Tuesday, February 20, 2018

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

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/500)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 144
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 30


Rafiki Brown 278,500
Denian Costa 198,500
Anthony Abdo 168,000
Alfonso Perez 164,500
Gil Guadalpi 152,500
Errol Massey 133,500
Steven Novak 133,000
Joe Mancuso 128,500
Jason Sterling 105,000
Pedro Perez 104,000
Ross Ramlal 102,000
Francis Cruz 98,000
Dwight Pinkerton 90,000
Elliott Zaydman 88,000
Richard Shtrax 85,000
Eric Brewster 77,500
Vitaly Chaika 70,000
William Swicicki 68,500
Michael Larkin 68,000
Yigal Hen 65,000
David Moreno 65,000
Farkhondeh Shamseddin 63,500
Joey Prosper 63,000
Antonio Campbell 59,000
Jorge Chavez 57,500
Linda Lipkins 51,000
Dubreuil Michel 47,500
Errol Gunter 38,000
Jason Jimenez 35,000
Brian Kicklighter 24,000

"February $50,000 II" (Flight 1C): Wrapping Up Play For Flight 1C, Last Chance Flight Underway

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/500)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 143
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 28




Play just entered Level 15, which is the final scheduled level of the flight, with the bagging process beginning at it's conclusion.  The clock will be paused with 10:00 minutes showing, and the remaining players will then be informed of how many more hands will be played.  Once that determined amount of hands is completed at each table, those still left will begin bagging up their chips.  The official chip counts from the flight will then be posted, once all of the player's bags have been verified by tournament staff.

Just as this flight is winding, the final of the four flights will be beginning, with the Flight 1D action starting at 6:00pm.  There will be no live blogged coverage of the flight, but official chip counts will be posted after it's conclusion (around 2:00-3:00am).

"February $50,000 II" (Flight 1C): Updated Post-Break Chip Counts

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 13 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/300)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 143
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 53

Anthony Abdo (West Palm Beach, FL) is just a month removed from his largest lifetime cash, finishing 51st in the $3,500 No Limit Hold'em WPT Championship during the Lucky Hearts Poker Open ($10,006).

After the final break yesterday, Michael Plaxco (Muscle Shoals, AL) led the field, and ended up bagging the chip lead.  That occurrence is pretty rare, as the landscape of the leaderboard usually shifts dramatically over the final three levels.  Denian Costa (Miami, FL) has reclaimed the chip lead from Gil Guadalpi, but are within just one sizable pot of each other.  The top five stacks post break are listed below, as players prepare for the final levels:

Denian Costa - 170,000 (135bb)
Gil Guadalpi - 145,000 (122bb)
Elliot Zaydman - 115,000 (107bb)
Yigal Hen - 110,000 (105bb)
Anthony Abdo - 105,000 (102bb)

"February $50,000 II" (Flight 1C): Notables Still Alive, As Registration Closes On Flight 1C

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 12 (Blinds 800/1,600/200)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 140


Gil Guadalpi (Bay Harbor, FL) last cashed in a tournament in April of 2017, but is looking to put himself in a place to reach the money in tomorrow's Day 2.

As the level transitions...and blinds grow higher, the remaining fields shrinks away to less than half of the original number.  There are (57) players still active, led by Gil Guadalpi (Bay Harbor, FL), who heads towards the final break with just over 170,000.  Of the players that are still in the running to reach the end of the flight, there are many notables names, including some that are listed below:

John Magnetta
Thomas Gari
Andre Rakusa
Yigal Hen
Elliot Goldman
Antonio Campbell
Eric Brewster
Francis Cruz
Elliot Zaydman
Linda Lipkins
Bryce McVay
Ray Millard
David Moreno
Errol Massey
Robert Flacco
Ellen Smith

At the conclusion of this level, players will be heading on their final break of the flight, with registration closing once the cards are back in the air.  We will take a look at updated chip counts after break, before winding down coverage of this flight.


"February $50,000 II" (Flight 1C): McVay Has A Series To Remember, And Hopes To Continue The Run Good

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 11 (Blinds 600/1,200/1,200)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 133


Bryce McVay (Jupiter, FL) is currently in a "zone" that tournament poker players always hope to enter, where things just happen to fall in place during each event played.

