Event 1 - £1,000 No Limit Hold'em Day 1a | 2009 World Series of Poker Europe

09-18-2009 14:15 UTC+2

Erik the Viking

[user46392]

Erik Seidel has had an excellent start to the day as far as chip-pillaging goes, getting his whole stack in with {K-Hearts}

from the small blind against a gentleman on the button holding {Q-Clubs}

. The board ran out a harmless {7-Clubs}

and Seidel is up to 6,000.

Tags: Erik Seidel

09-18-2009 14:03 UTC+2

Devilifsh Releases a Monster

[user4144]

With the board reading {J-Diamonds}

, Jon Lundy pushed all in for 1,600. Devilfish looked tortured, and squirmed in his seat like a three-legged ferret. After a while, he mumbled under his breath and folded {9-Clubs}

face-up. Lundy remained silent, albeit with a gentle smirk, and amid his continued grumbling, Devilfish was left to wonder if he made the right decision.

09-18-2009 13:56 UTC+2

Tristan Clemencon, in a lurid green hoodie by far the brightest thing on the upper level of the Empire at this early hour, is off to a good start.

He raised under the gun and picked up a call from the gentleman on the button, but expressionlessly fired out on the {5-Hearts}

flop and

river until the button gave it up with a sigh.

Tags: Tristan Clemencon

09-18-2009 13:44 UTC+2

A Star Among Us

[user46392]

No, not Phil Hellmuth -- although he is among us, a crowd obscuring his table. Who we are currently concerned with is one of the Empire masseuses, who is apparently appearing in a horror movie at the legendary Prince Charles cinema in a few weeks' time. This information was extracted from the lovely lady by the silver-tongued Neil Channing. We'll keep you up to date with any further developments on that front.

Tags: Neil Channing

09-18-2009 13:44 UTC+2

Missing Their Cue

[user4144]

A few latecomers have also been located in the queue to the registration desk with Michael Greco, Brandon Cantu, Andrew Teng, Karl Mahrenholz and king of the nosebleeds Richard Ashby all eager to get into the thick of the action.

09-18-2009 13:43 UTC+2

Eclectic Mix

[user4144]

It's an eclectic mix here today with familiar names from both sides of the Atlantic taking their seat. As well as EPT Champion Sebastian Ruthenberg and Welsh chatterbox Roberto Romanello, we also have the likes of Andy Bloch and Phil Hellmuth flying the red, white and blue. Finally, I couldn't help but notice a certain Korosh Nejad, the former Late Night Poker veteran making a rare appearance after delighting audiences at the start of the Millennium with his unforgettable verbal battles and intense staredowns.

09-18-2009 13:31 UTC+2

Field Exploding

[user46392]

...Not in terms of bust-outs, yet, but in sheer numbers of starters. We're at 534 runners right now, with our field including such luminaries as Phil Hellmuth, Roland de Wolfe, Surinder Sunar and Neil Channing. Still in the queue for registration are the fashionably late Marc Goodwin, Tristan Clemencon and Mick McCool.

Level: 1

Blinds: 25/25

Ante: 0

09-18-2009 13:13 UTC+2

Pollack in the House

[user4144]

Jeffrey Pollack is in the house - resplendent with new look of shorter haircut and sans glasses - and is on the mic to introduce this year's WSOPE. Use of the words/phrases 'coveted', 'poker history' and 'wonderful market' confirm that he considers this to be a highly prestigious event and is bristling with excitement about the upcoming week. When Mr Pollack speaks, you know the starting whistle is just moments away...

09-18-2009 13:05 UTC+2

Any Second Now

[user46392]

Players are filtering in, and to reverberations of, "I need a player release form on table 19," from Jack Effel on the mic, it looks as though things might be kicking off within mere minutes...