LAS VEGAS (AP)—

The $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold ‘em tournament saw 1,116 entries on Friday, down nearly 200 players compared with the 1,297 entries of the first day of the tournament last year.

Players had until roughly six hours after the cards hit the air to buy into the tournament and start Friday, and three more days to enter the fray as the opening rounds of the tournament were split up.

“I put the over-under at 6,000 and it doesn’t look like we’re going to get there,” said 2003 main event champion Chris Moneymaker, who prepared to enter the tournament on Saturday by playing a $500 single-table tournament across the hall from the main event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

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“It doesn’t look like we’re going to get to that point,” he said. “I think that anything over 4,000 is a success in this economy.”

Last year, the tournament with the richest prize in poker took in less than one-fifth of its players on its first day as the total field swelled to 6,844. That was 500 players better than in 2007, but far fewer than 2006, when a record 8,773 players entered.

Last year’s winner, Peter Eastgate, took home $9.15 million after winning the title in November.

Among those hitting the felt Friday was former Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser, who regaled his table with tales from his days on the mound and complained about an early dinner break.

“Only in Vegas do you have a dinner break at 4:20,” he said.

Actor Jason Alexander and rapper Nelly attracted gawkers as they sat side by side early on, while actress Jennifer Tilly and actor Brad Garrett focused on working their tables across the room.

After the tournament’s first break, Alexander joined Garrett at an empty seat at his table and both players remained in the tournament after the dinner break.

Raphael Zimmerman, a 27-year-old poker player from Oneonta, N.Y., was the first player eliminated from the tournament when his aggressive play on a straight draw ran into three queens after the first three community cards were dealt.

Zimmerman hit his straight on the turn, but his opponent hit a full house on the river to end Zimmerman’s tournament.

“Next year, I’m going to be last out,” said Zimmerman, who said he regularly plays cash games with $50 and $100 blinds. “For a minute, I thought I was going to win anyway.”

Jerry Yang, who won the main event in 2007, built an early chip lead at his table but lost most of it on one hand when his pocket pair of kings squared off against pocket aces—the best starting hand in no-limit Texas Hold ‘em. With all the chips in the middle, Yang and his opponent each hit a set on the flop.

“I’ve still only been playing for three years,” said Yang, who won $8.25 million for beating 6,357 players at the main event in 2007. “I still have a lot to learn.”

Early chip leads meant little on Friday as players simply hoped to move on to a second day of play. Each player started with 30,000 chips, which have no monetary value and are simply used to measure the position of players.

To win the tournament, one player will win all the tournament chips in play.