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Just a few notes to start off. As we begin, the field has 175 players. Registration will remain open for the first three levels. Chip counts mean little at this point, but we’ll have them as the hours go on in the right hand box under Baden briefs. With the game just beginning, I thought we should start with a few pictures from the floor. Included below is my version of a gossip column pictorial. That’s what blogging is all about, right?
One of many beautiful poker areas in Casino Baden
…and one of the beautiful faces in the poker area, Cecilia Nordenstam
PokerStars Frequent Player Point qualifier Jason McCombie
Young stalwart qualifier Ben Sprengers has ditched his trademark Terrell Owens jersey in favor of a Chipper Jones smock
FPP qualifier Dan Hahn came all the way here from Portland, Oregon. We believe he gets the medal for farthest traveled
Robert Shoemaker, also an FPP qualifier, gets the medal for having grown up closest to me. The Aurora, Missouri native went to high school just a few minutes down the road from my old school. We also went to University of Missouri together. Not that I’m playing favorites or anything.
Noah “Exclusive” Boeken, online wunderkind, is still on the circuit. I can also report he doesn’t like sparkling water but is a big fan of carpaccio. Not that that has a great deal with poker, but still.
WPT Paris champion Roland Dewolfe
Mika Puro, made the final table in the last Austrian EPT event
Alex Stevic, made two EPT final tables last season, also happens to be dating the pretty girl at the top of this post
The Sun’s Simon Young, playing poker and writing about it for the paper for the entire EPT season. Not a bad gig, eh?
Sigi Stockinger, a man who I think might be stalking me. Since we met at the PokerStars World Cup of Poker in May (he played for Team Austria), we’ve seen each other everywhere from Las Vegas to here
What everyonoe here is playing for (not to mention, the money)
