For the First Time at the Rio, Day 1 of the WSOP Starts on Time

The WSOP has been underway for more than three hours now, and the biggest story so far? For the first time in WSOP history at the Rio, the first event started smoothly and on time.

Ever since the WSOP moved to the Rio, the first day has been a chaotic affair, with long lines and short tempers. But this year, even with some pre-game speeches and ceremonies involving the UNLV marching band, Doyle Brunson concluded it all with the traditional phrase, "Shuffle up and deal!" -- at exactly 12:00 noon. (In recent years, play was delayed as much as half an hour.)

When play began today, there were no registration lines and the stress levels were low. With a $10,000 buy in, this first event only has 352 entrants, but it is an elite field including the best in the world. Those players were relaxed and catching up with friends that they hadn't seen in a while.

Credit for a clean start on Day 1 goes primarily to a smoother registration process, and Harrah's has been really pushing their online registration. Even those of us in the media, who waited in long lines in past years to pick up our passes, were greeted with a quick and painless process to get credentials.

Of course, the real test will be tomorrow, when thousands of players are expected for Event #2 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold'em). Today's smaller field gives the tournament staff some time to work out the kinks and get their feet wet. (While it's an experienced tournament staff, nothing compares to the WSOP.)

The first glitch in the system? The tournament clocks seem to be running a bit fast. While the tournament started on time, the first break took place around 1:50 pm -- ten minutes early. It was quickly determined that the tournament clock software was running fast, so the staff added ten more minutes of Level 2 blinds when the players returned from break.

Harrah's quickly had people looking into the clock problem, and for the time being, the tournament director will keep a separate clock to make sure the players get their full 60-minute levels.

But compared to Day 1 glitches from prior years, this is minor. Certainly compared to the PokerPeek controversy from last year, where the newly designed cards were so hated that some players talked about a WSOP boycott.