Flight 1C ($75,000 GTD): End Of Flight Chip Counts (Official)

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 16 (Blinds 3,000/6,000/500)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 110

Total Entries: 258

Flight 1C Players Remaining: 9

One of the more surprising things to this point in the tournament, is the fact that Thursday's "afternoon" flight hosted the largest field of the three played to this point.  Of the (110) total entries to make up the field, only (9) ended up finding themselves a bag.  Scott Wyler (Ocean Ridge, FL) bagged the "chip lead bonus," ending the day with 258,000.  Wyler has a very accomplished tournament resume, with over $183,000 in career earnings.  His largest score, which is over $32,000, came here at the Isle Casino Poker Room last year (2015 Isle Poker Classic).

Scott	Wyler C	258,000
Paulius	Bikus	187,500
William	Swicicki	155,000
Evan	Kahan	128,000
Tom	Gity	104,500
Dhrumel	Shah	97,500
Gatien	Dumoulin	89,500
Ariel	Rosello	77,000
Lloyd	Kapper	74,000

Flight 1B ($75,000 GTD): Official Chip Counts

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 16 (Blinds 3,000/6,000/500)

Total Flight 1B Entries: 110

Total Entries: 257

Flight 1B Players Remaining: 14

Thursday's opening flight (Flight 1B) ended at approximately 7:15pm, with (14) players happy to take the next few days off, before returning for Sunday's Day 2 (12:00pm).  As mentioned in our last post, Lou Stadler (Miami, FL) bagged the chip lead (304,500), but there were also some notable names to bag chips from this flight.  

Eric Mutschler bagged the fifth largest stack of the group, less than (24) hours after busting the opening flight of the tournament (late in the day).  After cashing for over $10,000 during the Isle Poker Open, Mutschler will look to spin that stack up (what should be around average heading to Day 2), and make another Isle Poker deep run.  Both Thomas Gari and Paula Alibrandi found themselves a bag as well, but will return to Day 2 with less than (20) bigs.

Lou	Stadler B	304,500
Robert	Feinstein	285,000
Fernando	Nunez	277,000
Harry	Eisenberg	155,500
Eric	Mutschler	151,000
Thomas	Gari	117,500
Christopher	Cumber	108,500
Ginold	Cham	96,500
Paula	Alibrandi	93,500
Gabriel	Fernandes	93,500
John	Vidal	85,000
Bernhard	Schmidl	83,000
Bill	Besch	70,500
Mike	Bonsignore	65,500

Flight 1B ($75,000 GTD): When You Dress Well, You Run Well

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)

Total Flight 1B Entries: 110

Total Entries: 257

Flight 1B Players Remaining: 15

Lou Stadler (Miami, FL) - Flight 1B Chip Leader (304,600)

Lou Stadler (Miami, FL) was one of the first players we featured in the Flight 1B coverage, and he's also going to be the last.  The Florida poker personality bagged the largest stack of the (15) players that remaining at flight's end, and earned himself $500.  His stack of 304,600 was not larger than Raymond Ruszkowski (Miami, FL) from Flight 1A, but it puts him in third place (currently) heading into Sunday's Day 2.  

Once the tournament supervisors verify all of the bagged chip counts, the official counts (along with Day 2 seating assignments) will be posted.  Flight 1C is currently in the later stages of Level 8, meaning there is about (30) minutes remaining in registration.  For those still interested in joining in on the $75,000 GTD action, there is one final flight for the day at 7:00pm (Flight 1D).

Flight 1C ($75,000 GTD): The Names Keep Rolling In

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 4 (Blinds 100/200/25)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 45

Total Entries: 238

Players in this 1C flight are about to enter Level 4, with the blinds going up to 100/200/25.  At the conclusion of this level, the field will take their first (10) minute break of the day, and will then return to play four more levels.  Registration is open for this flight until the end of the second break of the day, which comes after the conclusion of Level 8.

New players are arriving at a pretty rapid pace now, with a handful of those walking over after busting Flight 1B (which is down to 31 active players).  Some of the new names in the field include:

Martin Robbins

Alejandro Rosales

Stephen Ekin

Kenneth Bruno

Saul Gold

Paul Bryan

James Hamburger

Flight 1C ($75,000 GTD): Mendes In His Comfort Zone

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 38

Total Entries: 231

Edgard Mendes (Miami, FL)

There aren't many players that enter as many events at the Isle Casino Poker Room then our next notables, Edgard Mendes (Miami, FL).  Playfully known as "Corona," Mendes can most always be seen in the field with his trusty bottle of said beer brand, as well as a smile.  While he comes off as jovial and friendly at the table, his poker play is all business.  Mendes has over $50,000 in recorded career earnings, with an unknown amount of "daily" cashes that were never sent to Hendon Mob (prior to the blog's inception).  Edgard has a bunch of three and four digit scores over the past three years, but he's still chasing that highlighting cash of $26,750, won during a $1,200 No Limit Hold'em event during the 2015 Isle Poker Open.  

