Justin Shronk looked upward for guidance and discovered the secret to poker: "Keep flopping straights." Shronk has apparently put this revelation to work and is up to 6400.
The Tough Draw in the tent is at table 103. Victor Ramdin, Ralph Perry, and bracelet winners Rafe Furst and Mary Jones all share table 103, With 640 players out here, and about 40 faces we know, four of them at one table is a tough draw.
Burt Boutin, Eric "EFro" Froehlich, David Chiu, Barry Greenstein, Gavin Smith, Juha Helppi, Shannon Shorr, George Danzer, Raymond Davis, Phil Gordon, Chino Reem and Anna Wroblewski are in the field.
Also in the event today are Ralph Perry, Chau Giang, Marek Kolk, Casey Kastle, Dave Colclough, Paul Wolfe and a cast of hundreds. Jordan 'Imsolucky0' Morgan, and John Phan also just strolled in.
We were all taken by surprise by the size of the field today. The number got so big so quick that some of the tournament staff are having to pitch in as dealers. We have about 8-10 people out here in the players Pavilion in suits and sportshirts, and not the usual dealer vests. These folks all started as dealers, so the process has gone very smoothly.
Another note, The field seems to be playing a little slower today. Maybe 10-15 cries of 'Seat Open!!" in the first 35 minutes of play.
James Van Alstyne and Doug "Rico" Carli are at Table 64. A fan at the rail asked, "How many pros does it take to clear a table?" Hmmm, that's a good question.
A player at table 75 called this out to the floor as he passed by. I guess if I were sandwiched in between Andy Black, Amnon Filippi, Harry Demetriou, and Johnny Chan I might feel the same way.