. She did and picked up 15 Benjamins.

8:15pm... Bouncin Round the Media Room... Here's what's going on as we speak. Jen from Blonde Poker was so exhausted that she took a nap underneath one of the banquet tables. CJ is getting a massage. Change100 is on tilt after she found out Phil Gordon took off his clothes last night during the World Series of Beer. Otis is... I don't know what the fuck Otis is doing. He's mumbling to himself and making owl noises. Tom from Antes Up is playing an SNG online. Spaceman came in with a Matusow jersey for For Peyton. And the trash keeps piling up.


8:30pm... Action has resumed. We're on Level 4. Blinds are $100/$200 with a $25 ante.

8:45pm... Recent Elimination: Action Dan Harrington is out. He ran into Mike Sexton's Hilton Sisters.

9:00pm... Late Arrivals: Jennicide came in several hours late. She thought she was supposed to play on Saturday. One of her friends called and said that her stack was getting blinded off. She rushed over to the Rio. According to my Irish source Tom Murphy from Antes Up, Andrew Leonard from Dublin came in today to register. He thought he was early and supposed to play on Saturday. They informed him that he was playing today and that the tourney already started. After the dinner break he's got 25K and leading all Irish players. Andy Black has 18.5K. "He seems comfortable at his table. He's grinding out chips," Murphy mentioned.

9:10pm... We have some numbers... 2,138 players entered in today's flight. Around 140 tables or 1,400 players are left. We won't stop playing until 500 more players get busted.

9:15pm... Recent Elimination: Actor Matthew Lillard is out. So is Lee Watkinson.

10:00pm... Ryan and Wil texted me to say that a gas station blew up near downtown. Otis asked if they were stoned. They said no. They were watching the explosion and fire at the top of the Palms. Gordon Dill is on the scene. News at 11.

10:10pm... Mike Ertsling jumped into the chiplead with 84K in chips after he scooped a pot with a K-K.

10:30pm... Shaniac's Hilton Sisters ran into pocket Kings. He slipped to 17K in chips. Andy Bloch cracked pocket aces with 8-7s.

11:11pm... Recent elimination: Luca Pagano and Bill Chen are out. Chen's A-4 ran into A-Q. He had a short stack and moved all in from the blinds.

11:44pm... Recent elimination: Jennicide is out. Her Hilton Sisters ran into pocket 2s.

12:00am... 110 tables left and less han 1,100 remaining. We won't stop until 900 are left.

12:30am... I've been here for 15 hours. I smell bad. I need a shower. Most of the "fair weathered" media have been gone for the last six hours. Only a handful of serious reporters are left including the guys from Wicked Chops Poker, Snoopy & Jen from Blonde Poker, and CC, Otis & CJ.

12:45am... Minh Nguyen was eliminated and neverplayed a hand. For some unknown reason he did not show up. I'm guessing he thought he was playing on Saturday. It took about a full day before he was blinded off.

12:50am... Players are on a break as Level 5 came to a close. There are less than 100 tables remaining which means about 990 or so players are left. We'll play at least one more level. Mike Erstling is the first player to go over 100K in chips. Paul McCaffrey also has 100K and sitting at Andy Black's table. He's from outside Dublin according to Mike "Lucky Blind" Lacey.

2:50am... Recent Elimination: Dutch Boyd and Gus Hansen are out.

3:00am... Play is over for the day. Action for Day 1B will resume at Noon on Saturday.