Mendes seems to like the Isle Poker Open, as he had a pretty nice series this year as well:

Event #2 ($100 No Limit Hold'em) 2nd Place ($1,712)

Event #13 ($1,500 NLH Championship Event) 35th Place ($3,146)

Flight 1C ($75,000 GTD): Who's In The Field?

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 25

Total Entries: 218

Tom Gity (Pompano Beach, FL)

It's an "intimate" start to this middle flight of the day, which may be a welcome sight to Tom Gity (Pompano Beach, FL).  Our first notable of the day is likely happy to see anything that wasn't resembling last night.  Gity found himself in numerous great spots during yesterday's opening flight, but continually got three or four-outed to end up losing massive pots.  Tom made the decision to call it a night after a string of tough beats, and is now in the field, looking for some different results.

Tom is just one of a handful of notables to show up for this afternoon flight, looking to potentially bag chips and get a few days off:

Guillermo Irving

Edward Ramos

Ralph Spadafore

Thomas Moran

Paulius Bikus

Jean Chery

Flight 1C ($75,000 GTD): New Flight, New Opportunities

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)

Total Flight 1C Entries: N/A

Total Entries: 193

The morning flight of this $130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 Guarantee) attracted a total of (110) entries, bringing the running total for the first two flights to (193).  It's a great pace to start the event, and we should only see larger fields as the tournament progresses.  Cards will be getting in the air shortly, as the second of three flights for the day begins at 3:00pm.

Players in the flight will be sitting down to starting stacks of 18,000 tournament chips, and will once again try to navigate their way through sixteen levels (lasting 25 minutes each).  The mark to reach at the moment is 328,000, which earned Raymond Ruszkowski (Miami, FL) $500 last night, for the posted "chip lead bonus."  This flight will be "live blogged" throughout, leading up to the bagging process, which should occur somewhere around 10:10pm.

Flight 1B ($75,000 GTD): "Bonus Coverage," For The Fans

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)

Total Flight 1B Entries: 70

Total Entries: 153

Lou Stadler (Miami, FL)

Today's live updates are scheduled to begin at 3:00pm (for Flight 1C), but we are able to bring you a little Flight 1A look-in.  We just had a 70th entry for the flight, which is on pace to soar passed yesterday's number, pending things follow suit leading up to registrations end.  An average of (75) entries per flight are needed to reach the $75,000 guarantee, which at the moment, seems to be a formality.

A lap of the field yielded only one return player from yesterday's flight, as Eric Mutschler once again tries to bag chips, this after being eliminated during Level 12 action last night.  There are many recognizable faces making their first appearance of the event, including the always well dressed (and smiling) Lou Stadler.  Lou is coming off an Isle Poker Open where he cashed in three events:

Event #1 ($150 No Limit Hold'em) - 67th Place ($306)

Event #8 ($75 No Limit Hold'em) - 26th Place ($135)

Event #12 ($100 No Limit Hold'em) - 16th Place ($251)

Stadler headlines a group of notable, including the likes of:

Steven Lipkins

Paula Alibrandi

Kenneth Bruno

Linda Lipkins

Giovanni Cantatore

Robert Perniola

Flight 1B ($75,000 GTD): Second Flight Underway Shortly

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)

Total Flight 1B Entries: N/A

Total Entries: 83

Cards Underway For Flight 1B At 11:00am

Tournament director Ralph Brandt will be going through the rules announcement in about (30) minutes, which will then signify the beginning of the second of ten flights for this $130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 Guarantee).  As the days pass, and the number of flights remaining become less than those already played, the field sizes will gradually get larger and larger.  We starting things off last night with a flight that attracted (83) entries, many of which were players we've seen on the "daily tournament" grind over the past six weeks.  Only (8) players managed to find a bag at the end of the night, with Raymond Ruszkowski (Miami, FL) taking home the chip lead bonus (328,000).

Players in this early flight will sit down to starting stacks of 18,000, and will try to navigate their way through (16) levels, all lasting (25) minutes in length.  Those lucky enough to accomplish that feat will then bag their chips for Day 2, which resumes Sunday at 12:00pm.

Please remember that today's "live blogged" flight is at 3:00pm (Flight 1C), with sporadic updates from the other two flights posted, as well as official chip counts and Day 2 seating assignments (once play has completed).

