Event 9 (Flight E): Official End Of Flight E Chip Counts

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/300)
Total Flight E Entries: 69
Players Remaining: 8

Tom	Gity *	377,000
Manuel	Soltero	263,700
Michelle	Shah	215,000
Ryan	Gianquitti	135,900
Jessica	Dawley	122,100
John	Palace	117,200
Arkadiy	Tsinis	69,100
Scott	Hart	59,200

*Denotes Flight E "chiplead bonus," and entry into $1,500 Isle Open Main Event

Event 9 (Flight D): Official End Of Flight D Chip Counts

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/300)
Total Flight D Entries: 71
Players Remaining: 10

Daniel	Cruz *	316,600
Francis	Margaglione	232,300
Juan	Rodriguez	208,200
Ellen	Lambeth	146,300
Almog	Biton	136,500
Warren	Jurkowitz	105,400
Kevin	Ho	103,900
Jose	De La Cruz	93,300
Iftech	Shimonovit	59,000
Johnny	Riley	35,900

*Denotes Flight D "chiplead bonus," and entry into $1,500 Isle Open Main Event

Event 9 (Flight E): Registration Window Closing Shortly

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 8 (Blinds 300/600/75) 
Total Flight E Entries: 68
Players Remaining: 39

With one level left before the registration for Flight E closes, we are still seeing players jump in last minute.  Our most recent entry was Michelle Shah (Delray Beach, FL), coming off a deep run in Event 5, when she finished in 14th place ($2,332).  Some other "late arrivals" included:

Kobi Ribak
Evan Teitelbaum
Eric Becks
Tomas Schlesinger
Michael Tufaro

For those looking to get into the action today, the third (and final flight of the day) begins in just a few minutes.  While these later flights don't get the same "detailed coverage" (a blogger's gotta sleep), we will be updating throughout the evening in regards to numbers, official chip counts, and chiplead bonuses.

Event 9 (Flight D): Bonus Comes Down To The Final Hand

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/300)
Total Flight D Entries: 71
Players Remaining: 10

Daniel Cruz (Boca Raton, FL)

Things came down to the final hand in regards to the chiplead bonus for the flight, as Francis Margaglione, Daniel Cruz, and Juan Rodriguez were within thousands of each other.  Cruz was the only of the three to be active in the final hand, and needed to win a "nice sized" pot in order to eclipse both Rodriguez and Margaglione.  When Cruz's opponent shoved the turn on a 3♣ 6♠ J♥ Q♣ board, Daniel snap-called, turning over top two (Q♠ J♣), and eliminating Bret Beebe on the final hand.  With that hand, Cruz earns himself a seat into the Isle Open $1,500 Main Event.  The official end of flight chip counts will be posted shortly.

Event 9 (Flight D): And Down The Stretch They Come

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/300)
Total Flight D Entries: 71
Players Remaining: 13

The players in Flight D are playing the last level of the day, and the race for the "chiplead bonus" is as close as we've seen all series.  It's currently a four horse race, with Juan Rodriguez the current favorite:

John Rodriguez - 230,000
Francis Margaglione - 200,000
Daniel Cruz - 185,000
Bret Beebe - 175,000

Event 9 (Flight E): Dawley Arrives With "New Do"

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 5 (Blinds 150/300/25)
Total Flight E Entries: 58
Players Remaining: 44

Jessica Dawley (Florida)

As mentioned earlier in the day, when the series gets closer to the Main Event, the "big names" begin to show up.  Jessica Dawley (@JessicaDawley) is a Florida based poker pro with a resume that boasts cashes all over the world, totaling just over $407,00.  Dawley's career highlighting score came two years ago during the SHR Rock N' Roll Open $3,500 Main Event, which she finished in 6th place ($110,304).

Jessica represents both Seminole Hard Rock and 888PokerNJ, and does an incredible job just representing the poker community as a whole.  While Dawley has such an incredible resume, she's still searching for her first outright tournament win (recorded).  To have those types of earnings without a win is really a testament to solid play over a long period of time.  Regardless of the outcome today for Jessica, she's running pure in the hair department, playing in her first event with the "new do:"

Loving my new do! 🔥💁🏼 pic.twitter.com/Itgv3TFp2h

— Jessica Dawley (@JessicaDawley) October 20, 2016

Event 9 (Flight D): Ladies Leading The Charge

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 11 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)
Total Flight D Entries: 71
Players Remaining: 19

Paula Alibrandi (Mirimar, FL) and Ellen Lambeth (Charlotte, NC)

The last time the media walked past Table 2, Ellen Lambeth was sitting with just under 40,000.  In just under an hour, she's spun up her stack to 140,000, and now sits with the flight chip lead.  Joining Ellen on the rise is Paula Alibrandi (Miramar, FL), who went deep in both Event 1 and Event 2 (13th and 22nd place respective).  Just as we were passing Table 1, Paula was in the tank, faced with a shove from Luis Santoni (1,300 open from Paula and 24,000 shove from Luis).  Alibrandi decided to make the call, and picked up a nice pot after her A Q held up against the A 8 of Santoni.  Paula is now just short of the century mark, sitting with 95,000.

