"April $100,000 GTD:" Official End Of Flight 1A Chip Counts

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 16 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/500)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 94
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 14

Justin	Levy	328,000
Will	Underdown	295,500
Paul	Vieira	294,000
Jeffrey	Silverstein	261,000
Jim	Hamburger	184,500
Edward	Novak	161,000
Dorothy	Plate	134,000
Robert	Dixon	124,000
Jay	Klitzner	118,500
Giovanni	Cantatore	115,000
Esther	Foley	99,500
Changfei	Cui	90,000
Paul	Shafran	74,000
Tim	Morgan	55,500

"April $100,000 GTD:" Final Level Of The Flight

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 16 (Flight 2,000/4,000/500)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 94
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 17

Level 16 started just moments ago, and is the final scheduled level of the day.  If the field loses a handful of players in this final (30) minutes, things could end earlier (if 13% of the field is reached), but the stack sizes don't seem to trend towards that happening.  Once the bagging process in finished, and the tournament staff has verified the numbers, a full list of official chip counts will be posted.  The same will hold true for Flight 1B, which should end somewhere around 2:40am, so those chip counts can be expected in the morning.  "Live blogged coverage" will continue tomorrow afternoon, with all of the Flight 1C action (12:00pm).

"April $100,000 GTD:" Familiar Faces That Make Up Flight 1B

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/500)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 94
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 17

As one flight ends...another begins, in this $360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack $100,000 GTD.  Cards got in the air just over an hour ago for Flight 1B (6:00pm), and the pace on entry is very similar to that of this afternoon's flight.  There are currently a total of (68) entries, and still five full levels of open registration remaining.  Here are some of the recognizable names and faces that make up the second flight of the day:

Frederico Dabus
Thomas Millward
Stephen Smith 
Tom Gity
James Plate
Darren Stabinski
Robert Transue
Joseph Duchman
Elliot Zaydman
Rafael Ramos
Sheldon Gross
Raminder Singh
Manual Alvarez
Joseph Marchese
Gyorgy Cseke
Evan Teitelbaum

"April $100,000 GTD:" Two Tables Remain In Flight 1A

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/400)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 94
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 19

Posted below are the seating assignments for the two tables that remain active in Flight 1A:

Table 1:

1. Trent Baker
2. Marcus Sterling
3. James Hamburger
4. Giovanni Cantatore
5. William Underdown
6. Jeff Silverstein 
7. (Empty)
8. Paul Vieira
9. Tim Morgan
10. Esther Foley 

Table 3:

1. Bill Dixon
2. Changfei Cui
3. Roy Paulena
4. Stanley Sternberg
5. Justin Levy
6. Jay Klitzner
7. Edward Novak
8. Harry Sukhu
9. Paul Shafran
10. Dorothy Plate

"April $100,000 GTD:" Paulena Can't Help But Smile

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 13 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/300)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 94
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 25

Roy Paulena (West Palm Beach, FL) 

Roy Paulena (West Palm Beach, FL) had been grinding an average stack for most of the day, but things changed moments ago, as he found a fortunate river to effectively double up.  The action was caught just as Paulena three-bet shoved (62,000), and was called by the original opener (who had just a few thousand less than him.  Paulena's A♥ Q♥ would be dominated by the A♦ K♥ of his opponent, and the 9♠ 9♦ J♥ flop wasn't exactly the help Roy was looking for.  He did gain outs to a chop, and then even more outs to a straight after the 8♠ on the turn, but it was still looking bleak as they headed to the river.   With Paulena standing up...ready to collect his belongings, the dealer placed down the 10♥ on the felt.  "That's so sick," Paulena said, as he tried to hold back a smile.  That only lasted a few moments though, as he burst into laughter, collecting the 130,000 pot.

