Photos From the Start of Day 1

Before play begins, Royal Flush Girls Melanie Iglesias (center) and Sunisa Kim (right) escort Noah Schwartz to his seat. Schwartz final tabled the WPT Festa al Lago tournament here at Bellagio earlier this season.

WPT Commentator Mike Sexton gives the traditional "Shuffle up and deal" announcement to begin play, flanked by his co-host Vince Van Patten, WPT Anchor Kimberly Lansing, and the Royal Flush Girls.

The WPT World Championship has one of the toughest fields of the year, with top players in just about every seat. In this photo, two-time WPT winner Daniel Negreanu (center) watches as three-time WPT winner Carlos Mortensen (right) and Jason Somerville (left) play a hand on a board of [9c6d3s3h].