FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1F): 17th-21st Places ($550)

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 19 (Blinds 5,000/10,000/10,000)
Total Flight 1F Entries: 212
Flight 1F Players Remaining: 16

The following players have been eliminated from Flight 1F of Event #4 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD), and have cashed for $550:

17. Jorge Gomez (Miami, FL)
18. Hugh Hardy (Pompano Beach, FL) 
19. Michael Tait (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 
20. Kenneth Bruno (Lake Worth, FL) 
21. Christopher Brown (Plantation, FL) 

FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1F): 22nd-27th Places ($450)

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 19 (Blinds 5,000/10,000/10,000)
Total Flight 1F Entries: 212
Flight 1F Players Remaining: 21

The following players have been eliminated from Flight 1F of Event #4 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD), and have cashed for $450:

22. Joseph Duchman (Miami, FL) 
23. Chad Vetstein (Sharon, MA) 
24. Irwin Block (Deerfield Beach, FL) 
25. Mitesh Shere (Forest Hills, NY)
26. Robert Transue (North Lauderdale, FL) 
27. Gregory Spinder (Parkland, FL) 

FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1F): System Upgrade Will See Live Blogged Coverage Down From 7:30PM-11:30PM

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 11 (Blinds 800/1,600/1,600)
Total Flight 1F Entries: 196
Flight 1F Players Remaining: 89

Due to an unscheduled system upgrade, the live blogged coverage will be put on pause from 7:30pm through 11:30pm.  Once the technical issues have been completed, we will continue to update you on players reaching the money in Flight 1F, along with official end of flight chip counts, and chip lead bonus winner.

We do apologize for the inconvenience, but on the bright side, it's better to have this occur now...rather than we are in the midst of a Day 2 (or final table).  We appreciate your patience, will have things up and running as soon as possible.

Please check back around 11:30pm for any updates from the field.

FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1F): Updated Chip Counts From The Flight 1F Field

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 10 (Blinds 600/1,200/1,200)
Total Flight 1F Entries: 196
Flight 1F Players Remaining: 90

Now bagging the overall chip lead may be tough for players in this flight, as we've already seen two 1,000,000 stacks headed to Day 2.  Regardless, there is still a chip lead bonus up for grabs in this flight, with the winner receiving an Event #14 ($1,500 NLH FSPC Main Event) seat.  Some of the larger counts from Level 10 are posted below:

Matthew Zarcadoolas - 170,000 (141bb)

David Maslowski - 165,000 (137bb)

Robert Transue - 160,000 (133bb)

Kevin Almon - 145,000 (120bb)

Jamie Wiegrefe - 125,000 (104bb)

George Gomez - 100,000 (83bb)

Joshua Wasserman - 100,000 (83bb)

Dmitry Agrachov - 100,000 (83bb)

FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1F): Registration Officially Closed For Flight 1F, Prize Pool For Event #4 Reaches $262,460

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 9 (Blinds 500/1,000/1,o00)
Total Flight 1F Entries: 196
Flight 1F Players Remaining: 93

With the cards back in the air for Level 9, registration for Flight 1F of Event #4 is officially closed.  There were a total of (212) entries, of which (93) players are still alive, and hoping to reach the money/bagging process.  The prize fund from this flight is $63,600, which brings the combined total to $262,460.

Here are the numbers that players have been waiting for:

A total of (27) players from the flight will reach the money, with the following payouts below:

12-16. $650

17-21. $550

22-26. $450

The flight will conclude when (11) players remain.

FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1F): With Registration Window Closing, Bobby Leff Picks Up A Nice Pot

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 8 (Blinds 400/800/800)
Total Flight 1F Entries: 185

Bobby Leff (Hallandale Beach, FL) may have been able to include the original raiser to shove (with a flat of the small stacks all-in), but nevertheless, he shipped himself a nice pot.

Towards the end of Level 7, there would be a hand at Table 12 that we catch, with a player opening the action to 2,800 (from early position).  There would be one call, with the button three-bet shoving for just over 14,000.  After the small blind released, Bobby Leff re-shoved for close to 45,000, causing the original raiser to jump out of his chair.

"Come on man, really," the original raiser said to Leff, as he looked back at his cards, and tossed them in the muck.  Leff would then roll over K♥ K♣, up against the all-in player's 4♠ 4♣, with the board running out K♠ J♦ 6♠ 5♥ Q♥.  Leff would pick up the nice pot, while the original raiser praised himself on the fold, claiming to have laid down Ax Kx.

Bobby Leff - 70,000 (87bb)

Players will be heading on their second break at the end of this level, returning to Level 9 (and blinds of 500/1,000/1,000), at which point registration will be closed for the flight.  Once the numbers have been made official, we will post the number of players to get paid in the flight, and the number that will bag for tomorrow's Day 2.

FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1F): Dennis Brinn Wins Four-Way All-In, Chips Up To 60,000

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/600)
Total Flight 1F Entries: 177

Dennis Brinn (Lake Worth, FL) didn't have the best of it when the cards were tabled, but grabbed a commanding lead on the flop, and saw his hand hold up through the runout.

