Event 13 (Day 1A): Updated Counts Heading To Last Level

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 12 (Blinds 800/1,600/200)

Total Day 1A Entries: 112

AJ Gambino (Royerdford, PA)

The Day 1A flight is entering it's final level of play for the day, with those remaining at it's conclusion bagging up their chip, and taking the next few days off.  AJ Gambino (Royerdford, PA) has been one of the only players today to continue an upward trend, as many of our prior chipleaders have either fell dramatically, or busted the flight altogether.  Gambino heads to the last level as the only player over 300,000, and would be the favorite to bag the chip lead at the moment.

AJ Gambino - 305,000

Chris Bolek - 210,000

Steven Edelson - 205,000

Michael Jagroo - 180,000

Gunnar Rabe - 180,000

Maurice Hawkins - 160,000

Steven Rosen - 160,000

Vladislav Varlashin - 140,000

Event 13 (Day 1A): Party Of Five (Tables), And "TK" Joins The Fray

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 10 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)

Total Day 1A Entries: 109

Timothy "TK" Miles (Tallahassee, FL)

The Day 1A filed is now down to five active tables, with TK Miles (Tallahassee, FL) the newest name to climb up the leaderboard.  Sitting with over 200,000, Miles is another accomplished tournament pro to come out of the Sunshine State.  

Miles has over $1,600,000 in career tournament earnings, amassing (100) recorded results since 2007.  Miles's first breakout score came in 2008, when he finished runner up in the $5,000 NLH Championship Event at the WSOPC New Orleans stop ($210,610).  Six years later, Miles would earn himself another six-figure score, taking down the $3,500 NLH Championship Event during the Summer Poker Open at Hard Rock Tampa ($295,203).

TK is just one of many notables still active in the field, including (but not limited to) Maurice Hawkins, Evan Teitelbaum, David Diaz, Raminder Singh, Luis Gonzalez, and Al Schein.

Event 13 (Day 1A): Top Two From Each Table (At Final Break)

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 9 (Blinds 500/1,000/100)

Total Day 1A Entries: 106

The players remaining in Day 1A are taking their final break of the night, and will be returning to finish out three more levels.  Once the break concludes, play will enter Level 10, with blinds going up to 600/1,200/200 (70,000 chip average).  Listed below are the top two chip stacks at each remaining table (heading to break):

Table 1: 

Michael Jagroo - 240,000

A.J. Gambino - 230,000

Table 3:

Stewart Newman - 115,000

Antoine Bahi - 100,000

Table 4:

Peter Vitantonio - 120,000

Sean Munjal - 81,000

Table 5:

Ari Fraser - 198,000

Athanasios Polychronopoulos - 105,000

Table 6:

Chris Bolek - 98,000

Al Schein - 95,000

Table 9:

Maurice Hawkins - 150,000

Dmitri Algrachov - 125,000

Event 13 (Day 1A): Happy To Be Back At Starting Stack

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 9 (Blinds 500/1,000/100)

Total Day 1A Entries: 100

Nicholas Mahabee (Miami, FL) is another player in the field that is experiencing the best tournament year of their career.  Close to 80% of Mahabee's career earnings have come in this calendar year, highlighted by the Event 1 chop during the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open ($66,435).  Coming back from dinner, Nicholas found himself with just over (10) big blinds, but just got back to starting stack moments ago.  

Mahabee would call a 2,000 raise pre, and see a flop with four other players.  Once the K♦ 3♥ 5♣ was laid out on the felt, action would check around to Mahabee on the button, who would push forward his remaining 8,800.  Action folded to Dmitri Agrachov, who threw out chips for a call, with the last remaining player in the hand folding behind (David Diaz).  Mahabee would turn over K♥ 5♦, having flopped top and bottom, and out flopping Agrachov's A♠ K♠.  The J♣ on the turn brought a few extra outs for Agrachov, but the board paired on the river (3♣), giving Mahabee the pot and new tournament life.

