FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Official End Of Flight 1E Chip Counts

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/500)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 297
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 41/297

Dolline	Willis	360,000
Sebastian	Kos	358,000
Joe	Thomas	345,000
Carlos	Garcia	298,500
Parra	Jose	259,500
Glenn	Becker	240,500
Jeffrey	Saylors	238,000
Jean	Elie Joseph	202,000
Alfredo	Gurvara	201,500
Elias	Nassif	189,500
Manfred	Rosemow	188,000
Paula	Alibrandi	171,500
Konstantinos	Maroulis	171,500
Charlemagne	Benjamin	170,000
Manelic	Minaya	167,000
Salomon	Cohen	158,500
Yakima	Palmero	150,000
Elliot	Goldman	142,000
Ravi	Cvervo	137,500
Christine	DiFiore Kirsch	130,500
Gary	Fitzgerald	126,500
Errol	Massey	123,000
Preecha	Taepakdea	109,000
Erik	Silevitch	107,500
Michael	Marrero	100,500
Thomas	Gari	99,000
Fario	Jarrim	98,000
Mark	Bernstein	93,500
Edward	Mandel	92,000
Alfonso	Perez	83,500
Angel	Anglero	79,000
Douglas	Baer	73,500
Thomas	Coates	73,500
Jose	Silva	73,000
Shannon	Stash	70,500
Jay	Green	67,500
Richard	Maltzman	63,000
Cybel	Carbrero Santa	57,000
Tuan	Phan	42,500
John	Brennan	31,500
Jerrold	Solov	14,000

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Willis Bags The Flight 1E Lead By Just 2,000 Chips

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/500)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 297
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 41/297

Dolline Willis (Plantation, FL)

Of the five tables to have to play three hands to end the night, Dolline Willis's was the first done.  She had 360,000, and just needed to fade one more hand from each table.  Sebastian Kos and Joseph Thomas had one more hand to close the gap, and after Kos won a sizable pot against Shannon Stash to end the flight, it looked as if he eclipsed Willis.  

The tournament director verified Sebastian's stack, and it counted down to 358,000.  That means that Dolline is the Flight 1E chip leader, and earns the Event #14 seat.  Once the tournament staff finishes up the bagging process, and the chip counts are verified, the end of flight counts will be posted here on the blog.

That concludes today's live coverage of Event #7, followers can check back later this evening for counts from Flight 1E and Flight 1F.  Coverage will resume tomorrow at 12:00pm (for Day 2), and will continue through the tournament's conclusion.

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): What Could Be The Determining Pot

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/500)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 297
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 42/297

Dolline Willis (Plantation, FL)

We may have just witnessed the pot decided the chip lead, as Dolline Willis (Plantation, FL) starts the hand by opening to 8,000.  Raul Jimenez (cutoff) and Charlemagne Benjamin (button) called, and the three would see a flop of J♥ 2♦ 7♣.  Willis continued with a bet of 16,000, which was called by both players, and followed by the 4♥ on the turn.  Willis wasted no time in putting forward another bet, this time for 32,000.  Jimenez thought for about a minute before making the call, with Benjamin releasing his hand after some deliberation.  The dealer than placed down the 10♣ on the river, and Dolline bet one last time, dropping a stack of yellows on the felt (55,000).  Raul took a solid amount of time before tossing a jack face-up into the muck.

That pot brings Willis to over 360,000, and makes her the chip leader with (5) minutes remaining in the flight.

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Garcia Takes A Line, And Takes From Willis

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/400)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 297
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 54/297

Carlos Garcia (Tampa, FL)

Not only are these late pots important because of chip lead implications, but they also shape how a player is going to come into Day 2.  Now we know that bagging a top stack allows for much more play on Day 2 than a short stack, but we've also seen players win events from both positions on the leaderboard.

A hand was approached at Table 1 between Dolline Willis and Carlos Garcia, with the pair on the turn of a board reading 6♠ 5♠ 2♥ 4♥.  Willis put out a bet of 7,500, with Carlos putting together a stack of chips for a raise (21,400), and Dolline making the call.  The river would pair the board with the 5♦, which garnered a check from both players.  Garcia turned over A♠ 5♥, which brought out a grin of frustration from Willis, who flashed K♦ 6♦.

