"June $50,000 GTD" (Flight 1E): Official End Of Flight 1E Chip Counts

"June $50,000 GTD"
$75 No Limit Hold'em
Level 16 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/500)
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 19/146

Andrew	Davis	314,800
Robert	Ursphruch	225,400
Jonathan	Krankov	185,700
Major Cathy	Miller	163,800
Zachary	Kadel	162,700
Raminder	Singh	143,500
Monty	Berger	137,600
Michael	Graffeo	125,600
Dan	Wayson	105,700
Maury	Halperin	94,000
Mario	Donoso	93,000
James	Lewis	79,000
Josh	Wasserman	66,900
Barton	Taylor	65,800
Stephen	Plant	52,300
Ruben	Saenz	49,300
Calixto	Rodriguez	48,800
Paula	Holder	47,900
Jeffrey	Harris	31,500

"June $50,000 GTD" (Flight 1D): Official End Of Flight 1D Chip Counts

"June $50,000 GTD"
$75 No Limit Hold'em
Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/400)
Flight 1D Players Remaining: 20/150

James	Scott	326,300
Ronald	Higgins	233,500
Nader	Bahhur	149,000
Bill	Oderat	133,700
Morris	Heider	127,100
"Fed"	Oralian	123,800
Kirby	Conserve	119,700
Yigal	Hen	117,000
Leanne	Gelb	116,100
John	Reslow	115,100
Brad	Collins	99,200
Harold	Pawluk	95,100
Yves	Fequiere	86,700
Nancy	Birnbaum	82,000
Kevin	Scarola	74,100
John	Joffey	73,500
George	Boyadjian	45,900
Marco	Rodriguez	42,800
Allan	Bieler	39,400
Tammy	Haney	27,000

"June $50,000 GTD" (Flight 1D): When Hypothetical Turns To Actual

"June $50,000 GTD"
$75 No Limit Hold'em
Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/400)
Flight 1D Players Remaining: 20/150

In the last post, we said that if the flight were to end at that moment "hypothetically," that James Scott (Pembroke Pines, FL) would earn the flight's chip lead bonus.  Well it wasn't that exact moment, but just minutes later (at the conclusion of Level 14), the 13% mark would be reached.  Players went on their scheduled break, but a bustout during a hand that went into the break, would bring the field to (20) players.  That means that the flight ends there, and Sunday's Day 2 now begins at Level 15 (which is always subject to change).  James Scott, who busted out that final player, now has over 325,000...and is the flight's chip leader (earning himself and extra $500).

The official chip counts from the flight will be posted shortly after the bagging process is completed (and stacks have been verified).

"June $50,000 GTD" (Flight 1D): The Chip Lead "Race" Is Heating Up

"June $50,000 GTD"
$75 No Limit Hold'em
Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/300)
Flight 1D Players Remaining: 28/150

James Scott (Pembroke Pines, FL) 

Players will be taking their final break of the day at the conclusion of this level, and will be returning to Level 15, and new blinds of 1,500/3,000/400.  There are four levels scheduled to be played after break, but we've already seen two flights reach the 13% point, and have to stop early.  What does that mean, other than the fact that Sunday's Day 2 will begin at the earliest point stopped?  The race for the chip lead could be cut short at any moment, so it's not as easy to know where your competition stands.  If things ended right now (hypothetically), James Scott (Pembroke Pines, FL) would be the recipient of the bonus.  Scott currently paces the field with over 225,000 in front of him, but sits just two seats away from his nearest threat...Jay "O," who just scooped a pot to become the second player in the field over 200,000.  Here are some of the other big stacks, who counts were tallied just before break:

Fed Oral - 175,000

Ronnie Higgins - 165,000

Nader Bahhur - 155,000

Morris Heider - 140,000

Yves Fequiere - 130,000

"June $50,000 GTD" (Flight 1E): "Bax917" Leaves One Circle, Enters The Next

"June $50,000 GTD"
$75 No Limit Hold'em
Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 51

Barry Axelrod (Boynton Beach, FL) 

Barry Axelrod (Boynton Beach, FL) spent a good portion of his adult life trading gold futures on the New York Stock Exchange.  The area where trades went down was called "the pit," a big circle filled with traders...screaming their heads off, and making deals for millions of dollars each day.  Eventually the live trading would transition to electronic (along most of business world), and the entire landscape changed.  Almost like live versus online poker, a lot of the personal interaction was taken out of the job, and things just weren't the same.  Axelrod recently hung up his trading hat, and is just looking forward to spending time with his wife Sherry, four kids (Matthew, Keith, Robyn, and Samantha), and five grandchildren that he loves incredibly much (Jordyn, Hailey, Oliver, Elle, and Eve).  Axelrod may have been one of the best poker players of 1988...on my block in New Jersey.  How do I know? He's my Dad, and quite possibly the kindest...most genuine person you'll ever meet in your life.  

