Event 8 (Flight 1E): Official Flight 1E Chip Counts

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/400)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 244

Flight 1E Players Remaining: 51

Mark	Salerno	346,500
Calixto	Rodriguez	340,500
Miguel	Martinez	340,000
Vito	Recchimurzo	270,000
Ariel	Williams	262,000
Ory	Hen	223,500
Jonathan	Marks	206,000
Frank	Katana	200,000
Marc	Duquette	187,500
Anthony	Barbera	167,500
Michael	Newman	156,500
Nigel	Murray	150,000
Joseph	Irgon	150,000
Uri	Kadosh	145,500
Joseph	Verrastig	145,000
Stephen	Smith	142,500
Daniel	Mijac	138,000
Craig	Stern	137,500
Jermaine	Gerlin	134,500
Sean	Shah	128,000
Daren	Stabinski	127,500
Aaron	Robbins	123,000
Michael	Wojcieszek	116,000
Willie	Wiggins	116,000
Gil	Aboudi	110,000
Scott	Zakheim	104,500
Manuel	Soltero	102,500
Bernard	Muhire	100,000
Joshua	Beckley	95,000
Alexandre	Caperonis	94,500
Alicia	Goldstein	92,500
Guillermo	Irving	79,500
Larry	Hirschfield	63,000
Craig	Bateman	62,500
Daniel	Brum	61,000
Kimberly	Jones	60,000
Craig	Witz	58,500
Marcus	Gurley	53,000
Brian	Nerney	52,000
Bob	Tannenbaum	50,000
Richard	Leger	50,000
Ken	Bruno	49,500
Carl	Cajuste	47,000
Howard	Woling	45,500
Robert	Jonsson	39,000
Yuejian	Wang	38,500
Ayca	Erakbas	38,000
Robyn	Marshman	37,500
Jack	Sumner	35,000
Tim	Frazin	29,500
Paul	Marel	24,500
Danc	Cassiday	13,000

Event 8 (Flight 1E): Salerno Buys In Late, Runs Up the Chip Lead

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/400)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 244

Mark Salerno (Ontario, Canada)

It looked as if things were a two horse race between Miguel Martinez and Calixto Rodriguez, but when the dust settled, it would be Mark Salerno (Ontario, Canada) coming out of nowhere to win the bonus.  Salerno parlayed a Level 12 buy-in into a 346,500 stack, besting Martinez by just two big blinds!!!

Players are now bagging up their chips for tomorrow's Day 2, and although this concludes the "live coverage" for the day, blog followers can check back for official counts from both Flight 1E and Flight 1F.

Event 8 (Flight 1E): Move On Over, Miguel Martinez Grabs The Lead

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/300)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 241

Miguel Martinez grabs a commanding Flight 1E chip lead with just one level remaining.

The dramatics continue in the Flight 1E field, as Miguel Martinez picks up a big pot that puts him atop the leaderboard.  Both Stephen Smith and an unknown player were all-in (on a flop of J♥ 9♠ 5♣) and covered by Martinez, for a pot worth over 150,000.  When the cards were tabled, Miguel would be in great shape, holding 5♥ 5♠ (bottom set) against A♥ A♦ (Player X) and A♠ J♣ (Smith).  The turn would bring the 2, and river the 3, sealing the win for Martinez.  With over 340,000, Miguel has to be the favorite to bag the flight chip lead.

Event 8 (Flight 1E): Ory Hen's Now The New Shooter

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 13 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/300)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 240

With the blinds having climbed to the point they are now, there are many short stacks across the field, looking to find a good spot to double up.  Ory Hen (Cooper City, FL) was just the recipient of two of those short stacks, earning a pot that would put him in the chip lead.  His K K was able to hold against his opponent's A J and A Q, putting him just over 260,000.  There is still just over one level left to play, but Ory is now front and center in this "race" for the chip lead bonus.  

The clock will be paused with 10:00 minutes remaining on the clock in Level 14, at which point, players will finish out five hands.  After those hands are completed, the bagging process will begin, and those players still left will return tomorrow (at 12:00pm).  We will update you on the finish of the "race" after Level 14,  followed by the official flight chip counts (60-90 minutes later).

Event 8 (Flight 1E): Updated Counts Heading To Break

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 12 (Blinds 800/1,600/300)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 236

Willie Wiggins (Miramar, FL)

The remaining players in Flight 1E are currently finishing up Level 12, and will be heading on their final break of the day.  They will then return to play the final pair of schedule levels, at which point the bagging process will begin.  Leading the way in terms of the "race" for the chip lead bonus is currently Willie Wiggins (Miramar, FL).  Wiggins sits with 230,000, and is joined only by Robert Urspruch, as players to have eclipsed the 200,000 mark.

