The 2011 World Series of Poker main event kicked off on Thursday with a buzz. The biggest event of the year began amongst constant industry concerns after all the crises that have emerged from the Black Friday indictments, but turnout during the first 57 events at the WSOP had been record-setting and the hope was there that the main event would also deliver.

Doyle Brunson kicked off the festivities by handling the shuffle up and deal honors. His words and wishes of luck echoed through the Amazon and Pavilion rooms as 897 players sat anxiously waiting to be dealt their first hand of the main event. The action escalated quickly and it only took 26 minutes before the first elimination. Once that initial barrier broke, the floodgates would open as nearly 100 players would hit the rail during the first two levels.

Brunson himself would be an early casualty, exiting the feature table arena to a standing ovation and applause by fans who spent part of their day watching a living legend go to work. The 10-time WSOP bracelet winner and two-time WSOP main event champion debated his participating this year, citing frustration and a loss of enthusiasm for the game. Although he made a valiant attempt, the second consecutive WSOP ended without a cash for Brunson and many around the Rio wondered how many more main events lie in his future.

Approximately 560 players survived Day 1 action with Fred Berger on top of them all. Berger, a bracelet winner from the 2002 WSOP and 2010 WSOP Circuit main event champion, will bring in a stack of over 200,000 in chips when this field returns on Monday. Other notables with above average stacks include David Diaz, Olivier Busquet, Soi Nguyen, Lex Veldhuis, Filippo Candio and Annette Obrestad. Survivors on the short side include Billy Baxter, Matt Glantz and Sammy Farha.

Comedian Jason Alexander, a guest on Thursday’s Poker Edge Podcast, ended the day with 63,150 in chips. Alexander has made his presence known over the past few main events, but has yet to cash. He competed against Obrestad, Glantz, Barry Shulman, Benny Spindler, Kevin McBride and Vanessa Selbst during Day 1 and emerged with a smile on his face.

“I could probably eat the energy of the table if I wanted to be really animated, but there’s two things that play,” he said when asked about his atypical serious nature during Day 1. “It’s a long day and you have to pace your energy. But the truth is that I tend to respond to the energy at the table. If the table wants to have a good time and wants to talk, I’m happy to do that. When there’s pros at the tables and they’re not pushing the energy at the table, I try to be respectful I’m here to do as well as I can, but I’m always very well aware that this is not how I make my living; this is how they make their living.”

On the other side of the coin were those who saw their main event journeys come to an end sooner than expected. Former world champions Greg Raymer and Jerry Yang hit the rail during the first few levels leaving Johnny Chan as the only former champion to advance to Day 2. Two players who have found great success in 2011, Chris Oliver and Selbst, made a quick exit along with Faraz Jaka, Scott Montgomery, McLean Karr, Chris Klodnicki, Brett Richey, Josh Arieh, Antoine Saout and John Hennigan.

Here’s a look at the unofficial chip leaders:

1. Fred Berger (209,500) 2. Shane Sigsbee (182,600) 3. Kyle Burnside (159,050) 4. Cedric Annen (155,400) 5. Lynne Mitchnick (145,675) 6. David Diaz (139,150) 7. Chris MacFarland (135,350) 8. Philipp Gruissem (133,050) 9. Greg Kaplan (129,175) 10. Brendan Taylor (128,000)

Survivors from Day 1A will merge with Day 1C for their Day 2 on Monday. Day 1B will begin at 3 p.m. ET when a new set of players will begin their main event journey.

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