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

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

Level 16 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/500)

Total Flight 1I Entries: 129

Total Entries: 1,243

Flight 1I Players Remaining: 13

Ariel Williams (Miami, FL) had a rough start to her flight, flopping bottom two pair against the top two pair of Thomas Svensen.  That would be the story of her first bullet of the day, but her second try was a different story.  Ariel would run through the field on her second bullet, bagging the overall tournament chip lead (and the $500 flight bonus) with an incredible stack of 531,500.

Ariel	Williams I	531,500
Duane	Minerva	232,000
Nigel	Murray	215,000
Franklin	Rojas	205,000
Donald	Lavigne	178,000
Reynel	hernandez	162,500
Roy	Siegel	152,500
Rafael	Ramos	146,000
Julio	Lopez	125,000
Seymour	Field	122,000
Brian	Lockler	117,500
Jorge	Chavez	85,000
Christian	Humphries	56,500

Flight 1H ($75,000 GTD): Sinishtaj Bags Flight 1H Chip Lead

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

Level 16 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/500)

Total Flight 1H Entries: 142

Total Entries: 1,008

Flight 1H Players Remaining: 19

It doesn't always hold true, but when the field size is on the smaller size for a flight, the larger stack you'll see in the chip lead.  It looks as if Marc Bronstein's chip leading stack of 408,500 if going to be safe heading into Day 2, but that doesn't stop three more players from earning $500 today with the "chip lead bonus."

Nikolla Sinishtaj (Flushing, NJ) was featured earlier in the flight, and while it's pretty uncommon to see big stacks hold onto the lead for an entire flight, he was able to accomplish it.  Sinishtaj ended up bagging 279,000, only 10,000 more than the tunner-up for the flight, Damian Loli.

Nikolla	Sinishtaj	279,000
Damion	Loli	269,000
Kan	Hadid	246,500
Moshe	Wasser	246,000
Yakima	Palmero	179,000
Allen	Quickfall	172,000
Hector	Pacheco	157,500
Charles	Odenz	139,000
Peter	Fitzgerald	129,000
Dana	Chowen	108,500
Calixto	Rodriguez	104,000
Richard	Leger	97,500
William	Leppert	91,500
Daniel	Spengler	78,000
Frank	Traino	72,000
Scott	Zalcheim	70,000
Steven	Lipkas	69,000
Carl	Cajuste	51,000
Kimberly	Jones	4,500

Flight 1H ($75,000 GTD): Final Level Of The Flight

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

Level 16 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/500)

Total Flight 1H Entries: 142

Total Entries: 1,008

Flight 1H Players Remaining: 19

As the clock transitions to Level 16 (final level of play for the day), two tables remain active, with (19) players left.  The stacks are pretty deep comparative to the blinds, but play will stop if only 8% of the field remain at any point during this last level.  The race for the chip lead bonus is still too close to call at the moment, but we'll find out who is taking home the extra $500 for the flight.  It will take a few minutes for tournament supervisors to verify chip counts and bags, but the end of flight chip counts will be posted within the next hour.

Flight 1I, which started at 3:00pm, will be bagging up some time around 10:15pm.  You can expect the counts from those flights to be posted around 11:00pm.  The final flight of these starting days will be getting underway at 7:00pm, and you can expect those counts (along with Day 2 seating assignments for the full field) around 2:30-3:00am.

This will conclude our live coverage for the day, but you can look forward to full coverage of Day 2, from the moment the cards are in the air...to the moment we've awarded a winner.  Tomorrow's action begins at 12:00pm.

Flight 1H ($75,000 GTD): Updated Counts Down The Home Stretch

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

Level 14 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/400)

Total Flight 1H Entries: 142

Total Entries: 984

Peter Fitzgerald (Boca Raton, FL)

Players still remaining in the 1H flight are now in Level 14, meaning only a little over an hour of play remains in the day.  The race for the chip lead bonus is going to be as tight as we've seen it, with at least five to ten players potentially capable of bagging top stack (and earning $500).  Peter Fitzgerald (Florida) is currently the player to catch, as he sits with over 200,000.

Peter Fitzgerald - 208,000

Bill Leppert - 166,000

Dana Chowen - 165,000

Steven Lipkins - 125,000

Jorge Ramos - 120,000

Flight 1H ($75,000 GTD): Massive Pots Everywhere

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

Level 12 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/300)

Total Flight 1H Entries: 142

Total Entries: 971

Steven Lipkins (Boca Raton, FL)

The action amongst the remaining tables in Flight 1H is fast and furious, and massive pots are going down at what seems like each table.  The largest of the group occurred at Table 2, as four players were all-in on a flop of A♥ 4♥ 2♠, vying for a main pot worth over 100,000:

Player X: Q♣ 9♣

Steven Lipkins: A♦ Q♦

Vendel Johnson: 8♥ 5♥

Bruno Goulart: 10♥ 7♥

Turn: 9♠

River: 10♦

Steven Lipkins would fade all of his opponents outs to win the pot, and now sits as one of the top ten stacks heading on the final break of the day.