Event 9 (Flight E): Faces In the Crowd

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 3 (Blinds 75/150)
Total Flight E Entries: 40
Players Remaining: 29

John Palace (Jupiter, FL)

John Palace's poker resume started just over a year ago, and yet he's already amassed over $50,000 in tournament earnings.  Palace has been a name we've mentioned numerous times since the start of this series, having done deep in both Event 1 (22nd Place - $566) and Event 8 (3rd - $1,378).  Palace is just one of the many notables to take their seats in the second Event 9 flight of the day:

Marshall Skloss

Martin Robbins

Michael Newman

Brett Bader

James Hamburger

Thomas Puccio

Ian Cohen

Tim Gity

Joshua Hillock

Event 9 (Flight D): Updated Counts From The Field

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 9 (Blinds 400/800/100)
Total Flight D Entries: 71
Players Remaining: 32

Juan Rodriguez (Boca Raton, FL)

As the field shrinks down, it's surprising not to see one or two players really separating themselves from the field.  We did mention Jose Delacruz and Mark Gaudino earlier, and now it's Isle regular Juan Rodriguez rising up the ranks.  Rodriguez had 85,000 as we were collecting chip counts, but a sizable pot won just as we exited the tournament area looks to have pushed him over 100,000.  Juan has some nice results here at the Isle Poker Room, including his largest cash, which came earlier this year during the PPC ($120 NLH - 2nd Place $18,294).

Jose Delacruz - 120,000
Juan Rodriguez - 105,000
Francis Margaglione - 90,000
Warren Kurkowitz - 63,000
Ellen Lambeth - 44,000
Yves Fequiere - 38,000

The day is scheduled to play until the completion of Level 14, or when 8% of the field remain.  We finished Level 14 during all three flights yesterday, but did end up with one table of play in two of the three flights.

Event 9 (Flight D): Last Level Of Open Registration

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 8 (Blinds 300/600/75)
Total Flight D Entries: 68
Players Remaining: 40

The first few minutes of Level 8 are already off the clock, which means that those interested in jumping in (or jumping back in) to this (D) flight have a small window remaining.  Registration will stay open through the break after this level, but once the cards are in the air for Level 9, players have to utilize other options.  There are still two flights to be played today, with Flight E starting at 3:00pm, and Flight F beginning at 7:00pm.

If you're interested in playing either of the flights just mentioned, here are some important times you should know in regards to registration:

Flight E: Registration closes at 7:25pm
Flight F: Registration closes at 11:25pm

Event 9 (Flight D): Off To A Fast Start

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 7 (Blinds 250/500/50)
Total Flight D Entries: 67

Jose Delacruz (Flagler Beach, FL)

It's a little early to start concentrating on the "chiplead bonus" race, but we do have two players in the field that are off to quick starts.  Jose Delacruz is currently pacing the field, as he has almost tripled his starting stack over the first seven levels of play.  The 80,000 stack he's currently sitting with is actually creeping close to what is now the Day 2 chip average (118,000).  Jose is coming off his second largest career score, reaching the final table of the HPT $1,650 NLH Maine Event in Daytona Beach (9th place - $11,184).

Also topping the leaderboard at the moment is Mark Gaudino (Plantation, FL), who sits with 70,000.  Guano is also an accomplished tournament grinder, with over $111,000 in career earnings, spread across (66) cashes dated from 2007-present.

Event 9 (Flight D): It's Been A Memorable Year

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 5 (Blinds 150/300/25)
Total Flight D Entries: 60

Ido Ashkenazi (Queens, NY)

To say it's been a breakout year is just a slight stretch, being that Ido Ashkenazi has over $447,000 in career earnings since 2010.  But if sure has been a memorable one for Ido, who earned his first six-figure score, the largest to date on his resume ($158,304).  That score came this August, when Ashkenazi chopped the $570 ($1,000,000 Guarantee) NLH event during the SHRPO.  

