Event 1 (Flight N): Official End Of Flight N Chip Counts

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 16 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/500)
Total Flight N Entries: 94
Flight N Players Remaining: 12

There is only one flight active left in the room, as players from the 3:00pm flight (Flight N) bagged their chips moments ago and departed the tournament area.  While the buy-in of the event may have been different during last year's Isle Poker Open, our chip leader from Flight N is "technically" our defending champ.  Yves Fequiere (Miami, FL) was featured earlier in the evening, but it looks like it wasn't enough coverage for his liking.  Fequiere found his way to the blog once more, not only bagging the chip lead, but one of the highest counts we've seen to this point.  

Here are the official chip counts from Flight N:

Yves	Fequiere *	693,000
Mary Jane	Forsythe *	269,000
Marc	Sacheli *	245,500
Denian	Costa	71,500
Lawrence	Kiang	171,500
Prabhu	Gubbi	148,000
Luke	Doolittle	80,500
Ken	Bruno	68,500
Daren	Stabinski	109,000
Pasquale	Calabria	129,000
Tom	Gity	211,500
Nestor	Caraballo	158,500

* Denotes "chiplead bonus," and entry into Event 5 ($570 NLH - $250,000 guarantee)

Event 1 (Flight O): Using Time, and Money Wisely

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 5 (Blinds 200/400)
Total Flight O Entries: 92

2016 Isle Poker Open Satellite Schedule

If you've been around the poker community, the story of a player parlaying a satellite entry into a huge score is commonplace.  Pictured above is the satellite schedule for this series, offering numerous options to gain entry into three of the most prestigious events of the series. This upcoming Monday and Tuesday, the option to "step" into the Main Event is available for $70.  A $70 buy-in to potentially gain entry into a $1,500 event.  Now you have to progress from the "Step 1," into the satellite to even begin that trip, but it's a chance of an incredible return on investment.

Event 1 (Flight N): Multi-Field Numbers Update

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 13 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/300)
Total Flight N Entries: 94
Flight N Players Remaining: 20

The number of tournament tables is swiftly shrinking, as Flight N is already down to just two tables.  This is the quickest we've seen a flight get down to that number since the beginning of the event, and expect to see some larger stacks finish the night. To this point, the Day 2 chip average sits at 212,000, with the Flight N average currently at 117,500.

Here is a breakdown for Flight N:

Total Flight N Entries: 94
Flight N Players Remaining: 20
Flight N Chip Average: 117,500
Total Flight N Chips: 2,350,000
Next Ante: 400
Next Blinds: 1,500/3,000

And the same breakdown for Flight O:

Current Flight O Level: 4
Total Flight O Entries: 87
Total Flight O Chips: 2,175,000
Flight O Chip Average: 31,071
Next Blinds: 200/400

Event 1 (Flight M): Official Flight M Chip Counts

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 16 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/500)
Total Flight M Entries: 115
Flight M Players Remaining: 14

Here are your official chips counts for the (14) players that remained at the conclusion of Flight M:

Joe	Niblett *	404,000
John	Palace *	382,000
Andrew	Touchette *	290,500
Dan	Miller	260,000
Sergio	Morejon	236,500
Marc	Levy	209,000
Joseph	Thomas	200,000
Raminder	Singh	193,500
John	Lane	156,500
Mike	Hefley	155,500
David	Lang	126,000
David	Miller	114,500
Eric	Nicholsberg	112,500
Ilan	Hadjon	50,000

* Denotes "chiplead bonus," and entry into Event 5 ($570 NLH)

Event 1 (Flight O): Cards In The Air For Final Saturday Flight

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)
Total Flight O Entries: 23

The tournament supervisor just made the rules announcement for the players already seated in the Flight O tournament area, and the cards are in the air.  It's an early mix of new faces and players from earlier flights, with the following notables spotted in the crowd:

Edward Rappa
Adrian Gray
Denise Bohrer
Albert Vanderbilt
Michael Cohen
Rafael Ramos
Reginald Bautista

Event 1 (Flight N): Registration Closed, Numbers Locked In

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 9 (Blinds 500/1,000/100)
Total Flight N Entries: 95
Flight N Players Remaining: 47

Flight N players returned from break just a few moments ago, and the cards are back in the air.  Any player busting the flight from this point on will have a few options, but not the option to buy back into this same flight.  There is still the 7:00pm (Flight O), which starts in just a few seconds, and the three remaining flights that follow tomorrow.  

