FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): Final Level Of Play, Race For Chip Lead Down To The Wire

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 13 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/2,400)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 64
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 16

Play has just entered Level 13, which is the final schedule levels of the flight.  When the tournament clock shows 10:00 minutes remaining, it will be paused, and the remaining players will be informed how many hands remain in the night.  Once those hands are completed at each table, the bags will come out, and those still left will pack up their chips for Day 2 (Monday at 12:00pm).  

Once all of the bags have been verified by tournament staff, we will post the official counts from Flight 1A, along with the winner of the chip lead bonus.

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): CardPlayer Poker Tour Schedule Released

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 12 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/2,000)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 63
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 22

The Isle Casino now offers the lowest gaming limits in South Florida, with table limits as low as $5. The CPPT will make its inaugural stop here August 16-27, for a exciting 10-event series that boasts a combined $485,000 in guarantees.

STORY: https://t.co/1KfoyxDmNZ pic.twitter.com/1Oxt0vESA6

— Card Player (@CardPlayerMedia) July 18, 2018

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): Updated Chip Counts With Three Levels Remaining

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 11 (Blinds 800/1,600/1,600)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 64
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 26

Play has just entered Level 11, with a final break to occur at the end of this level.  The tournament staff will then color off the black chips (100), and players will return for the final pair of levels.  Juan Martinez still leads the field, as the only player over the 200,000 chip mark.  There are numerous players on his heels though, with some updated chip counts posted below:

Juan Martinez - 220,000 (137bb)

Carey Dodd - 180,000 (112bb)

Ryan Gianquitti - 180,000 (112bb)

Alan Ramkhalawn - 155,000 (96bb)

Alexander Michaels - 130,000 (81bb)

Jamie Wiegrefe - 120,000 (75bb)

Gregory Spinder - 120,000 (75bb)

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): Remaining Flight 1A Field As Players Return From Break

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 10 (Blinds 600/1,200/1,200)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 64
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 31

Ryan Gianquitti (Lake Worth, FL) may not have returned to the table as the overall chip leader, but does have a top three stack as Level 10 begins (130,000).

Players are back from their third break of the day, and have just four levels (scheduled) left to play in the flight.  The race for the chip lead bonus is a fairly close one, but it's currently Juan Martinez in the lead, as he returns to a stack over 150,000.  Updated chip counts from the field will be posted at the beginning of Level 11, with this post focusing on the full field that remains (by seating assignment):

Table 1

1. Thomas Gari
2. Ryan Gianquitti
3. Gregory Spinder
4. Tom Gity
5. Steve Legault
6. Joseph Duchman
7. Steve Rosen
8. Josh Rittenberg

Table 3

1. Juan Martinez
2. Bryce McVay
3. Josh Milrad
4. Erik Nomberg
5. Corey Dodd
6. Dean Schultz
7. TJ Shulman

Table 4

1. Shaun Lowe
2. Erik Christensen
3. Thomas McGrath
4. Ido Ashkenazi
5. Scott Zakheim
6. Ian O'Hara
7. Irwin Block
8. Matt Smith

Table 9

1. Joshua Hillock
2. Morris Costigan
3. Paul Shafran
4. Alexander Michaels
5. Jamie Wiegrefe
6. Riley Fuller
7. Kenneth Bruno
8. Alan Ramkhalawn

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): "Live By The Sword, Die By The Hammer"

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 9 (Blinds 500/1,000/1,000)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 63
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 37

Jamie Wiegrefe (Miami, FL) moved up the leaderboard moments ago, after eliminating Patrick Biancone from Flight 1A play (Patrick has not re-entered this flight).

At Table 9, Jamie Wiegrefe (Miami, FL) would open the action with a raise to 2,600, with players folding around to the cutoff.  The player in said cutoff would make the call, with Patrick Biancone shoving on the button (for about 27,000).  The blinds released their hands, with action back on Wiegrefe, who took a few moments before verbalizing a call.  The one player to call the original raise folded, and Jamie rolled over his A♥ A♦.  Patrick showed A♣ J♥, and found no help on the Q♠ 2♠ 5♦ 8♣ 9♣ runout.  

One of the other players at the table commented about the amount of times Biancone got away with shoving, and how it was bound to catch up with him.  "Live by the sword, die by the hammer," Wiegefe said, as he held up "Thor's hammer" (which he used as a card protector).

Jamie Wiegrefe - 110,000 (110bb)

"Thor's hammer" can always be found protecting Jamie Wiegrefe's chips...or cards.

