Monday, August 28th: "August $100,000" Ends In Six-Way Chop, Back To Recurring Schedule

ICYMI: Yesterday was Day 2 of the "August $100,000," with (154) players returning, looking to earn their share of the $129,490 prize pool.  It would only take a half-hour for the money bubble to be reached, and after fifteen minutes of hand-for-hand play, Joseph Couden (Blacklick, OH) would be the final player eliminated without a cash prize in return.  

After Couden's elimination, there was a steady flow of players to the tournament podium, with the field losing over close to (70) players in four levels.  Some of those players to cash in that first wave included Camillo Poerio (137th - $172), David Miller (130th - $192), Joseph Mancuso (120th - $215), Arlene Vazquez (111th - $238), Kimberly Jones (106th - $262), Andrew Blake (95th - $285), and Tracy Scala (86th - $309).

With the field then down to seven tables, a glance at the chip leaders yielded a list that contained just one player that eventually chopped the event (Ian Cohen).  That's going to be the case in an event with a structure such as the "August $100,000," as the stack to blind ratio hovered in the twenty big blind range for most of the later stages.  Things began to take shape at dinner break, when only eighteen players remained, led by William Novotny.  Players to cash short of the dinner break included Stephen Smith (80th - $335), Tony Ruberto (65th - $361), Zakarya Wolgamott (62nd - $387), Fletcher McKinney (52nd - $427), Rafael Fernandes (40th - $479), Evan Teitelbaum (28th - $557), and Alex Bastidas (19th - $874).

When play returned from dinner, discussions of a chop were brought up, but none of the players wanted to agree to an even deal.  It only took an hour until the final table was reached, with Vitaly Shafran eliminating Marc Bronstein and Paulius Bikus in the same hand, to make the table nine-handed.  Once again, discussions of a deal were brought up, but two detractors caused play to continue on.  It wasn't until the elimination of David Gelley in seventh place that the numbers were run in an ICM calculator, with those remaining agreeing to a deal.  The six players involved in the deal, and their official payouts, are posted below:

1. Ian Cohen - $13,555
2. Jason Young - $12,174
3. Vitaly Shafran - $10,932
4. William Novotny - $10,126
5. Alan Munoz - $9,131
6. Leroy Grant - $8,407

Tournaments: The Monday afternoon time slot (11:00am) hosts a $120 No Limit Hold'em Survivor, with three players guaranteed to walk away with a $400 "package."  Approximately 1 in 4.5 players will make up each "package," so the potential for more than three players to win $400 is always there.  The event is structured with starting stack of 12,000 units, and levels that last (20) minutes throughout the afternoon.

The evening tournament (6:00pm) carries the largest guaranteed prize pool for a single-day event on the August schedule.  The $130 No Limit Hold'em tournament has a $25,000 guarantee, and has been one of the most popular tournaments on the recurring schedule.  The structure has players sitting down to starting stacks of 16,000 units, and playing levels of (20) minutes over the course of the night.

Promotions: Outside of the "standard high hand" promotion, there will be "Turbo High Hands" from 9:00am-12:00pm.  During that window of time, $100 will be awarded to the qualifying high hand every (10) minutes (rollovers apply).

11:00am - $120 No Limit Hold'em Survivor (3) $400 Winners GTD (~1 in 4 win $400)

- Players will begin with a 12,000 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

6:00pm - $130 No Limit Hold'em ($25,000 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