Vilamoura Championship Main Event Day 1a | 2009 PokerStars.com EPT Vilamoura

11-17-2009 11:05 UTC

One Hour 'Til Kickoff

[user46392]

Good morning and welcome to the frankly delightful beach resort of Vilamoura, venue for the first ever Portuguese EPT. Middle of November be damned - it's absolutely glorious outside, and if our runners can tear themselves away from the beach not 100 yards away, there will be a poker tournament getting underway in around 60 minutes' time.

For now, the Cold War bunker-esque casino remains eerily empty. Famous folks confirmed to be playing one of our two start days, though, include Peter Eastgate, Arnaud Mattern, Vanessa Rousso, Jason Mercier and ElkY. Watch this space...

11-17-2009 11:32 UTC

Words But No Pictures

[user46392]

Owing to a quirk of Portuguese law, photographs and videos are strictly banned in the tournament area, and thus will not be appearing in our blog. But never fear! The lovely Gloria Balding will be delivering some high-class video action from outside the tournament area. It's much nicer outside than in, anyway.

11-17-2009 11:58 UTC

Almost There

[user46392]

Dealers and chips are at the tables, and now all we need is some players. While there is no danger of us starting on time, there is a distinct possibility that we will be getting underway fairly soon. Please stand by...

Level: 1

Blinds: 50/100

Ante: 0

11-17-2009 12:21 UTC

Shuffle Up and Deal!

[user46392]

Well, only 20 minutes after the published start time and cards are in the air.

So far this looks to be a rather bijou event - right now there are only 17 tables in use, with all of them seven or eight-handed. We could well see a surge of fashionable latecomers, though.

11-17-2009 12:25 UTC

Who's Here So Far?

[user46392]

Witness the following folks in attendance, in alphabetical order:

Arnaud Mattern
Barny Boatman
Dragan Galic
Jason Mercier
Joao Barbosa
Katja Thater
Ludovic Lacay
Marc Naalden
Mike "Timex" McDonald
Pierre Neuville
Ricardo Sousa
Rolf Slotboom
Ruben Visser

11-17-2009 12:26 UTC

Everybody In

[user66118]

On the first hand of the day, Dragan Galic opened with an under-the-gun raise to 250. His table is six-handed to start off, and all five of his opponents quickly called in turn to see a family flop. Galic leaned back in his chair and chuckled to the media standing nearby. "I raise and they all call!" he laughed, turning back to see the dealer run the first three cards.

They came {2-Spades}

, and the big blind checked. Galic continued out with a bet of 600, and this time he found just two callers. All three men would check the {8-Hearts}

on the turn, and the {J-Hearts}

filled out the board. Galic stacked out 1,350 chips and slid them into the middle, and it was just the right amount to win him the pot. The gregarious pro laughed again and wiped the imaginary sweat from his brow after dragging in the first pot of the day.

Tags: Dragan Galic

11-17-2009 12:41 UTC

Stragglers

[user66118]

A few notable stragglers have trickled their way into the room. Here they are in reverse alphabetical order, just to throw you off.

Shaun Deeb
Ricky Fohrenbach
Max Greenwood
Chad Brown
Anthony Roux

Huck Seed is also loitering around the tournament area, chatting his way from table to table. We're still waiting to see if he actually has a seat today.

11-17-2009 12:46 UTC

Maria Makes it Five Bets

[user66118]

How about some heavy preflop action? Allen Bari opened the pot with a late-position raise, and Maria Maceiras (sister of Juan) wanted to play for more. In the big blind, she three-bet it up to 1,150, sending the action back to Bari. After a quick pause, he made a four-bet to 3,425. That sent Maceiras into the tank for a little while, but she eventually began counting out another raise. Grabbing her previous chips back, she threw 12,000 into the pot, and Bari's cards were already in the muck before her chips even hit the felt.

Tags: Allen Bari Maria Maceiras

11-17-2009 12:48 UTC

Neu Kid on the Block

[user46392]

We missed the action, so we'll let the stacks do the talking.

Pierre Neuville: 55,000 and decisive chip leader
Mike "Timex" McDonald: 12,000 and in hot water already