The first open event on the 2015 WSOP schedule started at 4 p.m. Wednesday, drawing a relatively small, but start-studded field. The $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em drew 422 entries, quite a bit less than the mid-schedule $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em event that saw 696 players jump in the fray in 2014.

Big names like 2012 WSOP $1,000,000 The Big One for One Drop champ Antonio Esfandiari, 2013 World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic winner Dan Smith, 2011 WSOP $10,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em bracelet winner Joe Ebanks, 2014 WPT Montreal champ Jonathan Jaffe, and WSOP bracelet winner and PokerNews Podcast co-host Jason Somerville were among those building contending stacks.

And while others like two-time WSOP bracelet winner JC Tran, Season X WPT Player of the Year Joe Serock, and 2001 WSOP Main Event champ Carlos Mortensen hit the rail, 2011 WSOP $5,000 Triple Chance No-Limit Hold'em runner-up Darryl Ronconi took the overnight chip lead as the only player over 200,000 in chips.

By the time 10 60-minute levels were through, some 171 players remained. The event created a $1,983,400 prizepool that will pay 45 spots. A min-cash is worth $9,381 and the winner's share will be $466,120, plus the coveted piece of WSOP hardware.

There's still a long way to go however, as Event #2 is a four-day tournament that will resume play for Day 2 at 2 p.m. Thursday.

Also on the schedule Thursday is the start of Event #3: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low at 12 p.m. and Event #4: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout set for 4 p.m.