Dmitri Agrachov - 115,000

Nicholas Mahabee - 32,000

Event 13 (Day 1A): Jagroo Shifts The Balance Of Power

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 8 (Blinds 400/800/100)

Total Day 1A Entries: 99

Michael Jagroo (Sunny Isles Beach, FL)

After an hour away from the tables, players in this Day 1A flight are now focused on the "homestretch," and finding a bag for their chips.  Michael Jagroo (Sunny Isles Beach, FL) returns fro break as the chipleader, sitting with just over 200,000.  With (51) players remaining on six tournament tables, Jagroo finds himself within arms length of the only player that could pose a threat to his whole stack in a given hand.  A.J. Gambino (Royerdford, PA) sits only a few thousand behind Jagroo, and is currently in the midst of his strongest tournament year to date.  Gambino has earned close to $200,000 of his career $350,000 earnings in 2016, highlighted by a fourth place finish in a $1,600 MSPT event at the Venetian earlier this summer ($119,104). 

Michael Jagroo - 208,000

A.J. Gambino - 190,000

Gunnar Rabe - 100,000

Athanasios Polychronopoulos - 95,000

Ben Lindemulder - 92,000

Stewart Newman - 85,000

Maurice Hawkins - 80,000

Chris Bolek - 80,000

Event 13 (Day 1A): Wolfson Flops Gin To Stay Alive Before Dinner

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/75)

Total Day 1A Entries: 96

The remaining Day 1A players are just (15) minutes from their dinner break, which will last from 6:20-7:20pm.  Just moments ago, Matthew Wolfson was all-in pre-flop for his last 5,700, and was called by Joe Couden.  Wolfson was in tough shape though, holding K♠ 9♠ against the K♣ K♦ of Couden...that was until the dealer fanned out a flop of A♠ 3♠ 5♠.  Wolfson would have to fade running cards that could potentially give Couden a full house, but those worries would be squashed right on the turn.  Wolfson is still well below the starting stack for the day, but will have an hour away from the table to recoup and try and return for a strong finish.

Joe Couden - 54,000

Matthew Wolfson - 12,000

Live updates from Day 1A of the Isle Poker Open Championship Event will continue after the dinner break (at approximately 7:30pm).

Event 13 (Day 1A): Structure Sheet Clock

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/75)

Total Day 1A Entries: 90

Continuing the trend from our tournaments will "all-day" registration, here is the "real time" schedule breakdown for each of the Day 1 flights:

Level	Small Blind	Big Blind	Ante	"Real Time"
1	50	100		12:00-12:50pm
2	75	150	25	12:50-1:40pm
3	100	200	25	1:40-2:30pm
		Break		2:30-2:45pm
4	150	300	50	2:45-3:35pm
5	200	400	50	3:35-4:25pm
		Break		4:25-4:40pm
6	250	500	75	4:40-5:30pm
7	300	600	75	5:30-6:20pm
		Dinner		6:20-7:20pm
8	400	800	100	7:20-8:10pm
9	500	1,000	100	8:10-9:00pm
10	600	1,200	200	9:00-9:50pm
		Break		9:50-10:05pm
11	800	1,600	200	10:05-10:55pm
12	1,000	2,000	300	10:55-11:45pm

Event 13 (Day 1A): Still Another "Satellite" Opportunity at 7:00pm

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/75)

Total Day 1A Entries: 88

Just a reminder for those following the blog that are not in the current Day 1A flight, there is still another opportunity to get into this event for a fraction of the buy-in cost.  Event 27 ($175 No Limit Hold'em Satellite) will be getting underway at 7:00pm, and will see (8) seats guaranteed given away to this Championship Event.  Players will start with 12,000, with levels lasting (20) minutes throughout the satellite.  We've seen some good turnouts for these satellites, so the possibly for more than the guaranteed amount of seats to be given away in this event is very real.