Here is the current numbers breakdown for Flight N:

Total Flight N Entries: 95
Flight N Players Remaining: 47
Flight N Chip Average (Current): 50,532
Flight N Prize Pool: $10,925

Event 1 (Flight M): Bagging The Bonus, Flight M Concludes

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 16 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/500)
Total Flight M Entries: 115
Flight M Players Remaining: 14

John Palace (pictured top), Joe Niblett (bottom left), and Andrew Touchette (bottom right) earn themselves entry into Event 5.

The action over the last level of play was truly fast and furious, as players were jockeying positions at the top of the leaderboard.  After the "unofficial" counts were done at the end of flight, Joe Niblett (454,000), John Palace (382,000), and Andrew Touchette (290,500) were the top three stacks.

Touched somehow parlayed a 40,000 stack with (20) minutes remaining in the level to the 290,500 he finished the flight with.  After a short stack shoved, and the small blind called, Touchette woke up with pocket jacks.  The jacks would hold, and Touchette would find himself all-in the very next hand, winning a flip and vaulting him to a top three stack.  Once the floor has verified all of the counts, we will be posting the end of flight chip counts.

Event 1 (Flight M): Looking Back At Last Year

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 15 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/500)
Total Flight M Entries: 115
Flight M Players Remaining: 20

2015 Isle Open Event 1 Winner - Yves Fequiere

We are going to turn back the clock now and take a look back at this event during the 2015 Isle Poker Open.  This same event last year was a $75 buy-in NLH tournament, which carried with it a $50,000 guarantee.  The tournament attracted a total of 1,098 entries, and boasted a prize pool of $51,480.  The event ended in a seven-way deal, with Yves Fequiere (Miami, FL) declared the winner (and trophy recipient).

The event was changed this year to a $150 buy-in event, and also offered a 25,000 starting stack (opposed to last year's 10,000).  The guarantee was also six-times the size this year, but had to be removed because of Hurricane Matthew and the casino closing.  

Yves Fequiere was actually spotted in the field earlier today, but has since busted.  With four flights remaining in this event, we are sure to see him once again.

Event 1 (Flight M): ...And The Race Is On

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 14 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/400)
Total Flight M Entries: 115
Flight M Players Remaining: 27

Joe Niblett notched his second-ever recorded cash last month, finishing runner-up in a $125K guaranteed even at Seminole Coconut Creek ($10,552).

Contrary to what was mentioned earlier, Flight M has one more break remaining, happening at the conclusion of this level.  It's now a good time to take a look at some chip counts, and those who are in the running for the entry into Event 5 (top three stacks of each flight).  Joe Niblett is currently leading the way with just over 200,000, but as we have seen many times before, two levels is still a lot of time for things to change:

Joe Niblett - 210,000

"Richie Tenenbaum" - 175,000

Joe T. - 160,000

Sergio Morejon - 155,000

John Palace - 155,000

Event 1 (Flight N): Ortiz Steps Into The Ring

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 4 (Blinds 100/200)
Total Flight N Entries: 70

Michael Ortiz (Miami Lakes, FL)

Before we feature some of the notable names in Flight N, we should mention that players in Flight M are currently taking their final break of the flight.  Those players will return to finish out Level 16, and then bag their chips for Day 2 on Monday (those that remain).  We will focus on those in the running for the chiplead bonus in our next "Flight M" post.

There happen to be many familiar faces in this 3:00pm flight, one of which stands out from the crowd.  Michael Ortiz (Miami Lakes, FL) has over $530,000 in career tournament earnings, but it's how almost half of that number was attained that should be noted.  Ortiz managed his way through fields over 1,900 entries in back-to-back years at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, finishing first ($184,730) and second ($113,515) respectively in $570 NLH events.  Navigated your way through one field of that size is an incredible feat...but to do it in back-to-back years is really something special.  

