Day 1d, the last of four day ones of the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event, as expected attracted the most players and some of the biggest talents of them all.

Organizers of this year’s Series took special care- periodically opening and closing registration among other things- to make sure there wasn’t too large of a disparity between Day 1d and the other starting days, as there would have been at last year’s event had they not been forced to close registration, and it seems their efforts in that respect paid off.  With 2,319 total entrants for the day, the final starting flight attracted enough players to properly cap off the proceedings in a fitting way, but not enough to make the 2 following Day Twos hopelessly uneven.
 
Around 500 of those 2,319 players were cruelly eliminated during Day 1d's long session of poker including such big names as recent Ante Up For Africa champion Phil Gordon, the NFL’s Emmitt Smith, John Juanda, Pam Brunson, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy, Joe Hachem, Steve Dannenmann, Brian Townsend and Allen “the Chainsaw” Kessler, but overall the day seemed fairly kind to many of the legends in the field, leaving quite a few not only alive but with above average stacks by the time the night's bags were being distributed.

Some of the world class players currently in good standing after Day 1d include Doyle Brunson (52,425), Kenny Tran (80,425), Barry Greenstein (53,625), Allen Cunningham (55,375), Jason Mercier (90,525), Vanessa Rousso (111,050), Josh Arieh (103,650), David Benyamine (130,800) and WSOP bracelet winner Steve Billirakis, who lead them all by the end of play with 187,150 in tournament chips.

These fortunate survivors will now be able to return on Saturday to continue their quest on Day 2b towards poker’s ultimate final table, but first will have to clear the way for previous Day 1 survivors, currently already back in the Rio for Day 2a. 

For more information from Day 1d, or to read live streaming updates provided by PokerNews as Day 2a rolls along visit www.wsop.com.