314 players showed up In Rio de Janeiro for the first stop of the new Latin American Poker Tour. The $2,500 buy-in event attracted an international field including such pros as Humberto Brenes, Chad Brown, Chris Moneymaker, Isabelle Mercier, Greg Raymer and Gavin Griffin.

The $222,940 first place prize money was hotly contested during the day, and many of PokerStars' poker stars ended up sadly on the rail as a result - including Vanessa Rousso, Chris Moneymaker, Isabelle Mercier, and Chad Brown. Brown had the dubious distinction of being the first of the PokerStars pros eliminated, when early on he was unable to hit either his straight or flush draws against an all-in opponent holding only top pair.

When the day came to an end, 103 players remained to continue to fight for a part of the $785,000 prize pool. The Day 1 chip leader, Spanish player Carlos Lopez, was perhaps the happiest of them all, ending the day with 121,000 in chips.

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