Flight 1H ($75,000 GTD): Kim's Cracking Kings

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

Level 12 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/300)

Total Flight 1H Entries: 142

Total Entries: 955

Kimberly Jones (Pompano Beach, FL) was featured earlier on the blog, and since then has hovered around the starting stack for a good while now.  After an open to 1,600 (this was during Level 11), an unknown player would three-bet shove for 10,200.  Jones would then re-shove for 22,100, with the table giving a collective reaction when the player next to act shoved as well for over 60,000 (having everyone in the hand covered).  The original raiser folded behind, and the hands were tabled:

Player X: 8♦ 8♠ (all-in for 10,200)

Jones: A♥ Q♣ (all-in for 22,100)

Player Y: K♠ K♥ (has both players covered)

Runout: J♥ 10♦ 2♥ K♦ 3♠

Jones was pretty fixated on the fact that she has run into pocket kings, that it took her an extra moment to realize she had won the hand, making broadway on the turn.  Kimberly is now up to 60,000, and looking to make it through another four levels (flight ends after Level 16).

Flight 1J ($75,000 GTD): Svensen Off To Fast Start

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

Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)

Total Flight 1J Entries: 44

Total Entries: 938

Thomas Svensen (Pennsylvania)

The middle flight of the day has one level already in the books, and Thomas Svensen (Pennsylvania) decided to waste no time in his quest to chip up.  As we were scanning the field for notables, Svensen was faced by an all-in from Ariel Williams on a flop of K 6 7.  Svensen originally bet 1,100, with Williams snap-shoving for over 14,000.

Thomas would eventually make the call, and was in better shape than he ever could have hoped.  His K 7 was well ahead of the 6 7 of Williams, and after the turn and river ran out without a six, Thomas would take down the pot.  Svensen has quickly made himself a "notable" in the field now, and joins the likes of:

Steven Raab

Gary Fitzgerald

Stephen Harris

Lascelles Peart

Aaron Hemphill

Flight 1H ($75,000 GTD): Poker Runs In The Family

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

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

Total Flight 1H Entries: 142

Total Entries: 892

Flight 1H Players Remaining: 42

Nikolla Sinishtaj (Flushing, NJ)

Flight 1H of this $130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 Guarantee) attracted a total of (142) entries, with (62) of them still alive at the moment.  Leading the field is Nikolla Sinishtaj (Flushing, NJ), a player who's brother is one of the more successful Northeast tournament grinders.  Tony Sinishtaj has over $525,000 in career earnings, including a highlighting $107,000 score when he finished runner-up in the 2013 WSOPC Main Event Atlantic City.

Nikolla has a little ways to go to catch up with his brother's resume, and he's hoping he can continue his run good towards bagging chips today, and making a deep run tomorrow.  Nikolla is sitting with a stack of 130,000, which is over (100) big blinds at the moment.

Nikolla Sinishtaj - 130,000

Jorge Ramos - 115,000

David Poces - 100,000

Vytautas Diktanas - 95,000

Manuel Soltero - 80,000

Flight 1H ($75,000 GTD): Registration Window Closing, Opening Up For Flight 1I

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

Level 8 (Blinds 400/800/75)

Total Flight 1H Entries: 133

Total Entries: 883

Play has just entered Level 8, which means that the time to register this flight is running out (about 35 minutes remaining).  Once the break after this level is over, and Level 9 play resumes, we will have the final numbers for the flight.  There will then be eight more levels of play, before the players that are left bag their chips for Day 2 (after Level 16).

Those players still interested in joining this tournament still have two more opportunities though, with Flight 1I beginning at 3:00pm, and Flight 1J at 7:00pm.

Flight 1H ($75,000 GTD): Rough Runout For Millward

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

Level7 (Blinds 300/600/75)

Total Flight 1H Entries: 120

Total Entries: 870

Bruno Goulart (Pompano Beach, FL)

As we approached Table 2, Bruno Goulart, Thomas Millward, and an unknown player just watched as the dealer fanned out of flop of A♠ 10♣ 10♦.  Goulart bet out 3,200, and watched as both Millward and the player on the button called.  The turn brought the K♠, and Goulart once again placed out a 3,200 bet.  

Millward took some time before cutting out a raise to 10,700, which was followed by a fold from the button.  Goulart surveyed his own stack, and smoothly made the call.  The river brought the 4♥, and yet again, Goulart placed out a bet of 3,200.  Thomas had a raise to 25,000 put together, which he placed out, leaving Bruno to a decision.  

