Day 1A of the 2009 World Series of Poker is now history and there were a few notable eliminations.
John Phan, Jan Von Halle, Davidi Kitai, Nick Frangos, Freddy Deeb, Matt Glantz, Mark Vos, Pieter de Korver, Isaac Haxton, David Grey, Steve Billirakis, Allen Cunningham, and Andy Bloch have all had their World Series cut short on Day 1 of this final event.
-- Notable non-pro celebrities who played on Day 1-A included (*eliminated):
Orel Hershiser (former major league baseball star and announcer) * Jennifer Tilly (actor) Gabe Kaplan (actor and comedian) * Nelly (singer and musician) * Brad Garrett (actor and comedian) Jason Alexander (actor) Shane Warne (world famous cricket player)
The first elimination was Rafael Zimmerman, from Oneonta, NY.
"It's one thing to bust out because of a bad beat," Zimmerman said about his misfortune. "But going broke after being drawn out on by the worst hand is different. I consider it an honor to bust out with the best hand."
Day 1-A attracted 1,116 entries.
Gambling911.com will be covering the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event thru July 15 when the final nine will be determined.
These were your 2009 World Series of Poker chip leaders after Day 1-A:
Jason Alexander
89,575
Lex Veldhuis
84,000
Eli Elezra
83,375
Dragan Galic
79,750
Tom Schneider
79,600
Jeff Williams
77,550
Sandra Naujoks
76,725
John Hennigan
76,250
Vitaly Lunkin
68,300
Jimmy Fricke
63,425
--
Ace King, Gambling911.com
