Isle Open Event 15 (Day 2): Official Day 2 Seating Assignments (By Chip Count)

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 13 (Blinds 800/1,600/200)
Total Event 15 Entries: 174

Players Remaining: 39

First	Last	Chips	Table	Seat
Sheldon	Gross B	221,300	2	5
Ken	Bruno	215,300	13	5
Anthony	Utnage A	160,800	2	8
Joe	Marchese	158,800	5	5
Brian	Hastings	154,700	3	4
Robert	Jonsson	149,000	1	9
Justin	Harvell	148,600	13	4
Ida	Ashkenazi	133,500	3	8
Martin	Culotta	131,000	4	3
Claudio	Piedrabuenx	126,800	3	1
Cameron	Collins	125,800	3	3
Scott	Levitt	114,000	1	7
Anthony	Astante	103,000	5	9
Carlo	Rodriguez	97,900	2	9
James	Brinkley	97,100	13	7
Richard	Leger	93,100	2	3
Setty	Viralam	92,800	9	2
Jacquelyn	Scott	89,700	9	6
Chris	Brown	88,800	13	8
Scott	Zakheim	84,400	1	3
Skip	McDonough	80,700	9	3
James	Salmon	80,600	1	5
Brandon	Ageloff	74,000	9	7
Jacob	Snider	63,600	9	5
Matthew	Smith	62,300	9	8
Steven	McKoy	61,100	2	1
Zachary	Mullennix	60,900	13	2
Franklin	Michel	57,600	4	9
John	Dollinger	52,100	2	2
Michael	Maresco	45,700	4	2
Doyle Scott	Elliott	43,500	4	8
John	Page	41,400	1	8
Paul	Shafran	38,100	1	4
Damien	Simon	33,000	13	6
Trent	Smith	30,000	4	4
Qasem	Jamhour	24,600	3	7
Yves	Fequiere	23,100	5	8
Andrea	Rakusa	14,600	5	6
Jason	Atherley	8,300	5	3

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): Official End Of Day 1B Chip Counts

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 12 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)
Total Day 1B Entries: 111
Day 1B Players Remaining: 22

Sheldon	Gross B	221,300
Ken	Bruno	215,300
Joe	Marchese	158,800
Robert	Jonsson	149,000
Justin	Harvell	148,600
Martin	Culotta	131,000
Claudio	Piedrabuena	126,800
Cameron	Collins	125,800
Scott	Levitt	114,000
James	Brinkley	97,100
Setty	Viralam	92,800
Jacquelyn	Scott	89,700
Chris	Brown	88,800
James	Salmon	80,600
Brandon	Ageloff	74,000
Steven	McKoy	61,100
Zachary	Mullennix	60,900
John	Dollinger	52,100
Doyle Scott	Elliott	43,500
Damien	Simon	33,000
Qasem	Jamhour	24,600
Yves	Fequiere	23,100

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): Awaiting Official Chip Counts, Day 1B In The Books

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 12 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)
Total Day 1B Entries: 106

Due to a software update on the blogging platform, we are now able to continue with coverage from today's Day 1B flight, which concluded just over thirty minutes ago.  The tournament supervisor is verifying all of the bags, with official Day 1B chip counts to be posted within the next hour (including the winner of the chip lead bonus).  Once those counts are posted, we will follow with seating assignments for Day 2.  

Players still interested in joining the Day 2 field, have until the first cards are in the air tomorrow, with Day 2 action beginning at 12:00pm.

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): The Race Is Heating Up, Two Levels Left

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 11 (Blinds 500/1,000/100)
Total Day 1B Entries: 103

Justin Harvell (Nashville, TN) is one the players currently in the race for the chip lead, sitting with a top five stack.

Players entered Level 11 just a few minutes ago, with blinds going up to 500/1,000/100 (63,000 chip average).  With less than (90) minutes remaining in the night, we can take a look at the race for the chip lead bonus, which is very close at the moment.  Claudio Pieduerma continues to lead the field, but has a group of players within striking distance.

Claudio Pieduerma - 155,000

James Brinkley - 130,000

Justin Harvell - 120,000

Cameron Collins - 118,000

Martin Culotta - 115,000

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): Back From Dinner, Checking In On The Field

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 10 (Blinds 400/800/100)
Total Day 1B Entries: 103

Post dinner break play is now twenty minutes old, with (45) players remaining in the Day 1B field.  Listed below are the seating assignments for the six active tables left in the tournament area.

