Bodog Beat

Poker pro Phil Ivey is aiming for another deep run at a WPT event as the Foxwoods Poker Classic gets underway. (Bodog Beat Image)

The last stop on the World Poker Tour before the WPT World Championship kicked off today at Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., with the WPT championship event of the annual Foxwoods Poker Classic.

While not one of the most attended stops on the WPT, this year only drew 344 players for Day 1 and last year only had 415, the tournament is still popular with a lot of big name pros. Spotted out in the small field today were Phil Ivey, Erick Lindgren, Hoyt Corkins, Gavin Smith, Bill Edler, Shane "Shaniac" Schleger, Amnon Filippi, Ted Forrest, Erik Seidel, Godsmack lead singer Sully Erna, David "The Dragon" Pham, last year's champion Raj Patel, T.J. Cloutier, prelim event winner Hevad "RainKhan" Khan, Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy and Barry "The Bear" Greenstein.

So far, Pham and Filippi are the only ones from that list who have hit the rail so far today while Nam Le is on the other end of the spectrum and currently sitting in the lead. According to CardPlayer.com, there were just enough entrants to generate a $1 million first-place prize, which will be awarded when final table play wraps up next Wednesday.

Stay tuned to the Beat for more updates on the WPT Foxwoods Poker Classic and check out the WPT online poker qualifiers in the Bodog Poker room.