Michael has (68) recorded cashes, with three of them first place finishes.  Two of those tournament wins came here at the Isle, both in 2013 ($100 NLH and $230 PLO).  Ortiz headlines a group of notables that have been spotted, including:

Karen Duffy

Greg Rosen

Nathan Woodside

Daniel Kolchov

Event 1 (Flight N): #Twinning In The 3:00pm Flight

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)
Total Flight N Entries: 56

Hector Caraballo (Hialeah, FL)  and Nestor Caraballo (Miami, FL)

Flight N already has one level in the books, and also has one pair of twins in the field.  Hector and Nestor Caraballo are both Isle Casino Poker tournament regulars, with Nestor coming off his career highlighting score earlier this year during the Isle April $100,000 Guaranteed event.  Nestor finished in 3rd place, earning himself $5,139 and pushing his career earnings to just above $9,000.  Nestor does have a little work to do in order to catch up to his brother Hector, who boasts career earnings over $38,000.  Would you believe that Hector's largest tournament score also came here at Isle...during a monthly $100,000 guaranteed event...after finishing in 3rd place?  You really can't make this up (Hector finished in 3rd place during an $100K guaranteed event in September of 2012 for $10,320).

Event 1 (Flight M): It's Called "The Big Game" For A Reason

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 10 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)
Total Flight M Entries: 115
Flight M Players Remaining: 54

Current Live Game Status

Earlier in the day we featured the Pineapple/Crazy Pineapple game that's really taken the room by storm.  There are also two other staples of the Isle Casino Poker Room, and they're games you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the state (on a consistent basis).  

The 10/25 NLH game is one that runs most every day of the week, and it's about as "nosebleed" limits as you'll find in the state...that is unless the 25/50 NLH/PLO(8) mixed game is running.

The games aren't for the faint of heart...or faint of bankroll, but if you're looking for games of that size, there really is no other place to find it.  It's an opportunity to play with some of the best players around, as the seats are filled with some of the top poker minds that Florida has to offer (we won't mention any names directly).

If those limits aren't for you though, there are always numerous options for every player (limit and no-limit alike).

Event 1 (Flight M): "Richie Tenenbaum" Emerges As Top Stack

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 8 (Blinds 400/800/100)
Total Flight M Entries: 115

"Richie Tenenbaum"

Players have returned to their tables, and we have the final numbers for Flight M.  There were 115 total entries into the flight, 24 of which were re-entries. 

Over half of the field has been eliminated to this point, leaving us with (54) active players.  There is one player that has rocketed to the top of the counts, and is the only person in the field above the 100,000.

That player has asked to remain "anonymous," unless he reaches the final table.  So...in homage to one of the best poker bloggers out there, we give you "Richie Tenenbaum."  "Richie" is a photo and name used in the past for players that don't want to be mentioned or photographed for the blog.

Players in the 3:00pm flight (Flight N) are currently being read the tournament rules by director Ralph Brandt, and cards are about to be in the air.

Event 1 (Flight M): Breaking Down The Numbers

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 8 (Blinds 400/800/100)
Total Flight M Entries: 108

Level 8 play has just begun, with blinds going up to 400/800, and the introduction of antes (100).  This will be the last level with open registration for Flight M, but not to worry...there is another flight starting at 3:00pm (Flight N).  Poker is a numbers game...played by numbers people, so it's no surprise that many questions posed in relation to the event are about the numbers.  Here is a small breakdown of the flights to this point:

Day	Entrants	Re-Entries	Remaining
1A	69	12	9
1B	53	11	8
1C	58	10	6
1L	139	33	17
1M	92	19	9

Once registration closes for this flight, we will give you the updated numbers, but to this point:

Total Event 1 Entrants: 411

Total "Re-Entries": 85

Players Heading To Day 2: 49

Event 1 (Flight M): Looking For Those Kings To Hold-er

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 7 (Blinds 300/600)
Total Flight M Entries: 102

Paula Holder (Lighthouse Point, FL)

Paula Holder (Lighthouse Point, FL) was getting close to the dreaded "ten big blind" mark late in Level 6, but managed to quadruple her stack just moments ago.  Holder was all-in for 8,600 in early position, and was up against three opponents (one who was all-in for less, and two active players).