Many times in tournament poker, you'll see player go on a little "run," and have a string of cashes in the same time period (or same series).  Bryce McVay (Jupiter, FL) just experienced that "run," having a memorable WSOP Circuit at Coconut Creek.  Bryce cashed  in three events, with all of those results being final table finishes.  McVay started the series off with a runner-up finish in Event #1 ($365 No Limit Hold'em), which was worth $13,862.  He then went on to finish fourth in the $580 No Limit Hold'em Six-Max (Event #6), which added another $6,800 to his resume.  Bryce followed those finishes up with a fifth place finish in the $365 No Limit Hold'em "Monster Stack" (Event #7), which saw a return of $8,738.  In total, Bryce earned just under $30,000 with those three scores, bringing his career earnings to $292,847. With the points he earned during that series, added to the points he earned prior, McVay has looked to have locked up a $10,000 Global Casino Championship seat.


"February $50,000 II" (Flight 1C): With The Guarantee Surpassed, Players Have One More Flight To Bag

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 10 (Blinds 500/1,000/100)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 132

The tournament clock (at the time pictured) showed (131) total entries, which is nine more that the (123) needed to reach the tournament's $50,000 guarantee.

Any ideas of an overlay in this tournament have just gone out the window, as this event is shaping up to be one of the best values of the year (to this point).  The field for this flight needed (123) entries to reach the posted number, which was hit during the last break...with the number continuing to rise.  The current prize pool sits at $51,238, with two more levels of open registration during this flight, and tonight's Flight 1D still remaining.

Flight 1D begins at 6:00pm, with (12) levels of open registration, giving players until approximately 11:30pm to enter the flight.

"February $50,000 II" (Flight 1C): Updated Chip Counts From The Field

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 9 (Blinds 400/800/100)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 132

Denian Costa (Miami, FL) had a two year span (2013-2014) where all of his results came from Isle Poker tournaments, but has since spread his cashes across different properties in Florida.

Action is once again underway, with (76) players remaining, from the (132) total entries.  Denian Costa (Miami, FL), a Florida State Poker Championship title winner from 2013, is currently leading the field (125,000).  While Costa has continued to record results since that tournament win, only a few of them have occurred here at the Isle Poker Room.  He's amassed a resume with over $108,000 in live earnings, close to half of which came from that highlighting FSPC win ($47,394).

Denian Costa - 125,000 (156bb)
Joseph Duchman - 120,000 (150bb)
Gil Guadalpi - 110,000 (137bb)
Larry Hawkins - 90,000 (112bb)
Anthony Abdo - 85,000 (106bb)
Eric Brewster - 78,000 (97bb)
Stanton Drazen - 60,000 (75bb)
Thomas Gari - 55,000 (68bb)
John Magnetta - 45,000 (56bb)

"February $50,000 II" (Flight 1C): Magnetta And Cruz Tangle For A 55,000 Chip Pot

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 8 (Blinds 300/600/75)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 119


John Magnetta (Boynton Beach, FL) is coming off his fourth tournament win ($250 NLH Single-Ante), and first since 2012.

Table 9 was approached at the perfect moment, as John Magnetta and Francis Cruz were on the river, with a board reading Q 2♠ 9♠ J 4.  With over 30,000 already in the pot, Cruz checked to Magnetta, who went all-in for just under 10,000.  Francis went deep into the tank, with the wager more than half of his remaining stack, and having put in close to 16,000 to that point.  After about a minute, Cruz tossed the chips in for a car, with Magnetta tabling K♠ 10♣ (having made a straight on the turn).  Francis picked up his cards, but ended up dropping them in the muck, leaving the table to guess what he possibly could have had.  Magnet chipped up to 57,000 with the pot, while Cruz dropped down to 14,000.

Magnetta, who is coming off the $250 NLH Single-Ante win just a few weeks ago ($7,531), is now one of the leading stacks in the field.  Players will be taking their second break of the day at the end of this level, returning to new blinds of 400/800/100.  Once the cards are back in the air, we will take a look at updated chip counts from the tournament area.

