It was deemed a widely successful opening day at the World Series of Poker International Circuit Aruba for Day 1a of the $1,700 Main Event that saw a total of 133 entries. Tournament organizers were pleased with the turnout after a long absence of poker in the small Caribbean island and the numbers should only get better today on Day 1b, the second and final starting flight of the event.
The tournament boasts a guaranteed prizepool of $250,000 and there should be no issue in reaching that goal in the early going today. While most players have made their way from the cooler climate in North America to the beaches of the Caribbean to enjoy some poker at the same time, there is still plenty of flavor from all over the world who are looking to get their hands on a WSOP Circuit ring.
Not only will the winner be walking away with some new poker jewelry and the lion's share of the prizepool, but they will also earn their way into the 2020 Global Casino Championship that takes place in August of 2020. The temperature outside is warm and the action is about to heat up in the ballroom of the Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort and Casino.
Each player will begin with a starting stack of 30,000 chips and the blinds will start off at 100/100. The levels will be 30 minutes in length today with a 15-minute break after every four levels. There will be a 60-minute dinner break after level 12 and a total of 17 levels will be played today. The levels will increase to 45 minutes after level 20 on Day 2.
Late registration will remain open until after the dinner break and each player is permitted a single re-entry should they choose to do so. A total of 22 players made it through Day 1a and that number is expected to be slightly higher today. They will all be hoping to catch the current chip leader Matt Russell who bagged up a whopping stack of 418,000 chips.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be at the heart of the action to bring you all of the updates throughout the entire day.
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WSOP Circuit
and Ramirez was faced with a bet of 1,500. Ramirez min-raised to 3,000 and his opponent called.
paired the board on the turn and both players checked to the 
on the river. The action was checked to Ramirez again and he slid out a bet of 2,800. His opponent wasted little time before throwing his cards away and Ramirez finally raked in a pot.
was spread across the table and Garry Gates was faced with a bet of 2,000. Gates raised to 8,000 and Andrew Hills just called in position. The initial better folded and it was time for showdown.
for an ace-high flush.
for a baby flush and Hills was awarded the pot.