He's seated in his first ever Isle Poker tournament, and just hoping to stay alive along enough for this post to be published.  Barry's name might not be one recognized by followers of the blog, but he does headline the group of notables currently seated in Flight 1E, which just started about (30) minutes ago.  Axelrod is joined in the field by the likes of:

Danielle Bastarache
Craig Witz
Nikolla Sinishtaj
Scott Tennebaum
Michael Hefley
Manuel Amaro Alvarez
Jason Kim
Terry Wooten
Robert Urspruch

"June $50,000 GTD" (Flight 1D): Fequiere Looking For Another Big Score

"June $50,000 GTD"
$75 No Limit Hold'em
Level 11 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)
Total Flight 1D Entries: 54

Yves Fequiere (Miami, FL) 

Yves Fequiere (Miami, FL) was one of the later entries into Flight 1D, but he has managed to quickly turn his 15,000 unit starting stack into one over 85,000.  Yves is no stranger to the poker room...or the blog for that matter, with over $110,000 in live tournament earnings.  In a two month span back in 2015, Yves won a $150 No Limit Hold'em event during the SHRPO ($17,344), and finished third in Event 7 ($350 No Limit Hold'em) of the Isle Poker Open ($27,109).  While Fequiere has stayed consistent since that little heater, he's still looking for another five-figure score, which could be readily available at this tournament's final table.

Yves Fequiere - 88,000

"June $50,000 GTD" (Flight 1D): "Look At My Hendon Mob"

"June $50,000 GTD"
$75 No Limit Hold'em
Level 9 (Blinds 400/800/100)
Total Flight 1D Entries: 150

Allan Bieler (Boca Raton, FL) 

It's a name we've seen on the blog numerous times, but the first time that Allan Bieler has been featured during a "live blogged" tournament.  Having inputted all of the daily tournament results on the blog...outside of major tournament series and "special events," Bieler's name is one that has popped up at a frequent rate.  When Bieler was asked what his name was (being the current chip leader), he replied, "Look at my Hendon Mob."  

The Hendon Mob resume is impressive, with over $316,000 in career tournament earnings.  Allan does have one six-figure score that stands above the rest, earning third place money in a chop that ended the opening event of the 2016 Rock N' Roll Poker Open ($360 No Limit Hold'em).  The result was worth $105,096, which is over double his largest score coming into that event.  

Bieler sits with just over 110,000 in front of him, and leads the field of (74) players (from a total of 150 for the flight).  That means that $7,950 goes towards the prize pool, which is now just under $30,000.  Tournament Director Ralph Brandt believes the guarantee will be surpassed tonight, so it shouldn't come as a surprise if it does.  

Allan Bieler - 113,000

Steve Olivier - 47,000

Luke Rosenberg - 46,000

Tom Gity - 43,000

"June $50,000 GTD" (Flight 1D): Olivier Starts Fast, Registration Window Closing

"June $50,000 GTD"
$75 No Limit Hold'em
Level 8 (Blinds 400/800/100)
Total Flight 1D Entries: 135

Steve Olivier (Miami, FL) 

The introduction of the $130 No Limit Hold'em ($20,000 GTD) event to the "daily tournament schedule" happened in the beginning of March (2017).  One of the first times it was run, the tournament ended in an eight-way deal, two players in this field earning money that night.  The two players were Nancy Birnbaum and Steve Olivier (pictured above).  Olivier took home sixth place money ($2,306), which was the fourth largest tournament score of his career.  Olivier's best cash came just last year, when he finished in 16th place during the $570 No Limit Hold'em (Event #10) of the SHRPO ($7,014).  Steve is off to a quick start today, more than tripling his starting stack since sitting down.