"February $50,000 II" (Flight 1C): Taking A Look At The Upcoming Battles At The Beach Schedule

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 5 (Blinds 150/300/25)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 95

The official "documents" are to be released in just a few days, but we are giving blog followers (along with Twitter followers) the first look at this year's Battles At The Beach schedule.  Widely known as one of the Isle Poker Room's "premier" tournament series, this year's installment has a little bit of everything for players, including large multi-flight tournaments, single-ante events, PLO, and mixed game action.

The series runs from March 11th through March 29th, with (18) trophy events, as well as six satellites into some of the "majors."  There are three multi-flight tournaments, with Event #1 ($175 NLH $100,000 GTD) running from March 11th-14th, and Event #16 ($360 NLH $100,000 GTD) running from March 26th-29th. 

Sandwiched between those two tournaments, is the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Battles Of The Beach Main Event, which boasts a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool (March 22nd-26th).  The single-ante format is also prevalent on the schedule, with the series culminating with the $2,500 No Limit Hold'em Single-Ante (Event #18), which has a $100,000 posted guarantee.

Live coverage of the entire series will be offered here on the poker room's blog, including live tournament updates, official chip counts from the multis, results from each and every event, and of course...player's photos and features.  Pictured below is a "peak" at the schedule, which should be considered "unofficially released."


"February $50,000 II" (Flight 1C): Cohen Feels Right At Home, Looking To Add Another Isle Poker Result

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 4 (Blinds 100/200/25)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 80


Ian Cohen (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) may spend a good amount of time playing cash, but that hasn't taken from his tournament prowess, as he comes off his best statistical year.

Another new face in this Flight 1C field is Ian Cohen (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), player that focuses his efforts pretty evenly, between tournaments and cash.  Cohen is coming off a breakout year in regards to tournaments, with over $54,400 in earnings over the course of 2017.  His highest yearly total before that was just over $10,000, which he eclipsed in one cash last December, as he took runner-up honors in the $1,100 NLH Single-Ante event during the Isle Classic.  The second place finish was worth $16,873, which still stands as his largest career cash.  

The Isle Poker Room must feel like "home" for Cohen, with nineteen of his last twenty cashes coming here.  Ian most recent results are back-to-back scores of first and second, both coming in non-no limit hold'em events from earlier this month.  Continuing the list of new faces in the field, along with some we've seen to this point, are:

Shlomo Maman
Antonio Campbell
Steven Lipkins
Luis Santoni
Alan Dobrow
Robert Flacco
Linda Lipkins
Alan Saltzman

Players are about to take their first break of the day, and will be returning to Level 5, and new blinds of 150/300/50.


"February $50,000 II" (Flight 1C): As Expected, New Faces In Today's Field

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 3 (Blinds 75/150/25)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 75


Yigal Hen (Hollywood, FL) is off to a very nice start this calendar year, already recording eight cashes in the first seven weeks of 2018.

With yesterday being an observed holiday for many people, it's no surprise that there are numerous players in this early field that are taking their first attempt at bagging chips.  Yigal Hen (Hollywood, FL) is coming off a solid run in Event #2 of the WSOP Circuit at Coconut Creek ($365 No Limit Hold'em), where he finished in 45th place, which earned him $1,637.  That was already is eighth cash of the year ($4,124 combined total), which gives him a nice start towards besting his 2017 number ($35,943).  Last year was Hen's best in regards to tournament statistics, as he holds onto an overall resume with $189,000 in live earnings.

There are also some players already in action that we saw yesterday afternoon, including Christopher Gilkey, Ellen Smith, and Eric Brewster.

"February $50,000 II" (Flight 1C): Official Chip Counts (Flight 1A-Flight 1B)

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 50



"February $50,000 II" (Flight 1C): Action Underway, Looking To Crush The Number

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)
Total Flight 1C Entries: N/A



Players have been seated for a few minutes, and the cards are now in the air for Flight 1C of the "February II."  The $175 buy-in event started off very strong yesterday, with a total of (242) entries over the first pair of flights.  Of those entries, (36) players were able to pack up chips for tomorrow's Day 2, led by Zachary Hammons (Grand Prairie, TX).  Hammons was able to put 379,000 in the bag, which tops the current list of ten players in the running for the chip lead bonus.  Some of the other top stacks belonged to Michael Plaxco (314,500), Zaki Lichaa (298,000), Brian O'Keefe (233,000), and Donald Williams (210,500).  