To say that there has been a lot of action across the field would be an understatement, as chips are flying all over the room.  Just now, we approached Table 2, as a four-way all-in was playing (with all the action pre-flop).  Dennis Brinn (Lake Worth, FL) had everyone covered, so the dealer waited to breakdown any side pots until after the runout:

Dennis Brinn: A♣ Q♦
A. Nonymous: A♠ J♦
B. Nonymous: 8♥ 8♣
C. Nonymous: 6♣ 7♠

Runout: Q♠ 3♥ 6♦ 4♠ 2♣

Brinn would grab the lead on the flop, but need to fade a ton of cards on the turn and river to win.  He would end up doing just that, with the chips of his three opponents pushed his way.

Dennis Brinn - 62,000 (103bb)

FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1F): The Champ Is Here!!! Colby Covington Takes His Seat In The Field

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 6 (Blinds 300/500/500)
Total Flight 1F Entries: 168

Colby Covington (Coconut Creek, FL) was absent from play during training for UFC 225, but the champ is now back on the felt, looking to find himself a Day 2 bag.

Alright...so we did say that the focus on notables was ending, but we can't overlook the newly minted UFC Welterweight Interim Title holder Colby Covington (Coconut Creek, FL).  Colby owned Rafael Dos Anjos during UFC 225, winning the title in a decision.  While Colby is a beast in the octagon, he's also shown his prowess at the tournament tables, winning a recent event here at the Isle.  Covington took down a $150 No Limit Hold'em event on June 30th, earning $2,702 for first place, which brought his career earnings to over $54,000.

FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1F): Continuing The List Of Notables (PSA For Not Arriving Late)

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 5 (Blinds 200/400/400)
Total Flight 1F Entries: 160

Paula Holder (Lighthouse Point, FL) was smart to show up early today, as the growing list of alternates all wish they had the same plan.

With so many recognizable faces in the field, it's hard to choose who to "feature" in these posts.  This time is was easy though, as there is one player in the field who just reached a tournament milestone.  With her last few cashes in recurring events, Paula Holder (Lighthouse Point, FL) just eclipsed the $100,000 mark in lifetime earnings.  What makes that really impressive, is the fact that a majority of her earnings were made through "daily" events at properties in the area.  Paula is also off to a hot start this afternoon, already doubling her starting stack, returning from the day's first break.

As we finalize the list of notables in this afternoon flight, we send apologies to any players that we possibly missed in the field:

Kevin Scarola

Michael Tait

Eric Colony

Paulius Bikus

John Magnetta

Jonathan Steward

Trent Smith

Joseph Mancuso 

Preecha Taepakdee

Kenneth Bruno

Hugh Hardy

Cory Zeidman

Dmitry Agrachov

David Albertson

Corey Brysman

Hector Pacheco

Allan Bieler

Scott Zakheim

Irwin Block

FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1F): Vetstein Brothers Top A Loooonnnng List Of Notables In The Flight 1F Field

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 4 (Blinds 200/300/300)
Total Flight 1F Entries: 138

Chad Vetstein (Boston, MA) decided to bypass the 24-hour cash session, and take his seat at the tournament table this afternoon.

The list of notables in today's field could be broken down into seven different posts, but we are going to try and keep things condensed for followers, so focus can shift to the action at the tables.  No easier way to condense things when players share the same name, saving characters for the blogger to type.  The "Vetsteins" are both seated at Table 4, with just one player sitting between their two seats.  Chad and Matt are both passionate about poker, whether it be tournament or cash, and have to be really high up on the "who loves it more" list.  Chad frequently tweets out about his marathon cash sessions, which sometimes reach the 24-36 hour mark (and are usually very profitable).  

When it comes to poker resumes, Matthew currently leads in lifetime earnings, with $60,564 against his brother's $53,013.  Chad does have the best result here at the Isle Poker Room, chopping a $360 No Limit Hold'em event during the 2017 Isle Classic (3rd place for $21,526).

The brothers headline the first list of notables in the field, which includes players like:

Erik Christensen
Tom Gity
Steven Costa
Robert Transue
Ory Hen
Jamie Wiegrefe
Thomas Gari
Nancy Birnbaum
Alan Bieler
Joseph Duchman

Players will be heading on their first break at the end of this level, returning to Level 5, and new blinds of 200/400/400.

FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1F): John Palace Makes His Return, Looking To Build Castles By Night's End

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 3 (Blinds 100/200/200)
Total Flight 1F Entries: 116

John Palace (Jupiter, FL) was a tournament regular over the past two years, but has been out of the limelight for most of 2018.

Each day of this tournament, we've been spotting some players in the field, that haven't been around in a while (yesterday, it was Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson).  Today it's John Palace (Jupiter, FL), a name that was a regular during 2017 blog coverage.  Palace earned over $27,000 in tournament cashes last year, and brought his career earnings north of $84,331.  His last recorded result though was in September of last year, when he bubble the final table of a $365 Pot Limit Omaha event during the WSOP Circuit (Coconut Creek).  

