Through the Lens: The Greatest Tournament in the World is Underway

BRYAN CAMPANELLO LEADS AFTER DAY 1A WITH A WHOPPING 417,500 CHIPS

The 2019 WSOP Main Event is officially underway here at Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas! Yesterday we saw a total of 1,336 players start their journey towards poker immortality and millions of dollars, a 411 player increase from Day 1A of last year, of which 960 survived. Plenty of familiar faces came out, with Bryan Campanello bagging a huge chip lead with 417,500 chips. Below are some of my favorite images from yesterday’s Day 1A of the Main!

Bryan Devonshire is no stranger to deep runs in the WSOP Main Event. In 2011, Devonshire nearly completed the dream, coming up just short and finishing in 12th place. Following up that performance, Devonshire went on to finish in 25th place in 2015. When Devonshire isn’t playing poker, you can find his crazy ass guiding white water rafting trips on the Colorado River!
The always controversial Martin Kabrhel was in the mix on Day 1A. A swingy day saw Kabrhel on top of the leaderboard early, then after dipping down back to starting stack, Kabrhel went on to bag 164,500.
One of my favorite parts about the Main Event is the characters that bless us in the early few days of play. I stumbled upon this guy yesterday, wearing a wig, with an unlit cigar in his mouth.
Randall Emmett has made quite an entrance to the WSOP over the last two years. The Hollywood producer has made sure to soak up every second of coverage he possibly can with his loud, boisterous antics. Yesterday his fiancé, and reality TV superstar, Lala Kent, stopped by to show him some support.
It was a rough Day 1A for 2017 bracelet winner Mohsin Charania. Charania was eliminated late on Day 1.

Watch the 2019 WSOP Main Event on ESPN and PokerGO. New to PokerGO? Subscribe right now.