Another Saturday and another Day 1 of a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em event. Today's event attracted 2,718 participants creating a prize pool of over $3,700,000. The first place finisher will take home not only a bracelet but also a cool $631,170. Day 1 saw the money bubble burst so all still alive for Day 2 of play are guaranteed a payday of at least $2,783. Action gets back underway at 2 p.m. PDT right here from the Rio!

Official chip counts and seat assignments at the end of Day 1:

Play has ended for the evening. We will post WSOP official chip counts and payout information as soon as it becomes available.

The bubble has burst. At 12:12 a.m. here in Sin City two players tied for 270th place and will split $2,783. The reaction from the players was audible throught the tournament area. Thinking something might be happening in the H.O.R.S.E. event I made a quick dash to those tables and quickly realized all of the hub-bub originated across the room.

There were quite a few players up out of their seats while they waited for the tournament staff to sort out the bubble particulars. I noticed a lot of cell phones being used to alert family and friends of the accomplishment. Interesting however, was that all of the players I do recognize (let's call them pros) were not talking or texting on their phones, and were instead mostly quietly seated awaiting the restart. I guess the $2,783 they are all guaranteed, isn't enough to get them too excited, and instead they are focused on going even deeper. Amateurs take note!

The WSOP tournament staff announced at 11:50 p.m. that we are now down to 275 players. With an hour of play still left, it looks likely that the money bubble will burst on Day 1.

Play is sure to remain tight until the money bubble bursts.

David Pham found a little dealer love when his A10 was against the AQ of his opponent. Pham was up against long odds going into the hand. The flop brought both a queen and a ten and Pham was still drawing thin. That 'rigged Rio river' (for all you online consiracy theorists out there) brought another 10, and Pham eliminated his opponent. Pham's stack looks to be up to 65,000.

Jeff Madsen has also been able to add to his chip collection. His Pocket Rockets stood the test of the Ladies of his opponent and he's now up to about 25,000.

Players just got back from a twenty minute break about ten minutes before the hour.

Hevad Khan was able to pick up some chips recently. On a flop of 10-8-9 Khan called his opponents all-in bet holding pocket Kings. His opponents pocket sixes wouldn't improve and Khan takes his stack to just under 40,000.

Recent eliminations:
Allen 'The Chainsaw' Kessler
Michael Craig
Joe Awada

Andy Black also took a hit in the last hour. His pocket Queens ran into the Kings of a tablemate and he wasn't able to improve. This took his stack down to around 20,000.

They're down to 370, only 100 busts from the money, and play should be getting a lot tighter in the next hour.

Noah Boeken won't be making it to the money tonight. He ran his Tens into Jacks to hit the road. Joe Awada moved in with A-Q from the SB and couldn't quite catch up to the BB's A-K. Eric "Rizen" Lynch and Justin Bonomo are also out. J.R. Bludan was the chip leader an hour ago, but he lost his entire stack in some unknown disaster.

Owen Crowe shoved for 98k with Tens and was looking good to double up through an opponent with pocket 5s. But the board fell 8 7 7 4 6, giving his opponent the runner-runner straight to eliminate Crowe. No final table for him in this event. He placed 8th in an earlier $1,500 NLHE.

Young Phan has been busting players left and right to take over the chip lead with 73,000. Greg "FBT" Mueller is next with 57,000, and Hevad Khan, Manny Minaya, and Nancy Todd Tyner have all chipped up to over 50k.

The field is back from dinner and already under 500. J.J. Liu was only in her seat for a few minutes before she risked her stack pre-flop with A-Q. Her opponent was way behind with 6-5, but a 5 on the river sent Liu, her hat, and her apron packing.

J.R. Bludan and Greg Mueller are having better luck. Bludan is up to 76,000, and Mueller has taken over second place with 49,000.

Poker Pages team member Paul 'GreatBrit' Westley is among the players in the field today. Paul helps to make sure that the chip counts, photos, and data on our front page are correct. While Paul is super-human (little known fact), he won't be updating the site while playing, as we gave him the day off to concentrate on poker (as if he doesn't spend all day every day focused on the game).

Paul had just won a small pot when this photo was taken. The other players must have been thinking 'Who is this guy?' when I rushed up to the table, snapped his photo, and then ran off to the media room without a word. My paparazzi drive-by combined with Paul 'GreatBrit' Westley's newly enlarged stack will surely cause players to approach him with greater caution in the future.

Go Paul go!

Only 572 players survived until the dinner break. That's 2,128 busts in six hours for an average bpm of 5.9.

Among those taking an early dinner are "Amarillo Slim" Preston, Jan von Halle, Gavin Smith, Vicky Coren, Phil Tom, and Victor Ramdin. Beth Shak got runner-runnered out of the tournament by a guy who shoved with 8 4. "That just shows how first-timers like you can win these things," said Shak as she got up from the table. She said it with a smile and a cheery voice that made it sound like words of encouragement, but somehow I doubt it was all that reassuring.

At dinner time, J.R. Bludan is the chip leader with 61,000. Ayaz Mahmood is in second with 47,000. Half the chips seem to be over on his table, Blue 34. Mahmood's tablemate, Greg "FBT" Mueller, is also in the top five.

They'll all be back around 8:30 pm PDT to fight for a piece of the $3,710,070 prize pool. The top 270 players will get paid, so at this pace, they should easily make the money by the end of the night. The minimum payout is $2,782 and the winner will take home $631,053.

The breakneck speed of eliminations has slowed a bit, and the field is at a comfortable 920. Greg "FBT" Mueller is still in the lead with 29,000, followed by Ayaz Mahmood with 25,200.