Since that time, Palace has shifted his focus from poker to career, with a schedule that doesn't allow much time for check-raising.  He was able to find some time away this afternoon, and looks to make a valiant return to the felt.  John has some tough competition at his table to begin, with Ryan Gianquitti, Michael Marks, and Ido Ashkenazi all sitting at Table 7.

FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1F): Official Chip Counts (Flight 1A-Flight 1E)

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 2 (Blinds 100/200)
Total Flight 1F Entries: 54

FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1F): Final Opportunity For Players To Join Event #4, Cards In The Air

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 1 (Blinds 100/100)
Total Flight 1F Entries: N/A

After five opening flights for Event #4 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD), only one remains on the schedule, and it's about to get underway (Flight 1F).  To this point in the tournament, there have been a combined (652) entries, of which (34) players successfully bagged chips for Day 2 (Monday at 12:00pm).  The tournament's prize pool currently sits at $198,860, and is only (15) entries away from reaching the posted $200,000 guarantee. 

Cards will be in the air for Flight 1F in just a few moments, with a full list of official Day 2 chip counts to be posted shortly.  Afterwards, we will take a look at some of the notables in the field, many of which we expect to have seen over the past few days.

Sunday, July 15th: Wrapping Up The Opening Action For Event #4, And Moving On To Event #5

ICYMI: It was a bust Saturday for the FSPC, as the schedule hosted two opening flights for Event #4 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD).  Yesterday's pair of flights attracted a total of (250) entries, of which (12) players reached the bagging process.  We saw two of the largest stacks to date bag the chip lead bonus, with Henry Bilette bagging 1,154,000 at the end of Flight 1D, and Alex Gladunov packing away 1,058,00 during the Flight 1E bagging process.

The tournament's total numbers currently sit at (652) entries, of which (34) players are scheduled to return for tomorrow's Day 2 (12:00pm).  The combined prize pool sits at $198,860, which is just over one-thousand dollars short of the posted guarantee.  Today's final flight (Flight 1F) will help surpass that number the moments the cards get in the air, making this yet another super successful FSPC Event.  

Tournaments: There are three tournaments on the schedule, making this another busy day for the 2018 Florida State Poker Championships.  Things start early, with the final Event #4 satellite getting underway at 10:00am.  The satellite is a $90 No Limit Hold'em "Turbo," guaranteeing three seats into Event #4.  The satellite is structured with 10,000 unit starting stacks, and levels that last (15) minutes throughout.  Because of the condensed level length, registration will be open through the satellite's first ten levels.

Then at 2:00pm, we have the final opening flight for Event #4 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD).  Players will be sitting down to 20,000 units, playing (30) minute levels up until Level 15, at which point things transition to (40) minutes.  Registration is open through Level 8 (and the break that follows), allowing over four hours to join the action.  Once registration is closed, the 12.5% Day 1 payouts will be posted, and players will be informed how many will reach the bagging process. 

The 2018 FSPC then moves along later in the evening, as Event #5 begins at 6:00pm.  The tournament is a $130 No Limit Hold'em "Turbo Bounty," with a $5,000 guaranteed prize pool.  The tournament is structured with 20,000 unit starting stacks, and levels that last (15) minutes in length.  Registration for the event is open through Level 10, because of the "turbo" moving levels.

Promotions: From (9:00am-10:00am), the high hand will award $150 every (30) minutes.  The high hands will then transition from 10:00am-6:00pm, with the opportunity to win $400 every (30) minutes.  During that period, the promotion sees tournament players eligible 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.  

It should also be noted that 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).

10:00am - 2018 Florida State Poker Championship (Satellite Schedule)| $90 No Limit Hold'em Turbo Satellite Into Event #4 (3 Seats GTD)

- 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

- Levels will last (15) minutes

2:00pm - 2018 Florida State Poker Championship Event #4 (Flight 1F) | $360 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 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

- Levels 1-14 will last (30) minutes , transitioning to (40) minutes Level 15+

- Payouts: On each Day 1, 12.5% (1 in 8) of the field will be paid $450-$650 (depending on order of finish) down to 5% Day 2 field.

- Best Stack Forward: Players qualifying for Day 2 may play another Day 1 flight in an attempt to better their chip count. Players that have qualified for Day 2 with multiple chip stacks will only be permitted to play their highest qualifying stack. The other stacks will be removed from play and the player will receive the minimum Day 2 payout (approximately $1,000) for each stack “forfeited”

6:00pm - 2018 Florida State Poker Championship Event #5 | $130 No Limit Hold'em "Turbo Bounty" ($5,000 GTD)

- Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips

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

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack

- Levels will last (15) minutes

FSPC Event #4 (Flight 1E): Official Flight 1E Chip Counts, Another Player Bags Over 1,000,000

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #4 | $360 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 16 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/5,000)
Total Flight 1E Entries: 118
Flight 1E Players Remaining: 6

Alex	Gladunov	1,154,000
Bruce	Snell	483,000
Bryan	Velasquez	309,000
Nicholas	Visconti	258,000
Aleem	Chandrany	118,500
Eric	Von Guttenberg	77,500