Carlos Garcia - 195,000

Dolline Willis - 177,000

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Kos And Willis Leading The Way

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 13 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/300)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 297
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 67/297

Sebastian Kos (Miami, FL)

With only three levels remaining in the flight, the focus shifts solely on the race for the chip lead bonus.  Sebastian Kos (Miami, FL) returned from break as the chip leader, sitting with over 290,000 in front of him.  Originally from Czech Republic, Kos has a handful of different flags on his tournament resume, totaling close to $100,000 in career earnings.  Sebastian has numerous scores on the EPT and WPT (National), including a highlighting cash from the 2015 Party Poker WPT National in Rozvadov ($37,090).

While Sebastian's focus in the states seems to be high limit cash action, he does have four recorded cashes this year, all coming from his home casino in the Czech Republic (totaling over $12,000).

Sebastian Kos - 295,000

Dolline Willis - 250,000

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Bernstein Finally Makes The Blog

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 12 (Blinds 800/1,600/200)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 297
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 91/297

Mark Bernstein (Moorestown, NJ)

Play has just entered Level 12, with blinds going up to 800/1,600/200 (chip average of 74,000).  At the end of this level, players will be heading on their final break of the flight, returning to finish off the three remaining levels.  The landscape of the leaderboard continues to change, with some new names climbing the ranks.  Mark Bernstein (Moorestown, NJ) is currently second in chips, and in the midst of an interesting run.  Mark cashed at the Coconut Creek during a $130 No Limit Hold'em "recurring" event, and earned $1,100 for his sixth place finish.  Since that tournament, Bernstein has cashed (14) times, but none of which eclipsed the $1,000 mark.  Four of those cashes were final table finishes, but happened in smaller buy-in events.  Bernstein is no "min-cash master" though, he does have some impressive results on his resume from years past.  Mark's highlighting score came in 2009, when he won Event #1 of the Borgata Summer Poker Open ($70,405).

Raul Jimenez - 205,000

Mark Bernstein - 180,000

Charlemagne Benjamin - 160,000

Manfred Rosenou - 150,000

Rich Glabman - 150,000

Gary Fitzgerald - 140,000

Shannon Stash - 120,000

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): "Send It All This Way!"

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 11 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 297
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 97/297

Joseph Thomas (Jupiter, FL)

Joseph Thomas has already earned an Event #14 seat, bagging the chip lead bonus during the opening flight of Event #1.  After the most recent pot at his table, he entered himself in the running for the flight's "race" to that same bonus.  Thomas had three all-in players covered, holding the best hand on a board of 10♠ 9♣ 8♠ 8♥.  Thomas's 7♦ 8♦ was up against (K♠ 9♠), (Q♠ 2♠), and (4♦ 5♠), and headed to the river with a strong lead.  The 3 would fall on the river, and Thomas would exclaim, "Send it all this way!!"  The pot was worth close to 190,000, and moves him towards the top of the leaderboard.

Joseph Thomas - 187,000

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Fitzgerald First To Cross The 200,000 Mark

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 10 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 297
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 134/297

Gary Fitzgerald (Miami, FL)

As the outer tables continue to break, and the field creeps below (100) players, the first 200,000 stack has emerged in the field.  Gary Fitzgerald (Miami, FL) has $5,621 in career tournaments earnings, with all of his posted results coming from events here at the Isle Casino.  Gary most recently final tabled a $130 No Limit Hold'em daily, finishing in ninth place and earning $382.  His most notable score came in 2015, when he finished in 27th place during the Isle Poker Classic Main Event (worth $3,750).  Capturing the chip lead bonus in this event would give Fitzgerald the opportunity to play in yet another $1,100 No Limit Hold'em event (which was the prize point of the 2015 Isle Poker Classic Main), but it's a long road before discussions of bagging a bonus can materialize.

