Friday, August 18th: Friday's For "Flighting," As "August $150,000" Continues On

ICYMI: As expected, things only got busier during yesterday's pair of "August $150,000" flights, as the numbers increased over 200% from the day before (Wednesday).  Flight 1C was the opening flight of the day (11:00am), and would end up attracting (72) entries, once registration closed.  There were numerous recognizable names in the field, but it would be a stranger to Isle Casino tournament poker that would steal the show.  Marco Cantizani (Brazil) led for most of the flight, before losing a chunk of chips to Abbey Daniels, only to see those return when he busted Abbey during the later stages of the flight.  Marco became the only player to eclipse the 300,000 mark, and ended up bagging the overall chip lead to that point (324,000), which also held up through the night flight.  A total of (10) players would end up bagging chips for the flight, including Seamus Hoban, Thomas Gari, and Emanuel Cohen (just to name a few).

The evening flight (Flight 1D) would be the largest of the starting four, reaching (111) entries once registration closed.  The field shrunk as the clock passed midnight, eventually ending up with (18) players as the bagging process began.  Cesar Fuentes (North Lauderdale, FL) bagged the flight's chip lead with 256,500, with Diane Linke not far behind him (240,000).  Other players to bag included Erik Nomberg, Bryce McVay, Evan Teitelbaum, Jonathan Hilton, Dmitry Agrachov, and Jairo Carrillo.

The numbers from yesterday brought the combined total to (266), after four flights, which is the midway point of the starting flights.  There are now (40) players with tickets booked to Sunday's Day 2, with a chip average of 134,000.

Tournaments: The "August $150,000" continues on to start the weekend, with two more flights on the tournament schedule.  Flight 1E starts the day at 11:00am, and is followed by Flight 1F, which begins at 6:00pm.  The structure for the $360 No Limit Hold'em ($150,000 GTD) event is the same as yesterday, with players sitting down to 20,000 unit starting stacks, and playing levels of (30) minutes.  The day's play is scheduled to conclude after Level 16, or until 10% of the field remains (whichever comes first).  "Live blogged coverage" will be available during the afternoon flight (Flight 1E), with official chip counts from the end of Flight 1F posted once the bags/stacks have been verified.

Promotions: From the moment the doors to the poker room open, the "bonus" high hands are in effect.  Things start with the "Turbo High Hands," with $100 awarded to the qualifying high hand every (10) minutes.  With less tables in the morning hours, we usually see rollovers on a consistent basis, some of which get as high as $600-$700.  The ten minute high hands run from 9:00am-12:00pm, and then transition to a different promotion. 

Things are still "turbo-ish," with $250 high hands awarded every (20) minutes, from the hours of 12:00pm-4:00pm.  The promotion only gets richer after that, as one last transition sees $500 awarded every (20) minutes, from the hours of 4:00pm-12:00am.

12:00pm - "August $150k GTD" (Flight 1E): $360 No Limit Hold'em ($150,000 GTD) 

- Players start with 20,000 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 (30) minutes during Day 1 flights, transitioning to (40) minutes on Day 2

- All Day 1's will play (15) complete levels or until 13% of the field remains (whichever comes first)

6:00pm - "August $150k GTD" (Flight 1F): $360 No Limit Hold'em ($150,000 GTD)

- Players start with 20,000 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 (30) minutes during Day 1 flights, transitioning to (40) minutes on Day 2

- All Day 1's will play (15) complete levels or until 13% of the field remains (whichever comes first)