Day 1 in Atlantic City

Day 1 of the Harrah's Atlantic City World Series of Poker Circuit event is done, and it's certainly been an interesting one. With all the qualities of a great poker tournament - big pots, big swings and big suck-outs - everyone here in Atlantic City has had a great time so far today.

The event began with a field of 237 entrants which consisted largely of Atlantic City regulars sprinkled with some out-of-town amateurs and a few big name pros. It was a solid turn-out which generated the biggest prize pool Harrah's Atlantic City has ever seen, $1,161,300, with the winner taking home $368,096 and a seat at the 2007 WSOP Main Event.

Phil Gordon playing in Day 1 of the Harrah's Atlantic City WSOPC Event

Representing Full Tilt Poker was Phil Gordon and Perry Friedman. Unfortunately their pro status was of no help in keeping them in this event. Gordon busted out early in the day after being crippled in a hand he pursued to the river, mucking his cards and robbing us of the knowledge of his holdings, and then moving all-in on a flop of A-4-4 with an A-J only to run into a monster, A-4, from one of his opponents.

Nam Le playing in Day 1 of the Harrah's Atlantic City WSOPC Event

Nam Le, having had a solid year so far, was trying hard to make it deep in this event. Unfortunately it was not to be as Le would bust out about halfway through the day. Struggling with a relatively small stack for most of the afternoon, Le made a move to get some chips and was unable to catch the cards he needed to stay alive.

"New England" Dave Singer playing in Day 1 of the Harrah's Atlantic City WSOPC Event

Another highlight of the day was the appearance of "New England" Dave Singer, not to be confused with the Full Tilt Pro of the same name. At Foxwoods, during the World Poker Finals in November, Singer made it deep in the event despite having learned Texas Hold'em only a few weeks prior. A Stud player, he nevertheless cashed in 11th place for more than $80,000. More noteworthy, though, was Singer's unpredictable behavior and erratic play.

Unfortunately for Singer he was unable to give a repeat performance today. He was sent packing early in the evening by MJ Bernstein who made a tough call with middle pair, smelling out Singer's ace-high bluff.

The pace in this tournament was extremely fast. Despite a relatively slow blind structure, eliminations were frequent. By the end of the first seven levels, the original field of 237 had been reduced by 169. Only 68 players made it through the day, and with tomorrow's goal being the final table of nine, this pace will have to be sustained.

All the players were interested in hanging onto their chips at least to the dinner break, though, after word got out that there was a buffet being set up in the room adjacent to the playing area. Players, tournament staff, friends and even the few members of the media at the event enjoyed an Italian dinner together.

Day 1 at Harrah's Atlantic City

Everyone involved in this event has been impressed with the way Harrah's Atlantic City has run this tournament so far. In addition to the food service, the staff and especially the tournament director, Jack Effel, have made sure that disputes are being dealt with and that players are enjoying themselves.

One problem that Effel had to deal with tonight arose due to the complaint of a player who had moved all-in and lost. The player claimed that he had asked for a count of the other player's stack before making the all-in move. The player had shown him his chip stack, but had kept a pile of high denomination chips hidden behind the larger of stacks of $25 and $100 chips. The dealer filled Effel in on his side of it, which was seconded by another player at the table, and Effel turned to the complaining player to render his verdict. "Are you ready for the ruling? You moved all-in, he called, you lost. That's it."

That was not to be the end of the issue, however, when the player continued to plead his case to Effel and the rest of the table. Having already made the ruling, Effel was unmoving in the matter. "If you keep it up it'll be a penalty", he assured him. The player actually did say a few more words which prompted a sterner message from the director. It seemed like the player would end up being ejected from the room but after a few minutes and a few more gripes from the slighted player, things settled down once again.

Mickey Appleman gets his aces cracked

Of the few recognizable players who began this event, most have been sent to the rail during the first day of play. Victor Ramdin and Mickey Appleman have hung on and are both in good shape going into Day 2.

It's been a colorful tournament so far and it will be interesting to see how things turn out as we get closer to the money and the $368,096 first prize. Play begins again tomorrow at 12pm EST so tune in for continuing coverage of this event.