Event 7 - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Day 1 | 2009 World Series of Poker

06-02-2009 06:31 UTC-12

Event 7 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'em - Day 1

[user108095]

The first of the WSOP's "bread & butter" tournaments kicks off in just about 30 minutes. Just days after the special $1K Stimulus event drew 6,000 entries, the first $1,500 NLH tournament of the 2009 series has attracted 2,640 players so far, with more expected to register through the first two levels of play.

Last year's first $1,500 event was won by Grant Hinkle, with Chris Ferguson making a strong run at his sixth career bracelet and finishing third.

Stay with us for all of the action through this popular tournament and see which players make it deep into the money this year.

Level: 1

Blinds: 25/50

Ante: 0

06-02-2009 07:18 UTC-12

Shuffle Up and Deal

[user108095]

Cards are in the air 15 minutes late. There are 2,775 players officially registered as of the tournament start.

Some notable names in the field so far include:

Bill Gazes
Kristy Gazes
Rafe Furst
Jean-Robert Bellande
Humberto Brenes
Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler
Michael Gracz
Joe Sebok

Tags: Bill Gazes

06-02-2009 07:32 UTC-12

A Few More Familiar Faces

[user108095]

A few more notable names in today's event include

Eric Liu
Jonathan Little
Andrew Black
Erica Schoenberg
Evelyn Ng
Esther Taylor
Jon Friedberg
Shaun Deeb
Maria Ho
Kelly Kim
Justin Bonomo

Tags: Eric Liu

06-02-2009 07:44 UTC-12

Still More Names

[user108095]

A few more notable players in today's field include

Jordan Morgan
T.J. Cloutier
James Akenhead
Hevad Khan
Theo Tran
Chad Batista
Dario Minieri
Dan Shak
Kenna James

06-02-2009 07:59 UTC-12

Bill Gazes Gives One Up

[user108095]

After winning a small hand with ace-king, Bill Gazes raised the pot to 125 on the very next hand. He got two callers and the flop came {K-Diamonds}

.

Action checked to the player in late position, who bet 250. He got a call and Gazes raised 750. The original bettor instantly reraised to 1,750 and Gazes tanked for nearly a minute before finally giving up the hand.

06-02-2009 08:03 UTC-12

More Names to Watch

[user108095]

Making our way through the nearly 3,000 players in today's event, we've found a few more familiar faces that we'll be keeping track of.

Kathy Liebert
Bryan Micon
Ted Lawson
Clark Hamagami
J.C. Tran
Danny Wong
James Mackey
David Singer
Freddy Deeb
Gavin Smith
Lars Bonding
Dennis Phillips
Scott Seiver
Eric Cajelais

06-02-2009 08:16 UTC-12

Fun with Kathy Liebert

[user108095]

We wandered past Kathy Liebert's table as she was involved in a pot. Kathy had a small raise out and was begging for a call. When everyone folded, she slid her cards to the middle of the table face down saying, "I didn't have anything. Go ahead, turn one over."

Another player took her up on the offer, exposing the {A-Hearts}