Event 13 (Day 1A): He's Leads In Letters...And Chips

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 6 (Blinds 250/500/75)

Total Day 1A Entries: 87

Athanasios Polychronopoulos (East Hampton, NY)

(26) letters...that's how many keys strokes it takes to type our chipleader's name.  It makes for some extra work, but those in the poker media are used to it by now.  Athanasios Polychronopoulos is the first player to eclipse the 100,000 mark, and now sits above that with just over 115,000.  Athanasios shares the table with some tough competition, including Jonah Miller and Nader Bahhur, but has continued his upward trend returning from break.

Since returning from break, we've seen the tournament area lose one table, but have spotted some more notables across the room:

Matthew Wolfson

Michael Jagroo

Daniel Shiff

Stephen Edelson

Brett Bader

Steven Rosen

Daniel Suied

Jeffrey Burdeen

Event 13 (Day 1A): Second Break, Rheem Busts First Bullet

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 6 (Blinds 250/500/75)

Total Day 1A Entries: 80

Players in this Day 1A flight are on their second break of the day, and will be returning to Level 6, and new blinds of 250/500/75.  There will be two more levels played before the flight's scheduled dinner break (after Level 7), with Day 1A play scheduled to end at the conclusion of Level 12.  

About (10) minutes before break, Chino Rheem would be all-in for 5,750, shoving over an open from James Calderaro.  After the action folded behind Rheem, James would make the call, and the two would be racing.  It would be the 6♠ 6♥ of Calderaro against Rheem's K♦ J♦, with the dealer then fanning out a board of 2♠ 6♦ 9♣ 9♦ 10♣.  Things would be locked up for Calderaro on the turn, and Chino would exit the tournament area after a quick first bullet.  Calderaro would assume the early chip lead with that pot (90,000), and is the favorite to become the first player to eclipse the century mark.

Event 13 (Day 1A): Early Chip Counts From The Field

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 5 (Blinds 200/400/50)

Total Day 1A Entries: 74

Most all of the "major" events on the Isle Poker Open schedule had bonus's for bagging the chip lead of each starting day (or starting flight).  While there are no "bonuses" for the chipleader of these Championship Event starting flights, those that do can take solace that they'll be in great position towards a run at six-figures.  Here are some of the early (and updated) chip counts from across the Day 1A field:

James Calderaro - 66,000
Athanasios Polychronopoulos - 62,000
Jonah Miller - 58,000
Joe Couden - 54,000
David Diaz - 50,000
David Albertson - 48,000
Kenneth Bruno - 40,000
Maurice Hawkins - 33,000

Event 13 (Day 1A): Previewing The November Poker Calendar

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 5 (Blinds 200/400/50)

Total Day 1A Entries: 71

Players just finished their first post-break level, and have just transitioned to Level 5, and new blinds of 200/400/50.  While there is a lot going on in the Championship Event field, and new arrivals to note, we wanted to give you just a small look into the future of the Isle Casino Poker Blog.  The inception of the blog was not just for this series, the site was designed to be players "go to" point for everything Isle Poker Room related.  

You will be able to find information about daily tournaments, promotions, upcoming series, live game action...basically anything related to the room.  Also upcoming in the month of November are the "featured events" that will be live blogged:

Tuesday, November 1: $40 No Limit Hold'em ($10,000 Guarantee)

Thursday, November 3: $100 No Limit Hold'em Monster Stack ($14,000 Guarantee)

Monday, November 7: $150 No Limit Hold'em Structure Beast ($20,000 Guarantee)

Tuesday, November 15: $40 No Limit Hold'em ($10,000 Guarantee)

Monday, November 21: $150 No Limit Hold'em Structure Beast ($20,000 Guarantee)

Tuesday, November 22: $40 No Limit Hold'em ($10,000 Guarantee)

As well as having live updates for the events listed above, each tournament winner will also be receiving a trophy along with first place prize money.

Event 13 (Day 1A): Faces In the Crowd (Part III)

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 4 (Blinds 150/300/50)

Total Day 1A Entries: 65

Players returned moments ago from their first break of the day, and are now posting new blinds of 150/300/50.  The list of well-known poker players continues to grow, and three of them happen to be sharing the same table at the moment:

David "Chino" Rheem (Los Angeles, CA) is a player who really needs no introduction, boasting a live tournament resume with over $8,000,000 in career earnings.  Rheem has three WPT titles (2008 WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Poker Classic, 2013 WPT World Championship, and the 2016 WPT SHRPO $10,000).  Chino clearly feels comfortable here in Florida with the recent results he's recorded at Seminole Hard Rock, and will be looking to notch his first ever cash here at the Isle Poker Room.

