According to the screens there are now 39 players and among those to have shown up early instead taking advantage of the sun and pool nearby was also Guillaume Darcourt. The two-times World Poker Tour champion is a familiar face on Moroccan soil and one of the most entertaining and aggressive players.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | |
|
||
Both Leo Margets and Barny Boatman showed up before the start of level one and currently stand outside in the sun for a chat. They will be joining the action shortly and also posed for pictures in front of the entrance as well.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | |
|
||
|
30,000 | |
|
||
Action at each table was started when at least three players had sat down and one table indeed features three familiar faces in Houcine El Otmani, Mohamed Ali Houssam and Rakesh Lalwani. The former two are local players whereas Lalwani is originally from India but every cash on the Hendon Mob profile is from this very Casino de Marrakech.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
Level: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
The 15,000 MAD High Roller event finished late last night with a deal of the last four players, who all took home 250,000 MAD each. A total of 111 entries generated a prize pool of 1,448,500 MAD and the top 12 spots were paid. 2016 LAPT Vina Del Mar winner Rodrigo Strong finished 12th followed by Alexandre Viard in 11th.
Other notables in the money included Isabel Baltazar (7th) and Romain Paon (6th). Anas Tadini (3rd) and Belgian's Jerome Sgorrano were part of the final four and the latter was officially listed as the winner.
As usual and common in Morocco, tournaments don't tend to start exactly on scheduled time and the Main Event seems to be no different. The first players have walked into the tournament area with 12 tables being currently prepared.
The 38th international poker tournament at the Casino de Marrakech at the Es Saadi Hotel Resort has been calling players from near and far with more than 25 degrees Celsius and plenty of sunshine in the North of Africa.
Flagship tournament of the festival is the 10,000 MAD (Moroccan Dirhams) Main Event and the buy-in equals €900. One of the Satellites two days ago attracted 34 entries and the top four spots received the ticket whereas 5th place was awarded 4,370 MAD. Since most interested players were still in Day 2 of the 15,000 MAD High Roller, the scheduled first of two starting day was canceled yesterday.
As a result, the only Day 1 gets underway in approximately one hour from now at 1 p.m. local time and all participants receive 30,000 in chips. Late registration as well as reentry is possible at the end of level nine and a total of 13 levels of 45 minutes each will be played today before the level duration then increases to 60 minutes as of Day 2.
With affordable flights from Spain, France, Portugal and Belgium, you can expect a very European field here in Marrakech and another well known poker player to be expected at the tables is World Series of Poker bracelet winner Barny Boatman.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on hand to cover all the action until a winner is crowned on Sunday, so make sure to tune back in regularly.
Main Event
Day 1 Started