Level 8 began just moments, which is significant to those looking to join this Flight 1D field.  The players will be going on their first break of the day at the level's conclusion, and once the cards get back in the air for Level 9, registration will be closed for the flight.  There are still two more flights on the schedule today, with Flight 1E starting at 3:00pm, and Flight 1F following at 7:00pm.  Once cards are in the air for Level 9, followers and look forward to the first chip count update from the field.  Until then, we will wrap up the list of notables in the field:

Shannon Stash

Domenico Barilla

Nader Bahhur

Bill Oderat

Arnold Cohen

Alan Chernotsky

Luis Santoni

Morris Heider

"June $50,000 GTD" (Flight 1D): Scarola Back To Best His Last Effort

"June $50,000 GTD"
$75 No Limit Hold'em
Level 6 (Blinds 200/400/50)
Total Flight 1D Entries: 107

Kevin Scarola (West Palm Beach, FL) 

The last time Kevin Scarola (West Palm Beach, FL) was featured on the blog, it was for finishing runner-up in last month's only multi-flight/multi-day tournament ("May $100,000").  Looking back, there are so many things that can be noted about the event, but there is one thing that makes it stand out amongst so many big tournaments over the course of the year...it played down to a winner (there was no chop).  Discussions were entertained at the final table, but at no point was everyone remaining  agreeing to the numbers.  Kevin ended up starting heads-up play at a massive chip deficit, and even though he was able to double up right away, he'd fall to Jonathan Bodden.

Scarola would earn $15,840 for the second place finish, which was about seven times his career earnings coming into that tournament.  First place money in this tournament should be right around what Kevin made that day, so he still has something to strive for in terms of reaching a new career best.  Some others in the field looking to make noise in this event include:

Steven Lamm

Frank Traino

Vincent Seina

Thomas Gari

Jonathan Joffey

Tom Gity

Ralph Spadafore

Alvaro Vivas Grisales

Sean Ryan

Roni Dreszer

"June $50,000 GTD" (Flight 1D): "Who Loves It More?"

"June $50,000 GTD"
$75 No Limit Hold'em
Level 4 (Blinds 150/300/25)
Total Flight 1D Entries: 95

Ory Hen (Cooper City, GL) 

"Who loves it more," has become more of a way of life in the poker community, no longer just a joking statement posted on Twitter by the "cool kids."  When someone plays poker for a living, when there is value to be had, it would be considered criminal to pass up on it.  Ory Hen (Cooper City, FL) has over $1,600,000 in live tournament earnings on his resume, which now spans over ten years.  Hen is coming off of three straight years of six-figure tournament earnings, and already has $30,000 earned in 2017.  Whether it's a $750 buy-in...or $75 buy-in...if it's a good tournament in the South Florida area, Ory will be playing.  He headlines to the first look at notables in the crowd, which also boasts names like:

Chad Millward

Rick Kalgstein

Ian Cohen

Nancy Birnbaum

Glen Canelstein

Brian Hardy

Kevin Scarola

Duane Minerva

Carl Cajuste

Luke Rosenberg

"June $50,000 GTD" (Flight 1D): Official Chip Counts (Flights A-C)

"June $50,000 GTD"
$75 No Limit Hold'em
Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)
Total Flight 1D Entries: 54

"June $50,000 GTD" (Flight 1D): The First Of Three More Flights Underway Momentarily

"June $50,000 GTD"
$75 No Limit Hold'em
Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)
Total Flight 1D Entries: N/A

Tournament Director Ralph Brandt is about to make the "rules announcement" to the players already seated in the Flight 1D field, with action to begin shortly thereafter.  The first full day of the "June $50,000 GTD" was a success, with a total of (402) entries across three flights (Flight 1A - 121, Flight 1B - 114, and Flight 1C - 167).  The quick start means that the field is almost halfway to the tournament's posted guarantee, with the field sizes only to get larger as we move closer to Sunday's Day 2.  

A total of (53) players have successfully bagged chips for Day 2, led by Isle Poker tournament regular Thomas Millward (Boca Raton, FL), who returns Sunday with 343,200.  Millward was the only player to eclipse the 300,000 mark over the course of the three flights, and has close to triple the chip average (which currently sits at 114,000).  It should be noted though, that this structure does "push the action," with play returning to blinds of 5,000/10,000/1,000.  That means that players returning with an average stack only have (11) big blinds to work with, and even the overwhelming chip leader sits down to a (34) big blind stack on Sunday.

