Flight 1F ($75,000 GTD): Official Flight 1F Chip Counts

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 16 (Blinds 3,000/6,000/500)

Total Flight 1F Entries: 118

Total Entries: 750

Flight 1F Players Remaining: 13

The second flight of the day attracted a total of (118) entries, with (13) players successfully reaching the end of Level 16.  Lisa Rioux (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) bagged the flight chip lead with 302,000, and earned herself an extra $500.  The number wasn't reached until Level 4 of Flight 1G, but this event has already surpassed the $75,000 guarantee, and could reach $100,000 at some point tomorrow!

Lisa	Rioux F	302,000
Richard	Bienvenu	239,500
Sean	Martin	213,000
Carlos	Torres-Vazquez	200,000
Susan	Krowitz	185,000
Pedro	Palacio	185,000
Fariborz	Zojaji	180,000
Arie	Amirali	155,000
David	Maslowski	129,000
Craig	Thompson	111,500
Jonathan	Dobson	55,000
Mitchell	Smith	50,000

The next post will be published at approximately 2:30am, with the end of flight chip counts for Flight 1G.

Flight 1E ($75,000 GTD): Mali Finishes Strong To Bag The Bonus/Official Chip Counts

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 16 (Blinds 3,000/6,000/500)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 83

Total Entries: 589

Flight E Players Remaining: 11

Carmen Mali (Singerland, NY)

Carmen Mali (Singerland, NY) and Alan Cozine were neck and neck heading into the final level of the night, with Guillermo Irving the only other threat to bag the chip lead bonus.  

Once the final hands of the flight were played, and the remaining (11) stacks were broken down, Mali would be determined the chip leader with 276,500.  The trifecta finished with Cozine in second (232,000), and Irving third (199,000).

Mali ends up taking home $500, and will return on Sunday in unfamiliar territory.  Carmen has two cashes on his tournament resume, and while one was a final table during the 2015 Isle Poker Classic, he's never returned for a Day 2 in a multi flight event (especially as one of the top stacks).  Of the other eight players to bag for Day 2, those that are notables include Ron Arena and Robert Warren.

Carmen	Mali E	276,500
Alan	Cozine	232,000
Guillermo	Irving	199,000
Ron	Arena	179,500
Robert	Warren	148,000
Craig	Schlesinger	109,500
Reggie	Bautista	77,000
David	Echavarria	66,000
David	Light	34,000
William	Leppert	20,500
Shlomo	Maman	14,500

Flight 1E ($75,000 GTD): Warren Doubles Through Schlesinger

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 14 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/400)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 83

Total Entries: 582

Flight E Players Remaining: 18

After an open from Carmen Mali to 10,500, Bob Warren would flat behind, and then watch as Greg Schlesinger three-bet to 35,000.  Mali folded with action back on him, and the table watched at Warren struggled with his decision.  He looked back at his cards a few times, even picking them up to a point where you'd have to think he was about to muck the hand.  Eventually, he put his cards down and announced himself "all-in."  Greg made the call (it was about 20,000 more Schlesinger), and the hands were tabled.  It would be the J♣ J♦ of Warren against the A♥ K♣ of Schlesinger, and after the flop of J♠ 3♠ 4♠, it was all but wrapped up for Warren. He would turn a full house to shut the door, and more than double up to 130,000.

Bob Warren - 130,000

Greg Schlesinger - 70,000

Flight 1E ($75,000 GTD): Two Tables Remain

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 14 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/400)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 83

Total Entries: 580

Flight E Players Remaining: 19

The opening flight of the day is down to two tables, and listed below are the seating assignments for the players that remain:

Table 1:

1. Shlomo Maman
2. George Chavez
3. Alan Cozine
4. Nancy Thomas
5. Seymour Field
6. Alberto Neibla
7. Reggie Bautista
8. Guiellermo Irving
9. Ron Arena
10. Joe Mancuso

Table 9:

1. David Light
2. David Echavarria
3. Jason Windling
4. Joe Marchese
5. Bill Leppert
6. Carmen Mali
7. (Empty)
8. Bob Warren
9. A. Nonymous
10. Greg Shlesinger

Flight 1E ($75,000 Guarantee): Transfer Of Poker At Table 10

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 12 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/300)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 83

Total Entries: 553

Flight E Players Remaining: 27

As we see in tournament coverage, the balance of stacks have shifted towards some new names.  Table 10 already hosted some of the larger stacks in the room, and when Joe Marchese's table broke, he would be sent over that way.  Since moving there though, Marchese has watched as two of his tablemates trend upwards on the leaderboard.  