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Updated "Post-Break" Chip Counts

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 9 (Blinds 400/800/100)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 297
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 157/297

Raul Jimenez (Homestead, FL)

Registration is now officially closed for this flight, with a total of (297) entries making up the field.  With the addition of the prize money from Flight 1E, the total prize pool for this event is now up to $262,300.  Over (150) players still remain in the flight, with Raul Jimenez leading the way, and looking to continue his steady trend upward.  Jimenez has just shy of $5,000 in career tournament earnings, with a majority of that coming from his deep run in last year's Rock N' Roll Poker Open at SHR ($360 No Limit Hold'em - 34th Place $4,065).

Raul Jimenez - 170,000

Manfred Rosenou - 135,000

Shannon Stash - 100,000

Uri Kadosh - 73,000

Mike Brinson - 70,000

Paula Alibrandi - 65,000

Danny Dayan - 60,000

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Stash Returns Home With Renewed Confidence

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 8 (Blinds 300/600/75)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 268

Shannon Stash (Tampa, FL)

Some of the outer-table action was spotted moments ago, with three players at Table 46 looking at a board of Q♦ 10♦ 7♠ Q♠.  Shannon Stash (Tampa, FL) had bet the turn after action was checked to her, and immediately got check-raised to 15,000.  After the third player in the hand flatted, Shannon also made the call, with the 4 completing the board.  Both players would again check to Stash, who shoved for her remaining 4,000.  With over 60,000 in the pot, both of her opponents made the call, and quickly turned over their hands.  The check-raiser had 10♠ 4♣, the flatter had Q♣ 2♣, and Shannon bested both hands with J♠ 8♠ (having made a flush on the river).

Stash, who is coming off of a $22,000 score in Las Vegas ($230 No Limit Hold'em event during the Wynn Summer Classic), now sits with over 70,000.  Players are going to be taking their final break at the end of this level, with registration closing once the cards are in the air for Level 9 (400/800/100).

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Borden Binks The Turn, Busts Willis

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 7 (Blinds 150/500/50)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 258

Joel Borden (Miami, FL)

Table 10 was approached on the flop of a hand between Joel Borden, Evan Teitelbaum, and Dolline Willis.  Borden checked the J♥ 5♦ 6♦ flop, with Teitelbaum betting 3,000, and both players calling.  Borden checked once again after the 7♥ on the turn, with Teitelbaum (who had just 8,000 behind) taking a good amount of time before checking as well.  That left the door open for Willis, who tossed out a bet of 6,000.  Borden then check-raised to 15,000, and after Teitelbaum got out of the way, Willis announced she was all-in for just 5,000 more.  Joel quickly made the call, with Willis rolling over 7♣ 7♦.  Unfortunately for Willis, Borden had turned the nuts with 8♦ 9♠, and held after the board failed to pair on the river.

Joel Borden - 77,000

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Alibrandi Doesn't Mind The Wait

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 6 (Blinds 200/400/50)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 237

Paula Alibrandi (Miramar, FL) 

The earlier estimation of (250) total entries flight looks as if it's going to be way off, with the possibility of 275-300 now coming into play.  An alternate list for the flight started just before break, and after busting her first bullet, Paula Alibrandi (Miramar, FL) was one of those waiting to grab a seat.  Her name was called during Level 4, and now almost an hour later, she's already sitting with over 80,000.  Paula has success in events similar to this one, making deep runs this year in both the "April $100k" and the "May $100k."  Both events were multi-flight tournaments, and boasted field sizes similar to this.

Ralph Brandt continues to call alternate names of players to have just arrived, as well as those that are firing another bullet.  Event #1 trophy winner Jaki Cohen is one of those waiting, joining the list of names that just walked in, or that were spotted late:

Andrew Touchette
William Underdown
Evan Teitelbaum
Sheldon Gross
Karin Powsner
David Albertson
Guillermo Irving
Danielle Bastarache

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Six Florida Regs To Sweat In The WSOP Main Event

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 5 (Blinds 150/300/25)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 210

Image Courtesy: World Series Of Poker

The 2017 World Series Of Poker $10,000 Main Event is heading to Day 5, with players already well into the money, and (297) players vying for the $8,150,000 first place prize.  Of those (297) players, there are six names that are still remaining in the tournament, which will sound familiar to players that follow the blog (or the Florida poker community).  The number next to their name denotes where they stand coming into Day 5 (of 297 remaining):

