 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| The WPT Championship Kicks Off at the Bellagio |
April 18, 2006
The World Poker Tour Championship event kicked off today at the Bellagio.
With a $25,000 entry fee, the prize pool was expected to be enormous.
Tournament officials split the first day into two flights to accommodate all of
the players.
Around 300 players started play today and it seemed as if none of them
wanted to go home. All players started with $50,000 tournament chips and it
made for a lack of action during the first day of play. While players did move
their chips around, only around 40 players were eliminated. They included
such players as Robert Williamson, Gavin Smith and Joe Sebok.
On one of the more exciting hands of the day, Barry Greenstein was able to
rake a huge pot with a monster hand. With a board of Ah-Ac-9h-Qs-Jd, Barry
Greenstein checked and his opponent bet $6,000. Greenstein reraised to
$26,000 and his opponent called with pocket jacks for a boat. However,
Greenstein turned over pocket aces for quads and raked the pot. Greenstein
moves on to play Thursday.
Among the other top pros who survived until day two were Erick Lindgren,
Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow, Chip Jett, Phil Hellmuth, Barry Shulman, T.J. Cloutier,
Jeff Shulman and David Singer.
The second flight of day one will begin tomorrow at noon PST with a new field
of players.
Story by Jay Newnum
The World Poker Tour Championship event kicked off today at the Bellagio.
With a $25,000 entry fee, the prize pool was expected to be enormous.
Tournament officials split the first day into two flights to accommodate all of
the players.
Around 300 players started play today and it seemed as if none of them
wanted to go home. All players started with $50,000 tournament chips and it
made for a lack of action during the first day of play. While players did move
their chips around, only around 40 players were eliminated. They included
such players as Robert Williamson, Gavin Smith and Joe Sebok.
On one of the more exciting hands of the day, Barry Greenstein was able to
rake a huge pot with a monster hand. With a board of Ah-Ac-9h-Qs-Jd, Barry
Greenstein checked and his opponent bet $6,000. Greenstein reraised to
$26,000 and his opponent called with pocket jacks for a boat. However,
Greenstein turned over pocket aces for quads and raked the pot. Greenstein
moves on to play Thursday.
Among the other top pros who survived until day two were Erick Lindgren,
Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow, Chip Jett, Phil Hellmuth, Barry Shulman, T.J. Cloutier,
Jeff Shulman and David Singer.
The second flight of day one will begin tomorrow at noon PST with a new field
of players.
Story by Jay Newnum
| Poker Stars Online Poker Room Chris Moneymaker 2003 World Series of Poker Champion Credited as the godfather of the poker revolution, Chris Moneymaker is a man who needs no introduction. The one-time Tennessee accountant turned the poker world upside down in 2003. After winning a Poker Stars World Series of Poker satellite, he went on to win the 2003 World Series of Poker main event. Now, Chris Moneymaker can't go anywhere without being asked for autographs. |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| PokerPlayerPress.com |
| Poker News from Around the World |