Willie Wiggins - 230,000

Robert Urspruch - 200,000

Ariel Williams - 190,000

Anthony Barbera - 180,000

Michael Newman - 155,000

Frank Katana - 135,000

Ory Hen - 125,000

Nagui Yassa - 125,000

Miguel Martinez - 120,000

Jack Sumner - 120,000

Event 8 (Flight 1E): "Robbins" The Pot

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 11 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 231

Aaron Robbins (Coconut Creek, FL)

Aaron Robbin's (Coconut Creek, FL) went from collecting his things, to raking in close to a 100,000 pot moments ago, as his hand was surprisingly good.  The action opened with a 3,500 raise from Vasilii Leshchenko, followed by a call from Robbins.  After one fold, Stephen Smith three-bet to 16,500, with action folding back around to the original raiser.  Leshckenko thought long and hard about his decision, eventually throwing in enough to make the call.  With action back on Robbin's he would announce himself all-in for 29,200.  The shove did not constitute enough for either active player to raise, as they both called, and the three went to the flop.

The action was checked down between Smith and Leshchenko on a board of 7♠ 3♠ 2♥ 6♠ 6♦, with both players reluctant to turn over their hands with all action concluded.  Robbins then rolled over A♠ K♣, which was good enough to take down the pot (Smith held A♥ 10♥, which Leshchenko K♠ Q♦).  Robbins is now just under 100,000, which is close to double the current chip average.

Event 8 (Flight 1E): Shifting At the Top

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 10 (Blinds 500/1,000/200)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 230

Ariel Williams (Miami, FL)

While players like Stephen Smith and Nagui Yassa have dipped down from their recent numbers, others have made a steady climb up the leaderboard.  Ariel Williams (Miami, FL) currently sits second in chips (145,000), and is looking to earn her second Isle Poker trophy.  Williams won a $100 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 Guarantee) in February of 2013 ($14,170), and has since put together a resume with over $47,000 in live tournament earnings.  She sits behind only Michael Newman (Nanuet, NY) on the leaderboard, who is looking to become the first player with over 200,000.  Newman currently has just over 175,000 in front of him, but with four more levels left to play, needs to continue to do work to grab that $1,500 BATB Main Event seat.

Event 8 (Flight 1E): First Look At Updated Chip Counts

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 9 (Blinds 400/800/100)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 213

The cards are once again in the air, as we have just passed the halfway point of this afternoon flight.  Nag Yassa (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) currently leads the field (125,000), with newly crowned WSOPC ring winner Stephen Smith right behind him (105,000).  After a flight yesterday where we didn't see a player eclipse 200,000 until the final few hands, it looks like the chip leader is going to end up somewhere in the 300,000-400,000 range (possibly higher).

Nagui Yassa - 125,000

Stephen Smith - 105,000

Michael Newman - 90,000

Mark Manesh - 85,000

Ariel Williams - 80,000

Ory Hen - 80,000

Anthony Barbera - 80,000

Robert Urspruch - 75,000

Daniel Mijac - 75,000

Joshua Beckley - 65,000

Frank Katana - 65,000

Event 8 (Flight 1E): Beckley Looking To Add To Impressive Resume

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 8 (Blinds 300/600/75)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 202

Joshua Beckley (Marlton, NJ)

Joshua Beckley (Marlton, FL) cut his teeth on the live tournament circuit during the Big Stax series at Parx Casino in Pennsylvania.  His first recorded cash was a heads-up chop during the Big Stax VII $1,500 Main Event in 2014 ($98,348).  After a handful of results followed, Joshua then made two final tables during the Big Stax X series, earning $53,564 for a third place finish in the Big Stax 300, and $33,942 for a fourth place finish in the $1,500 Main Event.

It was clear that Beckley was one of the young rising stars in the poker world, and only a year after those results, he introduced himself to the poker world...finishing runner-up in the 2015 WSOP $10,000 Main Event ($4,470,896) to Joe McKeehen.  In only three years on the live tournament poker scene, Beckley has amassed earnings over $5,200,000, and ended up moving down here to Florida.  While he's been spotted playing cash numerous times here at the Isle, Joshua is looking to notch his first Isle Poker result.  He's currently just above the starting stack, and would have to be considered "the notable" of all notable players in the flight.

Players will be heading on their second break of the day at the end of this level, returning to Level 9 and blinds of 400/800/100.  The green (25 denomination) chips will be raced off during the break, making it easier to eye down stacks for the first update of counts across the room.