The (242) entries has $33,154 going towards the tournament's overall prize pool, which is an extremely impressive number after one day of flights.  With yesterday being a holiday, a lot of new names and faces are expected to be in the field today.  After taking a look at the 2018 Battles At The Beach schedule, we will take a look at some of those notables in today's Flight 1C field.

Tuesday, February 20th: After A Strong Start, "February $50,000 II" Shaping Up To Be A Big One

ICYMI: The final multi-flight tournament of the month began yesterday, with the first two starting flights for the "February $50,000 II," a $175 No Limit Hold'em event (with a $50,000 guarantee).  After both the 11:00am (Flight 1A) and 6:00pm (Flight 1B) flights were completed, there was a combined total of (242) entries, of which (36) players successfully reached the bagging process.  While the following leaderboard should see some changes after today's final pair of flights, the following players (and counts) are in line for the "chip lead bonus:"

Zachary Hammons - 379,000
Michael Plaxco - 314,500
Zaki Lichaa - 298,000
Marc Schiller - 249,500
Brian O'Keefe - 233,000
Larry Douglas - 218,500
Donald Williams - 210,500
Corey Martin - 188,500
Pedro Palacio - 182,000
Brian Baris - 173,000

The combined entries from the first pair of flights equates to $33,154 towards the overall prize pool, which is more than half the way towards the guarantee.  With only (123) entries needed to meet the posted number, we may see the guarantee surpassed during today's 11:00am flight (Flight 1C).  

Tournaments: Today's schedule hosts the second pair of starting flights for the "February $50,000 II," with action kicking off at 11:00am (Flight 1A). 

The tournament is structured with starting stacks of 20,000 units, and levels that last (25) minutes over the course of the event.  Each of the starting flights will play through Level 15, or until 10% of the field remains (whichever comes first).  Each afternoon flight will end shortly before 6:00pm, while each evening flight will end shortly before 1:00am.  Registration is open through Level 12, which is just over (5.5) hours into each flight.

The chip lead bonus is the same as this past weekend's multi, with the top ten stacks (after all flights have been completed) earning a seat into the $275 No Limit Hold'em Satellite into the $2,500 No Limit Hold'em Single-Ante.


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 ($50,000 GTD) Flight 1A

- Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips
- Late and re-entries for the first (12) levels
- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack
- Levels will last (25) minutes
- All Day 1's will play (15) complete levels, or until the field reaches it's 10% mark, whichever comes first
- The top ten stacks, after all of the starting flights have been completed, will earn entry into the $275 No Limit Hold'em Satellite into the $2,500 Single-Ante (on February 21st).

6:00pm - $175 No Limit Hold'em ($50,000 GTD) Flight 1B

- Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips
- Late and re-entries for the first (12) levels
- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack
- Levels will last (25) minutes
- All Day 1's will play (15) complete levels, or until the field reaches it's 10% mark, whichever comes first
- The top ten stacks, after all of the starting flights have been completed, will earn entry into the $275 No Limit Hold'em Satellite into the $2,500 Single-Ante (on February 21st).

"February $50,000 II" (Flight 1B): Official End Of Flight 1B Chip Counts

"February $50,000 II"
$175 No Limit Hold'em | $50,000 GTD
Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/500)
Total Flight 1B Entries: 106
Flight 1B Players Remaining: 16


Zachary Hammons 379,000
Donald Williams 210,500
Pedro Palacio 182,000
Amit Savani 168,500
Sal Accardi 136,500
Eric Polirer 125,500
Carey Dunbar 125,500
Eric Mutschler 123,000
Vito Polera 111,500
Margaret Martin 107,500
Jeff Silverstein 90,500
Carlos Vazquez 89,500
Luke Rosenberg 84,500
Mehrdad Mehrassa 77,000
Peter Bejusca 74,500
Elliot Goldman 37,000