FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): Official End Of Flight 1E Chip Counts

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 16 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/500)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 191
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 26/191

Brent	Granda	409,500
Gary	Viebahn	251,000
Mikael	Lundell	245,500
Luke	Rosenberg	241,500
Michael	Tufaro	205,000
Christopher	Bell	191,500
Kevin	Scarola	176,000
Andre	Bryan	166,000
Jason	Bartholomew	159,500
Eric	Becks	150,500
Ben	Robinson	146,500
Skip	McDonough	146,000
Carlos	Azuaje	139,000
Robert	Sarro	136,500
Matthew	Goldman	135,500
Allen	Gload	127,000
Alberto	Niebla	124,500
Keith	Wagner	121,500
Gary	Fitzgerald	113,500
Andrew	Sussman	94,000
Zaki	Lichaa	92,500
James	Hamburger	74,000
David	Poces	58,000
Anthony	Mucci	56,000
Bill	Oderal	42,000
Juan	Ferrer	34,000

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): Granda's Going To Bag The Bonus

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 16 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/500)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 191
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 26/191

Brent Granda (Aventura, FL)

European-based tournament player Mikael Lundell (Sweden) has flown under the radar for most of the day, and one would think that doubling up to 240,000 would make him a potential chip leader...not even close.   Brent Granda (Aventura, FL) has steadily trended upward since being mentioned earlier on the blog, and sits with just over 340,000.  Now there are a few hands remaining in the flight, but Brent seems to have things locked up in regards to the $1,100 Event 14 seat (chip lead bonus).

Once these final hands are played at each tables, the bagging process will begin, with official end of flight chip counts to follow.

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): "Small Blind Special" For Niebla

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/500)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 191
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 37/191

Alberto Niebla (Miami, FL) 

After action at Table 5 folded around to John Womack (on the button), he would open for a small raise.  Both players in the blind came along, and the three watched as the dealer fanned out a flop of 4♥ 4♦ 5♠.  The blinds checked to Womack, who placed down a bet of 11,000, only to be checked raised by Alberto Niebla (Miami, FL) in the small blind.  Niebla shoved his stack of 50,000 forward, and was immediately called by the player in the big blind (who had Niebla covered).  With only a few thousand left behind, Womack begrudgingly made the call, and knew his pocket deuces were behind.  Both blinds flopped trip fours, but Niebla held the better kicker (10♣ 4♣ vs. 3♠ 4♠).  The turn and river changed nothing, and Alberto would more than double to 110,000.

It may not yet put him in the race for the chip lead, but it gives Alberto an above average stack, that he can comfortably play without feeling like he needs to pick a spot.

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): Granda's Stack Grows, Skip Joins The Race

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/400)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 191
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 40/191

Skip McDonough (Jupiter, FL) 

It's been a while since Skip McDonough (Jupiter, FL) has recorded a tournament cash, but he's right in the fray of things this afternoon.  McDonough sits third in chips with 205,000, and is one of the  current favorites in the race for the chip lead bonus.  Skip's last recorded cash came over four years ago, when he final tabled a Card Player Poker Tour event at Palm Beach Kennel Club in 2013 (5th Place - $6,690).  Brent Granda still leads the way (245,000) with only two levels left to play, but much can happen over the next hour to change the landscape.

Brent Granda - 245,000

Luke Rosenberg - 225,000

Skip McDonough - 205,000

Michael Tufaro - 195,000

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): Still Trying To Find A Bag

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 13 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/300)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 191
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 45/191

As the field continues to shrink, we take a look at a list of players that are still looking to pack chips in a Day 2 bag.  Those that are looking to do just that are looking at only three more options, with tonight's Flight 1F at 6:00pm, and then another pair of afternoon/evening flights (Flight 1G and Flight 1H) tomorrow.  Listed below are some players from today's flight that have busted:

Rick Kalgstein
Steve Olivier
Andre Rukasa
Zakarya Wolgamott
Nancy Thomas
Vincent Aloi
William Underdown
Steven Lipkins
Steven Touitou
Edward Jaffy

