Bodog Beat

Team Bodog poker pro Josh Arieh is out in the field for Day 1 of the WPT LA Poker Classic. (Bodog Beat Image)

Hey, so score one for the WPT. The media area, which is located on the stage of the ballroom in which the tournament is happening, is decidedly warmer than the media room at the WSOP this past summer. For us, that's one of the best things we discovered so far at the WPT LA Poker Classic here at the Commerce Casino.

Most large tournaments usually run a couple of flights of Day 1, but this room in the Commerce is so huge, holding just over 70 tables, that they are only running a sing Day 1, so everyone who is playing this event is playing right now. So far, we've spotted Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Gavin Smith, Gavin Griffin, Jonathan "FieryJustice" Little, Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo, Lee Watkinson, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, Mark Seif, Antonio Esfandiari and Team Bodog pros Evelyn Ng and Josh Arieh.

It only took roughly 30 minutes for the first person to bust out putting us just one baby step closer to crowning the next WPT millionaire. With a field officially pegged at 653, there are now only 651 eliminations left to go until that goal is reached.

Play will continue today through five levels, which, with a 15 minute break after each level and an hour long dinner break, will mean that we will be here for about 10 hours today. Super!

Stay tuned to the Beat for more live updates from the Commerce Casino and the 2008 WPT LA Poker Classic.