MAIN EVENT DAY 1B RECAP

The 2008 WSOP Main Event continued with Day 1B which featured only 1,158 runners. The 2007 WSOP Champion Jerry Yang kicked off festivities by uttering the famous words, “Shuffle up and deal!”

The Buzz: It was the Fourth of July and as America celebrated a birthday, the second flight of Day 1 of the 39th Annual World Series of Poker Main Event was underway. Andy Griggs, a country western singer, sang the National Anthem and thanked current and former members of the military for their dedicated service.

The Back Story: Everyone speculated about the impending low numbers for the Main Event. Yesterday everyone was confident that they would break last year’s record. But after Friday’s lackluster turnout, everyone is wondering if it will reach 6,000.

Sight of the Day: Since it was Independence Day, the staff handed out miniature American flags in addition to various flags of other nations. The German players picked up German flags, while the Canadians had theirs and so on…

Quote of the Day: “Yes, America is indeed the ‘land of the free’. You’re just not free to play online poker,” said MeanGene about the hypocrisy of the Fourth of July.

The Celebrities: Australian cricket god Shane Warne, boxer Jeff Fenech, and former major league baseball player Orel Hershiser were among the celebrity players in Day 1b.

The Eliminations: Greg ‘Fossilman’ Raymer, Daniel Negreanu, Andy Black, Ted Forrest, Tom McEvoy, Jamie Gold, Kristy Gazes, Kenna James, Olga Varkonyi, WIlliam Thorson, DanDruff, and Ross Boatman, Nordberg, Orel Hershiser, Kenny Tran, and Dewey Tomko failed to advance to Day 2.

The Big Stacks: Marc Karam, Mike “SirWatts” Watson, and Patrik Antonius all had big stacks when Day 1b ended.