Jonathan Little has entered thousands of poker tournaments during his career, and they all tend to blend together after a while.

But one tournament each year still feels different to the Las Vegas-based pro and poker instructor.

“It’s always exciting to play the Main Event because you can win life-changing money,” Little said. “There are relatively few poker tournaments you can win a ton of money, and the World Series of Poker provides that opportunity. I make a point usually to play on Day 1A so I know if I’m going to be busy for the next good long time or not.”

The $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship opened Wednesday at Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas, with several former champions and notable players in the field.

Billy Baxter, who won the first of his seven WSOP titles 50 years ago, kicked off the festivities with the ceremonial “shuffle up and deal” announcement.

The Main Event continues Thursday with Day 1B, the second of four starting flights. The final table is scheduled to begin July 15.

Jonathan Tamayo is the defending champion after he outlasted a record field of 10,112.

Little played a limited schedule at this year’s WSOP but collected his first career bracelet, which are awarded for tournament victories.

He won the $1,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em Freezeout online event last month for $90,663, adding a WSOP title to go with his two World Poker Tour victories.

“The money was not that significant, but winning my first bracelet was certainly awesome and I’m glad to have it,” Little said. “You don’t get to pick when you win. You just get to show up and play your best every single day, and I make a point to do that. And I’m happy to collect whatever trophies they want to give me.”

This year’s Main Event opening day didn’t have last year’s fireworks when two players were eliminated on the opening hand, but still saw plenty of chips moving. At the dinner break, more than 130 players had been sent to the rail, according to the live updates on the WSOP+ app.

Little was down almost half of his 60,000-chip starting stack at the dinner break.

Chris Moneymaker was one of the unfortunate players who busted early on. The 2003 Main Event champion, whose victory helped spark the poker boom, took a brutal beat during the second level of play.

Moneymaker held a full house, but the river happened to be the only card left in the deck that gave his opponent a better full house.

Bobby Baldwin (1978), Scott Blumstein (2017) and Joe Cada (2009) were among the other former Main Event champions spotted in the field early Wednesday, with more expected to enter throughout the day.

Martin Kabrhel jumped into the Main Event shortly after he captured his fourth career bracelet.

The polarizing high-stakes pro from the Czech Republic won the $1,000 buy-in Mini Main Event No-limit Hold’em event, defeating Alexander Yen heads-up. Kabrhel, whose previous bracelets came at WSOP Europe, overcame a field of 10,794 entrants and claimed the $843,140 first prize.

The victory pushed Kabrhel into the lead for the WSOP Player of the Year race. He has cashed in eight events, including four final tables, and collected more than $2 million in prize money.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.