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): Short Stack Wizard Kenneth Bruno Is Doing His Thing

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 8 (Blinds 400/800/800)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 63
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 39

Many players would just dump it in with five big blinds, but not Kenneth Bruno (Lake Worth, FL)...he refuses to ever dust away a short stack.

Kenneth Bruno (Lake Worth, FL) can never be accused of "mailing it in" during tournament play, as he will grind his stack to a pea-shooter...if the cards just happen to fall that way.  Just moments ago, Bruno was all-in for four big blinds, and called in two spots.  The active players in the hand would check through the A♠ Q♦ 3♣ 7♠ 2♣ runout, with Bruno's Q♥ J♥ good enough to win the main pot, which was just over 7,000.

Two hands later, Bruno would call a raise pre-flop, and then a bet on the J♠ 10♦ 4♣ flop from Jamie Wiegrefe.  The turn (7♠) and river (2♣) would be checked, and Bruno would win once again, this time with K♦ J♦.  So in the matter of just three hands, Kenneth went from 2,400 in front of him, to over 20,000...which is more or less heaps for Bruno.

Kenneth Bruno - 24,000 (30bb)

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): Levitt Lands At Table 3 After Dinner, With Flight 1A At It's Halfway Point

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/600)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 61
Flight 1A Players Remaining: 40

Scott Levitt (Delray Beach, FL) was the only player to enter during dinner break, with those numbers expected to grow over the course of these weekend flights (especially during Sunday's final flight of the event).

In a tournament with a structure such as this, dinner break is a very popular time for players to enter.  Those choosing to join the action now will still sit down to a starting stack of (50) big blinds, which is more than manageable.  While the numbers will grow as the tournament plays on this weekend, there was only one "dinner break entry" today, with Scott Levitt (Delray Beach, FL) taking his seat at Table 3.  Levitt prefers to enter later in the day, and who can argue with his game plan, as he joins the table with a resume that boasts over $400,000 in earnings.  Scott's most recent notable score came in Las Vegas, when he finished runner-up in a $600 No Limit Hold'em event at the Venetian (Event #38 of the MSPT series), worth $20,860.

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): Players On Dinner Break, Action To Resume At 7:00PM

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/600)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 56

Players in the Flight 1A field of Event #9 ($1,100 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD) are on dinner break, and will be returning at 7:00pm.  When play resumes with Level 7, the new blinds being posted will be 300/600/600 (approximately 40,000 chip average).

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): Updated Chip Counts, Players Heading On Dinner After Level

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 6 (Blinds 300/500/500)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 56

Alexander Michaels (Hollywood, FL) was the first to eliminate a player earlier this afternoon, and never looked back from there.  He leads the field with 115,000, with just over thirty minutes until the flight's dinner break.

Play has just entered Level 6, which is the final full level before the flight's dinner break, which will last from approximately 6:10-7:00pm.  We have seen a bunch of players get off to a hot start, led by Alexander Michaels (Hollywood, FL), who became the first player to eclipse the 100,000 chip mark.  Michaels has been cashing in tournaments here in Florida for almost ten years now, amassing career earnings of $100,669.  Alexander cashed in three events during the MSPT series at the Venetian (this past summer), totaling just over $7,500.

Juan Martinez looks to be continuing that good form from Event #4, as he is second in chips with 93,000.  With a final table finish in this event, Martinez could potentially eclipse his earnings from last year ($37,707), which is his highest yearly mark to date.  Some other updated chip counts from the field are posted below:

Alexander Michaels - 115,000 (230bb)
Juan Martinez - 93,000 (186bb)
Gregory Spinder - 90,000 (180bb)
Erik Christensen - 65,000 (130bb)
Joshua Hillock - 62,000 (124bb)
Matt Smith - 60,000 (120bb)
Jamie Wiegrefe - 55,000 (110bb)
Patrick Biancone - 50,000 (100bb)
Irwin Block - 45,000 (90bb)

As mentioned in the title, players will be heading on a (50) minute dinner break at the end of this level, which is scheduled to run from 6:10pm-7:00pm.  Once play resumes, there will be seven levels left to play, with Day 1 scheduled to conclude after Level 13.

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): Bryce McVay Yet Another Play In The Midst Of Career Year...And Career Summer

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 5 (Blinds 200/400/400)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 47

Bryce McVay (Jupiter, FL) was so wrapped up in the WSOP, that he didn't realize the FSPC was even running.  He looks as these upcoming events as a warm-up for the WSOPC Global Championship, which runs the beginning of next month.