Table 1

1. Carlos Loving
2. Larry Hirschfield
3. Scott Levitt
4. Claudio Pieduerma
5. Chris Brown
6. Mark Dube
7. Benjamin Robinson

Table 2

1. David Light
2. Nancy Birnbaum
3. Hector Pacheco
4. Kenneth Bruno
5. Daniel Letts
6. Nissim Gozlan

Table 3

1. Zachary Mullennix
2. Dylan Drazen
3. Sheldon Gross
4. Richard Rice
5. Andy Woodmancey
6. Martin Culotta
7. Erik Nomberg
8. Yves Fequire

Table 4

1. Damien Simon
2. Brett Bader
3. Joshua Meltzer
4. Gil Nigar
5. Joe Marchese
6. James Brinkley
7. John Dillinger

Table 5

1. Steve McKoy
2. Brian Emory
3. Julio Graham
4. Jacquelyn Scott
5. Rob Johnson
6. Justin Harvel

Table 9

1. Charles Difalco
2. Marc Sacheli
3. James Salmon
4. Bill Cook
5. Scott Elliot
6. Brandon Ageloff

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): Heading To Dinner, And Returning To Finish Things Out

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 9 (Blinds 300/600/75)
Total Day 1B Entries: 98

Pictured above are the "House-Made Meatballs" from Bragazzo Italian Restaurant, located on the second floor of the casino, next to the poker room.

Players still remaining in Day 1B of Event #15 are heading on their (60) minute dinner break, which will run from 5:30-6:30pm.  Action will resume with Level 10, with new blinds of 400/800/100, and levels transitioning to (50) minutes.  Once the cards are back in the air, we will bring you an update of those in the field, along with chip counts.

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): Lots Of Late Arrivals Help Event #15 Eclipse $150,000 Guarantee

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 8 (Blinds 250/500/75)
Total Day 1B Entries: 96

Hector Pacheco (Laughlin, NV) may have been late to the party, but he's already turned his 20,000 unit starting stack into close to 70,000.

After the ninety-first entry joined this Day 1B field, the prize pool read $150,000 on the tournament clock, meaning the guarantee has been reached for this event.  We have seen a handful of entries since that moment, as the late arriving crowd has been strong this afternoon.  There have also been "rake-free flips" running during each break, with (10) players ponying up $110 dollars to enter.  Once the table is full, each player is dealt a hand, and the dealer then runs out a full board (without any betting).  The winner of the hand is awarded a seat into Event #15, with seven "flips" already having been run.

Some of the late arrivals into this Day 1B field include:

Cameron Collins

Scott Hecker

Luis Santoni

Daniel Letts

Joseph Marchese

Alex Nguyen

Ory Hen

Richard Rice

Uri Kadosh

Kevin Chan

Jay Ramano

Jose Reyes

Benjamin Robinson

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): Updated Chip Counts After Second Break

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 7 (Blinds 200/400/50)
Total Day 1B Entries: 92

James Brinkley (Tampa, FL) is coming off of an Event #7 title win, and off to a solid start in this "warm-up" to the main event, currently second in chips.

Players are back from their second break of the day, returning to Level 7, and new blinds of 200/400/50.  Claudio Pieduerma has continued to trend in the right direction since hitting that one-outer earlier in the afternoon, and leads the field with 86,000.

Claudio Pieduerma - 86,000

James Brinkley - 70,000

Nancy Birnbuam - 68,000

Martin Culotta - 65,000

Elliot Zaydman - 59,000

Kenneth Bruno - 57,000

Jason Young - 50,000

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): Proud Teacher Watches Pupil Win

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 6 (Blinds 150/300/50)
Total Day 1B Entries: 71

Carlos Loving (Sarasota, FL) has two cashes this series, but his biggest accomplishment may have come through a student he coached (James Brinkley).

Carlos Loving (Sarasota, FL) is another player from the group that was mentioned yesterday, making his way down to the Isle Poker Room from the Florida's left coast.  Carlos has a very impressive resume, with over $558,000 in lifetime earnings...but the numbers he's helped others earn can't always be quantified on paper.

Loving coaches players when he's not at the tables himself, and is only a week removed from one of his students shipping a major title (during this series).  Carlos has helped James Brinkley (Tampa, FL) with his game, which is clearly working, as Brinkley was last week's winner of Event #7 ($360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD).  James headed a five-way chop of the tournament, earning a career best $30,343 for his efforts.

Both coach and student are in the field today, which continues to grow larger with notable names:

Steve McCoy

David Inselberg

Zachary Mullennix

Jacquelyn Scott

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): Whether It's Scott Or Joseph...Levitt Is Peaking In 2017

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 5 (Blinds 100/200/25)
Total Day 1B Entries: 59

Scott/Joseph Levitt (Delray Beach, FL) has two resumes on Hendon Mob, with one his legal name...and the other, the name he's gone by for years.

We know him as Scott Levitt (Delray Beach, FL), but his legal name is Joseph, which makes things a little confusing when researching his Hendon Mob results.  After putting both live tournament resumes together, we are looking at a player that is in the midst of his best statistical year of poker, with over $100,000 in earnings.  

