Thursday, August 31st: Wrapping Up August With A Big Tournament Day

ICYMI: Yesterday's tournament action started like many other Wednesday afternoons, with the $100 No Limit Hold'em "Monster Stack" ($3,000 GTD).  The "Monster Stack" rarely has any issues reaching the guarantee, as players have made it clear that this is one of their favorite afternoon event. Wednesday's installment of the event attracted a field of (56) total entries, which is one of the largest turnouts we've seen for that tournament.  The $4,312 prize pool was spread over seven payout spots, and once the money was reached, the remaining players began discussing a deal.  It only took a few minutes before the numbers were agreed to, with a handful of Isle Poker notables notching cashes on their resumes:

1. Brian Hanes (Southwest Ranches, FL) $778
2. Sam Borger (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $778
3. Mike Brinson (Boynton Beach, FL) $764
4. Thomas Gari (Hollywood, FL) $677
5. Pedro Palacio (Delray Beach, FL) $597
6. Stacy Thomas (Jupiter, FL) $402
7. Mike Spadafore (Boynton Beach, FL) $316

The evening tournament (6:00pm) was a $40 No Limit Hold'em event without a guarantee, but that didn't stop the field from reaching (73) total entries. The prize pool reached $2,571 after the optional player add-ons were included, with a $874 posted first place prize.  Ten places were paid in the tournament, and after the elimination of Michele Milker (Delray Beach, FL) in fifth place, the event would end in a four-way deal:

1. Jose Moscatel (Sunny Isles Beach, FL) $475
2. Sergio Amato (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $475
3. Vincent Laino (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $475
4. Charles Zusag (Plantation, FL) $475
5. Michele Milker (Delray Beach, FL) $162
6. Kyle Kelly (Boca Raton, FL) $129
7. John Saint Louis (Tamarac, FL) $113
8. Frank Giordano (Pompano Beach, FL) $103
9. Michael Boykin (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $87
10. Pedro Castro (Deerfield Beach, FL) $77

Tournaments:  The tournament action in August appropriately ends with some special events, the first of which is the $130 Limit Omaha 8B (Hi/Lo), a tournament that carries with it a $2,000 guarantee.  We have learned over the first month with "mixed" events, that the structure is very player-friendly (16,000 unit starting stack), with (15) minute levels that transition to (20) after registrations close.

That tournament is followed at 6:00pm by the $130 No Limit Hold'em ($20,000 GTD).  An event that many of the players favorite, the posted guarantee should never be at risk this evening.  The tournament is structured with 16,000 unit starting stacks, and play with (20) minute levels throughout the event.

Promotions: The Full House Early Bird promotion is in it's regularly scheduled spot this morning, but it's no longer just for limit hold'em players.  Every table in the poker room (excluding time raked games) is eligible for the promotion, which pays out the first (50) full houses (payout depends on which stakes are being played).  Similar to what is run on Friday's, there will also be $300 awarded to qualifying high hands every (15) minutes (from 12:00pm-4:00pm).

11:00am - $130 Limit Omaha 8B Hi/Lo ($2,000 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 1-8 are (15) minutes in length, with Levels 9+ lasting (20) minutes

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