Maurice Hawkins (Plantation, FL) is another player who really needs no introduction, cutting his teeth here on the Florida poker circuit.  While Hawkins has been cashing tournaments consistently since the start of his career, it wasn't until 2014 when he would earn his first even six-figure tournament score (and his first WSOP circuit ring).  Since that win at the Palm Beach Kennel Club, Hawkins has gone on to earn four more six-figure scores, including becoming the first player to win back-to-back WSOP Circuit Main Event titles (2016 Council Bluffs and Cherokee circuit stops).

James Calderaro (Venice, FL) is another Florida native who is well known across the tournament circuit.  James has over $2,100,000 in career tournament earnings, with his most notable finish coming in 2009, when he finished just a few spots short of reaching the WSOP Main Event final table (13th Place - $633,022).  After numerous notable scores followed, James was once again in the spotlight in 2014, after winning 2014 WPT Lucky Hearts Open ($277,103).

Event 13 (Day 1A): Faces In The Crowd (Part II)

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 3 (Blinds 100/200/25)

Total Day 1A Entries: 56

Alan Schein (North Miami, FL) has a poker resume that lists as a tale of two time periods.  From 2003-2007, Schein had over $700,000 in tournament earnings, including a WPT title during the 2007 WPT Borgata Poker Open ($440,200).  There is then a seven year gap between notables scores, with Schein finishing in 54th place during the $10,000 NLH WPT Five Diamond Classic ($22,737).  Alan has a handful of cashes since that tournament, including a deep run in the main event of the 2016 Battle of the Beach series earlier this year.

It didn't take long for the defending champ of this event to get involved in the action, as David Diaz (Bartlett, TN) doubled up just a few hands into his day.  Diaz flopped top set against Paul Balzano (Sunrise, FL), and would hold a strong advantage against Balzano's pocket aces.  Diaz turned quads to close the door on any hopes for Balzano, and before Diaz could even get his headphones on, he'd be sitting with over two starting stacks.

Event 13 (Day 1A): More Notables In The Field

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 3 (Blinds 100/200/25)

Total Day 1A Entries: 48

The familiarity of the faces in the field has grown leaps and bounds since the beginning of this series, as the "Isle" notables have made their own names known throughout the month long schedule of events.  Players that were once unknown to this blogger (who was used to knowing 90% of the field) have now become commonplace, and the welcome from this Isle Poker community has been incredible.  

Having said that, our last full lap around the growing field yielded many faces and names that are known regulars here at the Isle:

Zack Mullinex

Alan Schein

Justin Margolis

Edward Jaffy

Frederico Dabus

Elliot Zaydman

Nader Bahhur

William Jennings

Jonah Miller

Dmitri Agrachov

Kenneth Bruno

Event 13 (Day 1A): Face In The Crowd (Part I)

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 2 (Blinds 75/150/25)

Total Day 1A Entries: 41

There was just an announcement across the poker room in regards to the 10/25 NLH cash game starting up, a game that our next notable is a fixture in.  Joe Couden (Blacklick, OH) is now a Florida resident, and considers the Isle Poker Room his "home court."  Couden has over $1,170,000 in career tournament earnings, including an astonishing seven cashes at this year's WSOP!  Of those cashes, all but one was a top (100) finish, and included a final table in the $1,500 Dealers Choice (6-Max) event.  

The appearance of Athanasios Polychronopolous (East Hampton, NY) may come as some of a surprise, being that since 2015, his tournament cashes have been primarily WPT or WSOP events.  Athanasios has over $1,900,000 in career tournament earnings, and a resume that includes (2) WSOP bracelet wins in 2011 and 2013.  Like Couden above, Polychronopolous is coming off a very strong WSOP summer, cashing in (5) events and cashing in the $10,000 Main Event (572nd place - $20,499).