38. Steve McKoy (Pompano Beach, FL) 2,164,000

105. Matthew Zarcadoolas (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 1,400,000

136. James Salmon (Davie, FL) 1,081,000

184. Hanz Winzeler (Miami, FL) 945,000

246. Michael Amato (Boca Raton, FL) 505,000

285. Daniel Pearlman (Hollywood, FL) 269,000

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Mark Spies Makes Himself A Notable

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 4 (Blinds 100/200)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 202

Mark Spies (Parkland, FL)

There are numerous different ways that a player can become a notable...play in daily tournaments all the time, introduce yourself to the blogger, play hours of cash in the poker room, win a tournament, etc.  There is another great way to make yourself known to the media, and all you have to do is sit with four starting stacks only (90) minutes into play.  Mark Spies (Parkland, FL) has turned his 20,000 starting stack into over 80,000 in just three levels, and is well ahead of anyone else in the field.  Spies has over $6,900 in live tournament earnings, all of which came between 2011-2014.  He does have history with this particular event, as his first cash came in the $330 No Limit Hold'em event during the 2011 Florida State Poker Championships (34th Place - $1,440).

Spies now headlines the second wave of notables in this Flight 1E field, a flight that has already eclipsed (200) entries!

Marsha Wolak
Jose Parra
Barry Sisselman
Joseph Thomas
Michael Tufaro
Anna Dikker
Rafiki Brown
Jaime Wiegrefe
David Miller

Players will be heading on their first break of the day at the end of this level, and will be returning to Level 5 (150/300/25).  There will then be another four levels of play, before another break, at which point the registration for this afternoon flight will be closed.

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Braunstein Back In The Field, Looking For Another Trophy

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 3 (Blinds 75/150)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 145

Evan Braunstein (Lighthouse Point, FL)

Once you've reached the pinnacle (so to say), and won a tournament with over 1,300 entries, it's hard to have goal that sees you finishing anything less than first.  Evan Braunstein (Lighthouse Point, FL) headed a four-way chop of Event #1 ($175 No Limit Hold'em) during this year's Battles At The Beach series, earning a career best $22,251.  The score was a special one for Evan, who had his girlfriend on the rail, watching as he led for most of the tournament's final table.  Poker is more of a hobby for Braunstein, who focuses mostly on his real estate business, but that doesn't mean he doesn't take thing seriously at the table.  Braunstein is one of a group of players to show up at the Isle Casino during these "major series," looking to capitalize on the great value offered in these events.  

The value is there because of the size of these fields, which must be mentioned before we move forward.  There are already (160) entries in the field, and with more than five levels of open registration, we could see a final number somewhere around (250).  Some notables in this early field include:

Blake Robbins

Michelle Shah

Charlemagne Benjamin

Esther Foley

Frank Traino

Marc Duquette

Calixto Rodriguez

Robert Perniola

Elias Nassif 

Paula Alibrandi

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Official Chip Counts (Flight 1A-Flight 1D)

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 124

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1E): Saturday Flights Mean Big Numbers

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)
Total Flight 1E Entries: N/A

Tournament Director Ralph Brandt just went over the rules announcement for the players already seated in the Flight 1E field, and the cards are now in the air.  This is the fifth of six total starting flights for Event 7, with the first four attracting a total of (563) entries.  The field sizes have ranged from 131 entries in Flight 1C, to 147 entries in last nights Flight 1D, with numbers well north of those expected for today.  These are the last opportunities (this afternoon and evening's flight) for players to try and bag chips for tomorrow's Day 2, and potentially grab a piece of what is to be a massive prize pool (in comparison to the guarantee).

There have been four Event #14 ($1,100 No Limit Hold'em $150,000 Guaranteed) seats awarded to the chip leaders of the completed flights, with the following players claiming the bonuses:

Flight 1A - Quang Pham (359,500)

Flight 1B - Michael Stewartson (398,000)

Flight 1C - David Shaw (252,000)

Flight 1D - Ian Cohen (275,500)

The race for the Flight 1E chip lead will be documented during today's live coverage, along with all of the action leading up to that point.  A list of combined chip counts will be published shortly, followed by our first look at players in this second to last Event #7 flight.

