Ahh, should be a fun test to see how this plays out. Jeffrey Pollack is to address the mob shortly. From @TaoPauly:

Commissioner Pollack will address the disgruntled players at the Poker Palooza at 2:30pm.

Correction… Antonius is in the field according to ESPN. Lindgren at feature table. Eastgate at secondary table.

Lots of conflicting reports of favoritism. Sully Erna got in now & players in the Diamond Registration line were told to return at 3pm.

I can’t see how anyone could/should be shocked if Diamond players get first dibs. That’s kinda how casinos work, no? When I had Fawcett’s Diamond parking pass, I could get valet parking even when they said “valet full”.

But still … Pollack conceivably bidding farewell to at least a few customers for life, via @JoeSebok:

We could see a change on the fly … according to hubbub I’m picking up on Pokerati’s Live Source feed, about 500 players have been shut out of the main event — which interestingly enough makes the semi-arbitrary difference between being bigger or smaller than last year — and the suits are discussing how to handle the situation … if anything beyond, “hey, sorry.”

What we’re picking up (from the likes of Shrink and others) is that Mike Sexton has been unofficially appointed the players’ ambassador, and he is representing them while speaking to Jack Effel, who is in consult with the other suits. Craziest option might be alternates. Adding a Day 1e also on the table.

Obviously we’ll all know soon enough how it turns out, as we don’t know how either of the above thoughts have been received.

UPDATE: Yet another possibility (via @timlavalli):

(Overheard) Start the late reg. players at 3 PM, have them play four levels and toss them in with the Day 1A-B players tomorrow.

Seems like they are considering everything. I’d like to throw out the possibility of bringing everyone back, reseating, re-daying, and just having a do-over.

Best anecdotes of near-mutiny here.

Official number will be available soon … but we’re looking at close to 3,000 for today (including @TheBigRandy and @RobertGoldfarb).

Final numbers for the 2009 main event coming soon …

Via @taopauly:

Several big names shut out: Brandon Adams, TJ CLoutier, Patrik Antonius & Sully Erna

Chagrined non-players, via Otis:

As a few people have noticed, the water in the Amazon room has changed. No longer is it All In … Johnny Chan’s “energy water” … it’s just the generic Rio bottled stuff. Clearly something has gone awry between All In and the WSOP. Back in November, the excited word was that All In would be the official energy drink for at least two years. But then, much to our surprise, we saw Red Bull being served this summer, and no All In banners … just All In water.

Hmm, now call it a coincidence, but that All In water disappeared from the Amazon room the day after this article ran on the front page of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, in which the least championed 10-bracelet winner says:

Not everyone is as happy about the World Series as Harrah’s Entertainment, which bought the series in 2004. One of poker’s legendary players and a two-time main event winner lashed out at how the gaming company has run the event and treats the players.

“In the old days, when Jack Binion owned it, he never took a penny out, but we always tipped the dealers good anyway,” Johnny Chan said, complaining about how the gaming company has increased its cut of the players’ pool. “Now Harrah’s takes out 4 to 10 percent.”

The company also has cut back on its comps to players, Chan said. Harrah’s gave him only a $100 food coupon when he entered the $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event last week, he said.

Chan has not been much of a presence this year at the WSOP. He has shown up for a few big events (4?), but hardly sticks around once he busts. In fact, he sneaks out a back door, whereas last year he was constantly in the hallways at his company booth, or in the VIP lounge, which was also heavily labeled with All In signage. And that was before he became a supposedly official sponsor. Might someone have made a deal and forgotten to pay the water bill?

The final Day 1, as Dan noted is already over 2,500 entrants with players now being registered into Buzio’s. The first three days had players seated at nine-handed tables, but is it possible they’ll have to start today ten-handed to accommodate as many players as possible? There’s still six hours to find out the answer to that question.

Back to Day 1c, 1,106 players will return Wednesday afternoon to join the Day 1d survivors for Day 2b, playing 4 two-hour levels. The day 1c chip leader is Joseph Cada, with 187,225 in chips. Other notables with chips: Jeff Lisandro (146,950), Tuan Le (110,000), Justin Bonomo (103,425), Alex Bolotin (92,500), Pat Poels (87,200), Adam Junglen (80,475), Terrence Chan (67,075), Dennis Phillips (63,325) and Dan Shak (55,200). To see the complete list of chip counts, click on this link.

To see how they squeeze in all those players, check out Pokerati during the day, and be sure to follow the updates from www.wsop.com, Pauly, and Pokerati during the day.

