WSOP Main Event Day 1B showcases different sides of the tournament

8 July 2013

By Vin Narayanan

LAS VEGAS -- The World Series of Poker Main Event picked up steam Sunday. After a typically slow Day 1A, 1,942 players showed up at the Rio to play in Day 1B. That places the two-day Main Event field total at 2,885 players. With a massive Day 1C expected on Monday, the total field for the Main Event should be similar to what the tournament has seen the past few years.

WSOP Main Event fields

2012 6,598
2011 6,865
2010 7,319
2009 6,494
2008 6,844
2007 6,358

Last year, the WSOP set a single-day record for Main Event entrants with 3,418 on Day 1C -- the third and final opening day for the tournament. If the WSOP matches last year's turnout on Day 1C tomorrow, the Main Event field will be 6,303.

The players in the Day 1B field were not concerned with tomorrow's field, or the eventual size of the Main Event field. They were worried about surviving Sunday's play so they could reach the second day of the tournament.

"What's a good stack to end day one of The Main with? Any," proclaimed poker pro Bryan Devonshire (@devopoker) on Twitter.

No, Devonshire wasn't in Sunday's field. He's registered to play Monday. But he has the right idea.

Greg Raymer, who won the Main Event in 2004, didn't reach the dinner break. Scotty Nguyen, who won the Main Event in 1998, was eliminated during the last level of play. Danielle Andersen, whose journey through the world of online poker was chronicled in the documentary Bet Raise Fold, busted out after the dinner break. So did Lex Veldhuis.

While players like Raymer, Nguyen, Andersen and Veldhuis enter the Main Event with the expectation of winning, others enter just because they want the experience -- and the chance to live the poker dream.

In that sense, poker and marathons share similar DNA. Many, if not most, enter both knowing they're not going to win. They're in it to prove something to themselves, to experience competition at its highest level, and if they're lucky, make some pretty nice memories along the way.

Brad Garrett, Ray Romano and Georges St. Pierre fall into that category.

Garrett and Romano are veterans now. They play in the Main Event every year and began competing in the World Series during peak years of the poker boom. This is Romano's sixth Main Event. Garrett has played in even more. When they first started competing, they were table comedians. They cracked plenty of jokes at the table and kept things light and loose. Now, they're serious players. Will they crack the occasional joke? Sure, they're funny. But they also take the game seriously, and they're trying to make deep runs. And when the cameras are on when they exit the tournament, they deliver a show.

Garrett busted out of this year's Main Event about 80 minutes before play ended for the night. TV cameras briefly interviewed him about his tournament and then prompted him to go talk to his buddy Romano.

"Where is he?" Garrett asked. The producer points and Garrett is off.

"Ray Romano!" Garrett bellows. "Where the heck are you?"

Romano raises his hand, and Garrett stomps over.

While sharing his elimination hand, he checks with the table every now and then to make sure they're up to speed on how his ace-jack was beaten by king-ten. "You follow?" Garrett keeps asking different players. Romano tries to hide a wry grin.

Then a player asks if Garrett and Romano have a last longer.

"A last longer, yes," says Garrett. "Ray, where should I send the check to?"

"To my charity thing," Romano says. "Hooter. The unwed girls of Hooters."

The table chuckled, and then Romano asks where Garrett was going to next.

"I'm probably going to the Spearmint Rhino," Garrett responds with a straight face.

More laughs from the table, and then Romano presses Garrett for a straight answer. The two stand off to the side and talk. Show over.

St. Pierre, the UFC welterweight champion, would fit right in at the Casino City home game. He needs to be reminded to posts blinds and antes. But watching him at the table, you can tell that playing well is important to him. He considers his decisions, tries to make the right plays and wants to do well.

And the players at his table are in awe of him. It doesn't matter that St. Pierre is a poker neophyte. Many poker players are huge UFC fans (Ultimate Poker is counting on that as part of their business model). This table is no different. And it's obvious that the people he's playing with have an immense amount of respect for him.

St. Pierre won't win the Main Event. He busted out of the tournament on the last hand of the night. But like the marathoners who just want to finish, St. Pierre wants to compete against the best, even if it's outside his comfort zone. And to a certain degree, that's exactly what the first few days of the Main Event are about.

Notable chip stacks:
Clement Tripodi 207,500
Cliff Josephy 96,900
Sorel Mizzi 134,100
Doyle Brunson 90,000
Chris Moneymaker 35,000
Dan Harrington 55,000
Scott Seiver 94,100
Shane Warne 85,000
Ray Romano 68,600
Minh Ly 61,000
Barry Greenstein 31,500

Notable eliminations:
Erick Lindgren
Scotty Nguyen
Greg Raymer
Danielle Andersen
Lex Veldhuis
Brad Garrett
David Bach
Katie Dozier
Jonathan Taylor
Georges St. Pierre

WSOP Main Event Day 1B showcases different sides of the tournament is republished from CasinoVendors.com.