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Day 1a (the first of four “Day 1s”) of the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event kicked off yesterday at the Rio in Las Vegas and as some had predicted, attendance figures were down slightly in comparison to last year. Although tournament organizers estimated that approximately 1,000 players had arrived for the first flight of the Main Event, an official headcount put this number at exactly 897. This represents a 20% decrease from Day 1a of the 2010 Main Event, in which 1,125 players paid their $10,000 buy-ins.

The numbers give credence to the predictions of those who believed that Black Friday and its ongoing implications would stifle attendance. With so many U.S. players’ bankrolls still in financial limbo, many were undoubtedly unable to afford the buy-in.

Both the Pavilion and Amazon Rooms at the Rio have been packed nearly to capacity since the 2011 WSOP began over a month ago. Yesterday, however, the Pavilion Room was practically empty, and the Amazon Room was becoming sparse after just four levels of play.

Poker’s biggest stars, including Greg Raymer, Tom Schneider, Johnny Lodden, Scott Montgomery, T.J. Cloutier, Vince Van Patten, Mario Ho, Jason Alexander, Eli Elezra, Annette Obrestad, Jerry Yang and Johnny Chan, all came to play despite the attendance dip. Doyle Brunson, who considered skipping the event entirely, busted early in the competition. Speculation indicates that this may have been Brunson’s final World Series of Poker, anticlimactic as that would be.

Brunson wasn’t alone on the rail, as other former winners including Greg Raymer and Jerry Yang also busted.

Fred Berger is the current unofficial chip leader with 209,500 chips. Other pros including Lex Veldhuis, Oliver Busquet, Jason Alexander, Raymond Rahme, Jonas Klausen and Sebastian Ruthenberg will bring intimidating chip stacks to Day 2a as well. A total of 558 players from Day 1a remain in the chase for the most prestigious title in all of poker.