J.C. Tran is looking good, recently building his stack to 23,000. Tran bet out 1,500 on a T T 2 board, and his tablemate shoved for 2,125. Tran and another player called to see the King on the turn. Both checked to the 8 on the river, when Tran bet 2,500. His opponent folded, leaving J.C. heads up against the man who had moved in on the flop. The poor guy showed A-T for the set, but it wasn't good enough against Tran's pocket 8s. With his rivered full house, J.C. scooped the pot and moved up the leader board.  It's all about the hat, J.C.  Listen to me and keep that Yankee logo right-side-up.

Nikolay Evdakov busted during the last level, meaning he won't pick up his tenth cash in this event. Evdakov cashed for the ninth time earlier today in the $2,000 NLHE tournament, breaking the record for most WSOP cashes in one year. The previous record, eight cashes, was shared by Michael Binger, Chad Brown, Phil Hellmuth, Richard Tatalovich, and Humberto Brenes.

Shortly after his arrival, Phil Hellmuth has made an equally dramatic exit. Moments after folding pocket Kings on the turn to an opponent who mucked his Aces face up, Hellmuth got it all in pre-flop with A-K against Queens. He lost the race and was down to his last 225. The PokerBrat doubled up twice in four hands and decided to risk it all again with A-K. The big slick wasn't any better for him this time, as he failed to improve against pocket 8s and left after less than one round of play.

Bill Chen busted when his flopped two pair were no good against a flush. At least he can go back to bed now since he looks like just woke up.

Chris Ferguson was down to his last 650 when in moved in with A-9. Up against Q-J, Jesus looked good after the A T 9 flop, but a King on the turn gave his opponent the nut straight to eliminate Ferguson.

Shannon Shorr's A-7 found no help against pocket Jacks, ending his day. T.J. Cloutier, John Phan, Joe Sebok, and Michael Binger are gone as well. After four levels, Greg "FBT" Mueller is on top of the field with 24,000.

Poker School Online member Leon Morford is in the field today, trying is best to add one more to his list of cashes. "Sailor Moe" is no stranger to the live tournament world. Morford ran over the field at the Heartland Poker Tournament in 2007, taking home more than $233,000 for first place. He also won a WSOP seat through PSO last year. Good luck Moe!

The tournament can officially begin now that Phil Hellmuth is in the house. He made his customary Round 3 arrival and ascended his throne in the Orange section. Welcome to the party, buddy.

After three hours, there are only 1,310 players still standing. Starting at 2,718, the field is averaging close to eight bpm (busts per minute). The floor staff can barely break tables fast enough to keep play going, let alone keep track of how many are left now.

Alex Jacob was down to 1,225 when he moved in with A-7 off. An opponent with A-K called to see the board fall 9 9 5 5. Jacob had a shot at chopped pot to stay alive, but a King on the river ended his day.

Dustin "Neverwin" Woolf is gone after running his pocket 9s into Jacks.

Anna Wroblewski's new hair colors (yes, plural) weren't enough to save her when she shoved with T 9 against an opponent's A Q. The board came 7-high rainbow, and Wroblewski has the rest of the day off.

Shane "Shaniac" Schleger, Isabelle Mercier, and David Singer have all been felted as well.

Ayaz Mahmood is the chip leader of the moment with 24,400.  Jeff Madsen is close behind with 23,600.

The official numbers are in, and there are 2,718 entrants for the day, though the field is quite a few short already.  Most of the Orange section in the Amazon room has already broken to make way for the final three tables of the $50k H.O.R.S.E. tournament and the extra breathing room that accompanies their huge buy-in. The front third of the Brasilia room is also gone already to accomodate the restart of yesterday's $2,000 NLHE tournament.  Still poker being played on every possible surface I can see.  As it should be at the World Series.

Among those getting out of the way are Amnon Filippi, Jennifer Tilly, Alex Kravchenko, and Theo Tran.  Mark Seif ran his Tens into Jacks to hit the rail early.  Nam Le thought his 6s were good against his opponent's 3s, but a 3 on the turn sent him packing.

Gavin Smith is taking it easy amidst the Saturday craziness.  He arrived more than an hour and a half into the tournament, and within minutes had procured a masseuse to ease the tension.

Justin Bonomo has rocketed to the top of the field, already turning his 3,000 into 14,000.

The crowd is currently surging into the hallway for their first break of the day. Time to take cover.

It's another Saturday at the Rio and another bursting-at-the-seams $1,500 NLHE extravaganza. Every seat in the building is occupied by people hoping to make it deep, and the hallway seems just as full of players who have already seen that dream bust. The event is officially sold out, but no one is quite sure what that means. The number of entrants just keeps rising. After this event, there is only one more $1,500 NLHE before the Main Event so lots of eager beavers are looking to get some practice before the big show.

There are also plenty of familiar faces at the felt. Men "The Master" Nguyen, Justin Bonomo, and Victor Ramdin are out to early leads. No such luck for the magician, Antonio Esfandiari. He's already gone along with Cowboy Kenna James and Kevin "aBOVeBeLOW" Saul.

Don't miss any of the Day 1 insanity life from the Rio.

Guess what?!? Another No Limit Hold'em tournament begins Saturday at noon! Surprised?!? Didn't think so. This is only the 6th No Limit Hold'em tournament with a buy-in of $1,500. Last year, there were 3,151 players and Chandrasekhar Billavara won his first WSOP bracelet (not to mention $722,914). Live coverage begins at noon PDT!

Live coverage of Event #49 Day 1, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em, begins Saturday, Jun 28th.