The board would run out K♠ 2♦ 3♣ Q♣ 4♠, as the the only players in the hand with chips would check each street.  One player announced that they had a king, but that would be no good, as Paula tabled K♥ K♦ (flopped top set).   The rest of the hands would end up in the muck, and Holder would turn what was 8,600 into close to 40,000.

Holder has over $88,000 in career tournament earnings, with her career highlighting score coming here at the Isle in April of 2011.  Paula finished runner-up in a $550 NLH event during the Battle of the Beaches ($14,784).  A similar result in this event will surely eclipse that figure, and that's exactly what Paula now has her eyes on.

Event 1 (Flight M): It's "Crazy," And We're The Only Place To Play

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 5 (Blinds 200/400)
Total Flight M Entries: 94

In the poker industry, no phrase rings truer than "Imitation is the greatest form of flattery."  When things become popular in the poker community, surrounding rooms (and rooms across the country) will usually pick up on it, and start doing whatever it is that's popular as well.  What is it that's suddenly become so popular here at the Isle Casino Poker Room? Pineapple...and yes, Crazy Pineapple.

This is the ONLY room in Florida, and better yet, one of the only rooms in the country that runs (Crazy) Pineapple on the regular.  For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, here is a quick synopsis of the game:

Pineapple is a pretty straightforward game that uses one simple rule change to dramatically change the game play of a Hold'em hand.  Each player is dealt THREE cards before the flop.  All of the same actions of No-Limit Hold'em apply (blinds, betting, betting streets, and such), but in Pineapple players discard one of the three cards pre-flop, and in Crazy Pineapple, the discard happens post-flop (an incredibly different dynamic between the two).

The addition of just one cards dramatically increases the odds of better starting hands, flopping better hands, and of course...more action!!!  The game played here at the Isle is 2/5 no-limit, and has really taken off.  We are seeing the game almost every single day, with multiple tables opening on certain days throughout the week.  

If this variation of poker interests you, and you're looking for a game with more action and less folding, just check the Bravo App to see if it's running.

Event 1 (Flight M): Already In The Bag

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 4 (Blinds 100/200)
Total Flight M Entries: 84

The number breakdown for the completed flights of Event 1 will be posted a little but later in the day, but below is a list of players that have already locked in a seat for Day 2 on Monday (12:00pm).  The smaller letters you see next to the top stacks are the flight that each respective player bagged the "chiplead bonus."  The "D" actually coincides with Flight K, and the "E" with Flight L.  

Larry	TraversE	758,500
Rafael	ReisA	555,500
Jeff	MorrisonC	447,000
Martin	RobbinsB	342,500
Gil	AboodiD	342,500
Sean	ShahE	337,500
Hashim	BurneyD	331,500
Kyle	LevassuerE	316,000
Christian	Humphries	283,000
John	FreidkesB	260,000
Eric	MutschlerC	251,500
Ray	MillardD	244,000
Frederico	Dabus	242,500
Jacob	RichardsonA	239,500
Salameh	Bahhur	232,500
Paula	Alibrandi	225,500
Eduardo	ChristC	225,000
Robert	Cohen	224,800
Louis	Leo	217,500
David	Coughlin	215,000
Carlo	RodriguezA	214,500
Larry	Douglas SrB	208,500
John	Kwon	200,000
Daniel	Cruz	199,500
John	Valevich	199,000
Rinat	Haviv	192,500
Robert	Transue	190,500
Christopher	Morris	186,000
Michael	Newman	185,500
Dave	Price	182,000
Carlos	Ulloa	181,000
Pedro	Catinchi	177,000
Elliott	Zaydruman	166,500
Lou	Stadler	164,500
Claude	Ferland	152,000
Sandra	Seligman	128,500
Ethiel	Garcia	106,000
Ellen	Smith	103,500
Tom	Moran	102,000
Moshe	Wasser	101,500
Joel	Deutsch	94,000
Lawrence	Hawkins	92,000
Sebastian	Sanchez	91,500
Luke	Rosenberg	87,000
Hollander	Preap	80,500
Anthony	Nassar	80,500
Gregg	Weiss	80,000
Daniel	Mijac	72,500
Sharon	Pickard	51,000