Just got word from very reliable sources … 2,400 people are already registered for Day 1d. Main event sign-ups have been coming in today at a rate of nearly 100 an hour. Satellites are still running. A sell-out tomorrow looks inevitable. In fact, the problem may be too many players — the WSOP is looking at potentially having to turn away (theoretically) up to 500 players looking to buy in. Not only will they be difficult to seat, but there’s a further problem, because so few advanced on Day 1b, with balancing the fields as they move toward the Day 3 convergence.

UPDATE: First prize is more than $8 million already.

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: The problem would be not just the logistics of seating more than 3,000 people for Day 1d, but also, should such a monster field not be whittled down small enough (based on the current pace of slow-stack eliminations) the then they’d face the same problem of not having enough space for the remaining players on Day 2b.

So that’s the concern … not Day 3 … and it’s part of why they’re playing 5 levels today and tomorrow, but there’s still a teensy fear that won’t provide the necessary eliminations.

The Day 1c field has returned from its dinner break a few minutes ago, with two more levels to play today. The difference between this field and the first two Day 1′s is that the field as well as tomorrow’s field will play 5 two-hour levels. When Day 2a commences Tuesday, they’ll also play 5 two-hour levels, while the Day 2b field will play 4 levels. A field of 1,697 were registered today, and there’s a possibility that Monday’s Day 1d field could be sold out. If not, it will certainly be the largest Day 1 field with well about 2,300 already registered.

Notable names already eliminated: Annie Duke, Daniel Negreanu, Evelyn Ng, John Caldwell, Lacey Jones, Chino Rheem, and Jamie Gold. The unofficial leader at this time is Jeff Lisandro, looking for his 4th bracelet this year, leading the field with 132,000 in chips. Other notables with stacks include Hevad Khan (94,000), Joe Hachem (88,000), David Singer (78,000), Justin Bonomo (56,800), Brett “gank” Jungblut (51,000), Scotty Nguyen (49,000), and Dan Harrington (47,500). Other chip counts and live updates can be found at the wsop.com site here.

More updates later this evening from Team Pokerati, and another update from me in the morning recapping who’s left at the end of the night.

A wise underground poker room operator once advised me (shortly before his room got raided) that every economic bubble burstage in history (or fall from grace) is predicated by luxe so redick, displays so over-the-top … well you can’t really define it, but you’ll know it when you see it … and that’s when it’s all about to come to an end.

In early ’08, the new 24-karat gold-plated Trump Tower began offering $1,000 spa days, complete with massages rubbing you down in emerald, ruby, or diamond dust (depending on how much you wanted to pay).

Now you can get it all for a bargain:

Local Gemstone Dream
For the month of July only enjoy a Signature 90-min Gemstone massage. This therapeutic massage uses oils from Dubai which are infused with gemstones that you can see in the bottle! A powerful mixture of herbs blended with specific massage techniques help to promote physical and mental well-being. This exclusive massage is only done at The Spa at Trump. Monday through Thursday, with a local ID you may try it for only $99 (regularly priced at $275).

I seriously love the trumpets.

Watch Phil Hellmuth Caesar Entrance at the 2009 WSOP on RawVegas.tv

Ultimate Bet clearly gets the concept of experiential marketing, too. But the plug for Dream Team Poker? Even awesomer.

A quick summary of how Day 1c took shape and has progressed, from Katkin, who’s digging up interesting hands and player reports you can read at WSOP.com:

In the red quadrant of the Amazon Room — about 30 tables — there are some 20 pros in the mix. Dennis Phillips has the biggest entourage — with his red-hat army on the rails.

Almost half the tables have broken and reverted to cash games … but the walled-off high-stakes cash-games pit still is all main event tourney action.

Lots of chips and cards flying around. 1 hour 48 minutes remaining in Level 3. The real tournament is starting to coagulate.

It was no secret. It has been public information since mid-June, and the PPA announced it days ago that House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank made plans to visit the WSOP today. First, he took to the floor of the Amazon Room to speak to the Day 1C players and issue the “shuffle up and deal command,” after which he toured the Rio Convention Center to see poker’s bizness and held a press conference at 1pm. You’d think it might be quite an event for those with any interest in the future of the poker industry.

But while the general reception Frank received in the Amazon Room was positive, it also gave an indication of what kind of struggles his efforts face. Beyond having to deal with the self-promotional shenanigans of Phil Hellmuth and all he brings to the table in the name of poker (for better or worse), behind me on the rail were some poker players/fans/bigots who made hateful gay jokes during his entire short-but-semi-important speech.