Levitt has (17) recorded results in 2017, including three tournament wins, one of which was his largest lifetime cash.  Scott took down a $600 No Limit Hold'em event during the DeepStack Extravaganza III series at the Venetian (this past summer).  Levitt ended up chopping the tournament heads-up, with his first place finish worth $35,500.  Scott became a familiar name on the blog after returning from Las Vegas, when he was part of a chop that ended the "August $150,000 GTD" ($360 No Limit Hold'em).  He ended up taking fifth place money in that deal, which saw him earn his second five-figure score of the month ($16,097).

Levitt has been frequenting tournaments here at the Isle as of recent, even jumping in the $2,500 Single-Day Series last month.  When you're "peaking" in terms of tournament results, you headline the first look of notables in the field, joining names like:

Mark Dube

Kenneth Bruno

Brandon Ageloff

James Brinkley

Martin Culotta

Jason Young

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): As The "Turbo" Satellite Winds Down, Previous Winners Are Entering The Field

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 4 (Blinds 75/150/25)
Total Day 1B Entries: 50

Kareem Bernardo (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) has earned the chance for a career highlighting experience, playing in an $1,100 event for a fraction of the cost.

When Dylan Drazen was featured on the blog yesterday, his storyline revolved around winning a satellite, and turning it into a cash over $528,000.  It's an opportunity that can't be looked over...as players have the chance to gain entry into larger buy-in events, for a fraction of the cost.  While the final satellite for this event is still running ($130 No Limit Hold'em "Turbo"), there was one run last night, that ended up giving away (10) seats into today's starting flight.  The following players earned entry into this $1,100 buy-in event for just $130:

1. Michael Graffeo
2. Doyle Elliot
3. Phil Piccolo
4. Dean Arahovites
5. Erik Nomberg
6. Ken Bruno
7. Kareem Bernardo
8. Nancy Birnbaum
9. David Light
10. Larry Hirschfield

Kareem Bernardo (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) is one of those satellite winners in the field, looking to make a run of a lifetime.  Bernardo has eight recorded results on his tournament resume, totaling $1,833 in earnings, all from events with buy-ins that are $150 (or less).  This opportunity to play in an $1,100 buy-in tournament could see career best return, just with a min-cash alone.

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): One Out Is All Piedrabuena Needs

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 3 (Blinds 75/150)
Total Day 1B Entries: 47

Claudio Piedrabuena (Argentina) got his starting stack in with little hope of winning, but ended up finding a miracle river to grab the 40,000 pot.

The beginning stages of these opening flights are usually about featuring the players in the field, but when a really special hand plays out, it's hard to ignore.  On a flop of 3♥ 7♥ 7♦, Claudio Piedrabuena (Argentina) was willing to get his stack in with a combo draw (holding 5♥ 6♥), but would be drawing beyond thin, after watching his opponent turn over quads (7♠ 7♣).  Piedrabuena had his opponent covered by a few chips, but was understandably defeated, figuring he'd be on line to re-enter shortly after the inevitable.  That would be until the 4♥ fell on the river, drawing a huge reaction from the table, and a smile from Claudio.

Piedrabuena's adversary wasn't so happy, having to hear the players talk about "how crazy" the hand was, as he collected his things to exit the table.  Piedrabuena's name may not be familiar, being that he's from South America, but he's got over $254,000 in lifetime earnings...and now 40,000 chips in this starting slight.

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): Save The Date...Isle Classic Moves To December (Dec. 1st-Dec. 20th)

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)
Total Day 1B Entries: 40

It's been a great year for tournament series at the Isle Poker Room, and while we are in the midst of one of the most successful major tournament series ever, we are excited to announce a "fifth major series" in 2017.  The Isle Classic (which has been run in January since 2010), is now being moved to December, and will continue to run in the final month of the year moving forward.  

This year's installment will begin on December 1st, and will run through December 20th, highlighted by four "major events" (and almost $900,000 in guarantees).  The series' "main" events are:

Dec. 1st-3rd | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($300,000 GTD)

Dec. 7th-10th | $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)

Dec. 13th-17th | $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)

Dec. 17th-20th | $100 No Limit Hold'em ($50,000 GTD)

The full schedule for the series, including secondary and side events, will be released shortly...so be sure to check back here on the blog (and Twitter).

