WPT Bellagio Five Diamond, Day 1 Recap

By BJ Nemeth

Mike Sexton (center) kicks off the 10th anniversary of the World Poker Tour (which started with this event here at Bellagio 10 years ago) with the traditional "Shuffle Up and Deal." Sexton is flanked by his co-hosts Vince Van Patten and Kimberly Lansing, along with Bellagio TD Jack McClelland and the Royal Flush Girls.

As Mike Sexton says, "Shuffle up and deal," there are plenty of cameras on hand to record the historic moment that marks the 10th Anniversary of the World Poker Tour.

ClubWPT.com qualifier Andrew Campanelli received some good luck from WPT anchor Kimberly Lansing in an interview shortly before the tournament began.

With the Bellagio’s Fontana Lounge under renovations, the poker tournament is being held in a relatively small area out on the casino floor. With the field size reaching 365 players on Day 1, there were more players in the poker room (seen here) than the tournament area.

The Royal Flush Girls pose in front of the main tournament area out on the casino floor. From left to right: Danielle Ruiz, Ivy Teves, Brittany Bell, and Angelique Velez.

In a possible sign of the apocalypse, Allen Kessler found himself as the chipleader during Level 3, claiming it was a first for him in all his years of playing the World Poker Tour. On Twitter, Kessler posted, "@wptliveupdates am I chipleader? This may be a first in the 80+ main events I’ve played."

Matt Affleck stares down his opponent after moving all in on a board of [Kd7d3s9s3d]. Affleck had bet the entire way, and when his opponent eventually called, Affleck shows [AdAh] to win the pot and double up.

Maria Ho bubbled a final table at a WPT event here at Bellagio last season, and hopes to break through that bubble this time. Ho, who appeared on the reality TV show Amazing Race, was also the last woman standing at the 2007 WSOP Main Event.

Antonio Esfandiari is the reigning champion in this event, and started off his title defense strong, taking the chip lead in the middle of the day, and finishing in the top 20 with nearly 100,000 in chips. In 10 seasons, no player has ever won the same WPT event twice — could Antonio be the first?

During one of the breaks, Royal Flush Girl Angelique Velez asks two-time WPT winner Barry Greenstein the Question of the Day.

David Williams, the Season IX WPT World Champion, started this event strong, finishing Day 1 with nearly 90,000 in chips.

Former WPT winner Dwyte Pilgrim (right) watched as actress (and former WPT Ladies Night Champion) Jennifer Tilly was involved in a preflop raising war — her opponent moved all in on the seventh bet. Tilly eventually folded, saying, "I think I might’ve been beat." At least Tilly survived to fight another day, finishing Day 1 with 18,400.

WPT fields at Bellagio are always packed with notable players, and Lauren Kling was one of the many high-profile female players in the field on Day 1.

ClubWPT.com qualifier Andrew Campanelli (center) poses for a photo during the break with former WPT Five Diamond Classic champions Daniel Negreanu (left) and Antonio Esfandiari (right).

Erik Seidel (left) registered late, arriving in the last level of the day, and found himself seated out of position to Daniel Negreanu (right), who won this event back in Season III on his way to winning WPT Player of the Year.

It didn’t take long for them to tangle in a big pot, though they both had big hands. After a flop of [9d7h4d], Seidel check-raised all in with [QdQs], and Negreanu called with [JcJs]. Both players survived the day, Negreanu with 42,875, and Seidel with 93,100.

At the end of the day, the chipleader was Vanessa Selbst, who finished with 165,800 in chips. Selbst reached the final three tables of the massive WPT Borgata Poker Open (1,313 players) a few months ago, but is hoping to improve on that 23rd place finish here at Bellagio.

When Day 1 ended, there were 365 entrants in the field, with 283 of them surviving to Day 2. However, registration remains open until the end of Level 8, which will be shortly before 5:00 pm, so the field should approach 400 players.

The prizepool information won’t be available until registration closes.

Here’s a look at the top of the leaderboard:

Vanessa Selbst  –   165,800
John Smith   –  156,075
Jean Gaspard  –   131,925
Jonathan Bennett   –   130,000
Keith Ferrera  –   127,825

Day 2 begins Wednesday at 12:00 noon PT, and the field will play five 90-minutes levels with no dinner break. (Action should end around 8:30 pm.) Stay tuned to WPT.com for continuing live coverage throughout the day.