The third installment of the first day of action at the World Series of Poker Main Event certainly had a number of interesting aspects to it. In fact, it can probably be safely said that to date this was the most interesting day of WSOP action. That might have more to do with what happened around the poker table rather than what happened at it however.

For starters, Barney Frank was in attendance. Frank has become the poster boy for the poker community ever since his campaign in Washington to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. In return for his support of the online poker community, Frank was given the chance to say those four words that every poker player loves to hear, “shuffle up and deal.”

Frank was not the only person of note at the Day 1C party however, as many of the world’s best players were scheduled to play on this day. Daniel Negreanu had a few surges in chips, but by the end of the day was nursing a short stack. The same could be said of Annie Duke, Jamie Gold and Paul Wasicka. All four players are still in the tournament however, which is more than can be said for some of the other professionals that choose to start on Day 1C.

The highlight reel event of the day however once again goes to the self-proclaimed Poker Brat. Phil Hellmuth made an entrance into the main room at the Rio dressed as Julius Caesar. Even though we are quite a bit away from Halloween, Hellmuth was dressed in fur, armour, wreaths and a cape. He had over 50 people in his Roman entourage as he entered the casino and of course he was able to steal the show once again as is common for him on the first day at the World Series of Poker.

It is very difficult to make any predictions about what might happen in the tournament, especially as the first day of action is still not done in the official sense. While it is not possible to win the tournament on the first day, it is certainly possible to lose. That is why even with short stacks, players like Negreanu will be thankful that they have lived to play another day.