Friday, July 21st: Event 14 Following Those That Came Before It

ICYMI: Yesterday was the first of three starting flights for Event #14 of the 2017 Florida State Poker Championships ($1,100 No Limit Hold'em $150,000 GTD).  Things looked as if they were going to be slow from the start, but that's only because players in these higher buy-in events choose to enter later than normal.  Many of the poker room's well known players had returned from Las Vegas (and the WSOP) earlier in the week, and chose Flight 1A to play as their first post-WSOP tournament.  Players like Joshua Kay, David Diaz, Ian O'Hara, Andrew Touchette, and Brian Hastings made up the field, which saw a total of (70) entries over the course of the day.  That equates to $68,620 going towards the overall prize pool, and puts the event on pass to cruise past the guarantee, just like so many other events that came before.  

While there were so many familiar names in this third "major" of the series, it would be a relative unknown that would bag the flight's chip lead.  Alexandre Fradin (Brugues, Spain) added a stop at the Isle Casino on his way back to Europe (from the WSOP), and now he'll have to extend his stay a little longer.  Not only because he made Day 2, but because he earned an Event #20 ($1,500 FSPC Main Event) seat as the Flight 1A chip leader (294,000).  Twelve players joined Fradin, heading to Sunday's Day 2, including the likes of David Diaz (222,700), Andrew Touchette (90,800), Brian Hastings (63,700), and Chad Eveslage (22,800).

There was also another satellite into Event #14 last night, guaranteeing (8) seats into the tournament, and attracting many of the notables players followers of the blog have come to know.  There is another satellite this evening, which is the last chance for those looking for a "discounted" route into Event #14.

Tournaments: The second of three Event #14 starting flights is the primary tournament on the schedule today, with things getting underway at 11:00am.  Flight 1B will mirror the structure from yesterday, with players sitting down to starting stacks of 20,000, and playing levels that begin at (40) minutes (and eventually transition to 50 minutes Level 7+).  Play is scheduled to finish after (12) complete levels, or until 13% of the field remains (whichever comes first).  Players have the option to enter whenever they want during these opening flights, with registration open all day, to include before the cards are in the air for Day 2.  

As mentioned above, the final satellite for this event gets underway at 6:00pm, and is a $130 No Limit Hold'em event, guaranteeing (10) seats into Event #14.

Promotions: The weekend kicks off with a day that's full of bonus high hands, starting the moment the doors open.  From 9:00am-12:00pm, $100 will be awarded every (10) minutes to qualifying high hands, with rollovers.  This promotion is very exciting, as we've seen rollovers that are worth between $500-$1,000 on a consistent basis.  

That period is followed by some "richer" high hands, with $250 awarded every (20) minutes from 12:00pm-4:00pm, and $500 awarded every (20) minutes from 4:00pm-12:00am.  Rollovers apply with this promotion as well, but with so many tables in play, it's not something that happens as often.

11:00am - FSPC Event #14 (Flight 1B): $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($150,000 GTD) 

- Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips

- Late and re-entries for the first (12) levels, to include before the 1st card on Day 2

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack

- Level will last (40) minutes (Levels 1-6), transitioning to (50) minutes Levels 7+

- All Day 1's will play (12) complete levels or until 13% of the field remains (whichever comes first)

6:00pm - $130 No Limit Hold'em Super Satellite Into Event #14 (10 Seats Guaranteed)

- Players start with 12,000 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