On a board 
in a blind versus blind situation with around 4,000 in the middle, Dahu Ghassan sent a bet for 3,000.
Amer Benmoumen tanked for a few minutes and eventually made the call, but only to muck his cards after Ghassan tabled 
for a set of aces.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
39,000 | 39,000 |
|
24,000 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
42,000 | |
|
37,000 | |
|
32,000 | |
|
32,000 | 2,000 |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
|
26,300 | |
|
|
25,000 | |
|
|
24,300 | -5,700 |
The board already showed 
with a pot containing more than 3,500 when Driss Rhomari checked from the big blind to Luigi Macaluso on the button who bet 2,100. Rhomari didn't take long to check-raise it to 5,500 and Macaluso ended up folding his hand.
Rhomari tabled a 
for top pair. "Thank you, I almost made a big mistake!" said Macaluso to his opponent, revealing he held pocket jacks.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
37,000 | 37,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
| 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 |
Cards are in the air and play is now underway for the first runners of the Main Event.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 200
The start of today's Marrakech Poker Open $1,300 Main Event is on a slight delay to allow more players to enter the event.
Cards are expected in the air shortly. There are for the moment 20 players to begin the day, but players are sure to trickle in.
There will be playing eight 45-minute levels with a 15-minute break every three levels, and a one hour dinner break at the end of level 5, approximatively 8 p.m.
Welcome to the luxurious Casino de Marrakech for the long-awaited return of the Marrakech Poker Open after five years of absence. For its last edition in 2017, this event garnered 184 entrants, with 23 of them making the money. The winner, after a three-way deal, was Spain's Moises Parilla-Ramos who took home €23,678 for his efforts.
It’s the first time Casino de Marrakech is hosting a huge poker festival since the pandemic, and the joy of finally returning to play in the colorful Moroccan city is widely palpable in the corridors of the Es Saadi Palace. The festival got underway earlier this week, and has already seen large numbers for its Opener and Warm-Up Deepstack events, as well as the High Roller. In fact, the High Roller is still ongoing, with 54 players remaining out of the 140 entries and Gaëlle Baumann is sitting second in the chip counts behind Hafid Kinany Alaoui.
The MPO Main Event, with a buy-in of DH 13,200 (€1,300), features two Day 1s taking place on September 8th and 9th at respectively 4 p.m. and 1 p.m. local time. Reentries are permitted during each flight up to the end of the tenth level, which also signals the end of late registration.
The schedule included 23 tournaments with in a wide range of buy-ins, and the players may also get their shot at a trophy thanks to some interesting side events, such as a Monster Stack event, a short-handed tournament, a classic bounty, and a progressive bounty. The festival will conclude with a Turbo Deep Closing Event which comes with a buy-in of DH 2,000 ($200).
Tournament officials have announced that there will be twelve levels of 45 minutes today with a 15-minute break every three levels. Cards will be in the air at 4 p.m. local time and a dinner break is yet to be decided, meaning the remaining players can expect to end their day at approximatively 2 a.m. or 3 a.m.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates throughout the day.
€1,300 MPO Main Event
Day 1a Started
