The Partouche Poker Tour Main Event held at the Palms Beach Club in Cannes, France got underway on Wednesday as a star-studded field of 226 players gathered for day 1A. Gus Hansen, Scotty Nguyen, Dario Minieri and Chris “Jesus” Fergusonall put down the €8,500 entry fee for the chance to take home a share of the guaranteed €2,000,000 prize pool. This tournament is the biggest poker tournament in French history so there is no surprise that it attracted all the sharks.

Gus Hansen was the most successful of the household names on Day 1A. The leaders are as follows:

Patrick Muleta - 121,700
Imad Derwiche - 107,400
Cyril Dard - 102,000
Armando Magnoli - 96,700
Antonin Teisseire - 91,400
Gus Hansen - 86,300
Christopher Nestor Ygborn - 82,100
Alain Emile Bernard Roy - 77,500
Mickael Cartillier - 77,000
Thierry De Matos - 77,000

Day 1B was more of the same as 254 new players entered the fold to play their way into history. Robert and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Jeff Madsen, David Williams, Erica Schoenberg, Tiffany Michelle and Phil Iveywere just a few of the stars to grace the felt on this day. The “Grinder” did not disappoint as by the end of Day 1B, he was near the top of the leader board, only eclipsed by Denmark’s Casper Hansen.

Phil Ivey’s day was short as he didn’t arrive until partway through level 3, and quickly bust out as his middle set of 3’s fell to a flopped straight. The leaders after day 1B are as follows:

Casper Hansen - 163,400
Michael Mizrachi - 160,300
Brice Cournut - 152,300
Raul Paez - 132,400
Patryk Hildebranski - 126,800
Davidi Kitai - 106,500
Frederic Vernege - 105,400
Soren Kongsgaard - 98,200
Rafe Furst - 94,100
Philippe Rottemberg - 93,800

As always, stay tuned for more action here at TexasHoldem.com.