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): Rosenberg Requests, And It's Then Granted

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 12 (Blinds 800/1,600/200)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 191
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 65/191

Luke Rosenberg (Parkland, FL) 

Just as Table 5 was approached, two players were all-in on a board of Q♣ 8♣ 3♥ 9♠, and action was on Luke Rosenberg (Parkland, FL).  One of the stacks was 40,000, but the larger of the two was just under 100,000, which had Luke covered.  He stood up and pushed forward the chips for a call, and watched as both of his opponents turned over Jx 10x, having turned the straight.  Luke tabled 9♥ 9♦, and politely asked the dealer, "Pair the board please."  The river would bring another queen, pairing the board, and giving Rosenberg the winning full house.

The stacks were then cut down by the dealer, and Luke's amount (79,200) would be matched, and shipped his way.  Rosenberg becomes the first player to eclipse the 200,000 mark, and now sits with the largest stack in this shrinking field.

Luke Rosenberg - 212,000

Players are taking their final break of the day at the conclusion of this level, and will be returning to play out the final four levels of the flight.

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): "And When Did You Begin To Like Your Hand?"

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 11 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 191
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 73/191

Tony Mucci (Boca Raton, FL) 

Tony Mucci (Boca Raton, FL) earned another stress-free double up just moments ago, as he held A♠ Q♥ on an A♣ Q♣ Q♦ flop.  Mucci called a bet on the flop, and after the 6 on the turn, watched as his opponent decided to shove for close to 50,000.  Tony quickly announced a call, and could do no worse than a chop, being up against A♥ K♠.  A nine fell on the river, and Mucci would get pushed the pot worth over 100,000.

Mucci may lack an extensive tournament resume, but it's because most of his time playing poker is spent at the cash tables.  The five-figures that's going to be up top in this tournament is more than anyone will ever see in a session of 2/5 NLH, so it's safe to say that a deep run in this tournament would be a poker playing highlight.  But nobody can make a deep run without bagging chips, so Tony will work towards that goal, as five levels remain in the flight.

Tony Mucci - 146,000

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): Scarola Uses Kings To Climb To The Top

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 10 (Blinds 500/1,000/100)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 191
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 92/191

Kevin Scarola (West Palm Beach, FL) 

After a raise from the button, and a three-bet from Kenneth Bruno out of the small blind, Kevin Scarola (West Palm Beach, FL) four-bet to 9,600 from the big.  The original raiser five-bet shoved for 27,000, with Bruno also pushing his chips all-in (46,000), which had Scarola just covered.  Kevin couldn't believe the action in front of him, considering he was holding pocket kings.  He'd make the call after about thirty seconds of thought, and would be up against Bruno's Q♥ Q♠ and the button's A♥ 5♠.  The 9♠ 6♣ 6♦ 2♣ 5♣ runout secured the win for Kevin, who chipped up to 137,000, and vaults to the top of the leaderboard.

Kevin likely came into this event with confidence, having finished runner-up in the "Isle May $100,000," an event similar to this in price point that run a few months ago.  It was an event that actually played down to an outright winner, after players couldn't agree to a chop.  Scarola came into heads-up play with a huge chip deficit, and eventually fell to Jonathan Bodden.  The finish would be his largest lifetime cash though, with $15,840 added to his live tournament earnings.

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): Updated Chip Counts From Break

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 9 (Blinds 400/800/100)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 191
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 101/191

Brent Granda (Aventura, FL) 

Brent Granda's (Aventura, FL) last recorded cash came almost a year ago to the day, finishing third in Event 3 of the 2016 Florida State Poker Championships ($120 No Limit Hold'em - $2,080).  The series must be one of Granda's favorite, as his largest cash came during the FSPC as well, finishing in seventh place during the opening event of the 2014 FSPC ($330 No Limit Hold'em - $14,612). 

