Event #1: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em
Day 1 Started
2011 World Series of Poker
Event #1: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2011 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$500
Prize Pool
$382,500
Entries
850
Level
23
Blinds
20,000 / 40,000
Ante
5,000
It's that time of year again, folks! Today marks the start of the 2011 World Series of Poker -- the most prestigious poker tournament series on the entire planet! For the next seven weeks, the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be working tirelessly day in and day out to bring you the most intensive live coverage straight from the confines of the Rio here in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is our pleasure to have you with us following along wherever you may be and a great privilege of ours to capture summer in the poker history books.
Like last year, things will begin with the $500 Casino Employees event. Casino employees from all over the world will have a shot at their very own WSOP gold bracelet and a place in the record books. Last year, Hoai Pham conquered a field of 721 players to claim the $71,424 first-place prize and the coveted gold bracelet.
Play will kick off in the Rio Pavilion, which is jam packed with poker tables as far as the eye can see. Another massive field of entrants is expected for this event and it's going to be an exciting one. Things are set to kick off at noon local time here in the desert, so stay tuned for all of the action!
![[user198205]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
The Casino Employee event is about to get underway, but it seems that a number of seats were sold to two players. The floor staff is getting everything sorted out, but there may be a delay in getting the tournament started. We're sure the players appreciate not having to sit on another player's lap.
Level: 1
Blinds: 25/50
Ante: 0
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
The Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em Event has just begun with each player starting with 3,000 chips and playing 10 levels today, each 60 minutes. This year every player was given the honor of kicking off the event yelling "Shuffle up and Deal!" Here we go!
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
In what will surely be a common occurrence throughout the series, a player has gone broke holding pocket aces. With the final board reading 
Gabriel Gamarra showed 
for a flopped flush which bested his opponent's 
. Gamarra collected the chips and has an early double stack.
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
Cassandra McCarville raised from the cutoff position to 125. She found a caller in the big blind but only before he announced that he was checking dark.
The flop came 
and both players checked. The dealer dealt the on the turn. After the big blind bet 200, McCarville called. The river came 
and the big blind bet 400. McCarville called.
McCarville showed 
for the win against the big blind's 
.
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
Although we're sure it will happen many times through the series, we've already witnessed the infamous "kings crack aces" scenario. Glenn O'Kada is the player now thanking his lucky stars. After pushing all in pre-flop he jokingly looked at his watch and made a comment about how it may be a short day. When he flipped over his pocket kings and saw his opponents pocket aces his prediction seemed accurate, but he spiked a king on the flop and the aces were unable to catch back up. The other player was left with a mere 150 chips.
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
When we caught up with the action the flop was 
and the player in the 10 seat had just shoved all in. Christina Wang called and showed the which was behind to her oppponent's 
. Things looked bleak for Wang until the 
fell on the turn to boost her into the lead. The on the river was of no help to the queens and Wang added to her stack.
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
On a board of 
, David Tan checked to his opponent who moved all in for his remaining 1,600 chips. After some deliberation, Tan made the call, turning up 
, which was ahead of his opponents 
.
The river came a 
, giving Tan trip jacks, which was enough to chip him up over 5,000.