Saturday, July 15th: Last Pair Of Event 7 Starting Flights, "Spin To Win" On A Weekend

ICYMI: Yesterday was the second of three "starting days" for Event #7 of the 2017 Florida State Poker Championships, with two flights that attracted a combined total of (278) entries.  Flight 1C got the day's action started at 11:00am, and once registration closed, there would be (131) entries.  The play at the tables was pretty timid for a majority of the day, but as the race for the chip lead heated up (in the final two levels), the chips began to fly.  David Shaw (Boca Raton, FL) ended up staving off furious runs from both Robbie Capote and Marc Sacheli, eventually bagging the flight's chip lead (252,000).  Shaw's total was only a few thousand more than his nearest competitors, but regardless of the space between, he still receives the bonus (Event #14 seat).  Once the bagging process was complete, (24) players would be moving on to Day 2, including Tracy Scala, Ory Hen, Jim Gleason, and Patrick Carnackie.

Flight 1D got underway at 6:00pm, and would end up being the largest flight of the four to have been completed.  A total of (147) entries made up the flight's field, with Isle Poker regular Ian Cohen (Las Vegas, NV) bagging the chip lead (275,500).  Once the final hand of the night was dealt, a total of (24) players booked their tickets to tomorrow's Day 2, including Megan Andres (258,000), Marcus Wu Hamel (167,000), Steve Moreno (88,500), and Zakarya Wolgamott (70,500).

With $39,955 going towards the overall prize pool from Flight 1C, and $44,835 from Flight 1D, the total prize pool coming into the day sits at $171,715.  We should see the guarantee reached at some point this afternoon (during Flight 1E), and finish up somewhere in the $250,000-$275,000 range.

Tournaments: The final two starting flights of Event #7 are on the schedule today, with Flight 1E getting underway at 11:00am, and Flight 1F following that at 6:00pm.  The structure stays the same for both flights, with players sitting down to starting stacks of 20,000, and playing levels that last (30) minutes (transitioning to 40 minutes on Day 2).  Registration for each flight is open until Level 8 (and the break that follows) is finished, with each flight's chip leader earning an Event #14 seat ($1,100 No Limit Hold'em - $150,000 GTD).

Promotions: The "standard" high hand promotions are in place for a good portion of the day/night, but the window from 12:00pm-11:00pm ("Spin To Win") is what most all of the players have circled.  Players that have the qualifying high hand each hour during that time period will earn the opportunity to spin the money wheel.  This Wednesday promotion is returning to the weekend for the first time in a while, which should bring out the crowds.

11:00am - FSPC Event #7 (Flight 1E): $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD) 

- Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips

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

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack

- Level will last (30) minutes during Day 1 flights, transitioning to (40) minutes on Day 2

- All Day 1's will play (15) complete levels or until 13% of the field remains (whichever comes first)

6:00pm - FSPC Event #7 (Flight 1F): $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)

- Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips

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

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack

- Level will last (30) minutes during Day 1 flights, transitioning to (40) minutes on Day 2

- All Day 1's will play (15) complete levels or until 13% of the field remains (whichever comes first)

FSPC Event 7 (Flight 1D): Official End Of Flight 1D Chip Counts

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 7 - $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/500)
Total Flight 1D Entries: 147
Flight 1D Players Remaining: 24/147

Ian	Cohen	275,500
Megan	Endres	258,000
Ari	Dinovi	192,000
Chris	Cumber	181,500
Nagui	Yassa	171,000
Marcus	Wu-Hamel	167,000
Carlos	Torres Vazquez	155,000
John	Deignan	146,000
Juan	Diaz	140,000
Andres	Morales	135,500
Marcin	Plewinski	132,000
Lazaro	Rojas	126,500
Roberto	Alvarado	104,500
Chris	Cote	95,000
Steve	Moreno	88,500
Mike	Jones	84,500
Joe	Ritzie	83,500
Mike	Bonsignore	80,000
Zakarya	Wolgamott	70,500
Louis	Leo IV	63,000
Brett	Biegler	61,000
Mike	Beasley	60,000
Cinay	Baumal Muchnick	49,000
Scott	Hart	28,000