Main Event
Day 1a Started
2011 PokerStars.it EPT San Remo
Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2011 PokerStars.it EPT San Remo
Buy-in
€4,600
Prize Pool
€3,734,694
Entries
837
Level
32
Blinds
80,000 / 160,000
Ante
20,000
Pizza, Pasta, Poker
![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Day 1a of the PokerStars.it EPT San Remo will begin at 14:00 CET, just less than an hour from now. It's a good thing it's not a noon start, at least for our sake. We've just arrived into town, and we've got a fantastic week of poker in store for you from the charming little Italian city with the best pasta in the world.
We'll be back before kickoff with a more complete preview. Don't wander off!
Almost Set to Go
We've gotten ourselves settled inside the charming Casino San Remo, and we're just about set to kick this thing off. It's only been a few months since the PokerStars banners last donned the streets of the city, and Rupert Elder won himself €930,000 for outlasting the field of 987 players. We'd expect to see him in the building today or tomorrow, and Season 6 champion and Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree will be joining up for Day 1b.
We've got right around 320 players registered for this first flight today, and they're filing into their seats as we speak. We've only spotted a few Team PokerStars Pros in our walk through the room, but we do have Poland's Marcin Horecki and Spain's Ana Marquez in the house. And just now, France's Arnaud Mattern came and said hello, fresh off his deep run in the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event.
We've also spotted a few non-affiliated notables such as Kevin MacPhee, Toby Lewis, Dan Kelly, and Mike Leah.
The scheduled start time has come and gone, but we should be under way in just a few moments. Sit tight!
Level: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
Off and Running
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
The cards have gone in the air, and Day 1a is a go!
Seeing Stars
Here are the notables we've spotted in the field so far this afternoon.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 |
MacPhee Punished For Being Tardy
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
We just saw Kevin MacPhee walk into the door a bit late for the start of play. He looked at the clock as he hustled to his chair, and he made a comment as he passed us about the fact that he'd only missed 12 minutes. Now, though, he probably wishes he'd waited just one more minute. MacPhee has only been here for a few hands, and his stack has already slipped to about 19,000.
More Names and Tidbits
We missed a few notables on the first pass, and a few others have just now taken their seats. Some more of the stragglers are listed below.
The tournament area is divided amongst three sections of this cavernous room, and the late-registration tables are filling up in the area farthest from us. Since the last time I personally saw this room, the layout is much improved. The tables are still arranged fairly tightly, but even "fairly tightly" provides a huge amount more space than in previous seasons, where the chairs at adjacent tables were often literally back-to-back.
Near that late-reg area is where you'll find Shannon Shorr, and just as we saw him last week in Cannes, Shorr is decked out in a crisply tailored suit. He's the early leader for Best Dressed award.
Vanessa Rousso is playing Scrabble on her iPad, and she's crushing souls.
Scott Seiver has brought with him a large green stuffed frog, and he's got it right on the table next to his chips.
Doc Sands has started at a tough table with Dan Smith and Brent Roberts, and Sands is getting some tension out early. He's already in the midst of a vigorous massage, and from the agony on his face, it's hard to imagine he's enjoying it. He is, though, and we heard him say, "I didn't know what to do in France. They don't allow massage therapists at the tables at all." Italy is wonderful, isn't it, Doc?
And not to be overlooked is the fact that Jen Harman is here today, and it's her first-ever EPT event. Her hubby Marco Traniello is from this country, and he's drawn a seat at the table right next to his lady.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 |
From Cannes, With Lehavot
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
We just spotted Amir Lehavot in the field, one of many who've made the trip over the border after a couple weeks of work in Cannes. Lehavot did more work than most, though, running all the way to 15th place in the €10,000 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event.
We also know that the newest WSOP gold bracelet winner is in our field today, but we haven't spotted Elio Fox at the table just yet. We'll let you know when he does, and if he's using one of those €50,000 bricks of cash as a card protector.
Level: 2
Blinds: 75/150
Ante: 0