There was a late position raise to 300, Steven Silverman called on the button, and Jan Bendik raised to 1,300 out of the small blind. Both the original raiser and Silverman called.
The dealer fanned , and Bendik immediately led out for 1,325. Only Silverman called.
The turn was the , and Bendik stared at Silverman before checking. Silverman tanked, then reached for a handful of chips, firing 3,600. Bendik quickly check raised, tossing out two blue T5,000 chips, and Silverman called the 10,000-chip bet.
The river was the , and Bendik flipped forward another 10,000. Silverman quickly folded, and the European Poker Tour Player of the Year leader raked in the pot.
Brian Kim is in Europe for the first time ever, and what fitting a way to start of your first trip to the continent than by playing one of the most prestigious tournament this land has to offer — the 2013 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final €10,000 Main Event.
Kim is a cash game player from the West Coast of the United States. In March 2011, just about one month before Black Friday crushed the online poker world, Kim won the $1,500,000 guarantee on Full Tilt Poker for $411,411.96. Despite having money still tied up with the site, Kim has done well to weather the storm and continue his grind on the live felt.
Kim is seated with Sergio Castelluccio and Micah Raskin in this event, and recently played a couple pots early on involving both of them.
On the first hand, the action was picked up on the board. Castelluccio, who finished in fourth place in this event last year for €400,000, checked to Kim, and he fired 850. Castelluccio made the call, and the river was the to pair the board. After Castelluccio checked, Kim bet 2,600. Castelluccio gave it up, and Kim won the pot.
Moments later, Kim opened with a raise from the hijack seat at his six-handed table, and Castelluccio made the call from the small blind before Raskin three-bet to 1,600 out of the big blind. Kim flatted, and Castelluccio folded.
The flop came down , and Raskin bet 2,000 almost immediately. Kim gave it up, and Raskin won the pot.
The recent winner of the biggest EPT €10,000 event in history, Griffin Benger, joined us as did Barcelona €50,000 High Roller winner Dan Smith. Online super star Scott 'URnotINdanger2' Palmer also decided to join the fun as he's playing his first big live tournament in quite some time.
MarcC
The pre tournament announcements from EPT staff.
Cards are in the air for Day 1a. Only 50 players or so are in their seats right now. This number is expected to grow substantially as players wake from their Sunday grind sessions.
The tournament has not started just yet as many players are signing up right as we speak. Play is expected to start a little later and we will keep you posted on everything that's going on here at the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final.
It's hard to believe it, but another EPT season, the ninth, is coming to a close in spectacular style. The tour climaxes in the opulent surroundings of the Monte Carlo Bay hotel in Monaco. The 10-day festival starts today with the €10,000 Main Event and finishes with the highly-anticipated €100,000 Super High Roller. The PokerNews team will be covering both these events as well as the €25,000 High Roller happening in the middle of the festival.
For now, the focus is the Main Event and today the Day 1a players will be taking their seats. Team PokerStars Pro will be represented by Dario Minieri, Johnny Lodden, Theo Jorgensen, Vanessa Rousso, Ville Wahlbeck, Jake Cody, Jonathan Duhamel and Victor Ramdin, to name a few. Boris Becker will be flying the flag for Team PokerStars SportStar and the newest member of PokerStars Team Online, Tatiana Barausova, will be hoping to translate her online success to the live arena.
Last season, Mohsin Charania bested Lucile Cailly heads up to claim the trophy and the €1,350,000 first prize. Will Charania be repeating, or will someone else be matching his achievement? Stay tuned to find out. Play is due to start at 12 p.m. CET.
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, and Bendik immediately led out for 1,325. Only Silverman called.
, and Bendik stared at Silverman before checking. Silverman tanked, then reached for a handful of chips, firing 3,600. Bendik quickly check raised, tossing out two blue T5,000 chips, and Silverman called the 10,000-chip bet.
, and Bendik flipped forward another 10,000. Silverman quickly folded, and the European Poker Tour Player of the Year leader raked in the pot.
board. Castelluccio, who finished in fourth place in this event last year for €400,000, checked to Kim, and he fired 850. Castelluccio made the call, and the river was the 
to pair the board. After Castelluccio checked, Kim bet 2,600. Castelluccio gave it up, and Kim won the pot.
, and Raskin bet 2,000 almost immediately. Kim gave it up, and Raskin won the pot.
