The 2006 version of one of the biggest, and historically most profitable, events on the
World Poker Tour kicked off with day one of the
World Poker Finals. Held in the monstrous Foxwoods Casino, the largest casino on the planet, the 2006
WPF attracted a starting field that mirrored the size of the venue.
While the 609 players fell slightly short of last year's 783, the number still proved large enough to require three separate tournament areas: the entire Sunset Ballroom, a section of the casino's poker room, and a roped off space located in the Rainmaker Casino's pit.
Play, which featured $20,000 starting stacks and 75-minute levels, began at 10 a.m. EDT with $25-$50 blinds. A marathon day, set to last over 12 hours due to a combination of the field and relatively short tournament schedule (Nov. 12-16), started slow and … stayed slow. The early start time (ungodly by poker standards) resulted in a number of late arrivals, but even when seats filled, the
WPF maintained a conservative pace.
After five hours of tournament play more than 500 players remained in contention. Although sparse, the pre-dinner break bustouts did include some big names such as Phil Ivey, Dutch Boyd, and Layne Flack.
At 1:34 p.m. the anticipation surrounding the
World Poker Final's first-place cash prize ended with the official announcement of the tournament's payout structure. A money bubble set to burst with the 61st-place elimination meant that the winner of the 2006
WPF would go home $1,752,844 richer.
For the complete payout structure please click
here.
Even before news of the $1.7 million first-place prize, East Coast poker fans crowded the rails in all three playing areas, many eager to catch one of the
WPT's only two stops in Connecticut. While the usual stars drew railbirds, Nick Schulman garnered extra attention as he entered action as the
World Poker Final's defending champion.
Schulman sparred on numerous occasions with 2006
North American Poker Championship 10th-place finisher Erik Cajelais, and, after starting the day in the casino's poker room, survived long enough to see the entire field congregate in the Sunset Ballroom.
At 9:30 p.m., the title defense came to an end when Schulman's pocket jacks failed to hold up against an opponent's A-Q.
Whether a result of fatigue, rising blinds, or, more likely, a combination of both, the number of eliminations spiked during the second half of play.
Coming off a victory in the
WPF's $3,000 event, J.C. Tran exited action when Mimi Tran made trip kings to crack his pocket aces. Bullets proved to not be enough to save Doyle Brunson either, who busted, despite holding pocket aces, courtesy of a Devin Porter flush.
As the close of action approached, the rush of eliminations subsided, and, at 12:24 a.m., day one of the 2006
World Poker Finals concluded.
The top three chip counts at the end of final level were as follows:
1. Daryn Firicano - $340,000
2. Jim Pechac - $210,000
3. Hoyt Corkins - $208,000
Some notables who failed to survive play included John D'Agostino, Joe Sebok, Gavin Smith, James "KrazyKanuck" Worth, "Captain" Tom Franklin, Jeff Shulman, Barry Shulman, Carlos Mortensen, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, Erick Lindgren, David Williams, and Amnon Filippi.
The remaining field of 168 will return at noon EST.
Stay tuned to
CardPlayer.com for all your live updates, chip counts, photos, videos, and daily recaps.
Quote of the Day: "God bless Chris Moneymaker. That guy should get a cut of every tournament" - Mike "The Mouth" Matusow