Greg Schlesinger found himself all-in and at risk in a three-way pot (pre), holding 8♠ 8♥ against A♠ A♦ and A♣ 10♠.  He was ready to stand from his chair heading to the river, but would spike a two-outer to make three eights and scoop the pot.  Schlesinger is now sitting with just over 90,000, and is only covered at the table by Joe Marchese and Carmen Mali (Slingerland, NY).  Mali is one of only a few players to sit with over 100,000, and is looking to earn his first recorded cash since March of 2015.

Players will be heading on their final break of the night at the level's conclusion, and will return to finish off the final four levels of the night (play concludes at the end of Level 16, or when 8% of the field remains).

Flight 1F ($75,000 GTD): 3:00pm Flight "Bonus Coverage"

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)

Total Flight 1F Entries: 33

Total Entries: 509

Robert Transue (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)

"When one door close, another opens."  While the registration for Flight 1E ended just over (45) minutes ago, players are already one level into the second flight of the day (3:00pm - Flight 1F).  We are now over (500) total entries for the tournament, with a few familiar faces showing up for the first time this event.  One of the most well known names to followers of the Isle tournament action is in attendance, as Robert "Poppa Bear" Transue (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) currently sits at Table 7.  For those who don't know about Robert and his accomplishments, he is the Isle Casino Poker room leader in "all-time recorded cashes."  His (47) recorded cashes are ten ahead of his nearest competitor, and with the volume that Robert plays, it's going to be difficult from those behind him to catch up.

Some other recognizable names in the field include:

Danielle Bastarache

Pedro Palacio

George Lukawski

Sean Martin

Stephen Harris

John Mayers

Flight 1E ($75,000 GTD): Updated Chip Counts Post-Break

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 9 (Blinds 500/1,000/100)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 83

Total Entries: 476

Flight E Players Remaining: 42

Joe Marchese (Coral Springs, FL)

Play has resumed once again, and the final numbers are in for this flight.  There were a total of (83) entries in this early afternoon flight, with $8,715 going towards the total prize pool.  Of the total entries, (41) now remain after the close of registration, with a current chip average of 36,000 (two starting stacks). Joseph Marchese (Coral Springs, FL) it the chip leader with over 125,000, and heads a group of some of the larger stacks in the field:

Joe Marchese - 128,000

Ron Arena - 77,000

Juan Naranjo - 74,000

Alan Cozine - 65,000

Shlomo Maman - 57,000

Flight 1E ($75,000 GTD): Hautigan Leads As Registration Window Closes

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/75)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 79

Total Entries: 472

Bill Hautigan (Hollywood, FL)

As the level transitions, and Level 8 starts, the allotted time for players to enter (or re-enter) this flight is less than (40) minutes.  There is a (10) minute break at the conclusion of the level, and once play resumes with Level 9, registration closes for this flight.  

While there are no players currently pulling away from the field, there are a handful of larger stacks across the room, over the 50,000 mark.  That handful is headed by Bill Hautigan (Hollywood, FL), who sits with just under 80,000.  Hautigan was already one of the chip leaders, when he rivered a full house on a board of A♠ A♦ 7♣ 5♣ 3♣ (holding A♥ 3♥).  His river bet of 10,000 didn't get called, but he did get value on both the flop and turn.

Hautigan has six recorded cashes on his resume, with most of the $15,000 total coming during the 2013 Isle Poker Classic.  Hautigan  was part of a final table chop ($100 No Limit Hold'em), where his 4th place finish earned him $13,555.