Event 13 (Day 1A): Satellite Winners To The Main

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 2 (Blinds 75/150/25)

Total Day 1A Entries: 26

While there was one "secondary event" on Tuesday, the fews days prior to the Championship Event of the Isle Poker Open are considered "the calm before the storm).  That calm usually consists of what Tournament Director Ralph Brandt calls "Satellite Wednesday."

#IsleOpen The Wednesday before a Main Event has traditionally been Satellite Wednesday here at the Isle, and today is no different.

— Ralph Brandt (@uniden32) October 26, 2016

"Satellite Wednesday" consisted of two events, a $340 buy-in satellite at 11:00am (guaranteeing 30 seats to the main), and a $175 buy-in satellite at 7:00pm (guaranteeing 15 seats).  Here are the satellite winners from yesterday's schedule:

$340 No Limit Hold'em (30 Seats Guaranteed):

Ory Hen
Frederick Allenspach
Salomon Cohen
Jacquelyn Scott
Sandy Sanchez
Ovenson Benoit
Barry Price
Vito Polera
Gregory Spinder
Elliot Zaydman
Rick Kalgstein
Matthew Yorra
George Lukawski
Ronald Cosby
Nicholas Baurichter
Nicholas Mahabee
Joseph Christman
Yves Ferquiere
Oktay Altinbas
Jose Chapui
Ronald Levy
Luis Gonzalez
Marsha Wolak
Lisa Teebagy
William Reich
Carey Pickus
Hari Sukhu
Raymond Millard
Den Kim
Rafael Ramos

$175 No Limit Hold'em (15 Seats Guaranteed):

Luminita Petric
David ALbertson
Alfonso Perez
Hugh Hardy
Carl Cajuste
Eric Becks
Den Kim
Sebastian Sanchez
Rafael Calero
Justin Margolis
Steven Flacco
Bernard Muhire
Jorge Bermejo
John Mayers
James Hamburger

Event 13 (Day 1A): Different Routes To The Same Place

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 1 (Blinds 50/100)

Total Day 1A Entries: 21

Luis Santoni (Aguada, Puerto Rico) would have likely been a fixture in this event for the full buy-in, but he earned entry into this event by bagging the chip lead during his Event 9 ($350 No Limit Hold'em) flight (along with 11 other players).  Suntan went on to cash in Event 9, finishing in 39th place and earning himself $1,071.  That was Luis's only cash of this year's Isle Poker Open, but a deep run in this Championship Event would surely highlight his month of tournament poker.

David Albertson (Coral Springs, FL) started of this series very strong, reaching the final table of Event 1, and finishing in 3rd place for $9,282.  Albertson was a mainstay throughout the entire series, and earned himself a second cash in Event 6 ($130 No Limit Hold'em), finishing in 14th place for $555.  The $10,000 earned this series alone was more than enough to cover the buy-in to this Championship Event, but Albertson decided on playing a satellite yesterday, and ended up gaining his entry that way.  A list of all the satellite winner into this event will be posted later in the afternoon.

Event 13 (Day 1A): 2016 Isle Poker Open Main Event Kicks Off Today!!!

Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event)

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 1 (Blinds 50/100)

Total Day 1A Entries: N/A

It seems like only yesterday, that the cards were getting in the air for the opening event of the Isle Poker Open, but we have already reached the the "Main Event."  In just under an hour from now, the cards will be in the air of Event 13 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event), with the first first of three starting flights.

Players in this Day 1A field will sit down to starting stacks of 30,000, with levels lasting (50) minutes throughout the "opening day."  Each of these starting flights has registration that is open all day, including the time on Day 2, before the cards get in the air.  Each starting flight is scheduled for (12) levels of play, including an hour long dinner break after Level 7.

Live coverage of Event 13 will begin about (20) minutes after the start of the day, and will continue through the bagging process.  We will also be updating you on what to expect from the blog after this series, as well as catching you up on the action from this week.