Day 1a Ends Just Before Midnight
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In all honesty, there weren't too many familiar faces in the crowd when the cards went flying shortly after noon. Those we did spot right away included Team PokerStars Pros Katja Thater, Arnaud Mattern, and Vlad Zguba, along with a few other notables. Mike "Timex" McDonald made the trip over from Canada, and even American Craig Bergeron came out to play.
The action was fairly measured and calm to start the day, but things accelerated to a blistering pace by the time the clock hit zero. A few players had their hands on significant chip leads today, but only one of them can take that title into the overnight hours. Tonight, that honor appears to belong to the late-surging Robert Cezarescu. His count of 216,900 should put him ahead of the trailing pack that includes Vladimir Geshkenbein, Jamel Maistriaux, and Martin Kabrhel.
That's about all we have for you from Day 1a. We'll be right back here in the casino at noon tomorrow for the second flight of starters. We expect a full house, and we hope you'll join us right back here for Day 1b.
Until then, bonsoir from Deauville!