Main Event Day 1a | 2010 PokerStars.it EPT San Remo

04-15-2010 12:36 UTC+2

We Don't Do Smallball...

[user76023]

Ludovic Lacay does not do slowly slowly grindy monkey. He goes fast, sometimes recklessly so but it often can reap rewards.

Lacay raised to 250 and an Italian player in the big blind reraised to 700 and the Frenchman made the call in position.

The flop came an interesting {7-Hearts}

and the big blind led out for 1,125. Lacay quickly raised to 3,250 before the Italian decided to repop it back to 6,000.

Lacay responded with a third raise, making it 16,000 making himself look committed. The big blind folded and tapped the table but Lacay showed {A-Spades}

for a complete bluff.

04-15-2010 12:21 UTC+2

Let's Do This

[user66118]

Well, 12:20 is practically noon by Italian time standards. Not too late after all, the cards are in the air, and Day 1a is a go!

Level: 1

Blinds: 50/100

Ante: 0

04-15-2010 12:20 UTC+2

Who is Here?

[user76023]

It's a human jungle in the tournament area today, the tables tightly packed with only the minimum "squeeze-through" allowed.

Nevertheless a few famous names have been spotted among the (literally) hundreds of qualifiers. Mike "Timex" McDonald has clearly decided to not take a sabbatical just yet. A beaming Chad Brown was walking around lost in the maze while Arnaud Mattern had managed slightly better, taking a seat near the media room.

04-15-2010 11:59 UTC+2

Not Yet, But Soon

[user46392]

With approximately a million runners (ok, well, probably 600 or so) today, it comes as absolutely no surprise to anyone that kickoff is going to be a little later than the advertised 12 noon.

Players are just now beginning to trickle into the vast tournament area, so we estimate that we'll be getting this party started in around half an hour.

04-15-2010 10:34 UTC+2

EPT San Remo is Here!

[user66118]

The PokerNews Live Reporting Team extends you a good morning and a warm welcome from our spot along the Italian Riviera. The PokerStars.it EPT San Remo has arrived, an event which doubles as the Grand Final for the Italian Poker Tour.

There are several burly security guards keeping everyone out of the casino for now, so we'll have to tell you what we can see from the outside. Starting with the outside, in fact. The casino renovation project that had the old building fully ensconced in scaffolding last year appears to be wrapping up. Just one side of the building still has buckets and ladders obscuring its beauty, and the other three sides look stunning in the mid-morning sun.

As far as the players go… well, there are going to be a lot of them. No other event on the EPT schedule draws as well as this one does, and we fully expect to give the 1,200-player cap a run for its money by the time the registration cards are all tallied and punched tomorrow. The streets below the casino are a bit more crowded than usual, and we've already spotted a few familiar faces amongst the pizzerias and coffee shops.

Jesper Hougaard has been mulling around the sidewalk for a while now, and Pierre Neuville is having an extended conversation with the guards atop the stairs. EPT Snowfest champion Allan Bække was around here just a few minutes ago, looking as smiley as ever. We also saw Gus Hansen enjoying some gelato down the street, so we'd anticipate seeing him in our field on one of these two starting days.

Speaking of starting days, today is the first of two, and we're scheduled for a noon kickoff time. That's about 90 minutes from now, so you've got a little time to kill. Grab yourself a cup of coffee, fire up a few tables on PokerStars, and sit tight. We'll be back when things look like they're getting ready to roll.