First Break of the Day; Early Eliminations, Celebrity Appearances & More
The first level of Day 1b is in the books, and what a first two hours it turned out to be. Today's field has attracted some of poker's elite including Sorel Mizzi, Alex Phahurat, Andy Frankenberger, Greg Raymer, David Bach, Randy Dorfman, Dennis Phillips, Paul Klann, Layne Flack, Andrew Lichtenberger, Scott Seiver, Johnny Lodden, Erick Lindgren and Doyle Brunson.
Then ten-time bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Famer was actually honored at the start of the day when WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart revealed a bronze bust of Brunson.
"Think of it as the first step in a more tangible Poker Hall of Fame," Stewart said as the room cheered. Stewart then indicated that he had a seat card for "Texas Dolly" in today's field, and despite saying earlier in the summer that he wouldn't be playing any events, Brunson accepted and is playing at the feature table
In addition, two celebrities are in action in MMA fighter Georges St. Pierre and Everybody Loves Raymond's Ray Romano. Needless to say, their appearance in the Main has generated quite a bit of excitement and will be a strong story line as the day unfolds.
Two players who were in action were Mehrdad Danialifar and Samuel Gregory. Unfortunately for them, they're no longer with us, Danialifar earned the distinction of being the first player eliminated from the Day 1b flight when he ran queens into Terry Fleischer's pocket aces in the first 22 minutes of play. A couple of minutes later, Gregory became the second player to fall.
Likewise, 2005 WSOP Main Event finisher Bernard Lee took a big hit by Alex Schechter and was eliminated a short time later.
We'll be back in 20 minutes for Level 2. Stay tuned.