The final event of the 2011 WSOP kicked off on Thursday, July 7th, 2011 when the $10,000 buy-in World Series of Poker Main Event - #58 - began yesterday at 12 noon. Players from 100 countries around the world are expected to seek their own fortune and fame and add to their country's glory at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino over the four starting days. It's truly the event that everyone wants to win; the grand daddy of all victories in the poker world.
Jonathan Duhamel, from Quebec, Canada, is the reigning world champion. Duhamel picked up his first WSOP gold bracelet and added $8,944,310 to his financial portfolio when he took down last year's main event.
This year's main event kicked off with four starting days with yesterday's start date being officially classified as Day 1A on the schedule. The total playing time is 10 hours each day with five 2-hour playing levels, a 90-minute dinner break, and 20-minute breaks after each level. If you're in it to win it, expect to play a full 13-hour day from start to finish.
| Place | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Fred Berger | 209,500 |
| 2 | Shane Sigsbee | 182,600 |
| 3 | Kyle Burnside | 159,050 |
| 4 | Cedric Annen | 155,400 |
| 5 | Michael Bena | 150,350 |
The first day (1-A) started when the highly esteemed poker legend Doyle Brunson walked onstage and announced the traditional "Shuffle Up and Deal!" Since 1970 when 10-time gold bracelet champion Brunson first attended the inaugural tournament, he's performed this ritual countless times over the past 42 years. Needless to say, it was a special moment for Brunson to stand alongside WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel at this year's event.
The starting field of Day 1A finished with 559 survivors out of the pack of 897. Unfortunately Doyle Brunson was knocked out late in the afternoon, along with Jerry Yang (2007 Main Event champion), Tom Schneider (2006 WSOP "Player of the Year"), Greg "Fossilman" Raymer ( 2004 Main Event champion), to name a few.
Top Chip Counts at the end of the day:
The Main Event Championship continues through July 19th when the Final Nine will be decided.
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*Image of Doyle Brunson courtesy of PokerNews.com*