Bruno tossed out one chip (signifying the call), and quickly turned over K♣ K♥.  Millward turned over A♥ 10♠, and seemed about a shocked as the rest of the table that he would be holding the losing hand.  Bruno began to stack up the pot (worth over 85,000), while Millward to a step away from the table.

Bruno Goulart - 105,000

Flight 1H ($75,000 GTD): Familiar Names And Faces

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

Level 5 (Blinds 150/300/25)

Total Flight 1H Entries: 109

Total Entries: 859

As the field size continues to grow for this opening flight of the day, more and more Isle Poker notables are spotted across the room.  While it's still very early, one of those notables got off to a super start, as Thomas Millward (Boca Raton, FL) won a three-way all-in moments ago.  Millward flopped bottom set on a draw heavy board, with all of the chips getting in on the turn.  The only problem for Thomas was that both his opponents made a straight, but Millward would fill up on the river to win a pot close to 45,000.  While it is very early in the day, Millward could be a very dangerous player when sitting with a stack over (100) big blinds.  Some other notables in the field include:

Alan Dobrow

Gregg Weiss

Jorge Ramos

Joseph Mancuso

Robert Perniola

Ralph Spadafore

Steven Lipkins

Paul Shafran

Flight 1H ($75,000 GTD): Faces In The Crowd (Part II)

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

Level 4 (Blinds 100/200/25)

Total Flight 1H Entries: 105

Total Entries: 855

Vendel Johnson (Pembroke Pines, FL) is in attendance for a good portion of the daily tournament schedule here at the Isle, so it was just a matter of time before he made his first appearance in this event.  Johnson has (12) recorded cashes on his resume, and with the volume put in  during tournaments that aren't submitted to Hendon Mob, it wouldn't be surprising is he's cashed in close to 20-25 events this year to date.

James Hamburger's (Hollywood, FL) resume on Hendon Mob shows career tournament earnings of $43,000, with his largest score coming in at $8,331.  Someone who was looking him up would probably stop there, and assume he's basically just a "recreational grinder."  That assumption would be way off though, as Hamburger likely has more tournament earnings than anyone else in the field...it just came online.  James has over $2,000,000 in online earnings, coming before Black Friday...a day that would change his life for the foreseeable future.  Hamburger is still looking for his first five-figure score, which could come tomorrow if he was to reach the final table.

Flight 1H ($75,000 GTD): Faces In The Crowd (Part I)

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

Level 3 (Blinds 75/150)

Total Flight 1H Entries: 99

Total Entries: 849

Francis Margaglione (Davie, FL) is a player we haven't seen since October, as he was buying into Event #5 on Day 2 (with the starting stack), and making a deep run to just miss out on the final table.  Francis is one of the more accomplished players in the field, with over $126,000 in recorded career earnings, and a lot of experience in multi-flight/multi-day events like this one.

Kimberly Jones (Pompano Beach, FL) is another player you may remember from the Isle Poker Open in October.  Jones made her first appearance on the blog after surviving an all-in against two players on the stone bubble of Event #1.  She ended up tripling up, and turning that good fortune into a 14th place finish ($1,019).  She has since recorded two more cashes, during Event #9 of the same series, and in the opening event of the Rock And Roll Poker Open.

Flight 1H ($75,000 GTD): Flights A-G Chip Counts

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

Level 1 Blinds (25/50)

Total Flight 1H Entries: N/A

Total Entries: 750

 