Granda is at it again, looking to make his annual FSPC tournament run, as he leads the field with 130,000:

Brent Granda - 130,000
Andre Bryant - 90,000
Kenneth Bruno - 89,000
Luke Rosenberg - 83,000
Jason Bartholomew - 77,000
John Womack - 70,000
Torstein Svana - 70,000

FSPC Event (Flight 1E): $100,000 Guarantee Surpassed, Players Head On Another Break

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 8 (Blinds 300/600/75)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 174

Andre Bryant (Pompano Beach, FL) 

As players head on their second break of the day, the registration window shuts on Flight 1E, and we see the combined prize pool surpass $100,000.  That a guarantee that's in the rear view mirror with three flights to go...and a prize pool that can potentialyl reach $160,000.  Andre Bryant currently leads the field with just over 100,000, with updated chip counts to be posted once play resumes.  After the (10) minute break, those still left will return to Level 9, and new blinds of 400/800/100.

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): A Bunch Of Shorties Makes For A Nice Pot

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 7 (Blinds 250/500/50)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 160

Simon Philip (Pensacola, FL) 

Compared to the first two afternoon flights of this event, there is an abundance of action across the tournament area today.  With three players all-in for around ten bigs or less, one would think that the pot isn't very notable...but that wasn't the case for Simon Philip (Pensacola, FL).  If Simon's pocket jacks could hold against the three other hand, he'd chip up to almost double the current average.

Simon's J♠ J♥ was up against (K♣ J♣), (10♠ 8♠), and (K♥ 5♠), and while the J♦ 2♠ 4♣ flop basically shut the door, Philip would have to fade a one-outer as the K♦ came on the turn.  The final king in the deck would not show up on the river, and Simon raked in the pot worth just over 20,000.  Simon is only a few months removed from his largest tournament cash, finishing runner-up in a $365 No Limit Hold'em WSOP Circuit event in New Orleans this past May.  While finishing one spot short of the prestigious may have stung a bit, he did get to walk away with $33,352.

Simon Philip - 44,000

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): Bartholomew Opens Up An Early Lead

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 6 (Blinds 200/400/50)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 144

Jason Bartholomew (Sarasota, FL) 

The early leader in the Flight 1E field is currently Jason Bartholomew (Sarasota, FL), who won a sizable pot after a player shoved into him on a flop of 7♠ 2♠ 4♣.  Bartholomew was in the lead with 4♥ 4♦, but his set was vulnerable against his opponent's 3♠ 4♠.  The 5♥ on the turn would only add to his opponent's equity, but after the board paired on the river, Bartholomew would be pushed the pot.  Jason is now up to 65,000, and while he may not be familiar to followers of the blog, he's definitely a player to look out for.

Bartholomew may not have recorded a cash in the past two years, but he has over $120,000 in live tournament earnings, including a trophy win at SHR during the 2014 Lucky Hearts Poker Open ($560  No Limit Hold'em - $81,823).

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): Mucci Glad To Accept Any Gifts

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 5 (Blinds 150/300/25)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 126

Tony Mucci (Boca Raton, FL) 

The action at Table 8 was approached on the turn in a hand involving Tony Mucci (Boca Raton, FL), with the board reading 10♥ 9♦ 8♦ 4♦.  Mucci had just pushed forward a pot-size shove (12,000), and was waiting for a decision from his opponent.  The call was made, and Tony would roll over A♦ 10♠, looking as if he thought his hand was behind.  His opponent turned over A♠ Q♦, and would be drawing very thin against Mucci's hand.  The river brought the 5♠, and Mucci would lock up the double to 38,000, sitting with a shocked expression on his face as he raked in the chips.

Tony wasn't the only Isle Poker regular to get off to a quick start, as Luke Rosenberg (Parkland, FL ) managed to double his starting stack A♠ A♣ against K♥ K♠ on the Q♠ 10♣ 4♠ Q♣ runout.  Both players are well above the early average (25,000), and are looking to continue the trend now post-break.

