Event 16 (Flight 1C): Official Flight 1C Chip Counts

Event 16 ($150 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Level 16 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/400)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 75
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 12

Michael Hefley	334,000
Thomas Gari	256,000
Anthony Gregory	230,000
Tom Gity	203,000
Ryan Hopp	156,500
Washington Gavilanes	138,000
TJ Shulman	129,000
Arthur Gallinaro	126,500
Frank Scala	109,000
Albert Barney	101,000
Monty Berger	50,000
Steven Lipkins	49,500

Event 16 (Flight 1C): Hefley Getting Healthy As Flight Finishes Up

Event 16 ($150 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Level 16 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/400)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 75
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 15

Michael Hefley (Boonton, NJ)

As Flight 1C enters its final stages, Michael Hefley (Boonton, NJ) has emerged as the flight's chip leader, currently sitting with over 260,000.  The tournament clock will be paused with 10:00 minutes showing on the clock, and those still left in the flight will play four hands, before bagging up for Sunday's Day 2.  Once the tournament staff verifies the player's counts, a list of Flight 1C chip counts will be posted shortly thereafter.

Event 16 (Flight 1C): Looking Forward To The "Battle At The Beach"

Event 16 ($150 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Level 10 (Blinds 500/1,000/100)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 75
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 33

As we wind down this year's installment of the Isle Poker Classic (after a year's hiatus), we can begin to look forward to the next "series" on the calendar.  The 2017 "Battle At The Beach" schedule offers a total of (17) events over the course of three weeks.  The three highlighting events of the series offer guarantees of $125,000 (Event 1), $200,000 (Event 8), and $500,000 (Event 14).  Over the course of the series, there will be (68) seats given away to the championship event via satellite, and two non-no limit hold'em events (Omaha 8B). Overall, this series boasts a total of $1,000,000 in guarantees, and is surely going to be something you want to circle on the calendar!

Event 16 (Flight 1C): Three Tables Remain

Event 16 ($150 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Level 12 (Blinds 800/1,600/200)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 75
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 26

The Flight 1C field is down to three tables, with five levels (scheduled) remaining in the day.  If the field does reach the 8% point (6 players), the clock will then be paused, and the bagging process will begin.  We saw both flights get down to two tables yesterday, but the stacks become so deep, that eliminations are few and far between during those final levels.  Posted below are the remaining players in this flight, along with their seating assignments:

Table 1:

1. Stephen Smith
2. Tom Gity
3. Angelo Castaldi
4. Arthur Gallinaro
5. Thomas Gari
6. Linda Lipkins
7. Monty Berger
8. Paul Berensen
9. Gedas Bertulis
10. Frank Scala

Table 2:

1. David Light
2. Austin Rattet
3. Evan Lash
4. Albert Niebla
5. Albert Barney
6. TJ Shulman
7. Moe Heider
8. Ryan Hopp 
9. (Empty)
10. Mel Littman

Table 3:

1. Michael Hefley
2. Alicia Goldstein
3. (Empty)
4. Anthony Gregory
5. Lacselles Peart
6. Steve Lipkins
7. (Empty)
8. Zakarya Wolgamott
9. Washington Gavilanes
10. Joe Gallinaro

Event 16 (Flight 1C): Official Chip Counts (Flights A-B)

Event 16 ($150 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Level 9 (Blinds 400/800/100)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 75
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 35

Event 16 (Flight 1C): Washington Holds Lead As Registration Closes

Event 16 ($150 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Level 8  (Blinds 300/600/75)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 75
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 45

Washington Gavilanes (Plantation, FL)

It's been a long time since we've seen Washington Gavilanes's (Plantation, FL) name on the blog, but it's a name this blogger will always remember.  Gavilanes was the winner of the first event that was ever "live blogged" here at the Isle Poker Room (to clarify, first live event on this particular blog).  Washington bested Al Efremoff in a heads up battle to take down the 2016 Isle Poker Open Event 1 trophy, navigating his way through a field of 1,148 entries to earn $26,137.