Flight 1E ($75,000 GTD): Notables Spread Across The Field

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 5 (Blinds 150/300/25)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 72

Total Entries: 465

At the beginning of this event, the average number of players needed in each flight to reach the guarantee was somewhere around 75-80.  With the great showing to this point, the average number needed has gone down to (54), meaning that an potentially overlay is nowhere in sight.  What were are looking at now, is the potential to maybe reach a $100,000 prize pool!!!  It's never a bad return on investment when you're receiving upwards of $20,000 for a $130 buy-in tournament.

As expected, this Flight 1E field has grown at a rapid pace, with only three more levels of open registration remaining.  Some players to arrive fashionably late include:

Nancy Thomas

Norman Zapczynski

Elizabeth Hagensick

Joseph Marchese

Ronald Arena

Norman Simmons

Alan Cozine

Flight 1E ($75,000 GTD): Flight 1A-1D Chip Counts

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 4 (Blinds 100/200/25)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 66

Total Entries: 459

The Flight 1E field is currently in the early stages of Level 4, and will be going on their first break of the day at it's conclusion.  They will be away from the tables for (10) minutes, and will return to Level 5, and new blinds of 150/300/25.  There have been many inquiries about total chip counts up to this point, and while they are listed below, you can always find a printed copy by the tournament podium (if you happen to be on property).

Edgar	Mendes D	407,000
Gyorgy	Cseke	359,500
Raymond	Ruszkowski A	328,000
Frank	Katana	323,500
Josh	Wasserman	306,500
Lou	Stadler B	304,500
Robert	Feinstein	285,000
Fernando	Nunez	277,000
Yousef	Nassr	276,000
Scott	Wyler C	258,000
Bryan	Power	249,000
Robert	Bossuk	247,000
Atanael	Thomas	220,000
Hari	Sukhu	204,000
Samuel	Sternfield	203,500
Paulius	Bikus	187,500
Greg	McKenzie	178,000
Karin	Powsner	170,000
Harry	Eisenberg	155,500
William	Swicicki	155,000
Eric	Mutschler	151,000
Evan	Kahan	128,000
Soren	Morales	123,500
Thomas	Gari	117,500
Rafael	Ramos	110,000
Christopher	Cumber	108,500
Tom	Gity	104,500
Dhrumel	Shah	97,500
Sheldon	Gross	97,500
Ginold	Cham	96,500
Paula	Alibrandi	93,500
Gabriel	Fernandes	93,500
Gatien	Dumoulin	89,500
John	Vidal	85,000
Bernhard	Schmidl	83,000
Ariel	Rosello	77,000
Lloyd	Kapper	74,000
Bill	Besch	70,500
Mike	Bonsignore	65,500
Jason	Jimenez	49,500
Devond	Marshal	42,000
Angelo	D'Angelo	40,000

* Letter denotes respective flight chip leader ($500 bonus)

Flight 1E ($75,000 GTD): Benjamin Coming Off Highlighting Score

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 3 (Blinds 75/150)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 57

Total Entries: 450

Charlemagne Benjamin (Miami Gardens, FL)

Charlemagne Benjamin (Miami Gardens, FL) would likely be considered a Hard Rock Hollywood tournament grinder, he most always makes his way to the Isle for the seasonal series that are run, and any great value event in between.  You can't really blame Benjamin for having a small bias for the Hard Rock, as he's seen most of his standout success happen on that property.

Charlemagne is coming off his largest cash to date, earning second place money in an eight-way chop during the 2016 Rock And Roll Poker Open ($570 No Limit Hold'em).  Benjamin earned $39,865 in the deal, and with that eclipses a career benchmark of $100,000 in total earnings.  That deal also included numerous players familiar to the Isle, with Marc Levy taking first place money ($49,910), Michael Abitbol third ($38,085), David Diaz sixth ($30,367), and Daren Stabinski eighth ($20,803).

Flight 1E ($75,000 GTD): Niebla Looking For A Double

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 41

Total Entries: 434

Alberto Niebla (Miami, FL)

Alberto Niebla (Miami, FL) already has one Isle Casino Poker trophy to his name, having won Event #6 of the 2016 Battle Of The Beaches ($250 No Limit Hold'em), and earning himself $4,313.  Alberto has over $14,000 in recorded tournament earnings, with (7) of his (11) lifetime cashes coming this year.  Niebla has been a fixture at the daily events this month, and is looking to parlay the volume played into his second trophy.

