Aside from the obvious cash and PC point incentives of a $10K, the mere mention of Las Vegas conjures images that remind us there only 24 hours in each day. With the players seated and waiting to get started, we saw evidence of that.

With level 2 head judge Matt Tabak holding the microphone and the floor as the field waited for the first round to begin, he asked the big question—“Who got less than four hours of sleep last night?” A sea of hands indicating a majority of the players shot up immediately, making the obvious follow-up necessary—“Who got no sleep last night?” Almost thirty hands remained raised.

Between the bright lights, loud music, jingling slot machines, showgirls, and the “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” factor, the players have been living large. The opportunities Vegas provides have simply proven too tempting to ignore. Ask any of the walking dead, though, and they’d tell you that the sleep deprivation was worth it.

The city shines as bright as the Luxor light. We asked a few players what occupied their prior to today’s event:

David Frayer: “I lost about $600, then won it back on the Hollywood Squares penny slots. Oh yeah, and there were around eight gin and tonics in there.”

Jonathan Hsieh: “I went to the Luxor, won like a $150 bucks at Pai Gow, and drank . . . a lot of drinks.”

John “Bam Bam” Rich: “I was good last night. I only had two 64 ounce beers.” John went on to tell us about the rest of the evening, but when reminded that his better half would be reading this, deemed the explanation unprintable.

Look for some interesting plays in today's later rounds . . .