Instead of the usual 30 seconds, the time bank has been increased to one minute each and all players have three of them. An additional time bank will be granted at the end of registration at the start of level 11, and same applies to those participants that reach the final day on Friday. Once the time bank chips are gone, all players only have the 30-second shot clock to make their decision.
Furthermore, all players receive complimentary drinks and food.
After a raise by Jack Salter on the cutoff and a call by Ryan Riess in the small blind, the latter checked the flop and called a bet of 500. On the turn and river, both players checked and Riess showed . Salter had that beat with and claimed an early pot.
The tables of the High Roller are in main tournament room, the "Salle des Etoiles", and players were just asked to attend the manual seating in a few moments. Action will get underway shortly.
The last of the many 2017 PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino® festival High Roller tournaments kicks off today at 12:30 p.m. The always popular €25,750 High Roller will play down to a winner over the course of the next three days. Alexandru Papazian of Romania lifted the trophy last year, besting a 231-strong field to claim the trophy and a massive bankroll boost of €1,197,000. Papazian will not be defending his title yet, as the Romanian is still playing in the Main Event.
Over the past eight days, many of the worlds best have conglomerated in "Le Sporting" at Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort to test their skill in the elite fields. Ole Schemion, Bryn Kenney, Adrian Mateos, Philipp Gruissem and Imad Derwiche all found their share of success in the big events over the week. Derwiche will be one to watch today, as the self-proclaimed "fish" final tabled this event in the past two years. Derwiche finished eight last year and was runner-up to Charlie Carrel the year before.
2017 PokerStars Championship Monte-Carlo High Roller winners
High-roller staples Daniel Dvoress and Steve O'Dwyer have been on a tear in the French Riviera. Dvoress final tabled no fewer than three high rollers already and racked up an astonishing €1,584,800 in the process. O'Dwyer chopped last night's €25,750 Single-Day High Roller with Philipp Gruissem, his third final table of the week as well, and totaled €687,065 so far.
The plan for today has been slightly altered: just seven levels of 60 minutes are scheduled, with breaks of 15 minutes in between. Play should be suspended around 8:15 p.m. local time, in time for players to watch the Champions League semi-final match of AS Monaco versus Juventus if they do so desire. The starting stack will be 50,000 and, due to the shorter first day, late registration will be open up until the third level of the second day.
As usual, the PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor to provide live updates from the all the action at the tables. Check back regularly to find out who will lift the last PokerStars Championship Monte-Carlo High Roller trophy on Friday.