Friday, April 20th: As The Weekend Begins, The Numbers Continue To Be Staggering For $100,000 Guaranteed Multi

ICYMI: The $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD) is now at its halfway point, and the numbers so far have been beyond impressive.  After the opening pair of flights attracted (211) entries, yesterday's second pair of flights drew a total of (251) entries, a majority of which were in the evening flight (Flight 1D).  The afternoon flight (Flight 1C) saw registration close with (99) entries, with (15) players successfully reaching the bagging the process.  The race for the chip lead bonus came down to the final hand of the day, with Tom Gity (Pompano Beach, FL) collecting a small pot, that would put him in the top spot.  Gity would earn a seat into next weeks $1,100 No Limit Hold'em Single-Ante ($200,000 GTD), and was joined by Antoine Bahi, who ended up bagging the largest Flight 1D stack (and overall stack).  A total of (161) entries were in the flight at the point registration closed, with (18) players successfully bagging chips.  Bahi put 413,000 in the bag for Day 2, which is the largest overall stack, almost 80,000 chips clear of his nearest opponent.  Other top stacks from the second day of play belonged to Chad Millward (320,500), Jose De La Cruz (278,500), Gilbert Sanchez (211,500), Damien Simon (205,500), and Donald Williams (200,500).

So after four opening flights, the tournament has attracted a total of (471) entries, with (57) people having already booked tickets to Sunday's Day 2.  The current prize pool sits at $62,172, which is well ahead of the pace needed to reach the guaranteed number.  There are still four flights remaining, including two today, and two on tomorrow's schedule.

Tournaments: The $175 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD) rolls on today, as the month's first multi-day tournament grows even larger than ever expected.  There will be six four flights over the next two days, with players that successfully bag chips, returning on Sunday for Day 2.  The tournament is structured with starting stacks of 18,000 units, and levels that will last (25) minutes over the course of the tournament.  Registration is open through Level 8 (and the break that follows), with the opening flights scheduled to play through Level 16 (or unless the 10% mark is reached before that point).  The chip lead bonus is back in a big way, as the largest stack bagged from each flight, will earn a seat into next week's $1,100 No Limit Hold'em Single-Ante ($200,000 GTD).  The next four days will have two flights each, with an afternoon flight (11:00am), and an evening flight (6:00pm).  Live blogged coverage will be available during each afternoon flight, as well as Day 2 (detailed coverage).

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 -  $175 No Limit Hold'em - Flight 1E ($100,000 GTD) 

- Players start with 18,000 in tournament chips

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

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack

- Levels will last (25) minutes

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

6:00pm - $175 No Limit Hold'em - Flight 1F ($100,000 GTD) 

- Players start with 18,000 in tournament chips

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

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack

- Levels will last (25) minutes

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