Washington is seemingly picking up where he left off, as he's cruised to a comfortable chip lead, sitting with over 155,000 in front of him.  He is the only player in the field to have eclipsed the century mark to this point, as we are about to reach the end of Level 8.  There will be a (10) minute break after this level, and once play resume with Level 9, registration will have closed for Flight 1C of Event 16.

Event 16 (Flight 1C): The Fashionably Late Crowd

Event 16 ($150 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Level 7 (Blinds 250/500/50)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 70
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 62

Punctuality, unless it's having to arrive to start a Day 2, isn't something that's terribly important to tournament players.  One of the ongoing debates in the tournament world is whether or not arriving for "pre-ante" levels is a profitable move.  Regardless of reasoning, we've seen a wave of players arrive over the last (30) minutes, including the likes of (some players listed have been in play for longer):

TJ Shulman
Evan Lash
Ryan Hopp
David Walker
Albert Barney
Luis Santoni
Michael Boykin
Frank Traino

Event 16 (Flight 1C): Smith Already Feeling At Home In Florida

Event 16 ($150 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Level 6 (Blinds 150/300/25)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 64
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 54

Stephen Smith (Montgomery, AL)

Flight 1C players are one level removed from their first (10) minute break of the day, with just under (90) minutes remaining in open registration for this flight.  A handful of players arrived towards the tail end of the break, including Tom Gity (Pompano Beach, FL), and 2017 Isle Poker Classic Event 2 winner Stephen Smith (Montgomery, AL).

We should update that "hometown," as Smith is now a Florida resident, as the first of this year.  Without a casino and/or poker room in his home state of Alabama, Smith would do a lot of traveling to play the game he loves, hitting up rooms Biloxi, Cherokee, and Jacksonville (just to name a few).  Now that Smith lives in Florida, he has numerous poker rooms within a short drive of his home, and he made his name known two weeks ago (here at the Isle).  

When Event 2 was down to the final table, Smith held a commanding chip lead, which was even more powerful with the shallow stacks of his opponents.  After two of the shorter stacks were eliminated, the remaining eight players asked to hear the ICM numbers in regards to a chop.  Once the players agreed to the numbers that were presented, Smith was declared the winner, and walked away with over $28,000 (which happened to be close to $10,000 more than second place).  Stephen is back in action in this Flight 1C, and is looking to match Andrew Blake, who already has two trophies won during this series.

Event 16 (Flight 1C): Those That Play Together...Stay Together

Event 16 ($150 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Level 4 (Blinds 100/200)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 59
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 50

Steve and Linda Lipkins (Boca Raton, FL)

We've seen a lot of different "combinations" in the fields of these tournaments since the live blog coverage started last October.  There have been brother/sister combos in the field (Michelle and Sean Shah), twin combos (Hector and Nestor Carballo), and husband/wife combos like we have in the field now.

Steve and Linda Lipkins knew each other when they were in sixth grade in Queens, NY.  They each headed down their own paths in life, until they crossed paths once again at their high school reunion (Forest Hills High School) at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island.  The two got to talking, and as the saying goes, the rest was history.  The two have now been married for nine years, and one thing that they enjoy doing together is playing poker.

Having relocated to Florida, the two would watch poker on television, and they decided to play live once

the game took of down here.  Since 2008, the two have been playing tournaments together, and they've amassed some pretty impressive resumes.  Linda has over $81,000 in career earnings, with her largest score coming in 2015 (2nd Place - MSPT Venetian $600 NLH $45,153).  Steve has over $46,000 in recorded tournament earnings, with his largest score coming in a WSOP circuit event in Atlantic City in 2008 (4th Place WSOPC Harrah's AC $340 NLH $14,091).

The two are in today's Flight 1C, and looking to bag chips for Day 2, so they can return on Sunday as a duo once again.

