Not to steal a line from poker Hall of Famer Todd Brunson, but and we’re off … in the $3,500 buy-in World Poker Tour (WPT) Rolling Thunder event in Northern California. Action kicked off at 11 a.m. local time in Lincoln, California at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort, one of the top poker rooms in the United States. When play began, 160 had already registered, and many others have since joined the party, but there’s a shot the annual event could surpass its previous record of 590 entrants, set last year.

At this point, it’s clear that the changes Daniel Negreanu vowed to make following a rough poker year are working. The Poker Hall of Famer shaved off another $147,500 on Saturday from his $2 million losses in 2023 with a victory in PokerGO Tour PLO Series Event #3: $5,100 Pot-Limit Omaha. He beat out 118 entrants for his second high roller win of the year, including Anuj Agarwal ($91,450) heads up to finish off the tournament.

Day 1 of the $3,500 buy-in World Poker Tour (WPT) Rolling Thunder Championship is in the books. A total of 367 players came to play at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California on Saturday. But only 171 bagged chips and will come back on Sunday at 11 a.m. local time for Day 2, one of whom is Dan Sepiol, three months removed from one of the biggest wins in poker history.