Pierre Neuville has been drawn to the left of Fabrizio Baldassari, who came second to James Bord at the last WSOPE to be held in London. The Italian just got the better of the Team PokerStars too, albeit in a small pot. The action was four way to a flop and Baldassari bet 450 when the action was checked to him on the button. Neuville was the only check-caller from the small blind. The turn was the and the Belgian gave up as he check-folded to a 850 bet.
James Mitchell is the house but down on chips. He had a stab on the flop in a three-way pot and was only called by the big blind. Both players checked the turn before Mitchell snap folded to an 1,150 bet on the river.
Mitchell's good friend James Dempsey is here too and we think he might've been skiing in the week break that was between EPT Madrid and here. His face is supporting a very orange glow (pictures to come). He's not the only player to have hit the slopes recently. There are a number of "Panda" faces in the crowd crowd today.
The tournament directors have announced to the players what the plan for today is. We will play eight levels, and there will be a one-hour dinner break after level five. That should take us to a midnight finish or thereabouts.
According to one of the floor staff there are no electronic devices of any sort allowed on the edges of the tables. We were over on Casey Kastle's table when one player was told to remove his iPhone (other phone models are available) from the table.
"Don't warn them," said Kastle, "just instantly disqualify them!" the Slovenian joked.
Per Linde was out of position the next time he tangled with McLean Karr. He was the only player to call the American’s button raise to see a flop. Both players checked the wet flop to see the dry appear on the turn.
Linde took his opportunity to have a stab and bet 350. Karr raised to 850 and Linde made the call to river where he checked. Karr sat motionless before he sighed and opened for two-pair.
Linde opened the winning hand. “I figured it had to be king-ten or king-jack, right around there,” commented Karr.
Emiliano Bono gained a slight reputation for his loose play in the 2010 EPT Prague Main Event but it appears that nowadays his raises command maximum respect.
The EPT Prague runner-up opened to 250 from under the gun and one-by-one the entire table folded around and he picked up the 150 chips from the blinds.
Two of poker's big names, McLean Karr and Per Linde have been seated right next to each other which should create an interesting dynamic on their table. They have already shown they are not afraid to take each other on as shown in the hand below.
We joined the action on a board reading with Karr in the small blind and Linde to his immediate left in the big blind. Karr bet 375 and the methodical Linde sat stoic before making the call. The river brought the into play and Karr sat and studied the board for a few moments before reaching for two purple 500 chips and a solitary green 25 chip and announcing "925." The dealer confirmed the amount and after 10, possibly 15 seconds Linde called.
The field for Day 1a is definitely going to be smaller than 1b given that today is a Monday and people probably would prefer not to travel on a Sunday given the big online tournaments available.
James Dempsey is looking to add an EPT title to complete the triple crown while we also have several Team Pros in Pierre Neuville, Alex Kravchenko and Italy's own Luca Pagano. Also here are former EPT Copenhagen runner-up Per Linde, MMA fighter and significant other of one of our presenters Heath Herring as well as former Irish Open champion James Mitchell
As I wrote before, we're in no hurry to start here. The casino registration system has about five process to go through, and one has to be motioned into the correct elevator by a waiting attendant. This all takes a LOT of time. We have noticed a few lonely souls wandering around though.
Welcome to the latest new stop on the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour; Campione. This beautiful lakeside mountain town in situated in Italy. No wait, it’s situated in Switzerland. No, that’s not right either. It’s situated in an Italian enclave within Switzerland. The sort of place rich Italians hideout to avoid those pesky income taxes.
The tournament is to be played out on the 9th floor of the Casino Campione D’Itlaia. Being so high up we are afforded beautiful views in the press room of the lake surrounded mountains. The players themselves are not afforded such luxuries but they have other things on their minds.
PokerStars Team Pros Scheduled to play today include: Pierre Neuville, Dag Palovic, Martin Staszko, Theo Jorgensen and Alex Kravchenko. A host of other big name players are expected, and we'll bring you those names as soon as we have them.
This is technically Italy so we’re in no hurry to start. Join us back here at 2pm CET where the action will get underway.
flop and Baldassari bet 450 when the action was checked to him on the button. Neuville was the only check-caller from the small blind. The turn was the 
and the Belgian gave up as he check-folded to a 850 bet.
flop in a three-way pot and was only called by the big blind. Both players checked the 
turn before Mitchell snap folded to an 1,150 bet on the 
flop. Both players checked the wet flop to see the dry 
appear on the turn.
river where he checked. Karr sat motionless before he sighed and opened 
for two-pair.
hand. “I figured it had to be king-ten or king-jack, right around there,” commented Karr.
with Karr in the small blind and Linde to his immediate left in the big blind. Karr bet 375 and the methodical Linde sat stoic before making the call. The river brought the 
and Linde mucked.
