L.A. Poker Classic Day One

Day 1 of the L.A. Poker Classic  started with such a stacked field, there were bound to be plenty of casualties on Day 1. Among those busting early were November Nine member Scott Montgomery, Jean-Robert Bellande and Chino Rheem. The Commerce Casino’s gigantic poker tournament attracted 696 players seeking their own form of gold as the LA Poker Classic main event kicked off. Among the participants were poker superstars Erick Lindgren, Barry Greenstein and Daniel Negreanu, plus former world champions Phil Hellmuth, Jerry Yang and Chris Ferguson. 2008 LAPC champ Phil Ivey also joined the field, as did Erik Seidel, Allen Cunningham and Michael Mizrachi.

Action has been fast today, but at two tables it slowed considerably when the clock was called.  First it was David Levi who called the clock on himself after being faced with an all in bet on a board of K8724.  Even with the allure of 64,000 in the pot, Levi let his hand go.

Next it was Jason Potter who would have the clock called on him.  Usually these big desicions that take enough time to warrant a clock are either large river bets or all in’s.  However, on the turn Potter faced a single 6,000 chip raise.  He tanked for several minutes before a player at the table called for the floor.  Potter looked upset and mucked his hand shortly after the floorperson arrived.

Negreanu never lost steam after that hand, finishing the day high on the leader board, trailing only Kasey Nam as play closed for the day and was Blue Diamonds Player of the day, now that’s salty

See the days final results below:

Kasey Nam — 141,000
Daniel Negreanu — 128,000
Jeff Madsen — 112,500
Bertrand Grospellier — 86,000
Danny Wong — 79,500
Nick Schulman — 79,000
Phil Ivey — 75,000
Kofi Farkye — 68,000
David Chiu — 68,000
Steve Paul-Ambrose — 65,000