The Casinò Municipale di Venezia saw 218 players drop the €3000+€30 entry fee and take their seats inside one of poker's most beautiful rooms, featuring sky-high ceilings, fabulous water views and priceless artwork from the 16th and 17th century.
Names like Fabrice Soullier, Claire Renaut, Dominik Nitsche, Max Pescatori, Claudio Rinaldi and PartyPoker Pro Giovanni Safina were all on hand.
But just 101 finished the day with Alessio Isaia grabbing the overnight lead.
In addition to the main event, Italian Soccer Legend Francesco Totti made an appearance, playing three heads-up matches against a series of PartyPoker Pros in the name of charity.
The WPT Venice main event runs from through Feb. 8 with the second of two starting days set for Friday Feb. 4.
There will also be a €10,000 High Rollers event Feb. 7–9.
Both events are being filmed for TV.
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