Stars Come Out for Opening Day of 50th WSOP

With 89 events this summer, you could be forgiven for thinking that some of the big-name players you’d normally expect to see clamoring for every bracelet might ease themselves in. After all, the Player of the Year race is a marathon, not a sprint, and not everyone plays for seven weeks straight. Not a bit of it.

POKER TWITTER GETS EXCITED

The 50th annual World Series of Poker is back, and it seems like everyone wants a piece of the action from the very first hand.

WSOP Hand One:
600 bbs stack
Blinds 100-100@daniel_shak opens to 300 on button

SB I make it 1500 with TT

Dan goes ALL IN!

I fold and he shows AK

Dan is ready to gamboooool

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) May 29, 2019

If Daniel Negreanu was getting excited about Dan Shak’s ability to gamble, then another legend, 15-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, was getting sentimental.

Strange or weird? I’m going w MAGICAL! 1989 @WSOP last hand dealt that year at WSOP was my two black nines, May 18…Now, 30 yrs later, my FIRST hand dealt is two black nines!! #Magical #TwilightZone #POSITIVITY pic.twitter.com/IkgpeSyF7P

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) May 29, 2019

Seems like fans can’t get enough of the big names, with the rail three-deep to witness the last few tables in the $10k Super Turbo Bounty Event.

First day of the @WSOP and they’re already 2-3 deep on the rail. That’s what happens when @Erik_Seidel and @RealKidPoker are next to each other on the bubble of the first $10,000 buy-in event of the summer. #WSOP50 pic.twitter.com/LUsmZyVVEb

— Donnie Peters (@Donnie_Peters) May 30, 2019

FANTASY DRAFT FRONTRUNNERS

Meanwhile, it’s been a great start to the $25k Fantasy Draft for Team Negreanu, Team Noori and Team Poker Central, all of whom kick off the campaign with 12 points thanks to the strong performances of Darren Elias, Ben Yu, and Nick Schulman. You can keep an eye on how it all plays out right here.

WHAT’S UP NEXT?

Day 2 will see the first live final table of the World Series streamed via PokerGO and CBS All Access, as well as three other events being in action: Day 2 of the $500-entry Casino Employees Event (Event #1), and Day 1 of both the ‘Big 50’ and $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better (Event #4). The Big 50 event is sure to be a special one, if only for the incredible $5,000,000 guarantee placed on the event.

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