Roy Paulena - 133,000

"April $100,000 GTD:" Updated Chip Counts Before Final Break

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 12 (Blinds 800/1,600/300)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 94
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 26

Justin Levy (Coconut Creek, FL) 

Players are in the final moments of Level 12, and will be taking their final (10) minute break of the day at it's conclusion.  Play will resume with Level 13 (1,000/2,000/300), and is scheduled to wrap up after Level 16 (or if the field reaches 13%).  Posted below is the updated leaderboard heading to break, with William Underdown still comfortably on top.

William Underdown - 240,000

Esther Foley - 143,000

Changfei Cui - 130,000

Bob Dixon - 122,000

James Hamburger - 120,000

David Wolff - 115,000

Justin Levy - 100,000

"April $100,000 GTD:" Gone From The Flight, But Sure To Be Back

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 11 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 94
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 35

The Flight 1A field continues to shrink down, as (35) players remain active on four tournament tables.  While there are numerous notables still in, the following familiar faces have been eliminated from Flight 1A (but it's likely that we'll see them once again...maybe even in tonight's flight):

Francis Margaglione
Joseph Duchman
Kenneth Bruno
James Plate
Thomas Gari
Vicki Holmes
Dimitry Agrachov
Raminder Singh
Brian O'Keefe

"April $100,000 GTD:" Ladies Working For The Lady

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 10 (Blinds 500/1,000/200)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 94
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 42

Esther Foley (Tamarac, FL) watches as her pocket queens come from behind against pocket kings.

After Gunnar Rabe opened to 2,500 from early position, and was three-bet to 12,500, action was on Esther Foley (pictured above).  Foley was deep in the tank, taking a solid 4-5 minutes to decide on her action, which would eventually be to shove all-in (for over 70,000).  Poly had both players well covered that were also in the hand, and after Rabe folded, the three-bettor called for his remaining 20,000.

Foley would be in rough shape though, as her opponent flipped over K♣ K♦, well ahead of her Q♠ Q♥.  Everything would change on the Q♣ J♠ 7♦ flop though, as Esther flopped top set, and took a commanding lead with two cards to come.  The board paired on the turn (giving Poley a full house), and after the river came without a king, Esther would eliminate her opponent from this opening flight.  Foley is now over 100,000, and one of the chip leaders in the field.

Esther Foley - 108,000

"April $100,000 GTD:" Underdown Currently Pacing The Field

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 9 (Blinds 400/800/100)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 94
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 49

Daniel Miller (Boca Raton, FL) 

Flight 1A officially had a total of (94) entries, with $28,670 going towards to the prize pool.  At this pace, the guarantee for this event will be reached in the early stage of tomorrow morning (Flight 1C).  Regardless of when it happens, one thing that everyone can be sure of...there will be no overlay for this tournament.

A total of (49) players remain active in the field, with William Underdown currently leading the way.  Miller is no stranger to the Isle Poker Room, with (6) of is (13) recorded cashes coming in this poker room.  His largest tournament cash came just a few weeks ago, when he reached the final table of the $570 No Limit Hold'em event during the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown (7th - $45,307).

William Underdown - 155,000

Changfei Qui - 90,000

David Wolff - 85,000

Trenton Baker - 84,000

Esther Poley - 72,000

Giovanni Cantatore - 64,000

Edward Novak - 55,000

"April $100,000 GTD):" Registration Window Closing On Flight 1A

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 8 (Blinds 300/600/75)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 92

At the conclusion of this level (7 minutes), players will head on their second break of the day, returning to Level 9 and blinds of 400/800/100.  Once the cards are in the air for Level 9, that will signify the close of registration for the opening flight of this $100,000 GTD event.  When play does resume, an update of the official numbers will be posted, along with the first look at field-wide chip counts from the flight.  Those interested in getting in on this tournament action still have one more flight today (6:00pm), along with four more in the next two days to enter...as the "weekend warriors" look forward to joining the fray.

