Sunday, February 18th: Recapping The "February $50,000," As Recurring Schedule Returns (For One Day)

ICYMI: A total of (47) players returned yesterday afternoon (at 12:00pm), ready for Day 2 of the "February $50,000."  The group that bagged for the $250 buy-in tournament was also joined by (25) players, all that decided to take advantage of the optional Day 2 entry (with fifteen big blinds).  That meant that the day started with (72) players, of which (22) would eventually grab a piece of the $47,250 prize pool ($2,750 went to the ten chip lead bonus satellite seats).  The first focus of the day was reaching the money, which took almost five hours.  Just as Level 17 was beginning, Tony Ruberto score a double elimination, sending home Michael Marks and Greg Garvy.  Garvy had the lesser of two stacks, and would be the tournament's "bubble boy."  Now in the money, players had their eye on the $12,425 first place prize.

As the field began to shrink down, we saw the only Day 2 entries to cash, as Kenneth Bruno (21st place) and Joseph Conti (19th place) both earned $600.  The slow crawl to the final table saw names like Craig Witz (17th place), Eric Mutschler (15th place), and Maurice Hawkins (12th place) book cashes.  Geno Cham was eliminated on the final table bubble, and the final ten players for the event would be set.  The final table was all about Jonathan Speranza to begin, as he scored the first two eliminations (Paul Vieira and Craig Stein).  After Harry Behling and Eric Brewster headed to the payout podium, we witnessed the largest pot of the tournament, as Speranaza eliminated Kevin Boyle in a 1,500,000 chip pot.  That would leave one extreme short stack (Diego Mannone), who would be next to hit the rail.  Four-handed play last just twenty minutes, as players eventually agreed to a deal, outside of the ICM numbers.  Listed below are the results from the deal, as well as the rest of the final table:

1. Anthony Ruberto (Miami, FL) $8,000
2. Jonathan Speranza (Boynton Beach, FL) $8,000
3. Raymond Millard (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $6,218
4. Marcin Plewinski (Coconut Creek, FL) $6,217
5. Diego Mannone (Medford, MA) $2,275
6. Kevin Boyle (West Palm Beach, FL) $1,885
7. Eric Brewster (West Palm Beach, FL) $1,630
8. Harry Behling (St. Paul, MN) $1,425
9. Craig Stein (Dillwyn, VA) $1,240
10. Paul Vieira (Wethersfield, FL) $1,060

The results from last night's $100 No Limit Hold'em ($5,000 GTD) will be updated in the early afternoon.

Tournaments: Sunday's tournament action has a combined $6,000 in guarantees, beginning with the $120 No Limit Hold'em "Monster Stack" ($3,000 GTD).  The tournament starts at 11:00am, structured with 25,000 unit starting stacks, and levels that last (20) minutes over the course of the afternoon.

The "Monster Stack" is followed by a $130 No Limit Hold'em "Turbo Bounty," which also has a $3,000 guaranteed prize pool.  The tournament is structured with 20,000 unit starting stacks, (15) minute levels, and $25 bounties for each elimination.

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-9:00am, players are eligible for $100 high hands every hour.

It should also be noted that started back on November 1st, players are able to win the high hand using only one card in their hand!!!  The payouts for those that use one card are different than the standard numbers listed above, and can be found (full listing of one-card payouts on flyers in the poker room).

11:00am - $120 No Limit Hold'em "Monster Stack" ($3,000 GTD)

- Players start with 25,000 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 (20) minutes throughout the event

6:00pm - $130 No Limit Hold'em "Turbo Bounty" ($3,000 GTD)

- Players will begin with a 20,000 starting stack

- Late and re-entries for the first (10) levels

- Levels are (20) minutes in length

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack