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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Matthew Ashton burst onto the scene last year with four World Series of Poker final tables and the sweetest possible victory in the $50,000 Players Championship. All the way up until the last tournament of the year Ashton was in the lead for Player of the Year but it was Daniel Negreanu who stole the title from his hands by winning the €25,000 High Roller in Enghien-Les-Bains during the World Series of Poker Europe.
This year Ashton's no longer a newcomer to any player he will face, and among those on Day 1 we spotted a series of young, but experienced, players. To Ashton's immediate right we spotted Bryn Kenney, Phil Galfond and James Obst while on his other side we recognized Abe Mosseri and Paul Volpe.
Ashton's road to back-to-back titles will obviously be extremely tough and we will make sure to follow his progress from start to finish
The United States and Portugal just drew in the FIFA World Cup — which brought about some groans in the room — and that's inspired us to take a look at the cash breakdown by country for the $50,000 Poker Players' Championship. Here's the breakdown courtesy of the WSOP:
Country
# of Cashes
# of FTs
USA
91
52
Russia
5
2
Great Britain
5
3
France
3
3
Sweden
3
2
Canada
3
1
Finland
2
1
Italy
2
0
Denmark
1
0
Lithuania
1
0
Germany
1
1
Australia
1
0
*In 2006 and 2011 the final table of this event was comprised solely of Americans.
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.
. 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.
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.
. John Racener, who recently finished 
, Bloch put in the additional 600, and three players went to fourth street.
fold
/ 
/ 
. Ivey bet, and Billirakis called. Action went the same on the 
turn and 
and 
