MONTE CARLO, Monaco, Nov. 21, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- After 12 hours of intense tournament play on Sunday, poker titans vied for a shot at becoming an overnight millionaire at the Monte Carlo Millions. The $25,000 buy-in, invitation only event started promptly at 12:00 p.m., each player stacked with $50,000 in chips. Today, the international field begins with 60 of the world's most renowned poker players and skilled amateurs.
The $3 million prize pool is the largest ever in a European poker tournament. Players from more than 20 different countries are contending for the championship title. You can track your favorite players, live at www.montecarlomillions.com/blog05d1.php.
At the end of day one, Marc Goodwin, current chip leader, left the table with a stack of $231,700. Closely on his heels is Phil Ivey checking out with $226,700 chips. The top ten at the end of day one include:
1. Marc Goodwin $231,700 11. Richard Herbert $131,000
2. Phil Ivey $226,700 12. Phil Laak $128,300
3. Bengt Sonnert $205,200 13. Mike Matusow $125,400
4. Richard Gryko $180,300 14. Peter Eichhartdt $125,300
5. Paul Jackson $167,400 15. John Kretz $124,200
6. Fuat Can $153,900 16. Jean-Jacques Ghebali $123,500
7. John Ioannou $146,600 17. Johan Storakers $121,600
8. Farzad Bonyadi $143,500 18. Diamadis Diamadidis $120,500
9. Kevin Daly $141,800 19. Jason Dollinger $109,300
10. Jesse Jones $135,100 20. Jon Kalmar $106,800
Top highlights from today's play:
-- Five of the top 20 chip leaders won their way to the Monte Carlo
Millions through satellites hosted by RoyalVegasPoker.com,
Bet365.com and Poker Zone SKY-TV channel 226.
-- Defending champion Jani Sointula remains strongly in the
tournament with $104,300 in chips. Fellow Fin Juha Helppi, who
came in second last year, exited on the first day finishing 65th.
-- After a 10 minute typical bad-beat tirade, Phil Hellmuth made
an amazing comeback, returning from a low of $16,000 to $94,000
chips finishing the day in 27th place.
-- International celebrities, Patrick Bruel (France), Jennifer Tilly
(USA) and Michael Greco (U.K.) are all headed for the Monte Carlo
Gold tournament to be held on Tuesday, November 22.
Monte Carlo Gold Tournament
The Monte Carlo Gold, the first tournament of its kind in poker history, will be held for all players who do not reach the final table. This year, players will compete for more than $250,000 in prize money. The winner of Monte Carlo Gold is guaranteed $100,000 and most importantly, a "golden ticket" to return to the final table in the main event. The lucky winner will have a second chance to take home the $1 million first prize.
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