It was another record field for the opening day of a Main Event here at WSOP-C Calgary with 344 total entries for Day 1a. That improved on the Jan 2023 Day 1a numbers by more than 50 entries, a 14.5% increase over last year's total of 291.

Leading the way from the opening flight is Hasanain Al Ghunaim with 857k, and he leads six players with stacks of 500k or more. including WSOP Bracelet winner Lonnie Hallett. Other notable stacks to bag today include Bracelet and multi-Ring winner Mike "GoLeafsGoEh" Leah and 2023 API winner Joon Park, 

A total of 52 players made it through the flight which means they played down to exactly 15%, though it took them a little longer than 17 Levels to do it.

That means Day 1a made the money, though no payouts were earned. Flights 1b and 1c could play down past 15% as a result, but given the expected numbers, it seems unlikely. A list of all the qualifying stacks is under the Chip Counts tab, and below is a look at the top ten stacks.

Entries for Day 1a of the Main Event are now closed and the final number on the board was 344 for today. That number is still unofficial, but if it holds, it means there will 52 players getting paid today with at least 18 advancing to Day 2. There are 108 players left in the game as Level 13 starts.

There is just over an hour left to get into the opening flight of the Main Event and it's one for the record books. There are 334 entries so far, which is the biggest 1a flight for the Main Event ever here at Deerfoot.

The game is already almost 13% bigger than last year's opening flight and it's close to 90 entries over the first day of the inaugural Main Event back in Jan 2022

Day 1a still has more than 90 minutes left to enter but the one-day prize pool is already over $500k. Last year, Day 1a topped out just over $440k in prizes, which puts this year's Day 1a more than 12% ahead of last year with time left for the numbers to increase.

Meanwhile, the satellite to the Main is playing out in the Chrome room now and they are up to 263 entries already with play still in Level 3 and entries open until the break following Level 7, about 8:30 pm.

The Main Event is now on its dinner break with 327 entries on the board. That puts today's field 11% above last year's Day 1a field and they are now only 4 entries away from $500k in prizes for the opening flight.

Level 9 has just begun in the Main Event and this is the final level before the dinner break. They'll be away from the tables for 45 minutes following this level, then back for three more levels of registration before the Day 1a field is set.

With 321 entries now, the pace of entry has slowed a bit now but they are only 10 entries away from $500k in prizes for today, so with 3.5 hours left to enter, it seems likely they'll hit that number.

Day 1a is up to 319 entries now with action in Level 8. That's almost 10% above last year's Day 1a total with about four hours left to get into today's flight. The prizes right now are just over $480k with $500k well within sight today.

The Main Event this year promised to be a big one, and that promise looks to be coming true. With about five hours left in Day 1a entries, this year's field is already bigger than last year by 7 entries and still growing. The $2.5 million prize pool seems well within reach at this point.

It's a big day over in the Main Event. The opening flight of last year's record-breaking Main Event saw 291 entries, but with action still to play in Level 6 here today, the field is already up to 285 entries.

There are still about 5.5 hours to get into today's flight as well, so it looks like this year's opening flight won't just beat last year, but will be blowing it away.

The Main Event is up to 265 Entries for Day 1a with action in Level 5. That puts the prizes just over $400k now with about 6 hours left to enter this opening flight.

The entries for Day 1a are up to 240 now for early prizes of $363,600 so far. Level 4 has just under 20 minutes to play left and there are just under 7 hours left to enter this opening flight.

Day 1a of the Main is on it's first break of the day with 225 entries on the board. That puts the prizes about $10k shy of $350k right now with more than 7 hours left to enter this opening flight.

At this point, it seems almost certain this flight will beat the 291 entries in last year's Day 1a - the big question is, by how much?

When I was doing my start-of-day post late last night I got the start stacks confused for this one. I said the Main starts with 30k in chips, but in truth, players sit down with 40k to start the day. My apologies for the error.

Also note that most of my attention today will be on the end of the Monster Stack, so I won't likely have eyes on Day 1a until late tonight, if at all. I'll try to keep the numbers updated as best I can today, but there likely won't be much else coming from the Main today.

Day 1a of the Main Event is underway now with Level 3 just beginning and 201 entries on the board to start the level. That puts the early prize pool at more than $300k already which bodes well for a big final number.

Last year, Day 1a saw 291 entries for the opening flight of the Main, so with more than 200 already in the game before the first break, it looks like the Day 1a numbers are set to beat last year at least.

Event #11: $1,700 Main event ($1515 + $185)
Day 1: Jan 18/19/20, 11 am
Day 2: Jan 21
Starting Stack: 30k
Blinds: 40/60 Minutes
Registration: 12 Levels (~8:30 pm)
Day 1 Ends: 17 Levels or 5% of the Field
15%-5% Paid on Day 1

It's time for the big show! Day 1a of the Main Event is on deck for Thursday with two more Day 1 flights to play on Friday and Saturday, and given the turnout for earlier events this series, it promises to be another record-breaker.

Last year, the January Main set the local record for prize pool with more than $2.1 million in prizes but last year's records have been dropping all over the place this series. With the increase to the numbers on the Monster Stack, the Main Event could easily see a prize pool of $2.5 million this time around.

Opening day action kicks off at 11 am on Thursday for Day 1a with a starting stack of 30k. Blinds are 40 minutes long on Day 1, and move to 60 minutes for Day 2 play. Players will have 12 levels to enter, meaning the registration cutoff on Day 1 play will be about 8:30 pm.

Day 1 is scheduled to last for 17 levels, but they'll bag it up early if they hit 5% of the field first. This is a Day 1 pay event, so players finishing from 15% to 5% on Day 1 will pocket cash when they leave.

This promises to be the biggest game ever in Alberta - take your shot at a bag in one of the three Day 1 flights over the next three days, or risk the FOMO of watching a $2.5 million prize pool slide by.