Among the slightly late arrivals are Paul Volpe and Bryn Kenney. Volpe has already claimed a bracelet this summer, while Kenney is still seeking his first.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
150,000 | |
|
150,000 |
Omaha Eight-or-Better
Steve Billirakis opened for a raise on the button, and Phil Ivey three-bet from the small blind. Billirakis called after the big blind mucked, and the flop fell 
. Ivey bet, and Billirakis called. Action went the same on the 
turn and 
river, and Ivey tossed 
into the middle. Billirakis didn't indicate he could beat it, so Ivey followed up with 
and 
.
Meanwhile, Philip Sternheimer recently took a seat to Ivey's left.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
155,000 | 5,000 |
|
150,000 | |
|
137,000 | 137,000 |
Last year's runner-up Don Nguyen's been spotted in the early goings here as well, and he faces Bruno Fitoussi, who came second in this tournament back in 2007. Nguyen came second to Matthew Ashton for $1,096,254 while the Frenchman raked in $1,278,720 when he was the last man standing to face the ultimate champ, Freddy Deeb.
Also on this table we spotted John Monnette, winner of the $2,500 8-Game in 2011, and a regular in the biggest mixed game cash games throughout the year. Rob Mizrachi, winner of last night's $1,500 Dealers Choice tournament, and Allen Kessler, runner up in two WSOP events, are also at this table to make it yet another stacked one here on Day 1 of one of the most prestigious tournaments of the year.
Stud
Andy Bloch has final tabled this event twice in the past taking second in 2006 and third in 2013, the former of which was the result of a marathon heads-up match against Chip Reese. Those performances earned him $1,591,383 in prize money, and he's taking another crack at the title here in 2014.
In a recent hand, Bloch completed with the 
and Bill Chen raised with the 
. John Racener, who recently finished runner-up to George Danzer in the $10,000 Stud Hi-Low Championship, then called with the , Bloch put in the additional 600, and three players went to fourth street.
Chen and Racener both check-called a bet of 600 and then checked to Bloch on fifth. Bloch bet 1,200, Chen folded, and Racener made the call. Racener then called another bet on sixth before folding to one on seventh.
Chen: 
/ 
fold
Racener: / 
/ fold
Bloch: / 
/
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
156,500 | |
|
148,000 | -2,000 |
|
145,000 | -5,000 |
Phil Ivey is always someone to look out for in events like this and he's here as well right from the get go. Ivey finished third in the first ever $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship back in 2006, when Andy Bloch and the ultimate winner, Chip Reese, battled it out for the trophy. Since then Ivey has cashed only once more in this tournament, back in 2008.
Today Ivey faces a man who was once the youngest World Series of Poker bracelet winner ever. Back in 2007 it was Steve Billirakis who broke Jeff Madsen's record of youngest bracelet winner by winning the $5,000 Mixed Hold'em event.
One of his other opponents, Mike Leah, already has three cashes at this year's WSOP including a seventh place in the $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo event.
Finally, we've also spotted a relatively unknown live poker player who goes by the name of Crazy Elior online. Elior Sion's might not have faces Ivey at the live poker tables but it's safe to say these two are no strangers to each other when it comes to online play.
No-Limit Hold'em
Alexandre Luneau and David Singer were heads up in a hand and looked down at a monotone board of 
. Luneau tapped the table, allowing Singer to throw out a bet of 2,000. Luneau came over the top with a check-raise to 10,000 and Singer called.
The 
hit the river, putting four spades on the board. Luneau checked and Singer rapped the table back. Luneau showed 
for a turned king-high flush. Singer mucked his cards and Luneau picked up. Luneau now sits at about 162,000 in chips while Singer has dropped to 127,500.
"If I'm going to win this thing I'm going to have to start winning some pots," said Singer after the hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
162,000 | 12,000 |
|
127,500 | -22,500 |
Finally we had the chance to talk to Tommy Hang who won event number 27 ($1,500 H.O.R.S.E.) more than a week ago. Hang returned to Vegas to get his bracelet, and play the $50,000 Players Championship tournament today.
No-Limit Hold'em
John Monnette check-called 14,200 from under the gun on an 
board, as Bruno Fitoussi had bet in position. On the 
river, Monnette checked again and Fitoussi bet 16,000. Monnette mucked 
face up in disgust, and Fitoussi showed him 
, saying he was glad Monnette didn't bet on the end.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
163,000 | 13,000 |
|
129,000 | -21,000 |
The $50,000 Poker Players' Championship attracts the best players from across the world. Most of these players are easily recognizable, but there is one players seated over at Table 372 that may not be overly familiar to poker fans. We're talking about Elior Sion, who is currently testing his mettle against the likes of Phil Ivey and Mike Leah.
If you don't know that name, you may recognize him by his online handle "Crazy Elior." Sion broke onto the online poker scene back in 2011, and since then he's steadily moved up the stakes to become a regular at the $300/$600 pot-limit Omaha and $200/$400 no-limit hold'em tables. While he's used to mixing it up against the likes of Viktor "Isildur1" Blom and Ben "Bttech86" Tollerene, Sion hasn't been faring overly well in 2014; in fact, right now he is down $515,300 on the virtual felt.
Sion, who hails from London, England, was born in 1990, which makes him one of the youngest players in the field. Other than that, little is known about Sion, who declined to be interview by PokerNews earlier this year.
As for his WSOP experience, Sion has three cashes to his credit. The first came back in the 2012 WSOP Event #27 $1,500 H.O.R.S.E., where he took fifth for $55,422. The other two came last week when he finished 91st in Event #33 $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $2,628 and 11th in Event #39 $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $30,927.
Sion is accustomed to playing behind a compute screen, but here in Event #46: $50,000 Poker Players' Championship he is underneath the poker spotlight. Rest assured we'll be keeping track on the online star throughout the tournament.
Last year Daniel Negreanu became the World Series of Poker Player of the Year and this year's leader in that race, George Danzer, is currently at his table. Danzer and Negreanu are flanked by Matt Glantz, who made the final table in this event twice, and Scott Seiver, who finished seventh in this tournament back in 2011.
Danzer already won two bracelets this year after coming close to winning one many times in previous years. Last year in this event was one of those times as the German pro finished fifth for $388,523. Negreanu, out of these four players, is the only one who has not made the final table of this event. The Canadian super star has one cash in this tournament dating back to 2008.