Event 8 (Flight 1E): Last Look At Notables

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 7 (Blinds 250/500/50)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 185

This flight has already been largest of this event, and with registration open for another seven levels, the total number of entries is expected to end up well north of (200).  The prize pool for the tournament should eclipse $250,000, and after tonight's flight, end up over $300,000 (that's over $100,000 over the posted guarantee).  There are a handful of players putting together some larger stacks in this middle stage of the flight, but before we begin updating chip counts, a final list at unmentioned notables will be published:

Michael Newman

Raymond Nalbandian

Uri Kadosh

Jeffrey Cohen

Nagui Yassa

Ronald Levy

Peter Fellows

Daniel Restrepo

Guillermo Irving

Frank Katana

Duane Minerva

Gary Fitzgerald

Jeffrey Silverstein

Marc Duquette

Event 8 (Flight 1E): Bagging Two Bonuses Could Be A Reality For Urspruch

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 6 (Blinds 200/400/50)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 172

Robert Urspruch (Plantation, FL)

Robert Urspruch (Plantation, FL) has already locked up a Battles At The Beach $1,500 Main Event seat, having bagged the Flight 1A bonus during Event 1. Urspruch went into Day 2 of the tournament with the second largest stack of the players returning, but trended steadily downward from the moment cards got in the air, and fell short of reaching the money.  That hasn't deterred Robert, as he is back in today's Flight 1E field, and is another player that is off to a strong start.  Urspruch has almost tripled the 25,000 starting stack, and is one of the very early leaders in the field.  If he can continue a positive trend over the course of the day, Urspruch has the potential to be the first player to bag two bonuses in the same series.

Event 8 (Flight 1E): Making The Drive Worth It

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 5 (Blinds 150/300/25)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 167

Cheri Beatty (Tampa, FL)

Cheri Beatty (Tampa, FL) may not be a name followers of the blog recognize, but it's likely because she calls Central Florida home, and spends most of her time playing at Hard Rock Tampa and Tampa Bay Downs.  Cheri has (12) recorded results on her tournament resume, totaling over $12,000 in live earnings.  After making the four hour drive yesterday, and unsuccessfully bagging chips in Flight 1D, Beatty is back in the field and off to a hot start.  She just got her stack in with K♠ K♣ against A♦ J♥ on a J♠ 10♦ 10♥ board, and after running out clean, Beatty sits with over 65,000.  Cheri is just one of many players to make travel plans in order to enter this event, and continues our list of notables in the crowd:

Michael Marks
Evan Teitelbaum
Sheddy Siddiqui
Marcel Dechamps
Ariel Williams
Daniel Genachte
Sergio Amato
Kenneth Bruno

Event 8 (Flight 1E): Why Stop At A Trophy When You Can Add A Ring?

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 4 (Blinds 100/200)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 138

Stephen Smith (Juno Beach, FL)

Followers of the blog may recognize Stephen Smith (Juno Beach, FL), as he was the "winner" of Event 2 ($360 No Limit Hold'em) during the 2017 Isle Poker Classic.  The tournament ended in a six-way ICM chop, with Smith holding a commanding chip lead at the time of the discussion.  Stephen would earn his first ever title (at any property), along with a career highlighting score ($28,462).  Smith also became the second Isle Poker notable to win a WSOPC ring, taking down the $365 No Limit Hold'em Eight-Max event just two weeks ago at the Palm Beach Kennel Club.  There would be no deal-making during the event, with Smith earning the $9,630 first place prize outright.  Smith is just one of many accomplished tournament players in this Flight 1E field, joining the likes of:

Robert Urspruch

Ariel Rosello

Nicholas Mahabee

Dale Smith

Craig Witz

David Ward

Brian O'Keefe

Manuel Luna

Adam Brody

Players will be taking their first break of the day after this level, and will be returning to Level 5 and blinds of 150/300/25.

Event 8 (Flight 1E): When "Slumming" Is A Good Thing

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 3 (Blinds 75/150)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 118

Jack Sumner (Slum Donkey Poker CEO)

The concept of "teams" or groups in poker have been around for a ling time...and countless players have utilized group discussion as a forum to improve their game.  We were introduced to "Slum Donkey Poker" in one of the first every live blogged events here at the Isle Poker Room, and since then, we've seen great success from members of this group.  One of the most vocal "Slum Donkeys" has been Raminder Singh (Delray Beach, FL), who just took down the $1,675 WSOPC Main Event at Palm Beach Kennel Club.

