The Main Event of the World Series of Poker Europe kicked off today at the Casino at the Empire, with around 137 players dropping £10,350 each, to compete for one of the most prestigious WSOP bracelets of the year.

Among that list of 137, could be found numerous highly recognizable names including former champion of this event, Annette Obrestad, Michael Mizrachi, Andy Bloch, Howard Lederer, Sorel Mizzi, Vanessa Selbst and past WSOP Main Event champion Phil Hellmuth, who entered the day’s proceedings on a double decker bus, with a brass band, and 11 Lady Gaga impersonators.  Hellmuth’s hoopla didn’t seem to help his chances, as he was eliminated during the first day’s play, as were in fact all of the above listed pros along with about 50 other tournament hopefuls.

A little less than 80 players in total survived Day 1a, and though the world mourns the loss of Phil’s chips, there are still plenty of other exciting players that have now officially made it to Day 2 including Allen Cunningham, Huck Seed, Faraz Jaka, Hoyt Corkins, Jeff Lisandro, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Barny Boatman and John Juanda, who won this event just two years prior.

For more information on Day 1a of the 2010 WSOP Europe main event, or for live updates from tomorrow when Day 1b kicks off, visit www.wsop.com- powered by PokerNews.