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): Official Chip Counts (Seating Assignments) From Day 1A

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)
Total Day 1B Entries: 30

Isle Open Event 15 (Day 1B): Day 1B Action Of Event #15 Underway Shortly

2017 Isle Open | Event #15
$1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD
Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)
Total Day 1B Entries: N/A

The second starting flight of Event #15 ($1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD) gets underway at 11:00am, as new group of players try and join the group from yesterday, already haven booked tickets to tomorrow's Day 2.  There were (17) players (from a total of 63 entries) able to bag chips after twelve levels of play yesterday, including the Day 1A chip leader, Anthony Utnage (Bloomington, IN).  Tony finished with 160,800, just a few thousand more than Brian Hastings, who will head to Day 2 with 154,700.

Players in today's starting flight will sit down to 20,000 units, and will play (40) minute levels for a good portion of the day.  Once the remaining players return from dinner break (after Level 9), play will transition to (50) minute levels, and continue that way through the tournament's conclusion.  The bagging process begins after Level 12, at which point the flight's chip leader will be awarded a seat into next week's $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Isle Open Main Event ($500,000 GTD).  

The cards will be in the air for Day 1B of Event #15 after Ralph Brandt goes through the rules announcement, with live blogged coverage giving followers a look into the action over the course of the afternoon/evening.

Saturday, October 21st: Last Chance Satellite (For Event #15), Final Flight For Bagging

ICYMI: Event #15 of the 2017 Isle Open began yesterday afternoon, with Day 1A attracting a total of (63) entries.  Things may have started off slowly, but as the afternoon progressed, we began to see the field fill up with numerous notable players.  Names like Brian Hastings, Dylan Drazen, Keith Nassetta, Matt Smith, Jacob Snider, and Anthony Astarita...all chose this starting flight to try and bag chips.  After twelve levels of play, there would be (17) players to reach the bagging process, led by Anthony Utnage (Bloomington, IN).  Utnage bagged 160,800, just beating out his nearest competitor (Brian Hastings), who bagged 154,700.  The top five stacks from the flight belonged to:

Anthony Utnage - 160,800
Brian Hastings - 154,700
Ido Ashkenazi - 133,500
Anthony Astarita - 103,000
Carlo Rodriguez - 97,900

The (63) entries from Day 1A equated to a prize fund of $61,740, which will be combined with today's total to make up the official prize pool.  A total of (91) entries are needed this afternoon/evening to reach the guarantee, which will be one of the focuses of today's live blogged coverage.

Tournaments: Today continues Event #15 of the 2017 Isle Open, a $1,100 No Limit Hold'em tournament with a $150,000 guaranteed prize pool.  Day 1B is the second of two starting flights for the event, beginning at 11:00am this afternoon.  Sunday's Day 2 sees the players that had bagged, return for the first time as a combined field, to play down to a winner.  The structure of the event has players sitting down to starting stacks of 20,000 units, playing levels that last (40) minutes in Levels 1-9, and transitioning to (50) minutes Levels 10+.  Both starting flights will play a scheduled (12) full levels, with the chip leader from each flight winning a $1,500 Main Event seat.

For those still looking to satellite into Event #15, there is a $130 No Limit Hold'em "Turbo" Satellite, which begins at 10:30am.  Players start the satellite with 10,000 unit stacks, and will be playing levels that last (15) minutes.  Registration is open until the end of Level 8 (and the break that follows), with the satellite giving sufficient time for the three guaranteed winners to enter Day 1B of the tournament.

There is also a secondary event this evening, with the $150 No Limit Hold'em "Monster Stack" getting it's cards in the air at 6:00pm. 

Promotions: From (9:00am-10:00am), the high hand will award $150 every (30) minutes.  The high hands will then transition from 10:00am-12:00am (midnight), with the opportunity to win $400 every (30) minutes.  During that period, the promotion sees tournament players eligible (Isle Open events not eligible for high hand) each half-hour for $100 high hands, 2/2 limit hold'em players eligible for $200 high hands, 2/4 limit hold'em players eligible for $300 high hands, and all other raked games (1/2-5/10 NLH, 4/8 Omaha 8B, 6/12 O.E., etc.) eligible for $400 high hands.  From 12:00am-3:00am (Friday morning), players are eligible for $100 high hands every hour.

10:30am - 2017 Isle Open (Secondary Schedule): $130 No Limit Hold'em "Turbo" Satellite Into Event #15 ($1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $100,000 GTD) | 3 Seats Guaranteed

- Players start with 10,000 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 (15) minutes throughout the event

11:00am - 2017 Isle Open  Event #15 (Day 1B) | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $150,000 GTD

- Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips

- Late and re-entries for the first (12) levels, to include before the first card on Day 2

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack

- Levels will last (40) minutes (Levels 1-9), transitioning to (50) minutes Levels 10+

- The chip leader from each opening flight will be awarded a $1,500 Isle Open Main Event seat (for any opening flight).

6:00pm - 2017 Isle Open (Secondary Schedule): $150 No Limit Hold'em "Monster Stack"