"April $100,000 GTD:" Duchman Spikes The River To Stay Alive

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 7 (Blinds 250/500/50)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 91

Joseph Duchman (Miami Beach, FL) 

In a tournament, sometimes is just takes one pot to turn an entire day around.  Joseph Duchman (Miami Beach, FL) got off to a very slow start, and after only four levels of play, was looking down at a stack that was less than 5,000.  He managed to get the maximum value out of his most recent hand though, as his all-in was called in four spots:

Duchman: A♠ 9♣

Player X: 8♦ 8♣

Player Y: A♥ Q♠

Player Z: A♦ Q♣

Runout: 10♣ 4♣ 6♥ 10♠ 9♥

There were actually two side pots, as a pair of players were all-in for more than Duchman's stack, but Joseph won the main pot after spiking the miracle nine on the river.  He is now above 20,000, which is (40) big blinds at the moment, and a very manageable stack to play.  Duchman has already recorded cashes in (10) tournaments this year, including two final tables during recurring tournaments at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.

Joseph Duchman - 22,400

"April $100,000 GTD:" Holmes' Misclick Earns Odiot Some Extra Chips

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 6 (Blinds 200/400/50)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 89

Peter Odiot (Hollywood, FL) 

The action at Table 6 was on the flop as we approached, with the board reading J♥ 3♥ 4♠.  After both Peter Odiot (small blind) and Jim Hamburger (big blind) checked, Vicki Holmes put out a bet of 5,125.  Both players made the call, and the three would watch as the dealer placed down the 8♣ on the turn.  Both blinds checked once again, and this time Holmes continued with a bet of 11,100.  Odiot once again made the call, leaving himself with less than 5,000 behind, while Hamburger folded behind.  The 9♥ fell on the river, completing a few different draws, with action going check-check to follow.  Odiot turned over 8♥ 8♠, having turned a set, which would be good enough to take down the pot.

"You're lucky to get some extra money out of me," Homles said to Odiot, "I threw out the wrong colored chips on the turn."  While it was only the difference of a few thousand, it's still "found money" for Odiot, who is now back over the chip average (which is currently 32,000)

Peter Odiot - 39,000

"April $100,000 GTD:" The Extra Minute Was All Wolff Needed

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 5 (Blinds 150/300/25)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 83

David Wolff (Sarasota, FL) deep in the tank as Joseph Durso waits patiently.

The action at Table 7 was caught on the turn, as David Wolff and Joseph Durso heads-up, in what would turn out to be the largest pot of the flight.  With the board reading Q♥ 7♦ 2♠ 2♦, Durso would shove for 37,225 (which was almost three times pot).  Wolff had Durso covered, but was visibly unsure about his decision.  "Just give me another minute guys, I'm really sorry," Wolff expressed to the table as he continued thinking about his next move.  With Durso sitting back in his chair, Wolff gave a quick glance over before deciding to make the call:

Durso: K♦ Q♠

Wolff: A♣ Q♦

The river would bring the 3, which sealed the hand for Wolff, and sent Durso to the rail.  Wolff collected the pot, putting him over 115,000, and making him the clear chip leader early in this flight.  Durso couldn't understand why Wolff took so long to make his decision, but you don't amass career earnings of $75,000 by not thinking things through.  Wolff already has three cashes this year, all during the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, totaling close to $20,000.

David Wolff - 118,000

"April $100,000 GTD:" Chery Returns After Big "Daily" Score

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 4 (Blinds 100/200)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 78

Jean Chery (West Palm Beach, FL) 

Just two night ago, Jean Chery was at the final table of the "Tuesday $12k," a $60 No Limit Hold'em tournament with a $12,000 guaranteed prize pool.  Chery had already bested (353) entries to reach that point, and with five players remaining in the tournament, the deal-making discussing began.  After players looked at the numbers, they agreed on a chop, with Jean taking home second place money ($2,612).  It was Chery's largest recorded tournament cash to date, and brought his career earnings above the $10,000 mark.  The "Tuesday $12k" is clearly a tournament that Jean likes, as his largest tournament cash before this Tuesday night's, was a win in the event on March 9th ($2,546).  That event was run on a Thursday night, before the schedule shift that occurred this month (the "Tuesday $10k" and "Tuesday $12k" alternate weeks).  