Tony Mucci - 43,000

Luke Rosenberg - 41,000

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): The Big Numbers Are Rolling In

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 4 (Blinds 100/200)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 104

Steve Olivier (Miami, FL) 

We are beginning to get answers to some of the questions that were posed earlier this morning, specifically in regards to field size.  The afternoon flights that came before today's hosted field sizes of 101 (Flight 1A) and 105 (Flight 1B), both very respectable numbers for the days they fell on.  They are going to pale in comparison to this afternoon though, as the tournament clock already shows (104) entries.  It's a great sign that these next three weekend flights will likely churn out some big numbers, which then correlates to a massive prize pool.

One of the players to make up this strong early field is Steve Olivier (Miami, FL), who is coming off of his best statistical year of poker.  Olivier had earnings of over $15,000 last year, which included the largest cash of his career.  Olivier bubbled the final table of Event #10 during the 2016 SHRPO, a tournament that had close to $200,000 up top.  His 16th place finish saw him take home $7,014, but also gave him the confidence that any player needs to make a deep run in a tournament with such a massive field (like this tournament will have).  Adding their names to the long list of notables in the field are:

Luke Rosenberg

Michael Tufaro

Robert Miller

Michael Weinberg

Francois Gagne

Paul Shafran

Edward Jaffe

Peter Bronstein

Alan Saltzman

Players are taking their first break of the day, and will be returning at (10) minutes to Level 5, and new blinds of 150/300/35.

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): Pacheco In His Comfort Zone

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 3 (Blinds 75/150)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 75

Hector Pacheco (Lauglin, NV)

This poker blog was launched in October of last year, and is now offering coverage of it's fourth major tournament series.  There have been a few constants over the course of the blog's lifetime, one of which is Hector Pacheco bagging heaps during these "majors."  Hector manages to find his way to the top of the leaderboard on Day 1 seemingly more often than any other player.

What's even more impressive about the Day 1 success, is Hector's ability to follow that up with Day 2 success.  It's something we see all the time...a player bagging heaps, only to earn a min-cash for the efforts.  Pacheco has made a habit of deep runs, and has tournament earnings over $116,000 to show for it.  Pacheco highlighting score came last year, when he shipped a $360 No Limit Hold'em event during the Coco Spring Poker Series (Coconut Creek) for $63,000.  Hector also has a five-figure score from this room, finishing runner-up in last September's $150 No Limit Hold'em "Monster Stack" ($27,513).

Pacheco headlines the first group of notables in this afternoon's field, a list that includes the likes of:

Zakarya Wolgamott

Paula Alabrandi

Kenneth Bruno

Kevin Scarola

Nancy Thomas

James Hamburger

James Womack

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): Official Chip Counts (Flights 1A-1D)

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 45

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1E): Weekend Action Getting Underway

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)
Total Flight 1E Entries: N/A

The halfway point of the 2017 Florida State Poker Championships Event 1 starting flights has been reached, and to this point there have been (512) entries.  A total of (69) players have successfully bagged chips for Sunday's Day 2, and look to be battling it out for a prize pool that should eclipse the $100,000 guarantee this evening.  

The "weekend flights" during multi-day/multi-flight events are most often the largest of the group, so it will be interesting to see if this 11:00am (Flight 1E) flight bests the numbers from those before (Flight 1A had 101 entries, followed by Flight 1C with 105).  Players in this flight sit down to starting stacks of 20,000 units, and play levels lasting (25) minutes throughout the tournament.  Those players looking for a goal (outside of bagging chips), can either decide to try bag chip average (which is 150,000), or chase the chip lead (held by the following players from each flight):

Flight 1A: Joseph Thomas (374,000)

Flight 1B: Oleg Efremov (500,500)

Flight 1C: Steven Cohen (377,500)

Flight 1D: Scott Sommer (492,500)

Flight 1E action gets underway in just a few minutes, with live blogged coverage continuing through the bagging process (scheduled to begin after 16 levels of play, or until 13% of the field remains).  A list of combined chip counts from the first four flights will be published once play begins, followed by a look at some of the notables in the field to start the day.