The man behind the creation of the group is currently seated in the field today, as Jack Sumner looks to bag chips with his second bullet fired into the tournament.  Jack has over $40,000 in live tournament earnings, including a cash of his own during the most recent WSOPC series at Palm Beach Kennel Club (Event 5 $360 No Limit Hold'em Turbo - 14th Place $928).  There's an incredible amount of names followers of the blog would recognize that associate with the group, including the likes of Michelle Shah, Kimberly Jones, Kobi Ribak, Daren Stabinski, Raymond Ruzkowski...just to name a few.  Sumner headlines the first group of notables spotted in this already crowded Flight 1E field:

Mark Bernstein

Ory Hen

Tim Gity

Joe Niblett

Michelle McLeod

Washington Gavilanes

Craig Schlesinger

Erik Nomberg

Alan Dobrow

Joseph Mancuso

Event 8 (Flight 1E): Official Chip Counts (Flights 1A-1D)

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 88

Event 8 (Flight 1E): Window's Closing With Final Pair Of Event 8 Flights

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)

Total Flight 1E Entries: 74

Tournament supervisor Ralph Brandt's rules announcement gets more eloquent each and every day, with this afternoon's audience the largest we've seen for this event.  The Saturday flights are always expected to be the largest during a multi-flight event, with the schedule easiest for recreational players to come, and it being the final chance to find a bag for Day 2.  Now while today's flights are the final opportunity to bag chips, it's not the last chance to jump in this tournament.  Followers of the blog (along with players) should remember that registration is open until the moment the cards are in the air for Day 2 (Sunday at 12:00pm).

With the addition of today's entries, the Event 8 prize pool is already $214,110, and we still have the entire day ahead of us.  This tournament has turned out to be the "can't miss" event of the series, and you can look forward to live coverage of the afternoon flight through it's conclusion.

Saturday, February 25th: Focus On Final Pair Of Event 8 Flights

With (623) Event 8 entries to this point, the tournament is only $10,000 away from the $200,000 posted guarantee...with two more flights on the schedule today!  Yesterday's flight's drew a total of (308) entries, with (66) players finding themselves bags for Sunday's Day 2 (bringing the overall Day 2 total to 127).  The afternoon flight (Flight 1C) saw one of the closest "races" for the chip lead bonus, with Tom Cuce (Boca Raton, FL) winning a crucial pot in the final hands to steal the lead away from Antonio Albanes (Key Largo, FL).  George Cseke (Tamarac, FL) bagged the Flight 1D chip lead (302,000), becoming the fourth of six eventual $1,500 Main Event seat winners.

There are two more Event 8 flights on today's schedule, with the potential for this prize pool to reach $300,000 a real thing.  Registration is open all day for both flights, with numerous players taking advantage of super late entries.  Asher Conniff (Queens, NY) fired a second bullet during Level 15 of Flight 1A, and turned the 25,000 starting stack into a 155,000 Day 2 stack.  Marc Levy (Boynton Beach, FL) then took things a step further, entering Flight 1C during the final level of play, eventually spinning up the starting stack to 199,500.

For those players that can't make it to the poker room today, but still want to try and grab a piece of this massive prize pool, you can still enter before the cards get in the air tomorrow (Sunday).

11:00am - Event 8 (Battles At The Beach) Flight 1E $360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack $200,000 GTD 

- Players receive 25,000 in tournament chips
- All late registrants and re-entries receive a full stack
- Levels 1-14 will be (30) minutes, Levels 15+ will be (50) minutes
- Late registration and re-entries for the first (14) levels, to include before the first card on Day 2
- The chip leader from each flight will win a $1,500 BATB Main Event seat (for any Day 1)

6:00pm - Event 8 (Battles At The Beach) Flight 1F $360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack $200,000 GTD

- Players receive 25,000 in tournament chips
- All late registrants and re-entries receive a full stack
- Levels 1-14 will be (30) minutes, Levels 15+ will be (50) minutes
- Late registration and re-entries for the first (14) levels, to include before the first card on Day 2
- The chip leader from each flight will win a $1,500 BATB Main Event seat (for any Day 1)

Event 8 (Flight 1D): Official Flight 1D Chip Counts

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/400)

Total Flight 1D Entries: 143

Flight 1D Players Remaining: 31

Gyorgy	Cseke	302,000
Evan	Toepez	265,000
Rafael	Oropesa	253,000
Sheldon	Gross	169,500
Steven	McKoy	169,500
Aris	Gomez	161,500
Alcides	Gomez	159,500
Michael	Brand	154,500
Jason	Young	150,000
Sebastian	Sweet	143,500
Phil	Hernz	141,000
Cybel	Cabrero Santa	135,500
Ryan	Ricci	128,500
Evan	Dollinger	120,500
Andrew	Blake	119,000
Blake	Robbins	108,000
Josue	Garcia	92,000
Marc	Duquette	88,500
Russ	Stampler	74,500
Daniel	Cruz	71,500
Dolphus	Powers	69,000
Alfonso	Perez	69,000
Ryan	Leto	62,500
Michael	Goldfarb	62,000
Taylor	Dean-Lipson	61,500
Adam	Bienstock	54,000
Scott	McInnis	51,000
Igor	Merda	50,000
Lou	Ojeda	48,500
Sean	Bauerschmidt	24,000
Mike	Bucar	18,000