A full list of combined chip counts will be posted surely, while we allow for the tournament area to fill up, at which point we will take a look out notables in the field. 

Friday, June 9th: The "June $50,000 GTD" Continues With Three More Flights, "Turbo High Hands" Return

ICYMI: Yesterday was the beginning of the $75 No Limit Hold'em ($50,000 GTD), otherwise labeled as the "June $50,000 GTD."  There were three flights over the course of the day (11:00am, 3:00pm, and 7:00pm), which attracted a combined total of (402) entries.  A total of $21,306 will be going towards the overall prize pool, which is almost halfway to the guarantee...with six more flights to go!  We are once again looking at some incredible value in a multi-flight event at the Isle Poker Room, which is why we saw so many recognizable faces and names in the crowd.  There were three players to earn the $500 "chip lead bonus" from each of the day's flights, with Gerald Blum leading Flight 1A (248,000), Joe Lotana topping the leaderboard in Flight 1B (281,200), and Thomas Millward pacing the combined field (and Flight 1C) with 343,200.

Tournaments: The multi-flight action continues today, as three more flights are on the tournament schedule, mirroring yesterday's play.  The cards will be in the air at 11:00am for Flight 1D, followed by Flight 1E at 3:00pm, and Flight 1F wrapping up the day's festivities at 7:00pm.  All players in these flights will be sitting down to starting stacks of 15,000 units, with levels of (20) minutes throughout the day (and Day 2).  There have been (53) players to bag chips for Sunday's Day 2, from an original total of (402) entries.  That means that over the next (48) hours, the flights need to average only (91) entries to reach the $50,000 guarantee.  That it a number that is easily attainable, and we should feel the final prize pool fall somewhere in the $60,000-$70,000 range.

Promotions: From the moment the doors to the poker room open at 9:00am, the high hand promotions begin this Friday. From 9:00am-12:00pm, qualifying high hands will be awarded $100 every (10) minutes.  These "turbo high hands" usually see four or five rollovers in a row, making this one of the more exciting promotions for the players who are in the room "early."  The promotion then transitions to $250 every (20) minutes (from 12:00pm-4:00pm), followed by another jump from 4:00pm-12:00am.  That last jump sees those with the qualifying high hand earn $500, with rollovers applying throughout both time periods.

11:00am - $75 No Limit Hold'em ($50,000 GTD) Flight 1D

- Players will start with 15,000 in tournament chips

- Late and re-entries for the first (8) levels

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack

- Levels are (20) minutes

- Each starting flight will conclude at the end of Level 18, or if the field reaches 13% of total flight's entries (whichever comes first)

3:00pm - $75 No Limit Hold'em ($50,000 GTD) Flight 1E

- Players will start with 15,000 in tournament chips

- Late and re-entries for the first (8) levels

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack

- Levels are (20) minutes

- Each starting flight will conclude at the end of Level 18, or if the field reaches 13% of total flight's entries (whichever comes first)

7:00pm - $75 No Limit Hold'em ($50,000 GTD) Flight 1F

- Players will start with 15,000 in tournament chips

- Late and re-entries for the first (8) levels

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack

- Levels are (20) minutes

- Each starting flight will conclude at the end of Level 18, or if the field reaches 13% of total flight's entries (whichever comes first)

"June $50,000 GTD" (Flight 1C): Official End Of Flight 1C Chip Counts

"June $50,000 GTD"
$75 No Limit Hold'em
Level 17 (Blinds 3,000/6,000/500)
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 20/167

It should be noted that Flight 1C ended with 16:25 minutes on the tournament clock in Level 17, with Isle Poker notable Thomas Millward bagging not only the flight's chip lead, but the overall chip lead of the first day of flights.

Thomas	Millward	343,200
Maxim	Bjelos	244,000
Stephen	Harris	220,400
Juan	De Los Santo	213,000
Joseph	Duchman	194,900
David	White	156,000
Juan	Mubarak	143,700
Anthony	Casas	135,700
Miguel	McDonald	135,400
Marc	King	111,600
Michael	Gutterman	80,500
Jason	Hopkins	76,000
James	McCaffrey	72,000
Mahendran	Ramanathan	69,700
Pierre	Emmanuel	68,900
Brent	Speer	60,200
Larry	Stoddard	56,000
Rosa	Gonzalez	52,100
Scott	DiBenedetto	50,400
Alex	Recio	31,000