Today's event is sold out at 180 players but we're already way over that number due to the casino's effort to make more space. The clock currently shows 196 registered players and tournament director Christian Scalzi informed us that we're likely to hit 220 players. There are many players lingering around, eager to fill seats of eliminated players.
Players that get knocked out today do not have the option to re-enter, but the unfortunate ones from last night do.
By the looks of it there are plenty of tables available to seat more players right now, but Scalzi informed us that there are not enough dealers for a bigger rotation. Also, the structure of the tournament improves drastically from Day 2 on, which means that adding lots of extra players could overextend the event while there is no real wiggle room. The casino closes every night at 3:00 a.m. local time, and that means the structure was carefully selected to fit into this weekend.
Tonight there's a satellite for the High Roller with a €100+€20 buy in, which will kick off at 20:00.
In the downstairs room we've spotted two familiar faces, one who played yesterday and a fresh player who goes by the name of Joep van den Bijgaart. Van den Bijgaart had a huge score online last week and looks to capitalize on his good run while Freerk Post looks to wash away the sour taste of yesterday's early elimination.
For now these top pros are the biggest names downstairs, but due to the event's popularity there's also play upstairs in the cash game area and on two featured tables.
After a fun Day 1a during which the first ever hands were dealt of a World Poker Tour event in the Netherlands it's now time for Day 1b. The second starting day looks to be a lot bigger than the first one, as eliminated players from yesterday can re-enter on top of the sold out field we already have.
Late registrations and alternates can sign up until the end of Level 9 and we're expecting to see long lines throughout those levels with players that are looking to get back in.
Last night a total of 179 players showed up for Day 1a and everyone will be chasing Tim Verheyen who bagged up a huge stack worth 349,000 chips. Among the ones looking to re-enter today we're expecting to see Steve Wong, Marcel Luske and brother Freerk and Zeus Post.
In total 14 40-minute levels will be played today with a split dinner break at the completion of Level 6. Play looks to be done around 12:30 a.m. and all survivors will return on Saturday for Day 2 at 3:50 p.m. with the 48 players that advanced last night.
