WPT Makes a Stop in Venice

bwin, one of our partners here at PokerStrategy.com, is the exclusive sponsor of the WPT event in Venice.  Thus, it is not surprising that a large number of players from the bwin-Team have made their way to the casino.

Hardly lacking credentials is French sensation Bertrand "ElkY"
Grospellier, whose dyed blond hair and Venetian mask drew nearly as much prominence as having earned the "WPT Player of the Year" title and being a member of Team PokerStars. 

While the outfit impressed, "ElkY" was sent to the rails rather quickly.  Other notable players at the tables, among others, were Carlos Mortensen and the freshly-minted Full Tilt Red Pro Mike McDonald, for whom the €4,400 buy-in was provided.

McDonald
(pictured left) immediately jumped on the opportunity to play in the WPT Venice event.  The young poker player is often not allowed to play in events due to his age. 

Should he win in Venice, he would not only become the youngest EPT winner in history, but also the youngest WPT winner of all time. 

McDonald currently has a great standing and shot at the honor, where his 95,800 chip stack puts him in fourth place on the leaderboard.  

The current chip leader is Joshua Field, where the average stack of 30,000 hardly compares to the 110,650 chips he calls his own. 

The best performance of the bwin-Team is claimed by Joe Le at the moment.  The online player known as "nammer4life" holds the 6th position on the chip leaderboard.

In overall, the special atmosphere of the tournament has been a success for the city of Venice and the Casino.  The second day of the tournament will bring the likes of several well-known pros to the tables.  Amongst others, Annette Obrestad, Michael Binger, Chad Brown,
Dario Minieri, and Benjamin Kang have announced themselves.

And from our community, torchman, mju12 and kernassi are on the spot.

Updates are the exclusive product of bwin and are made available on their Poker Blog.

Below are the top 10 chips counts after Day 1a: