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wsop Nobody could have expected Day 1 of the 2011 World Series of Poker to turn out the way it did. There were surprising field sizes, a confrontation that made headlines and the biggest shock of the day would in fact come from someone who isn't even in attendance at the Rio: Phil Ivey. Typically a stalwart at the biggest events in the World Series of Poker, Ivey was a surprising no-show to the $25,000 event. Rumors were flying as the tournament began and almost like clockwork, Ivey released a statement, first on Facebook, then on his website, saying he would not be playing at the WSOP. Additionally, he is suing Tiltware over the non-repayment of player accounts. Lance Bradley, editor-in-chief of Bluff magazine told me early Wednesday that at the tables of the $25,000 heads-up event, all the talk was about Ivey.


His absence was more ominous than his presence would have been if he were in attendance and playing for a prized-WSOP bracelet. Now, the focus shifts back to Full Tilt and their efforts to repay customers in the United States. Full Tilt has not released anything publicly besides a few posts on the twoplustwo forums and the silence, compounded with Ivey's statement, is only doing the company more damage. By Ivey coming forward with this statement, he's sent a message to the company which he's endorsed for more than half a decade. Despite his continual attempts to limit his exposure, nobody carries more weight in the industry from a public standpoint than Ivey and this single note will further hurt the company, regardless of the outcome. How will Full Tilt respond?Hopefully, by confrunting FTP publicly about their current situation.


Ivey will force FTP to become more proactive by letting the players who stood by them for years know what exactly is causing the delay. Even without Ivey, the highlight of the day was seeing the WSOP attaining a field of 128 players for the $25,000 Heads-Up World Championship. Early last week, the World Series of Poker told me that their line for the event was 44 players. They had been hearing rumors about who would be playing and their pre-registration numbers weren't strong. Clearly, they were very happy to see 128 turn up and create a $3 million prize pool and after two rounds of play, the final 32 players will continue their chase for a bracelet on Wednesday. Defending champion of this event (with a $10,000 buy-in), Ayaz Mahmood, was eliminated during second-round action.

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