Thursday, December 15th: Three More Flights For The $75,000 GTD

If last night's Flight 1A of the $130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 Guarantee) was a precursor of things to come, we have a pretty solid little tournament shaping up for the weekend.  Yesterday's flight saw a total of (83) entries, which is already above the pace needed to eclipse the guaranteed prize pool posted on the event.  The night ended with (8) players bagging chips for Sunday's Day 2, including Karin Powsner (170,000) and Josh Wasserman (306,500).  There were a few different storylines to follow as the night played out, but Raymond Ruszkowski (Miami, FL) continually stole the spotlight, on his way to bagging the chip lead bonus of $500 (328,000).

There are three more "chip lead bonus" races to follow this afternoon, as Flights 1B-1D are on the schedule for the day.  While there will be official chip counts and "numbers breakdown" for each and every flight of this tournament, the "middle" flight will be the one receiving "live blogging coverage" for the day.  Flight 1C gets underway at 3:00pm, with the bagging process beginning somewhere around 10:10pm.

11:00am - Flight 1B $130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool):

- Players will receive 18,000 in tournament units
- Alternates and late entries will be allowed to enter for the first (8) levels
- All entrants will start with a full starting stack
- Levels will last (25) minutes
- Day 1's will play (16) levels, or down to 8% of the field

3:00pm - Flight 1C $130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool): (Live Blog Coverage)

- Players will receive 18,000 in tournament units
- Alternates and late entries will be allowed to enter for the first (8) levels
- All entrants will start with a full starting stack
- Levels will last (25) minutes
- Day 1's will play (16) levels, or down to 8% of the field

7:00pm - Flight 1D $130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool):

- Players will receive 18,000 in tournament units
- Alternates and late entries will be allowed to enter for the first (8) levels
- All entrants will start with a full starting stack
- Levels will last (25) minutes
- Day 1's will play (16) levels, or down to 8% of the field

Flight 1A ($75,000 GTD): First Flight In The Books

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 16 (Blinds 3,000/6,000/500

Total Flight 1A Entries: 83

Total Entries: 83

Flight 1A Players Remaining: 8

Flight 1A Chipleader Raymond Ruszkowski (Miami, FL)

From the moment Raymond Ruszkowski (Miami, FL) ran out perfect to win a four-way all-in, this opening flight seemed to be all about Raymond.  That pot was worth over (100) big blinds at the moment, which is the type of hand that a player comes across once a tournament...but it was his first of two for the day.  It seemed that each hand he entered, Raymond either held the goods, or powered his way to wins via aggression.  There was even a moment when the blogger was willing to crown him the "bonus winner," with a handful of levels left to play.

Having covered tournaments for over (7) years now, we should have known better than to predict anything during a tournament.  A trio of players began to creep towards Ruszkowski's stack size, including Atanael Thomas, Harry Khutu, and Josh Wasserman...but after the final hand was dealt, Raymond Ruszkowski's name was still on top of the leaderboard.  His end of Flight 1A stack of 328,000 earned Raymond $500 (chip lead bonus), and will likely put him in the top ten heading into Day 2. 

Posted below are the official end of Flight 1A chip counts:

Raymond	Ruszkowski	328,000
Josh	Wasserman	306,500
Atanael	Thomas	220,000
Hari	Sukhu	204,000
Karin	Powsner	170,000
Soren	Morales	123,500
Rafael	Ramos	110,000
Devond	Marshal	42,000

Flight 1A ($75,000 GTD): Khutu Could Have Busted Two

$130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD)

Level 15 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/500)

Total Flight 1A Entries: 83

Total Entries: 83

Flight 1A Players Remaining: 10

Things have slowed down slightly since the field reached this "final table," but there are still two players that are holding ten big blinds...we should rephrase...there were two players with around ten bigs.  After Raminder Singh limped, Harry Khutu raised to 10,500 (blinds were 2,000/4,000), with action folding to Devond Marshall in the big blind.  Marshall would push his stack forward and announce himself all-in, to which Raminder quickly verbalized an all-in as well.  Marshall was all-in for about 46,000, with Singh's all-in amount slightly bigger at 69,000.  Khutu thought about things for a few moments, before folding pocket eights face up.  Singh would be in rough shape, holding 6♦ 6♣ against the J♦ J♥ of Marshall. 

The dealer would run out a board of Q♠ Q♦ 5♥ K♣ 8♠, with Khutu slamming the table after the river, seeing that he would have made a set on the river.  That card would have eliminated both players had Harry called pre-flop, but he'd be left questioning his decision (even though it was the correct fold once the cards were tabled).  Marshall would double up to close to 100,000, which Singh would be left with less than (10) big blinds.