Until the turn, a pot of 4,100 had emerged and Keven Stammen in the small blind made it 3,000 to go. His sole opponent Jose Ferreira raised to 7,000 in middle position and Stammen dropped in the additional chips for the call. On the river, Stammen gave it some thought and checked over to Ferreira.
What followed was a quick bet by Ferreira, who made it 11,000 to go and that proved to be too much for Stammen. The same table also features popular Twitch streamer Arlie Shaban, as well as Joey Couden.
Ryan Riess put in a check-raise from the big blind to 8,500 and a player under the gun called with the board reading . The river was a and Riess bet 15,000. His opponent thought about two minutes and flicked in a single chip.
Georgios Vrakas bet 2,200 into a pot of 5,100 from early position on a flop. Daniel Strelitz made it 7,000 in the cutoff and Vrakas came along for the turn. He check-called 12,000 and the river was a . Vrakas checked a final time and seemed pained when Strelitz bet 20,000.
After a couple of minutes in the tank, Vrakas dropped in calling chips and Strelitz showed for a full house.
At another table, WSOP Main Event third-place finisher Michael Dyer is also off to a nice start with about 73,000.
Considered to be one of the greatest spectacles in recent poker history, many players have made their way to the Atlantis Resort in the beautiful Bahamas to take part in history. Many of these players focus most of their attention on the virtual felt but this week is a whole new ball game. Lex Veldhuis, Kevin Martin, Jaime Staples, and Jeff Gross have all been spotted in the field early on Day 1.
One of the toughest tables in the room is at Table 57 with the entire table consisting of notable players. Parker 'Tonka' Talbot, Toby Lewis, Kane Kalas, Guillaume Diaz, Jon Turner, and Lucas Greenwood will have a tough day ahead of them.
Brandon Hall raised to 600 first to act and was called by Brian Altman in the cutoff and the big blind. The flop brought and action checked to Hall, who bet 1,100. Altman opted to raise to 3,500 and that was called only by Hall.
On the turn, the action went check, check, and Hall claimed the pot without showdown on the river as his bet of 7,000 forced a fold from Altman.
The same table features Ryan Laplante and Dylan Hortin, one table over the likes of Henrik Hecklen, Aaron Duczak, Dylan Linde and Ana Marquez can be found.
Lin Wu won his Platinum Pass when he won the APPT Macau Main Event around nine months ago. The World of Warcraft player raised to 500 from mid-position and was called by Benny Glaser in the cutoff. Action folded to Niall Farrell in the big blind who made the call.
The flop came , Farrell checked, Wu continued with a bet of 700 which Glaser called. Farrell contemplated for a bit and decided to raise to 2,900. Wu glanced at Farrell before putting in the chips for the call. Glaser quickly folded.
The dealer turned the and now Farrell tanked for about a minute or two before betting 6,300. Wu took a similar amount of time and then called.
The river completed the board with the , Farrell look at the board and then bet 16,200. Wu responded with a shove of around 50,000.
"Cool," Farrell responded.
"Call," the dealer said.
"No! I said cool." Farrell reacted in shock.
The dealer clarified what was said with Farrell who explained again that he said "cool" and then reached for his chest with a bit of a smile.
"I fold" Farrell said before pushing his cards over the line.
Also on this table are Christopher Vogelsang and three more Platinum Pass winners: Jeremy Hilsercop, Kevin Mathers, and Sourabh Sindhwani.
Former PCA champions that have already been spotted in the field include Christian Harder and Harrison Gimbel and listing all notables that entered right in level one may take quite some time.
One particular table stands out and includes the likes of Nick Petrangelo, Justin Bonomo, Sam Chartier and Jake Cody.
Joseph Cheong and Andjelko Andrejevic can also be found at the same table and just battled in a three-bet hand. Cheong opened to 600 and Andrejevic three-bet to 2,500, Cheong called. On the flop, Cheong checked and a continuation bet of 2,800 did the trick for Andrejevic.
A reraise to 3,000 was in front of Miguel Rocatin Foz on the button and Nils Pudel, one of the many Platinum Pass winners in the field, made it 11,500 in the small blind. The initial raiser folded and Foz elected to call. On the flop, Pudel continued for 7,500 and was called by the Spaniard.
Both then checked down the and the river to see Pudel turn over in order to claim the pot. The same table also features Randy Lew, Pavel Plesuv and Marc-Etienne McLaughlin.