Friday, July 7th: FSPC Event 1 Continues, "Turbo High Hands" Return

ICYMI: Yesterday's tournament schedule hosted a second pair of Event 1 flights, with both Flight 1C and Flight 1D besting the numbers from the day prior.  Flight 1C (11:00am) had a total of (105) entries, with (14) players successful in reaching the bagging process.  Steven Cohen used a mixture of aggression and run good on the final hand of the day, to bag the flight's chip lead (377,500).  Cohen earned himself entry in Event 14 ($1,100 No Limit Hold'em $150,000 GTD), but more importantly, put himself into position to enter Day 2 with a top stack.  Some other notables to bag in the afternoon flight included Jaime Wiegrefe (253,000), Elias Nassif (152,500), and Thomas Gari (106,000).

Flight 1D earned the distinction of being the largest flight of the four to have been played, with a total of (160) entries making up the field.  After sixteen complete levels of play, (22) players remained when the bagging process began.  Scott Sommer (Jupiter, FL) earned the chip lead bonus after bagging 492,500, besting his nearest competitor by over 100,000 chips (Pedro Palacio - 363,000).  Some others to bag from Flight 1D included Andrew Blake (160,500), Michael Marks (143,500), and Russell Stampler (58,500).

At the midway point of Event 1 starting flights, there has been a total of (512) entries, with (69) players already having booked tickets to Sunday's Day 2.  That equates to $71,680 towards the overall prize pool, and a pace that may see the tournament's guarantee eclipsed today, with two more flights on the schedule.

Tournaments: The first of those two flights begins at 11;00am, when the cards get in the air for Flight 1E.  The afternoon flight will have "live blogged coverage," and will continue with the same structure as the completed flights to come before it.  Those who are unable to make it to the poker room during the day, can look forward to entering the evening flight (Flight 1F), which gets underway at 6:00pm (and has open registration until just before 9:00pm).

Promotions: The weekend kicks off with a day that's full of bonus high hands, starting the moment the doors open.  From 9:00am-12:00pm, $100 will be awarded every (10) minutes to qualifying high hands, with rollovers.  This promotion is very exciting, as we've seen rollovers that are worth between $500-$1,000 on a consistent basis.  

That period is followed by some "richer" high hands, with $250 awarded every (20) minutes from 12:00pm-4:00pm, and $500 awarded every (20) minutes from 4:00pm-12:00am.  Rollovers apply with this promotion as well, but with so many tables in play, it's not something that happens as often.

11:00am - FSPC Event #1 (Flight 1E): $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 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 (25) minutes throughout the event

- All Day 1's will play (16) complete levels or until 13% of the field remains (whichever comes first)

6:00pm - FSPC Event #1 (Flight 1F): $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 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 (25) minutes throughout the event

- All Day 1's will play (16) complete levels or until 13% of the field remains (whichever comes first)

FSPC Event 1 (Flight 1D): Official End Of Flight 1D Chip Counts

2017 Florida State Poker Championships
Event 1 - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)
Level 16 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/500)
Total Flight 1D Entries: 160
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 22/160

Scott	Sommer	492,500
Pedro	Palacio	363,000
Ryan	Ricci	269,500
Charles	Odenz	247,000
Andrew	Blake	160,500
Zack	Milchman	152,000
Michael	Marks	143,500
Armando	Rojas	134,000
Elliot	Goldman	127,000
Martin	Markov	117,000
Jeffrey	Lutin	115,000
Pantelis	Hatzkontos	113,500
Manuel	Soltero	112,500
Jeffrey	Keiser	101,500
Emanuel	Cohen	93,000
Gail	Lutin	79,000
Blake	Robbins	78,500
Erik	Reed	71,000
Russ	Stampler	58,500
John	Bikas	58,000
Roberto	Schmeda	58,000
Perry	Werbel	55,000