Event 16 (Flight 1C): The "All-Time" Money Wheel Winner

Event 16 ($150 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Level 3 (Blinds 75/150)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 50
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 46

Sahadeo Seenarraine (Tamarac, FL)

If you look at Sahadeo's Seenarraine's (Tamarac, FL) tournament resume, you'll see that 2016 was a "light" year in terms of tournament play.  The year prior (2015), Seenarraine recorded (10) cashes, all together totaling $5,394.  Every single one of Sehadeo's tournament cashes came here at the Isle Poker Room, and for all he's given to this room, you can say the room "gave back" last year.  The "Spin To Win" promotion started last summer, and has quickly become the most popular high hand promotion in the room.  Players have the opportunity to spin the "money wheel" and walk away with $25,000.  In order to be eligible to win the $25,000, the qualifying high hand must be a royal flush, and the spin must then land on the jackpot slot.

Things weren't always like that though, and when the wheel hosted a $15,000 slot, Seenarraine was the first (and only) player to hit the wheel for that amount.  Sahadeo is someone you'll always see playing cash in the room on a daily basis, but this is the first we've seen him enter a tournament since the blog's inception.

Event 16 (Flight 1C): Familiar Faces Make Up Early Field

Event 16 ($150 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Level 1 (Blinds 50/100)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 46
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 46

Tevy Wellins (Hollywood, FL) is coming off of his biggest Isle Poker tournament cash, earning second place money in the eight-way chop that ended Event 9.

Contrary to yesterday's starting flights, this afternoon flight of Event 16 is full of notables names and faces.  Tevy Wellins (Hollywood, FL) earned his "notable" status this past week, notching a $5,025 score in the Event 9 chop (eight-way).  Wellins's share was second place money, and was his largest tournament score since a deep run in the opening event of the 2012 Borgata Winter Poker Open ($31,096).  Other players in the field with the Isle Poker "notable" status include:

Stephen Smith

Francois Gagne

Michael Weinberg

Zakarya Wolgamott

Thomas Moran

Ian Cohen

Thomas Gari

Claude Ferland

Michael Hefley

Thursday, January 19th: Duo Of Event 16 Flights On Tap

The first day of Event 16 saw two flights that attracted a total of (135) entries, with (25) players successfully bagging chips for Sunday's Day 2.  The Flight 1A chip leader was Kevin Matheson (West Palm Beach, FL), who bagged 243,000, while Stefan Korolczuk bagged 301,000 as the Flight 1B chip leader.  One of the storylines of this final Isle Poker Classic event, is the emergence of new names and faces to followers of the blog.  Of the (25) players to bag chips, there were only a few recognizable names (Jeff Burdeen, Marcel Deschamps, Marc Culberson).

As the weekend approaches, the field sizes will gradually get larger, with yesterday's "intimate" fields more of an anomaly.  There are two more starting flights on the schedule today, with Flight 1C getting the dedicated "live blog coverage."

11:00am - Event 16 (Flight 1C) $150 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) $100,000 Guarantee:

- Players receive 25,000 in tournament chips

- All late registrants and re-entries will receive a full stack

- Level will be (25) minutes in length

- Late registration and re-entries for the first (8) levels

- All Day 1's will play 16 complete levels, or until 8% of the field remains (whichever comes first)

6:00pm - Event 16 (Flight 1D) $150 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) $100,000 Guarantee:

- Players receive 25,000 in tournament chips

- All late registrants and re-entries will receive a full stack

- Level will be (25) minutes in length

- Late registration and re-entries for the first (8) levels

- All Day 1's will play 16 complete levels, or until 8% of the field remains (whichever comes first)

Event 16 (Flight 1B): Official Flight 1B Chip Counts

Event 16 ($150 No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Level 16 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/500)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 78
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 14

Stefan	Korolczuk	301,000
Ed	Sparks	198,000
Elias	Nassif	196,500
Joseph	Petrolino	182,000
Marcel	Deschamps	147,000
Metin	Guner	146,000
Chad	Ducharma	139,000
Bogdan	Malinicio	136,500
Robert	Cavataio	102,500
Bruce	Rawdin	97,000
Armando	Del Pozo	95,000
Glen	Sugarman	87,500
Feguener	Gay	81,000
William	Summler	50,500