Chery has already busted his first bullet in this flight, as his pair and a flush draw fell to the trips of his opponent in a 55,000 pot.  Jean has yet to re-enter this flight, but odds are very high that we will see him once again in this tournament.  Some other players to join the action late included:

Gunnar Rabe

Francis Margaglione

Joseph Duchman

Allan Bieler

Kenneth Bruno

William Reich

James Plate

Thomas Gari

Players will be taking their first break at the end of this level, and will return to Level 5, and new blinds of 150/300/25.

ICYMI: "Spin To Win" Money Wheel Results (April 26th)

From 12:00pm-11:00pm yesterday, the "Spin To Win" high hand promotion was running, one of the most popular poker promotions you'll find in the state (as well as one of the richest).  The player with the "winning" high hand from each half hour is awarded an opportunity to spin the "money wheel," which sits located in the "stage area" of the poker room, closest to the cashier.  There are over (70) different slots on the wheel, all with different monetary amounts.  The "major" amounts that can be won are $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, and $5,000.  If (and only if) the high hand that qualifies is a royal flush, the $5,000 "Jackpot' slice is worth $25,000.  Posted below are all of the results from yesterday's promotion (along with the game the player was playing):

12:30pm: $275

1:00pm: $500

1:30pm: $575

2:00pm: $300

2:30pm: $500

3:00pm: $375

3:30pm: $450

4:00pm: $225

4:30pm: $250

5:00pm: $325

5:30pm: $325

6:00pm: $525

6:30pm: $475

7:00pm: $2,000

7:30pm: $200

8:00pm: $425

8:30pm: $475

9:00pm: $200

9:30pm: $375

10:00pm: $500

10:30pm: $5,000

11:00pm: $325

This weeks wheel results are lacking the "game played" statistic for the players that earned the opportunity to spin the wheel, but we do have the amounts for each half-hour.  A total of $14,600 was awarded over the course of the promotion, with the two "highlighted" wins coming in the evening.  The jackpot continues to get hit at a rapid rate each week, making this promotion one of (if not the) best high hand promotion in the area.

"April $100,000 GTD:" Early Notables In The Field

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 56

For most multi-flight events, the first flight is usually the "lightest" in terms of attendance...but not this afternoon.  There are already (56) entries making up this field, and at this rate alone, the guarantee would be surpassed.  Players can expect this field to grow larger, as well as the following flights to grow in size as each passes.  There are a lot of "daily tournament" players in the field, along with those that come out strictly for these larger guaranteed events.  Edward Novak (Simsbury, CT) is one of the players who makes an appearance for the "larger" tournaments, and sits at Table 5 with a live tournament resume that boasts over $259,000 in career earnings.  Over half of those earnings came last year, when he won the 2016 Isle Poker Open $1,500 Championship Event ($166,071).  Nova bested Isaiah Goldman heads-up to win the title, and navigated his way through a final table that hosted the likes of Sam Panzica, Alex Nguyen, and Joshua Hillock.  Edward is joined in this field by other familiar players such as:

Juan Rodriguez
Hari Sukhu
Zaki Lichaa
Larry Stoddard
Justin Levy
Paul Shafran
Jeffrey Kessler
Stephen Smith
James Hamburger
Giovanni Cantatore

"April $100,000 GTD:" Cards Are In The Air

"April $100,000 GTD"
$360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack
Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 45

Tournament Director Ralph Brandt made the rules announcement to the field just a short while ago, followed by the cards getting in the air for this $360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack event.  The $100,000 guaranteed prize pool is the largest we've seen since the Battles At The Beach series in February, and with six flights for players to join the action, we should see a prize pool that well surpasses that of the posted number.

