Event 49 - $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. Day 1 | 2009 World Series of Poker

06-26-2009 08:12 UTC-12

Rail Outnumbering Players at Present

[user25067]

The crowd on the rail is already two and three deep, but at the moment, only 60 players are registered in the tournament and even fewer are actually in their seats.

One player who did show up on time for the original 12 p.m. start was Mike Matusow, and as to be expected from "the Mouth," he has been vocalizing his displeasure not only with the delayed start, but for the WSOP's policy on late registrations.

"They penalize people for showing up on time. That's not right. I should take five minutes a hand, have them call the clock on me every time," said Matusow.

06-26-2009 08:08 UTC-12

Today’s Format

[user67765]

As per 2009 World Series of Poker regulations, players are starting with three times as many chips as the buy-in, which means for this event they are starting with a record-setting 150,000 chips! While this is more than last year’s 100,000 start bank, the first level from last year (300/600) has been removed and we’ll be commencing play today at 400/800.

Levels will be 90-minutes in duration, with breaks scheduled after every level. The plan today will be to play six levels before we bag and tag for the day.

Last year we saw eight eliminations on the first day of play – perhaps eight more than we expected. One of those eliminations was 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, who commented, “I didn't think it was possible to go out of this (tournament) on Day 1...I like to do things that are tough to do."

With such a huge start bank you would think it would be almost impossible to bust today, but crazier things have happened!

Level: 1

Blinds: 0/0

Ante: 0

06-26-2009 08:03 UTC-12

Giddyup!

[user25067]

After apologizing to the fans gathered on the rail for the delayed start today, WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack turned the mic over to last year's champion Scotty Nguyen, who called, "Shuffle Up and Deal."

The 2009 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event is now officially underway.

06-26-2009 06:58 UTC-12

Delayed Start

[user67765]

We've just been advised that the start time for today's $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event will now be pushed back one hour to 1 p.m. We suspect the reasoning is to allow a few more last-minute registrations to come through before kick-off.

06-26-2009 06:53 UTC-12

$50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship

[user67765]

Welcome back to the Rio Hotel and Casino and our continued coverage of the 40th Annual World Series of Poker.

Today is one of the feature events of the series, the highly anticipated $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. In its short history, this event has grown in prestige to become one of the most coveted titles in the world of poker.

The Chip Reese Memorial Trophy is on the line as the best players in the world come together under one roof for five days of enthralling H.O.R.S.E. action. Giddyup!