£5,200 EPT London Main Event Day 1a | 2008 PokerStars.com EPT London

Level: 3

Blinds: 75/150

Ante: 0

10-01-2008 16:03 UTC+1

Choppy Busto

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Matt "Choppy" Kay is out when his second pair lost to A-Q on a 10-6-3-A-x board.

Tags: Choppy

10-01-2008 16:05 UTC+1

Two local London players tangled in a pot. Allen Vincent had Q-Q against Eddy Biber's A-K. We caught the action on the river. The board read J-J-5-10-2. Eddy fired out 3,000 in an attempt to steal the pot away after his Big Slick did not improve. However, Vincent made the call and his queens held up. Vincent increased his stack to over 22,000.

10-01-2008 16:23 UTC+1

Even More Random Droppings

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Beth Shak took a seat as one of the alternates.

Masaaki Kagawa lost half his stack and is sitting on 5,000.

John Phan asked me to charge his iPod mini which ran out of juice. I'll post his playlist shortly.

William Thorson was all in with K-K. His opponent held K-K and they chopped the pot.

10-01-2008 16:30 UTC+1

Mazzia's New Nightmare

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On a

board and with 3,000 sitting in the middle, Daniele Mazzia led for 1,850 only for David Shade Kruger to inquire, "How much you got left?" There was no precise answer, but the Italian did fan his chips and reveal 6,775. Kruger made it an extra 2,000 to play.

With Mazzia making the call, the two players reached a {Q-Spades}

river, where Kruger took it down with a bet of 3,500. In triumph he revealed a {K-Diamonds}

, much to the annoyance of his now short-stacked opponent.

10-01-2008 16:36 UTC+1

Lovers in Arms

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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, snoopy1239 and danafish, there are a number of celebrity couples in the world of entertainment, but none more famous than new found lovers Isabelle Mercier and Dario Minieri.

After their lip-locking escapades in Vegas, the couple arrived here today, arm in arm, to prove that cupid's arrow had made a permanent dent on their relationship and they were indeed 'together.'

How and when Isabelle is going to unveil her secret love for me, I'm not sure, but when it does, Dario is not going to be a happy chappy.

10-01-2008 16:41 UTC+1

4:20 Update

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Americans Shaun Deeb and Shane "Shaniac" Schleger are in today's field. Shaniac is struggling a bit with 4,200 while Deeb has about 6,900.

Tags: Shaniac

10-01-2008 16:44 UTC+1

Late Arrivals

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Erica Schoenberg and her French boy-toy David Benyamine were among the late arrivals on Day 1A. And add Max "The Italian Pirate" Pescatori to that list of named players who arrived late in true Hellmuthian fashion.

Tags: Erica Schoenberg

10-01-2008 16:50 UTC+1

In Vino Veritas

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"Red or white?"

The Vic is currently handing out free wine to the players. One female staff member is walking around with two bottles of wine while another followed behind with a tray of empty glasses. Several players have taken her up on the offer for free wine.

As photographer Neil Stoddard mentioned, "Hopefully the wine will speed up the action."

Inebriated players tend to get a tad rowdy at the tables, but they'll loosen up and induce action.

And yes, my Latin teacher from my Jesuit high school back in New York City will be happy that I used a Latin phrase as a title post.

Level: 4

Blinds: 100/200

Ante: 0