Players in this event sit down to starting stacks of 25,000, and will be playing (30) minute levels for the duration of each Day 1.  When the action picks back up on Sunday (for Day 2), the level length will transition to (50) minutes.  With a superb structure for the tournament, the play will be super deep throughout the event, including the latter stages (final table).  "Live blogged coverage" will be offered for each afternoon starting flight, with "live look ins" and updated flight chip counts posted from the evening flights.  The schedule for the tournament is as follows:

Flight 1A (April 27th) 11:00am

Flight 1B (April 27th) 6:00pm

Flight 1C (April 28th) 11:00am

Flight 1D (April 28th) 6:00pm

Flight 1E (April 29th) 11:00am

Flight 1F (April 29th) 6:00pm

Day 2 (April 30th) 12:00pm

Thursday, April 27th: April Showers Bring End Of Month $100,000 GTD

ICYMI: As most followers of the blog know by now, there is only one tournament schedule on Wednesdays ($100 No Limit Hold'em "Big Stack Turbo" w/ $25 Bounties $5,000 GTD), because of the "Spin To Win" high hand promotion.  Yesterday's event drew a field of (51) total entries, which equated to a prize pool of $3,725 ($1,275 bounty pool).  Six spots were scheduled to get paid in the event, with first place taking home $1,417.  There would be no deal making though, as is so common in tournaments at the Isle, as Danilo Parada (Oakland Park, FL) bested Lynne Fremont (Pompano Beach, FL) to take home the title.

1. Danilo Parada (Oakland Park, FL) $1,417
2. Lynne Fremont (Pompano Beach, FL) $868
3. Christopher Brown (Plantation, FL) $562
4. John Santoro (Wellington, FL) $387
5. Todd Russell (Canada) $279
6. Pierre Lacoste (Pembroke Pines, FL) $212

Tournaments: The month of April has been pretty special in terms of tournament poker, with some huge turnouts, and massive prize pools over the last three weeks.  That being said, everything to this point has been leading up to the end of month $360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack tournament, which carries with it a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool.  This is the first "multi-flight" tournament since the 2017 Battles At The Beach, with six total flights for players to choose from (an afternoon and evening flight from April 27th-29th).  A total of (328) entries are needed to reach the guaranteed number, which is easily attainable, and should be surpassed on the second day of tournament action.

To say that the tournament is a great value would be an understatement, as players are putting up $360, with the potential to take home a sizable five-figure score.  Beyond the value though, the actual structure of the tournament is something that needs to be talked about.  Players in the event sit down to starting stacks of 25,000 units, and play levels lasting (30) minutes on each Day 1 flight, transitioning to (50) minutes on Day 2.  There aren't many (if any) "skips" in the structure, offering those remaining in the later stages of the tournament some deep play.

All of the action from the event with be blogged live, with full coverage of the afternoon flights, recaps of the evening flights, and full Day 2 action (until the tournament concludes).

Promotions: After an exciting day of wheel spins, Thursday offers up the Early Bird No Limit Hold'em high hand promotion, paying $60 to the first (50) full houses of the day (eligible players must be playing no limit hold'em).  The "standard high hand" promotion runs throughout the day as well, from 9:00am-12:00am.

12:00pm - $360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack $100,000 GTD (Flight 1A)

- Players will begin with a 25,000 unit starting stack

- Late registration and re-entry for the first (8) levels

- Levels 1-16 will be (30) minutes, transitioning to (50) minutes from Level 17+

- All late registrants and re-entries will receive a full stack

- All Day 1's will play 16 complete levels, or until 10% of the field remains (whichever comes first)

6:00pm - $360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack $100,000 GTD (Flight 1B)

- Players will begin with a 25,000 unit starting stack

- Late registration and re-entry for the first (8) levels

- Levels 1-16 will be (30) minutes, transitioning to (50) minutes from Level 17+

- All late registrants and re-entries will receive a full stack

- All Day 1's will play 16 complete levels, or until 10% of the field remains (whichever comes first)