10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MAIN EVENT DAY 1B ON THE DINNER BREAK
Just because Day 1B is the middle child in the starting game bunch doesn't mean it is going to get lost in the shuffle. This starting day is a big one with well over 2,000 players in action, including a host of notable names, celebrities from outside the poker world, and a new crop of hopefuls taking their shot at the $10 million first place payday. Here are some things to know about the 1B action so far:

1. While Day 1A was relatively quiet in the first level with no recorded bustout until Level 2, today more than one player were out less than an orbit after play began. The 1996 Main Event Champ Huckleberry Seed busted an opponent within 20 minutes of play beginning, while Dan Shak and several others made their exits less than an hour after play began.

2. Speaking of Huckleberry Seed, we continued to see double on the feature table. Yesterday it was 2012 winner Greg Merson and reigning champ Ryan Riess trading blows at that table. Today, it is ’95 Champ Dan Harrington and ’96 Champ Huck Seed side-by-side for 1B action.

3. With over 2,100 players and still going, this year’s 1B field is looking to be at least 300 players bigger than last year’s field of 1,942. WSOP staffers are already suggesting that Day 1C could be the single largest Main Event starting flight in history with a potential for 4,000 players.

4. Matt Affleck is seeking his fourth WSOP Main Event cash since 2009, and is off to a fast start, already chipping up to nearly three-times the starting stack. Affleck has a knack for amassing chips in this tournament. In 2009, he was the chip leader for much of the middle stages of the tournament, and in 2010, most poker fans will remember that Affleck finished in 15th place after taking a bad beat from the eventual champ Jonathan Duhamel.

5. It is five bracelets for Germany so far this year, which is the most of any country but the United States. The Germans are once again off to a good start, as both Marvin Rettenmaier and bracelet winner Manig Loeser have been near the top of the chip counts most of the afternoon. A German hasn’t made the Main Event final table since Pius Heinz won the Main Event in 2011.

6.  Melissa Burr is seeking her sixth cash in this year's Main Event, but her average finishing position for those cashes is going to be tough to maintain. The cash game player from New Jersey's five previous cashes are all 13th place finishes or better. Three of those were final table appearances, including a seventh place showing in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, which is both the first cash and first final table appearance for a female in this event.  Burr claims No Limit Hold'em is one of her worst games, but that didn't stop her from taking a shot in this event.

7. Less than seven points separate Brandon Shack-Harris and George Danzer in the Player of the Year standings. The two have battled back and forth all summer with each making numerous final tables and deep runs to keep the race as close as it has ever been. Shack-Harris cashed six times this summer winning one bracelet, posting four top three finishes, and amassing over $1.5 million in WSOP earnings. Danzer has won two bracelets this summer, notched another final table finish, and cashed a total of seven times. Both are in the field today. Shack-Harris spoke with us about his chances in the last bracelet event of the summer.

8. According to actor Ray Romano, this is his eighth year coming out to Vegas to play the WSOP Main Event. The funnyman did the Shuffle Up and Deal honors today, then brought his son Matt on stage to introduce him to the field. Matt recently turned 21-years-old and he and his dad split his buy-in to the event. While the elder Romano has yet to cash in this tournament, perhaps the first time will be the charm for his son.

9. Nick Cassavetes, director of nine feature films, including The Notebook, is one of several notables from outside the world of poker in today’s field. The film director is playing, as is the aforementioned Ray Romano, comedian Kevin Pollak, Playboy Playmate Triana Iglesias, NASCAR driver Jason White, and former NFL player Eric Stocz to name a few.

10. There are still plenty of opportunities to win the ten dimes necessary to buy into the Main Event. Today’s mega satellites start as late as 10pm, single table satellites are running around the clock, and there will even be a final turbo mega at 8:00am on Monday morning with a $1,060 buy-in.