by Simon Young

Daniel Negreanu sat down at a terrible seat today. He felt uncomfortable, shaky even. But it was nothing to do with his opponents at the table - they seem an amiable enough bunch - but his chair. In today's hi-tech world, The Rio had come up with a seat that had one leg shorter than the others, causing Team PokerStars' Daniel to try and concentrate on playing his cards while riding a bucking bronco.

Daniel Negreanu: On the move
After a few rounds he had had enough, and set off to find a replacement, one that stayed perfectly still. I watched T J Cloutier having the same problem yesterday, so maybe the wobbly chairs are reserved for the big-name players to give them something else to worry about as they negotiate the early stages.

Settled in (only after getting up again to survey the table-break order) Daniel was his usual chatty self with the table. He was comfortable now - but somehow I suspect his opponents are not.

On the neighbouring table I saw what could have been the first bust out of the day, and sadly it involved a PokerStars qualifier. But, as he had a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp, it was not really the time to grab him for a chat as he left the room. His demise caused by getting all in with K-K on a board showing 9-3-J with two hearts. He had the overpair, plus the K hearts for the flush draw, but his nemesis' J-J for the set held up.

People drink a lot here while playing the Main Event - and the cocktail waitresses buzz about with trays stacked precariously with water or coffee. It's not really sensible to drink alcohol, you see, while playing for one of the biggest prizes in poker history. I was surprised, then, to see one player knocking back a bottle of beer soon after 12.30pm. By the looks of him, I fear it was not his first of the day.

Once again we have a load of PokerStars qualifiers in the field today which is estimated at 1,700, making it over 6,000 runners for the Main Event.