No Hard Feelings From Charder After Nearly Bubbling

Level 19: 4,000-8,000, 1,000 ante

Thanks @mattglantz for being a great host and donating 30k to the 10k fo prize pool. Had a great time at WPT Parx--will be back next year!

— Christian Harder (@realcharder30) August 13, 2012

Glantz Doing Well as Parx Ambassador

Level 7: 250-500, 50 ante

Already impressed by @mattglantz as ambassador.. I ask for more small chips at wpt parx and get them right away!

— Allen Bari (@allenbari) August 12, 2012

Notables Back for Day 1B

Level 1: 50-100, ante

Several players are taking advantage of the re-entry option today. Leo Wolpert, Parx Poker Amabassador Matt Glantz, Greg Ostrander, Mike Sowers, Allen Kessler, Tony Dunst, Amanda Musumeci, Joseph Cheong and Matt Stout have all returned for Day 1B after being eliminated during Day 1A. 

WPT Parx Open Poker Classic, Day 1A Recap

Level 10: 500-1,000, 100 ante

By BJ Nemeth


The first televised WPT event of Season XI is a new stop for the World Poker Tour -- the Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles outside of Philadelphia.

Here's a look back at some of the highlights from Day 1A:



WPT Commentator Mike Sexton kicks off Season XI of the TV show with the traditional "Shuffle Up and Deal," joined by his fellow commentator Vince Van Patten, Raw Deal Analyst Tony Dunst, and Royal Flush Girl Ivy Teves.

Day 1A attracted 234 players, but as a re-entry event, anyone who busted had the option of paying another $3,500 to buy in again on Day 1B. The total field size should approach 500 players, but we won't know for sure until Day 1B registration closes around 4:30 pm ET.



During the first level of play, Mike Sexton chats with Matt Glantz, the recently announced as the Poker Ambassador for the Parx Casino. Glantz is a Philadelphia native, and hosts high-stakes game here and helps promote the casino.



Royal Flush Girls Tugba Ercan (left) and Ivy Teves stop by to see how Allen Kessler is doing on Day 1A. Kessler told the two RFGs that they were his favorite two, but then put his foot in his mouth as he said that one was #1 and the other #2.

When Ercan and Teves asked who was #1, Kessler wisely deferred the question.



ClubWPT.com qualifier Erick Steinbergen talks with WPT reporter Diana Cox during one of the breaks on Day 1A. Steinbergen earned his seat into this event by playing a mega satellite on the ClubWPT.com subscription poker site.



Table 63 was called a "featured table" by some people, as the random draw put a fun and interesting group of players together. This was the lineup:

Seat 1.  Bryan Piccioli
Seat 2.  Jack Hirschman
Seat 3.  Christian Harder
Seat 4.  Will Failla
Seat 5.  Peter Ippolito
Seat 6.  Dwyte Pilgrim
Seat 7.  Chris McCormack
Seat 8.  Victor Ramdin
Seat 9.  Scott Blackman

Will Failla was leading the table in a game of "Lodden Thinks," as they pondered questions like "How many flatscreen TVs are in the Borgata Casino?" And "How many sexual partners has Hugh Hefner had in his lifetime?" And "How many hot dogs are sold during a single baseball game at Yankee Stadium?"

Blackman gave an answer to that last question that Harder called "the worst answer in the history of Lodden thinks." He guessed that Yankee Stadium sold 117 hot dogs during a game. (According to an article in the New York Times, the actual answer is about 30,000 hot dogs.)

After the table teased Blackman for a few minutes, he admitted that he mistook the question, and he was guessing how many hot dogs a single vendor sells during a baseball game. (According to that same New York Times article, the actual answer is about 150 hot dogs per vendor.)



WPT Champions Club member Steve Brecher (left) finds himself seated next to Xuan Liu on Day 1A.

Liu has been selected as part of the WPT's "Ones to Watch" this season -- a group of young, up-and-coming players that the TV audience may not be as familiar with. Liu and the others in this group will be highlighted on the WPT TV show as they try to win their first WPT title.



After the dinner break, Shaun Deeb had a solid grasp on the chip lead, and looked like he would finish the day at the top of the leaderboard. But in the final half hour, he lost a big pot to William Brindise that knocked him down to a below average stack.



William Brindise catapulted to the top of the leaderboard after winning a big pot against Shaun Deeb, though he ultimately finished the day in third place with 208,300. Why? Deeb caught a lucky river card to double up in one of the last hands of the day. (See below.)



After a flop of 887, Shaun Deeb moved all in with 1010, but William Brindise called with a dominating QQ. Deeb began gathering his things to leave, and the turn card was the 8.

But Deeb caught his two-outer on the river when the 10 fell, doubling Deeb up to an above-average chip stack (118,900), and saving him the $3,500 he would have inevitably spent to re-enter on Day 1B.



The overall chipleader at the end of Day 1A was two-time WPT champion Cornel Cimpan, attempting to become the third player in history to win three WPT titles. Cimpan will have Saturday off before starting Day 2 with 242,800 in chips.



The ClubWPT.com Player of the Day was Dwyte Pilgrim, who was interviewed by WPT reporter Diana Cox at the end of the day. Pilgrim was at the unofficial featured table, having a good time as he built up a stack of 120,000 in chips.

The WPT Champions Club member hopes to join the elite group of players with two WPT titles, and Pilgrim has committed himself to starting Season XI strong. So far, so good.



Day 1A came to an end with 93 players. Here's a look at the top five chip counts:

1.  Cornel Cimpan  -  242,800  (202 bb)
2.  Gregory Shwartz  -  220,000  (183 bb)
3.  William Brindise  -  208,300  (173 bb)
4.  Anthony Maio  -  191,200  (159 bb)
5.  Ravi Raghavan  -  166,500  (138 bb)

Day 1B begins today at 12:00 noon ET. Stay tuned to WPT.com for live coverage and chip counts throughout the day.

Matt Glantz is Out of Day 1A

Level 6: 200-400, 50 ante

After a flop of KJ7 Matt Glantz, Poker Ambassador to Parx Casino, is all in. An opponent calls, Glantz shows AQ and his opponent reveals AK. The board runs out 67 and Glantz makes his exit.

Since this is a re-entry even, Glantz can return for Day 1b if he chooses. 

Matt Glantz - Eliminated

Mike Sexton Checks Out the Field

Level 3: 100-200, ante

Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton took a little time at the start of play to talk to some of the players in the field, with the WPT TV cameras following along.



Sexton chats with Parx Casino's new Poker Ambassador Matt Glantz about the first televised WPT event to ever be held in the state of Pennsylvania.



Sexton also stops by Allen Kessler's table to say hello, and Kessler can't resist the opportunity to mention that he led the World Poker Tour in number of cashes the past two seasons.

After Sexton walked away, one of the other players at the table expressed surprise that Kessler was such a big deal that Mike Sexton stopped by. Kessler said, "I've never won a title. I usually min-cash."