Day 1a of the €300,000 guaranteed partypoker Grand Prix Killarney €340 Main Event at at Ireland’s National Event Centre (INEC) and Gleneagle Hotel was a big success with 100 entrants joining the field to create a total field size of 295 when taking into account the 195 entrants that have entered online opening days.
A total of 24 players bagged chips from the Day 1e field making it a total of 69 players thus far that have advanced to Day 2 with three more opening days to be played on Friday and Saturday.
Local Irish poker player Thomas Gallagher led the way in today's action after bagging 243,000 chips. Gallagher was on top or near the top of the board the entire second half of the day after he eliminated fellow Irishman Mortimer O'Shea in a hand where both players flopped a set. O'Shea who had trip queens, re-entered the tournament after his hand was no match for Gallagher's trip kings.
Other players finishing Day 1a with big stacks included two other players from Ireland in Gerry Farrell (second - 215,200) and John Power (third - 176,000).
Padraig Parkinson
Partypoker Ambassador Padraig Parkinson was among the players that were unable to advance in today's field. He was eliminated on both his initial entry and a re-entry before the first break. The tournament hasn't seen the last of the Irish poker legend as he plans to give the tournament another go on at least one of the other three remaining opening days.
Also unable to advance on Day 1a were the top three finishers in last year's event in Richie Lawlor, Alan Kelleher and Raymond Masters. While Raymond Masters was unable to advance, his son Graham Masters, whom was on the same table with him for a few blind levels, bagged a stack of 102,200 which was around the average of the players remaining.
Day 1b of the Main Event will kick off at 2 p.m. local time tomorrow and a turbo Day 1c will begin later in the day at 7:30 p.m. local time. As was the case today, the PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the floor to provide complete coverage for both these opening days and the turbo Day 1d kicking off at 10 a.m. local time a few hours before Day 2 begins.
Raymond Masters finished in third place in last year's partypoker Irish Festival - GPPT & WPT National Ireland €1,100 Main Event for €27,500.
He will need to try again in one of the three other opening flights on Sept. 8 and 9 if he wants to improve on his success.
Just before the break, Masters jammed from early position with ace-nine and was called by Sean McCarthy sitting two seats over with ace-jack. The rest of the table folded and the board ran out blanks to eliminate Masters.
On another table, Raymond's son, Graham Masters, is still in the tournament with 35,000 in chips. Raymond's other son Dave, who was on the final table in last year's event with his father, and his daughter both plan to get into the action tomorrow.
An interesting dynamic has developed on Table 13. Raymond Masters moved to the table in Seat 9. Two seats over, is his son Graham Masters in Seat 7.
While Graham mentioned he never played poker before, his bluff was called and shared; not only has he played many times in the past but also this is not the first time he has been in direct competition with his father.
After learning about the bluff, we did a little research and learned there is more to this poker-playing family than just father and son. Raymond appeared on the final table together with a different son, Dave Masters, in last year's partypoker Irish Festival - GPPT & WPT National €1,100 Main Event. Raymond Masters finished in third place for €27,500 while Dave Masters finished two spots behind in fifth place for €15,000.
The sister of Graham and Dave and daughter of Raymond plans to play tomorrow as does Dave as well making the partypoker GP Killarney Main Event a family affair.
Partypoker Ambassador Padraig Parkinson is off to the bar after being eliminated by David Fitzgerald. Players are allowed to re-enter once per opening flight, however, Parkinson stacked off earlier in the tournament and became the first player not allowed to enter back into the Day 1a field.
Fitzgerald checked the action on the board before Parkinson, who was short on chips, jammed all in. Fitzgerald quickly called and turned over for the nut flush while Parkinson had for a straight.
After the hand was over, the dealer miscounted Parkinson's stack thinking the 25-denominated chips were actually 1,000-denominated chips. She shared with Parkinson who was getting up from the table that he shouldn't leave yet since he still had chips. She quickly corrected herself.
Joking around, Parkinson asked the dealer while holding his beer, "Are you taking a piss?"
The duo joked around further before Parkinson departed from the tournament area. Parkinson will likely be back tomorrow in hopes of making it to Day 2 and also plans to play in the €120 Charity Event, a tournament he helped organize that will benefit the homeless.
All the money went in on the river with the final board reading and when the cards were turned up it was plain to see why each player fancied their hand.
Columb Valentin Mande:
George McKeever:
A full house for both players but Mande with the best of it.
The stacks were counted down and Mande just had McKeever covered and 15 minutes into the Day 1a he was out.
Players are allowed a single re-entry each Day 1 so he does have the option to take a break and fire again.
Welcome to the partypoker LIVE Grand Prix Killarney at Ireland’s National Event Centre (INEC) and Gleneagle Hotel.
The highlight of the poker festival is the partypoker LIVE Grand Prix Killarney €340 Main Event with a €300,000 guarantee on Sept. 7-10. Day 1a of the Main Event kicks off today at 5 p.m. at the INEC with two more opening flights scheduled for tomorrow. Surviving players will compete for two more days on Sept. 9-10 until a winner is declared.
Players begin the Main Event with 25,000 in chips. Day 1s will play for 12 levels with each level lasting for 40 minutes apart from Day 1c at 7:30 p.m. which features 25-minute blinds.
There will be breaks on Day 1a after every three levels including a longer dinner break after Level 6 when late registration closes at around 10 p.m.
Padraig Parkinson and a host of other top Irish poker players will be joined by a number of online qualifiers, some who have bagged their seat for just €2 and are looking for a potentially huge return on investment.
Also on today's schedule is a final €50 live satellite with 5 seats guaranteed at 8 p.m and the final $55 online satellite at partypoker at 9 p.m. with 25 Main Event seats guaranteed. Additionally, the final online opening day with a $370 buy-in kicks off tonight at partypoker at 9 p.m.
Later on the schedule, there are also a number of side events including two €80 Nightly Turbo tournaments on Sept. 8 and 9, the €230 Two Day Classic on Sept. 9 and 10 and the €150 Irish Ladies Championship on Sept. 10.
The schedule also features the €1,100 High Roller on Sept. 9-10 along with a handful of satellites into this event.
The PokerNews live reporting team will bring you all the action from the Main Event from the start of Day 1a until a winner is crowned on Sept. 10.
The venue is easily accessible from all over Europe as Kerry Airport is a 20-minute journey away from the Gleneagle Hotel. There is a host of facilities on site including the Aquila Club, an ATM, a beauty salon and shop, a number of bars and restaurants as well as regular shuttle service to the town center.
For a full schedule of events and further information click here.
board before Parkinson, who was short on chips, jammed all in. Fitzgerald quickly called and turned over 
for the nut flush while Parkinson had 
for a straight.
and when the cards were turned up it was plain to see why each player fancied their hand.
