Thursday, June 15th: Elvis (Miller) Was King Last Night, $20,000 GTD "Nightly" Headlines Schedule

ICMYI: Players seem to be liking the addition of an afternoon tournament on Wednesday's, as the $100 No Limit Hold'em "Monster Stack" surpassed the $3,000 guarantee once again.  Yesterday's field was comprised of (42) entries, piecing together an official prize pool of $3,234.  Six places were scheduled to be paid in the tournament, with all eyes on the $1,261 first place prize.  Tournament regulars like Joseph Mancuso, Brian Haines, and Stacy Thomas all notched cashes for their resume, but it would be two "newer" names topping the field.  Matthew Suffoletto (Boca Raton, FL) and Christopher Zito (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) found themselves heads-up, and fairly even in chips, so they decided to make a deal right there.

1. Matthew Suffoletto (Boca Raton, FL) $1,003
2. Christopher Zito (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $1,002
3. Joseph Ritzie (Hamilton, OH) $453
4. Brian Haines (Southwest Ranches, FL) $323
5. Joseph Mancuso (Deerfield Beach, FL) $259
6. Stacy Thomas (Jupiter, FL) $194

The $60 No Limit Hold'em ($10,000 GTD) is getting comfortable in it's new Wednesday evening spot, with (148) total entries making up last night's installment.  The $10,000 prize pool would be broken down into (19) pay spots, with a min-cash earning $150, and first place taking home $2,760.  This tournament normally wraps up somewhere around 1:30-2:00am, but last night was the exception.  Once players took their seats at the ten-handed final table, discussions of a deal immediately started.  After breaking down the numbers, the remaining players agreed to a chop, with Elvis Miller (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) earning (what looks to be) his first ever tournament win.  The breakdown of final table payouts are as followed:

1. Elvis Miller (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $1,065
2. Hector Pacheco (Davie, FL) $998
3. Henry Rogers (Sunrise, FL) $960
4. Sam Costa (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) $951
5. Arthur Meliksetian (Boca Raton, FL) $908
6. Dennis Hoffer (New Columbia, PA) $743
7. David Cohen (Davie, FL) $743
8. David Licht (New York, NY) $683
9. Paula Abend (Delray Beach, FL) $638
10. Edgard Mendes (Deerfield Beach, FL) $541

Tournaments: Two tournaments make up the "daily" schedule today, with the $100 No Limit Hold'em "Monster Stack" ($3,000 GTD) getting underway at 11:00am.  The day's headliner comes at 6:00pm though, when the cards get in the air for the $130 No Limit Hold'em ($20,000 GTD).  Since appearing on the tournament calendar, this event has consistently drawn large fields, and even larger payouts.  Players sit down to 16,000 unit starting stacks for this event, and play (20) minute levels throughout the evening.  Edward Rappa (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) took first place in this same tournament last Tuesday, and ended up walking away with $3,585 as part of a five-way deal.

Promotions: Today's "special" promotion (outside of the standard high hands), is the Limit Hold'em Early Bird, in which the first (50) full houses (in a limit hold'em game) are paid the minimum buy-in for the designated game.  Those players in the 2/2 LHE game will receive $20 for each "winning" full house (or better), while those in 2/4 LHE will receive $40.

11:00am - $100 No Limit Hold'em ($3,000 GTD)

- Players start with 25,000 in tournament chips

- Late and re-entries for the first (8) levels

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack

- Level will last (20) minutes throughout the event

6:00pm - $130 No Limit Hold'em ($20,000 GTD)

- Players will begin with a 16,000 starting stack

- Late and re-entries for the first (8) levels

- Alternates and late entries will receive full stacks

- Levels are (20) minutes in length throughout