Nearing the 1pm start of the press conference in the Full Tilt Chris Ferguson suite, there were about 5 reporters present. No kidding. By the time Frank began speaking, there were possibly twice that, excluding PPA representatives and Full Tilt Poker bigwigs. Of the 5-8 media outlets represented, ESPN got their headshot early and left, before the speech had hardly started.

Some of what the disinterested might have missed:

~It is likely that the Obama Administration was not behind the Southern District of New York’s seizure of more than $30 million in online poker site payments, though Frank is pursuing answers and will attempt to clarify the role of the Department of Justice in the actions.

~While Frank’s current proposed legislation (H.R. 2267) may not be heard in committee until September, it is a priority for Frank to push his companion legislation (H.R. 2266) that will delay the implementation of the UIGEA through 2010.

Meanwhile, everyone else was standing outside the Rio waiting for Phil Hellmuth to arrive in a chariot with scantily-clad chicks, then following him down the hall like he was someone important President Obama. After that embarrassment spectacle, I noticed that there was more media interested in interviewing a WSOP player wearing a full-length Indian headdress than were in the Frank press conference.

(Sigh.)

I just can’t help but wonder if the people who ignored Frank’s presence today will be the same ones asking why the delay in passing pro-poker legislation, or why their online poker funds are frozen, or why they have trouble finding work in the poker industry.

A little less douchey different than the UB Party … the Bodog Party took place at the Palms Kingpin Suite, and Jean-Robert Bellande was there to bring-it so you could share in the joys of a sponsored online pokery Las Vegas drink-fest. In the process, he makes an interesting prediction that with the deeper-stacks structure in play, we should be seeing a lot more pros go deep in the 2009 WSOP main event — and if ever there’s a year for it, this could be the one where the field of bona fide pros stand a statistically real chance of loading up the final table and seeing one of their own potentially win it all:

Watch Jean-Robert Bellande and the Amazing Bowling Bodog Girls on RawVegas.tv

Editor’s Note: The previous week’s episode never made it up on Pokerati … but it should’ve — particularly as we enter into a summer-fall of political discourse on the plusses and minuses of online gambling regulation. Specifically, check out about 7 minutes in, where J Todd discusses how our good friends at Betfair were able to help protect the integrity of tennis by alerting authorities to a noticeably heavy bet-load on an obscure Wimbledon match.

Three more guilty pleas in the BetOnSports case in the United States, and the European Commission is now warning the American government to reconsider its ban on online gambling. Plus, industry news from Antigua and Wimbledon.

It’s something that wasn’t written about in Super/System … yet everyone has to consider it. Barry Greenstein has a good vlog post up about what goes into making a decision about which day to start in the WSOP main event, where he gives his thoughts on why day 1c may be the toughest field to wade through — with input from Justin Bonomo, Roland deWolfe, and Sorrel Mizzi. Check it out here.

First, this note from Nolan Dalla’s latest tournament report:

In the days following the third annual Ante Up For Africa tournament, WSOP officials have received a number of media inquiries regarding the event’s second-place finisher – specifically whether he collected his winnings without donating a portion to the cause the tournament benefits. In light of these ongoing inquiries and certain erroneous media reports that have been filed since the event’s conclusion, the WSOP feels it is necessary to clarify certain relevant facts.

First and foremost, the second-place finisher, to date, has not collected his tournament winnings. Nor has he stated an intention not to contribute to the charity. This player has, in fact, contacted Ante Up For Africa organizers to discuss his plans for the money. Any reports to the contrary are factually inaccurate and should be disregarded.

Day 1b concluded with 655 players returning Tuesday afternoon, joining the remaining entries from day 1a as Day 2a gets underway. The reported* chip leader at the end of play is Brandon Demes with 137,075. Other notables with a decent stack include: Fabrice Soulier (97,725), Joe Sebok (78,800), Bruno Fitoussi (58,100), Shaun Deeb (55,100), Amarillo Slim (48,075) and Greg Raymer (43,750). To see the entire list of survivors, check out the link here.

* Day 1 chip leader Eric Cloutier’s stack was reported as 150,750, it turns out it actually is 15,075.

Day 1c gets underway with a possible change in schedule, as ESPN.com’s Andrew Feldman noted, day 1c and 1d MAY start with 5 levels of play, then playing 4 levels on Day 2b on Wednesday. Day 2a will then be five levels long so everyone has played for the same amount of time. Feldman expects an announcement to made just before play gets underway at 12 noon today. Follow the updates over at www.wsop.com here and maybe some stuff from the rest of Pokerati during Sunday.