Event 1 (Flight M): A True Tournament Grinder

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 3 (Blinds 75/150)
Total Flight M Entries: 75

Danielle Bastarache (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) has clearly figured out the key to low-limit tournament strategy, amassing eye popping numbers over four years of play in Florida.

While this blogger is "new" to the Florida poker scene, there are certain faces you happen to see all of the time in certain rooms.  Danielle Bastarache (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) is one of those players that shows up at each poker room in the area, playing tournament after tournament.  He's amassed over $100,000 in career tournament earnings, which is an impressive number, no matter how you break it down.

What makes it even more incredible is the fact that he's put those numbers together without a tournament cash in an event over $350 (buy-in).  It's the true example of a "tournament grinder," playing these affordable tournaments, and making the most of his moments.  Now, we should mention that a large chunk of those career earnings come from a $84,000 result from Hard Rock Hollywood in 2012...but he has notched (24) reported cashes since (there are a large amount of "daily" events that don't get reported to Hendon Mob).  So it's very possible that the $100,000 career number that's reported is even larger.

Event 1 (Flight M): Quick Start To The Day

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 2 (Blinds 75/150)
Total Flight M Entries: 62

Things got off to a quick start this afternoon, as over (50) players were seated in the tournament area before the cards even got in the air.  The potential of a sizable prize pool has brought out many familiar faces to Isle Casino Poker, including:

Thomas Millward
Alan Dobrow
Edgard Mendes
Daniel Miler
Steven Lipkins

Not only have the tournament players made their way to the room, it's the cash games as well that are off and running as well.  In addition to the ever popular 4/8 Omaha 8 or Better and 6/12 OE games, there are two 10/25 NL running already!!!  We will feature some of the cash game action later in the day, but first our focus will stick to this early tournament field.

Event 1 (Flight M): Saturday See Three More Flights

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)
Total Flight M Entries: N/A

The "weather delay" is now an afterthought, and it's time to focus on the final six flights of Event 1.  There are three flights today (11:00am, 3:00pm, and 7:00pm), and three tomorrow...and that will be it for the opening flights of Event 1.  The tournament which held a $300,000 guaranteed prize pool before the storm, will likely see an updated prize pool of somewhere between $100,000 and $150,000 (still great numbers considering the circumstances).

To this point there has been a total of 411 entries, 85 of which were "re-entries."  From those numbers, (49) players have bagged chips for Day 2, giving us a chip average of 212,000.  So if you're planning on playing over the next (48) hours, that's definitely a number to keep in mind.  A player that bags an average stack will be heading into Day 2 will over 30 big blinds, definitely a comfortable number to move ahead with.

The cards will be in the air for Flight M in just over an hour, and live coverage for the day will begin just moments after.

Event 1 (Flight L): End Of Flight L Chip Counts

Event 1 ($150 Monster Stack NLH)
Level 15 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/500)
Total Flight K Entries: 92
Flight K Players Remaining: 9

The following players bagged chips for Event 1, and will return Monday (October 10) for Day 2 action:

Larry	Travers *	758,500
Sean	Shah *	337,500
Kyle	Levassuer *	316,000
Robert	Cohen	224,800
Ethiel	Garcia	106,000
Anthony	Nassar	80,500
Luke	Rosenberg	87,000
Christian	Humphries	283,000
Sandra	Seligman	128,500

* Denotes "chipleader bonus," and entry into Event 5 ($570 NLH - $250,000 Guarantee)