Day 1 Complete
Things started off slowly this afternoon. Very slowly, in fact. We were delayed by a full hour as the room was being prepared and the players were being organized and registered. Once we did get rolling at 1:00 pm, the players seemed content to let the action pass them by for a while, as they gathered a feel for the tournament and their opponents.
As we progressed through the day however, things sped up considerably; there was certainly no shortage of action. Among those who fell victim to Day 1's trials were PokerStars pros Chad Brown, Andre Akkari, and Barry Greenstein, as well as Brandon Cantu, David "Chino" Rheem, and Jason Mercier.
As the chips are being counted and bagged, it appears that Carter Gill is going to take the chip lead into Day 2. Quietly but steadily, he worked his way from 10,000 all the way up to 127,150, where he finished the day. Greg Raymer and Alex Brenes are among those hot on the heels of Gill, as is the better-known Brenes, Humberto. Humberto rode the short stack all day, but found himself on the increase when he moved to the featured table. Now, going into the second day, he is in the mix of those within striking distance of the leader.
We hope you enjoyed following along with us today. Play resumes at high noon local time tomorrow, when those 95 players will come back with new seats and a fresh crack at the title. The tournament staff has informed us that full chip counts will be available tomorrow morning, and we will post them for you as soon as possible. Until then, goodnight from Punta del Este!