The main event of the 39th World Series of Poker started yesterday, with almost 1,300 players taking part in the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Texas Hold'em tournament.
Well known Las Vegas icon Wayne Newton started the tournament – accompanied by 10 showgirls as he called out the order to 'Shuffle up and deal!'. The start of the poker tournament was acompanied by music from the UNLV marching band, including Elvis Presley's 'Viva Las Vegas'. Some of the main event entrants wore costumes, with one dressed as the wizard, Merlin.
The entrants for this year include many popular names, including celebrities such as Ray Romano, Mekhi Phifer, and Jason Alexander – although Alexander busted out early in the day. The field also includes the usual poker pros such as Scott Nguyen and Barry Greenstein.
Other people short on luck include Dave Elliot, Dan Harrington, and Chad Brown, as well as Barry Clancy, who went all in with some pocket aces, only to lose to a pair of jacks, and two sixes with a third jack on the river to Rocco Lazazzaro. According to some reports, Lazazzaro responded to the jack with “Total luck, bro, total luck. No master pokermanship here, right?”
The second starting group will begin play today, with a ten hour session in preparation for round two.
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