2009 PokerStars.com EPT Vilamoura

Vilamoura Championship Main Event
Day: 1b
1a1b2345
Event Info
2009 PokerStars.com EPT Vilamoura
Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
7♦8♣
Prize
€404,793
Event Info
Buy-in
€5,000
Prize Pool
€1,561,700
Entries
322
Level Info
Level
28
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
5,000
Players Left 1 / 322
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Day 1b is Ready to Roll

Good morning from the coast of Portugal, and welcome back to the Casino Vilamoura for the second flight of Day 1. Yesterday's opening day saw 136 players kickoff the event, and we expect to see more than that file through the double doors come noontime.

Players are just beginning to meander their way into their seats, and we've already spotted a few familiar faces amongst the stragglers. We're scheduled to begin in 20 minutes, but if yesterday is any indication, it might be a bit longer before things get rolling. Stay tuned; we'll be back with the shuffle up and deal.

Level: 1

Blinds: 50/100

Ante: 0

Who Is Here On Time?

As expected, a veritable bunch of poker stars (if you'll pardon the pun) have braved the early start. Among their number:

Alex Kravchenko
Andy Black
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier
Huck Seed
Julien Brecard
Sebastian Ruthenberg
Vanessa Rousso

Who Is Here Late?

Praz Bansi has just strolled into the tournament room. He spent some time chatting it up with his fellow Brits before taking his chair. Sam Chartier is in the house too, as is the other half of Team Boatman, Ross.

Oleksandr Vaserfirer is here too, and he'll be trying to improve upon his runner-up finish from the last EPT stop in Warsaw.

The Italian pro contingent has just arrived as we speak, with Dario Minieri and Luca Pagano joining the action in tandem. Pagano is also fresh off a final table in Warsaw, an achievement which gave him the record for most EPT final tables.

And last but not least, former poker press member (we look out for our own!) Filipe Pacheco is here and trying to pad his retirement fund with a win here this week.

Planting a Seed

In the first hand of his day, Huck Seed was involved in a pot that sent him spiraling deep into the tank on the river.

On a board showing {5-Diamonds} {J-Spades} {6-Clubs} {J-Diamonds} {3-Spades}, Seed went heads up to the river, building a small pot of 750 chips. When the last card fell, Seed fired out a bet of 700, and his opponent stuck in a raise to 2,800. Seed would spend at least five full minutes in the tank as he shot sideways glances toward the man on his left. He grabbed his tall tower of chips and appeared as if he wanted to re-raise. Then it looked like he was going to fold. Then he looked raisey again.

Finally, Seed elected to save his remaining 29,700 chips for a better spot, and he released his cards into the muck, looking abnormally unhappy just one hand into play.

Tags: Huck Seed

Anyone Else?

Sami "LarsLuzak" Kelopuro has just now sauntered in, and also the following folks may well have been here on time, but have only just come to our attention:

Simon Nowab
Rob Yong
Ivo Donev
Julian Thew
Davidi Kitai
Jan Heitmann
George Danzer
Johan "busto_soon" van Til
Juan Manuel Pastor

There are a couple notable absences, too. Peter Eastgate and JP Kelly are both on the list for today, but neither has yet put in an appearance. Get out of bed, boys!

One More Name

Benzimra with the loot in Warsaw
Benzimra with the loot in Warsaw
Just taking his seat is another familiar face from the last EPT stop in Warsaw. A couple weeks ago, Frenchman Christophe Benzimra played over there at the Casinos Poland, and you might say he performed well. From a field of 203 runners, Benzimra charged his way to a tough final table, and he performed admirably on the final day. With solid, timely play (and a lucky set of jacks in a three-way all in), Benzimra took down the title and nearly 1.5 million PLN.

Can he become the first man to go back-to-back in the EPT?

Tags: Christophe Benzimra

And Still They Come

The sound of snooze buttons must have reverberated wildly around the hotel rooms in Vilamoura this morning, as players are still trickling in. Players recently arrived, or at least just recently spotted, include Jonathan Aguiar, Juan Maceiras and Stuart Rutter, the latter resplendent in a pink smurf hat that PokerNews readers will not be able to enjoy, owing to the Portuguese law that prohibits photography and filming inside the tournament area. It's just our words and your imaginations, I'm afraid.

Rousso Recovering

Vanessa Rousso dropped an early pot that cost her almost a third of her chip stack, but she's quickly gone to work trying to recover those losses. In early position, she came in raising to 250, and the player in the small blind re-raised to 625. Rousso called as she chatted with table mate Dario Minieri.

The flop came out {K-Hearts} {2-Diamonds} {K-Diamonds}, and both players checked. When the {9-Spades} hit the turn, the small blind made a delayed continuation bet of 825. Rousso quickly called, and the river brought the prettiest card in the deck, the {A-Spades}. Leading out once more, the small blind fired 1,400 chips into the pot. Rousso sat still for about a minute before plucking 6,000 chips from her stack and making the raise. After several arduous minutes of staredown, her opponent let his hand go, and Rousso has moved her way back up to 24,500 courtesy of that pot.

Tags: Vanessa Rousso

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