Chip Counts After Day One (Note: Four Day Event) Gary Jones 48,400 Toto Leonidas 41,425 Andy Pachman 40,575 Frank Kassella 40,250 Larry Beilfuss 38,875 Phil Hellmuth 37,750 Tommy Grimes 35,375 Peter Costa 34,250 Julian Gardner 30,875 Tom McEvoy 30,625 Phillip Ivey 30,550 Paul Testud 30,475 Ben Roberts 30,150 "Devil Fish" Ulliott 29,800 Prahlad Friedman 29,626 Butch Wade 29,325 Casey Kastle 28,925 Carlos Mortenson 28,750 Galen Kester 26,700 Donny Kerr 26,375 Kevin Coon 25,750 Lin Poo Wang 25,525 Jake Naumer 25,125 Johnny Donaldson 24,575 Stan Mazza 24,500 Fred Sigur 24,425 Jim Lester 23,650 Keith Lehr 22,000 Ja Fauzza 21,925 Herb Kelso 19,800 John Bonetti 19,750 Jamey Kramer 19,600 Paul Kroh 18,100 Buddy Williams 18,025 Paul Darden 17,600 T.J. Cloutier 16,775 Jose Rosenkrantz 16,200 Bill Lester 15,075 Erik Seidel 14,975 Peter Eichhardt 14,925 Sudie Ceoil 14,600 Peter Vilandos 14,475 Ken Flaton 14,000 Alex Brenes 13,600 Men "Master" Nguyen 13,500 Charlie Tsolakides 13,425 Paul McKinney 13,125 Jim Karambinas 13,050 Matt Lefkowitz 12,975 Perry Green 12,925 Jeremy Tinsley 12,750 Jon Schumaker 12,225 Dayne Braverman 12,200 Don Barton 12,125 John Juanda 11,725 Kathy Liebert 11,425 Jaime Ateneloff 11,125 Larry Poole 11,025 John Spadavecchia 10,900 Berry Johnston 10,875 Anthony Cousineau 10,650 Tommy Polk 10,600 Barbara Laux 10,550 Mike Pauley 10,350 Nick Salameh 10,250 Jon Brody 10,225 Hertzel Zalewski 10,150 Erick Lindgreen 9,950 G.J. Paravoliasakis 9,700 Dewey Tomko 9,275 Robert Willis 8,675 Alex Horowitz 8,575 Steve Kaufman 8,450 Tom Becnel 8,425 Kevin Keller 8,000 Michael Sukonik 7,850 William Lux 7,750 Howard Lederer 6,925 Larry Wright 6,675 Jacky Chitwood 6,575 Gerry Craft 6,475 Bob Stupak 6,350 Russ Hamilton 6,150 Brian Haveson 5,925 Asher Derei 5,725 Kevin Abner 5,700 "Popular" Andy Bloch 5,700 Shelby Parrott 5,675 Alex Papachatzakis 5,600 Brian Green 5,525 Gary "Hog" Haubelt 5,350 Johnny Chan 5,075 Chris Tsiprailidis 4,925 Tony Hartman 4,700 Michael Davis 4,225 Jacob Horowitz 4,150 Dwain Fulcher 3,225

Event #20
DAY ONE REPORT:

Tournament poker is a minefield of traps and potential bad beats. One single mistake on any hand can mean elimination and the end of a dream. The key is to survive. To survive Day One is to put yourself in a position to win. After eight hours of play in the 2003 No-Limit Texas Hold'em Championship Event, 97 of the top poker players in the world survived. Sixty-three did not.

Toughest Starting Tables: A toss-up between....

Table 26
Seat 1 - T.J. Cloutier
Seat 2 - Barbara Laux
Seat 3 - Humberto Brenes
Seat 4 - Jacky Chitwood
Seat 5 - Dayne Bauerman
Seat 6 - Tony Hartman
Seat 7 - Kevin Keller
Seat 8 - Johnny Chan
Seat 9 - John Bonetti

Table 52
Seat 1 - Chip Jett
Seat 2 - Alex Brenes
Seat 3 - Howard Lederer
Seat 4 - Mike Koster
Seat 5 - Jason Vikiayuthakorn
Seat 6 - Mike Laing
Seat 7 - Hilbert Shirey
Seat 8 - Phil Hellmuth
Seat 9 - Fred Sigur

This year, the World Poker Open included a "Who's Who" of poker. Two former World Poker Open champions entered -- including Humberto Brenes (2002) and John Juanda (2001). Nine former World Series of Poker winners were also in attendance, and 7 entered this year's main event. The former world champions included Berry Johnston (1986), Johnny Chan (1987 and 1988), Phil Hellmuth (1989), Russ Hamilton (1995), Scotty Nguyen (1998), Chris Ferguson (2000), and Carlos Mortenson (2001). Absent were Bobby Baldwin (1978) and Doyle Brunson (1975 and 1976) who skipped the main event to play in a cash game instead. Limits in the side game were reported to be as high as $8,000-$16,000.

There will be no repeat champ, this year. Humberto Brenes, the 2002 World Poker Open champion, was eliminated early in the tournament by John Bonetti. Brenes was in the big blind with K-K and got involved in a confrontation with Bonetti, holding A-A. After a non-descript flop, Brenes checked, called Bonetti's all-in bet, and lost. "I might have folded my hand (in some similar situations)," Brenes said later. "But with Bonetti, you never know if he's making a move. So, I called. Now, I am out."

Humberto Brenes was not alone on the rail. Mike "Motor Mouth" Matusow met a similar fate with his pocket kings. Matusow was dealt K-K against Jim Lester and all the money went into the pot. Matusow, one of poker's most talkative pros, was silent when he busted out of the tournament in 158th place. At least he had a decent "$10,000 bad beat story" to tell.

Scotty Nguyen enjoyed a favorable starting table. Although no table is "easy," Nguyen appeared to be the most experienced player at his table. Oddly enough, he was the first player to be eliminated at his starting table when he took A-K up against Stan Mazza's Q-Q.

Slow-playing a big hand can be dangerous. Just ask Paul Darden. When the flop came A-5-4, Darden (with 4-4) checked with his set, and gave a free card to Toto Leonidas. A deuce fell on the turn. In the end, Leonidas had 3-2 and scooped a big pot from Darden with the straight.

Englishman Peter Costa is quite the philosopher. He had a number of fascinating ideas on how to survive the first day of the main event:

"I want to play small pots, and not get involved in big pots."

"If I make the nuts (the best possible hand) and people want to call me, that's fine."

"(If I was my opponent) I would never call me -- when I reach for my chips."

"People put too much emphasis on getting chips early."

"I thrive on playing a short-stack."

It's interesting that Costa seems to advocate extreme caution early in the tournament. Yet after Day One, he is 8th in chips. Was Costa telling the truth about his prefered "style?"

Tomorrow, the 97 players who survived Day One will play down to the prize money. Seventy players are destined to be eliminated. That means as of Day Three on Thursday, 27 players will be in a position to make the final table. Stay tuned.

-- by Nolan Dalla

2003 World Poker Open