Prior to that result, Ashkenazi's highlighting finish came in 2013, when he finished in third place during the WSOP Circuit Main in Atlantic City ($78,659).  Ido's best Isle Poker score came last year during this exact event (4th place - $23,220), a result he'd like hope to eclipse this time around.

While there is a lot of traveling to the Northeast in his schedule, it's very likely that Ashkenazi will be in attendance for the $1,500 Main Event of this series.

Event 9 (Flight D): The "Fashionably Late" Crowd

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 5 (Blinds 150/300/25)
Total Flight D Entries: 48

Players are currently on their first (15) minute break of the day, and will be returning to Level 5 and new blinds of 150/300/25.  If you've followed the WSOP over the course of the year, you'd remember the discussion about the 11:00am versus 12:00pm start time.  Florida is definitely not Las Vegas during the WSOP, so the 11:00am start gets a crowd, but we still spotted many familiar faces taking their seats just before break.

Daniel Cruz (Boca Raton, FL) is back at the tables for the first time since chopping Event 5, and earning himself a lifetime best cash ($14,340).  He's like hoping things aren't as stressful this time around though, needing to come from behind in two huge spots to reach the point he did.  Some other late arrivals to the field include:

Ellen Lambeth
Yves Fequiere
Frederick Allenspach
Paul Efron
Elliot Zydman
Giovanni Cantatore
Paula Alibrandi
Trenton Baker

Event 9 (Flight D): Just An "O.G. Boss"

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 3 (Blinds 75/150)
Total Flight D Entries: 42

Luis Santoni (Aguada, Puerto Rico)

Luis Santoni (Aguada, Puerto Rico) was featured on the blog during Event 5, with mentions of his tournament accolades ($1,122,000 in career earnings).  Many of his large cashes came in the early nineties, before poker became what it is now.  How big time was Luis in his prime?  The man had his face on the four of hearts.  Looking through the deck is like scrolling through old baseball cards of players when you were growing up...the names like Lyle Berman, "Miami" John Cernuto, Humberto Brenes, Jim Ward, John Bonetti, Paul "Eskimo" Clark, and of course...Phil Hellmuth and Johnny Chan.

Santoni hasn't lost anything over time in regards to skill though, as his poker's evolved along with the game, recently cashing in the $5,250 SHRPO Championship Event last year (25th place - $27,500), as well as the $3,500 WPT SHR Showdown (75th place - $7,856).

Event 9 (Flight D): Chip Counts (Flights A-C)

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)
Total Day 1D Entries: 30

After one full day of play, we have (29) players returning for Day 2 on Sunday, including a lot of seasoned tournament players.  As we mentioned earlier, two names that have been noted numerous times since the blog started (Frederico Dabus and Raminder Singh), ended up bagging chip leads yesterday.  Once again we see Claude Ferland's name towards the top of the counts (188,800), as well as a first appearance at the series from Matt Smith (92,000).

Event 9 (Flight D): Continuing The Trend

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)
Total Flight D Entries: 28

Ory Hen (Cooper City, FL)

Ory Hen (Cooper City, FL) was featured on the blog during Event 5, as he made his first appearance of the series.  The tournament veteran immediately brought a lightheartedness to the table, and had everyone around him smiling.  Now while it may seem like fun and games on the surface, Hen was fully focused on his task at hand...getting his hands on an Isle Open trophy.  His deep run was cut short though, as he finished in 36th place ($1,473).  Ory's one of the notables back in action today, and is joined by the likes of:

Michael Russo

Julio Fernandez

Joshua Wasserman

Martin Robbins

Megan Endres

Juan Rodriguez

Francis Margaglione

Event 9 (Flight D): Continuing The Multi-Flight Madness

Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em $300,000 Guarantee)
Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)
Total Day 1D Entries: N/A

Three flights are in the book, and today continues the second quarter of the (12) total flights of Event 9.  We saw some Isle Poker tournament regulars earn themselves seats into the Main Event, as Frederico Dabus (Flight A) and Raminder Singh (Flight C) bag the chip lead of their respective flights.  It's been an incredible series for Raminder, who has final tabled two of the Isle Open "major" events, and now looks to be primed for another deep run.

Players in the 11:00am flight will be sitting down to starting stacks of 20,000 chips, with levels lasting (30) minutes on Day 1 (transitioning to 40 on Day 2). We will be following the race for three more Main advent seats, as well as the notables names showing up to play. As the tournament  price points rise, some of the bigger Florida poker names start showing up. Live coverage starts after the cards get in the air, and continues throughout the end of Flight D.