Players To Advance To Day 2: 82

Marc	Bronstein G	481,500
Edgar	Mendes D	407,000
Gyorgy	Cseke	359,500
Roy	Paulena	343,000
Raymond	Ruszkowski A	328,000
Frank	Katana	323,500
Joshua	Rittenberg	307,000
Josh	Wasserman	306,500
Lou	Stadler B	304,500
Lisa	Rioux F	302,000
Robert	Feinstein	285,000
Fernando	Nunez	277,000
Carmen	Mali E	276,500
Yousef	Nassr	276,000
Scott	Wyler C	258,000
Bryan	Power	249,000
Robert	Bossuk	247,000
Richard	Bienvenu	239,500
Alan	Cozine	232,000
Atanael	Thomas	220,000
Jose	Reyes	220,000
Jeffrey	Keiser	214,000
Sean	Martin	213,000
Hari	Sukhu	204,000
Samuel	Sternfield	203,500
Carlos	Torres-Vazquez	200,000
Guillermo	Irving	199,000
Kuzenna	Oleha	196,500
Paulius	Bikus	187,500
Vito	Polera	187,000
Susan	Krowitz	185,000
Pedro	Palacio	185,000
Fariborz	Zojaji	180,000
Ron	Arena	179,500
Greg	McKenzie	178,000
Karin	Powsner	170,000
Harry	Eisenberg	155,500
William	Swicicki	155,000
Arie	Amirali	155,000
Eric	Mutschler	151,000
Robert	Warren	148,000
Willie	Wiggins	145,000
David	Maslowski	129,000
Evan	Kahan	128,000
Peter	Fellows	127,000
Denis	Vital	124,000
Soren	Morales	123,500
Thomas	Gari	117,500
Craig	Thompson	111,500
Rafael	Ramos	110,000
Craig	Schlesinger	109,500
Christopher	Cumber	108,500
Tom	Gity	104,500
Dhrumel	Shah	97,500
Sheldon	Gross	97,500
Ginold	Cham	96,500
Joseph	Tumminelli	95,000
Larry	Stoddard	95,000
Paula	Alibrandi	93,500
Gabriel	Fernandes	93,500
Gatien	Dumoulin	89,500
John	Vidal	85,000
Jeffrey	Tuvil	85,000
Aner	Daniel	83,500
Bernhard	Schmidl	83,000
Ariel	Rosello	77,000
Reggie	Bautista	77,000
Lloyd	Kapper	74,000
Jason	Healy	73,500
Bill	Besch	70,500
David	Echavarria	66,000
Mike	Bonsignore	65,500
Jonathan	Dobson	55,000
Mitchell	Smith	50,000
Jason	Jimenez	49,500
Devond	Marshal	42,000
Angelo	D'Angelo	40,000
David	Light	34,000
Wayne	Luggery	33,500
William	Leppert	20,500
Shlomo	Maman	14,500

* A-G Denotes respective flight chip leader, and $500 bonus winner

Flight 1H ($75,000 GTD): Saturday About The Get Underway

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

Level 1 Blinds (25/50)

Total Flight 1H Entries: N/A

Total Entries: 750

Tournament Director Ralph Brandt is just moments from making the rules announcement, which means the cards should be in the air shortly for Flight 1H of this $130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 GTD).  There are a handful of storylines that we will be following over the course of the afternoon, as the prize pool continues to soar past the guarantee, and three more chip lead bonuses are scheduled to be handed out.  The tournament area already looks busier than it has for any of the opening flights leading up to this point, so it's really no telling where the numbers will end up when registration finally closes on Flight 1J.

There are still a number of things to catch up on, including the full list of chip counts to this point, as well as a numbers breakdown for those interested.  We're looking forward to another great day of poker, and will be bringing you lots of live action from all of today's flights.

Saturday, December 17th: The Final Flights Are Upon Us

The December Poker Calendar focuses on one thing today...the final three flights of the $130 No Limit Hold'em ($75,000 Guarantee).  Now while this tournament has a $75,000 guarantee attached to it, that number was surpassed yesterday!!! With (750) total entries to this point, and three full flights still to be played, we are looking at the potential of over 1,000 entries, and a $100,000 prize pool.  It's really shaping up to offer an incredible return on investment, regardless of where you finish in the money.

Everyone is currently looking up at the Flight 1G chipleader Marc Bronstein (Delray Beach, FL), who bagged 481,500.  Of the (750) entries, there have been (82) players to advance to tomorrow's Day 2, with the chip average currently sitting at 164,000.  Today's action will be "live blogged" for the first flight of the day, which also gives us a look into the two other flights that overlap.  

11:00am - Flight 1H $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

3:00pm - Flight 1I $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

7:00pm - Flight 1J $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 1G ($75,000 GTD): Official Flight 1G Chip Counts

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

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

Total Flight 1G Entries: 156

Total Entries: 750

Flight 1G Players Remaining: 16

The final Friday flight attracted the largest field of the seven to be played to this point, with (16) players eventually bagging chips (from 156 entries).  Marc Bronstein (Delray Beach, FL) ended up bagging the chip lead bonus with 481,500, which is good for the overall chip lead heading into Sunday's Day 2.  There are three more flights tomorrow, which are expected to attract even larger fields than today.  This is not the first time Bronstein will head to a Day 2 in his career, but it's not often that you enter the room as the chip leader in a tournament with over 1,000 entries.  We will see how Bronstein's total holds up tomorrow, with "live blog coverage" of Flight 1H beginning sometime around 11:00am.

Marc	Bronstein G	481,500
Roy	Paulena	343,000
Joshua	Rittenberg	307,000
Jose	Reyes	220,000
Jeffrey	Keiser	214,000
Kuzenna	Oleha	196,500
Vito	Polera	187,000
Willie	Wiggins	145,000
Peter	Fellows	127,000
Denis	Vital	124,000
Joseph	Tumminelli	95,000
Larry	Stoddard	95,000
Jeffrey	Tuvil	85,000
Aner	Daniel	83,500
Jason	Healy	73,500
Wayne	Luggery	33,500