Cards are in the air at the Emperors Palace in Johannesburg, South Africa. According to WPT's website, 7 players (Phil Ivey, Antonio Esfandiari, Dan Cates, Jeff Gross, Max Altergott, local player Kinesh Pather, and back-to-back Alpha8 champion Philipp Gruissem) have registered for the Day 1 of the $100,000 buy-in tournament.
The televised tournament is the fourth Alpha8 event in World Poker Tour history and players will begin with 100k in chips with the blinds at 200-400 with a 50 ante. Levels will be 60-minutes long and registration will remain open for the first 6 levels. Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier and a few other big names have been spotted elsewhere at the Emperors Palace. Let's hope that they (and many others) will join the tournament and give the prize pool a well-needed boost!
We will be back with a final table recap on Monday morning. Have a nice weekend!