Niebla was the first familiar face that was spotted in the field, but since then we have seen the likes of:

Martin Robbins

Reginald Bautista

Francois Gagne

Alan Dobrow

Hunter Ritchie

Joseph Mancuso

ICYMI ($75,000 GTD): Official End Of Flight 1D Chip Counts

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 16 (Blinds 3,000/6,000/500)

Total Flight 1D Entries: 135

Total Entries: 393

Flight 1D Players Remaining: 11

Edgard Mendes (Miami, FL) was featured during Flight 1C play, but after busting that flight and taking a short break from the table, he jumped into the 7:00pm flight.  It turned out to be a wise decision, as he is now free-rolling the event, after bagging the Flight 1D chip lead (407,000).  That number is also good enough to make him the overall chip leader (at this point) coming into Day 2.

Edgar	Mendes	407,000
Gyorgy	Cseke	359,500
Frank	Katana	323,500
Yousef	Nassr	276,000
Bryan	Power	249,000
Robert	Bossuk	247,000
Samuel	Sternfield	203,500
Greg	McKenzie	178,000
Sheldon	Gross	97,500
Jason	Jimenez	49,500
Angelo	D'Angelo	40,000

Flight 1E ($75,000 GTD): Friday's Are For Flights

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)

Total Flight 1E Entries: N/A

Total Entries: 393

Start With The Greens, End With The Green

The dealers have been preparing their tournament setups, and Ralph Brandt is about to make the rules announcement, signifying the beginning of Flight 1E ($130 No Limit Hold'em $75,000 GTD).  To this point, (42) players of the (393) entries have bagged chips for Day 2, ready to return at 12:00pm on Sunday.  

The field this early afternoon is "intimate" at the moment, but once a few levels run off the clock, would should see at least 50-80 runners for the flight.  There has been $2,000 won to this point via the $500 "Chip Lead Bonus," as Raymond Ruszkowski (Flight 1A), Lou Stadler (Flight 1B), Scott Wyler (Flight 1C), and Edgard Mendes (Flight 1D) all bagged their respective flight's top stack.

Once the cards are in the air, and the tables begin to populate, we will bring you updates on the action throughout this flight.  There will also be posts featuring the official chip counts from last night, and full chip counts to this point in the tournament.

Friday, December 16th: Three More Flights To Start The Weekend

To this point, the $130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 Guarantee) event has attracted a total of (393) entries, and is actually on pace to reach a $90,000-100,000 prize pool.  It's known in the industry, that when running a multi-flight event, the largest fields will be seen on the weekend.  There are three flights on today's schedule.  The opening flight of the day (11:00am) will be "live blogged," while the 3:00pm and 7:00pm flight will have sporadic updates (with final and official chip counts).  Here is a brief numbers breakdown of the flights to date:

Flight 1A: 83 Total Entries
Flight 1B: 110 Total Entries
Flight 1C: 65 Total Entries
Fight 1D: 135 Total Entries

The "turbo high hands" are also in effect this morning, with qualifying high hands receiving $100 every (10) minutes.


11:00am - Flight 1E $130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool) "Live Blog Coverage":

- Players will receive 18,000 in tournament units
- Alternates and late entries will be allowed to enter for the first (8) levels
- All entrants will start with a full starting stack
- Levels will last (25) minutes
- Day 1's will play (16) levels, or down to 8% of the field

3:00pm - Flight 1F $130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool)

- Players will receive 18,000 in tournament units
- Alternates and late entries will be allowed to enter for the first (8) levels
- All entrants will start with a full starting stack
- Levels will last (25) minutes
- Day 1's will play (16) levels, or down to 8% of the field

7:00pm - Flight 1G $130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool):

- Players will receive 18,000 in tournament units
- Alternates and late entries will be allowed to enter for the first (8) levels
- All entrants will start with a full starting stack
- Levels will last (25) minutes
- Day 1's will play (16) levels, or down to 8% of the field