The Big Show. I arrived at the Rio in Las Vegas about 5:00 local time and met up with Tony G from Big Slick. His first day (Day 1A) was yesterday and he ended up short-stacked (6,100 of a starting stack of 30,000). But he's still in the tournament with 15 times the big blind. He also got a great picture of actress Jennifer Tilley's butt with his cell phone. (Jennifer is the significant other of poker super-star Phil "Unibomber" Laack, and an outstanding player in her own right.) One can never say that Tony doesn't have clearly defined priorities.

After dinner, I completed my pre-registration at the tournament desk and walked over to the table to which I have been assigned for tomorrow. (The room was still active, about seven hours into Day1B.) Among the notables I saw were Chris Ferguson, Barry Greenstein, and Mike Caro.

OK, this is it. In twelve hours the cards will be in the air.