Action folded around to Ari Engel on the button and he raised to 1,500. Francois Billard was in the small blind and three-bet to 6,400. Engel thought for a moment and put in a four-bet to 14,800. Billard called.
The flop came and Billard checked to Engel who bet 7,000. Billard called.
The turn was the . Both players checked to the river, which was the . Billard decided to lead out for 15,000 and Engel raised to 55,425, leaving himself 5,025 behind. Billard wasted no time and moved all in. Engel went into the tank for a good five minutes before a player called the clock. Engel folded.
Jonathan Duhamel has joined the field, looking to snag another High Roller win, but this time in his hometown.
Duhamel may have won the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event for just under $9 Million USD, but his total earnings are just about double that. He has three High Roller titles in Deauville, Berlin and Las Vegas already, so look for him to be at top contender this week.
Here's a look at some more high rollers who have entered this last level:
Maduka Meragal raised to 1,400 from under the gun and was called by Cate Hall in the small blind and Ari Engel in the big blind.
The flop came and Hall and Engel both checked to Meragal, who bet 2,200. Hall called and Engel folded.
The turn was the . Hall checked again, and Meragal quickly reached into his stack, betting 5,500. Hall called.
The river was the and Hall checked for a third time. Meragal fired out a bet of 10,100 this time and Hall tossed out a single chip to call. Meragal tabled and Hall mucked her hand.
The $10,300 partypoker MILLION North America High Roller has begun with seven entries.
As expected, the field is already competitive, and with late registration open until the end of the first level of the day tomorrow, it's only going to get tougher!
Among the field is Canada's own Kristen Bicknell, representing partypoker for this event. Cate Hall joins her as the only other woman in this event so far.
Here's a look at the players who have opened this event:
Welcome to the partypoker MILLION North America festival, where Canada will be breaking records with the biggest prizepool in live poker history when the CA$5,300/$4,000 Main Event begins tomorrow. There will be CA$1,000,000 guaranteed to the winner, and CA$5,000,000 guaranteed in the prizepool.
Until then, it's a perfect day to play some poker, and what better way to kick things off than with the newly-added $10,300 High Roller!
With $500,000 guaranteed in the prizepool, this event is sure to attract some of the biggest players in Canada and around the world.
Day 1 kicks off in just one hour at 1:00 p.m. local time on the east coast in beautiful Montreal, Canada at the Playground Poker Club. Players begin the day with an even 100,000 chips and will play 45-minute blind levels until heads-up play begins late on Day 2. Unlimited re-entries will make for an exciting day, and registration will be open until the end of the first level of play, early on Day 2.
There will be a 15-minute break after levels 3, 6 and 8. At the end of level 10, play will pause for the night and the remaining field will bag and tag for Day 2. Play starts back up on May 5th at 1:00 p.m. and blinds will roll back to level 9 at 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante. Registration will close at 1:45 p.m. and the tournament will complete once a winner is crowned!
Here is a look at the Day 1 structure:
Level
Duration
Small Blind
Big Blind
Ante
1
45
250
500
50
2
45
300
600
50
3
45
400
800
100
4
45
500
1,000
100
5
45
600
1,200
100
6
45
800
1,600
200
7
45
1,000
2,000
200
8
45
1,200
2,400
300
9
45
1,500
3,000
300
10
45
2,000
4,000
400
Stick with the PokerNews team as we bring you all of the coverage for the High Roller and the Main Event!
and Billard checked to Engel who bet 7,000. Billard called. 
. Both players checked to the river, which was the 
. Billard decided to lead out for 15,000 and Engel raised to 55,425, leaving himself 5,025 behind. Billard wasted no time and moved all in. Engel went into the tank for a good five minutes before a player called the clock. Engel folded.
and Hall and Engel both checked to Meragal, who bet 2,200. Hall called and Engel folded. 
. Hall checked again, and Meragal quickly reached into his stack, betting 5,500. Hall called. 
and Hall checked for a third time. Meragal fired out a bet of 10,100 this time and Hall tossed out a single chip to call. Meragal tabled 
and Hall mucked her hand.