It's been a trend over the course of this series, and one that continues through it's conclusion...players returning off very impressive summers.  Bryce McVay (Jupiter, FL) was already a household name in our Florida tournament community, but after the last month of results in Las Vegas, McVay's name is one that becoming familiar to players across the country.  Bryce cashed in eight events over this summer, highlighted by a super deep run in the WSOP $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event.  McVay's run ended with a 162nd place finish (out of 7,874, which was the second largest Main Event field ever), which saw him walking away with a $57,010 cash (the largest of his career).  McVay also won a $365 No Limit Hold'em Turbo event (Rio Daily Deepstacks) for $13,257, and finished 39th in the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Millionaire Maker ($26,713).

After including the other cashes from the summer, Bryce's career earnings have eclipsed $400,000, and things don't seem to be slowing down.  McVay returns to the Isle Poker Room with hopes of grabbing his first ever major trophy, and would have to be considered a good candidate to do so.  Regardless of the results for the rest of the year, this is already his best career year in terms of money earned, with $146,056 in earnings to this point.

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): It's "Chip Lead Or Bust" For Joshua Hillock

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 4 (Blinds 200/300/300)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 43

Joshua Hillock (Orlando, FL) has big plans for today's flight, claiming to have his eyes on the chip lead bonus...and nothing less.

Towards the end of Level 3, we walked by Table 4, and heard a very strong claim from one of the players at the table.  "It's chip lead or bust," Joshua Hillock said aloud, "I actually told one of my friends I was going to win this tournament today." Now while that is an impossible feat, a chip leading stack at the end of this flight, would definitely help Joshua's cause to eventually raise the trophy.  

Hillock's chances to run deep in this event are very realistic, considering his track record in tournaments at the Isle Poker Room.  Four of Hillock's top ten cashes have come from tournaments at this property, including his second best score of $96,376.  He earned that during the 2011 Isle Open $2,200 Main Event, finishing in second place (which was a heads-up chop with Kevin Deng).  In fact, both of his recorded tournament wins were Isle Poker events as well, including a title during the most recent Battles At The Beach.  Joshua bested a field of (367) entries, to headline a four-way chop of Event #16 ($360 No Limit Hold'em).  Along with the trophy, Joshua walked away with $17,611, which isn't bad for a weekend's work.

Some other notables to have entered in the past hour include:

Matt Smith

Erik Christenen 

Joseph Duchman

Trent Smith

Luminita Petric

Jamie Wiegrefe

Daniel Pearlman

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): Ian O'Hara Joins the Action, After Another Successful Summer In Vegas

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 3 (Blinds 100/200/200)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 40

Ian O'Hara (Boca Raton, FL) only plays a select number of tournaments outside of the WSOP, with today's $1,100 No Limit Hold'em Event #9 being one of them.

Ian O'Hara (Boca Raton, FL) put one entry into Event #4 (late during one of the final flights), but because of the swiftness of his departure, we are going to consider today the "return" to the Isle Poker tournament felt for him.  O'Hara spent a majority of the summer in Las Vegas, focusing on the WSOP, and events at surrounding properties.  Over his time their, Ian cashed in four WSOP events, and one tournament at the Wynn (which happened to be his best result of the summer).  O'Hara's summer resume is listed below:

WSOP: $1,500 Eight Game Mix (Event #22) 46th Place - $2,598

WSOP: $3,000 No Limit Hold'em Six-Max (Event #28) 114th Place - $4,489

Wynn Summer Classic: $1,100 No Limit Hold'em 6th Place - $60,632

WSOP: $1,500 No Limit Hold'em (Event #51) 227th Place - $1,576

WSOP: $10,000 PLO 8B Hi/Lo (Event #60) 29th Place - $15,000

The summer results helped Ian eclipse the $2,000,000 mark in lifetime earnings, which is a milestone that only a few tournament players ever reach.

Players will be heading on their first break of the day at the end of this level, returning to Level 4, and new blinds of 200/300/300.

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): It's A "Mini" Event #4 Final Table Reunion, As Martinez And Wan Share The Felt

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 2 (Blinds 100/100/100)
Total Flight 1A Entries: 28

Amy Wan (Parkland, FL) is starting back at square one in Flight 1A, after reaching the final table of Event #4 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD, and finishing in 8th place ($5,790).

We are only a few days removed from the final day of action for Event #4 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD), a tournament that ended in a five way deal.  There are already two players from that final table in action this afternoon, with Amy Wan and Juan Martinez sitting next to each other at Table 3.  Wan ended up exiting the final table in 8th place ($5,790), while Martinez was part of the ICM deal that ended the event.  The $18,506 was Juan's second largest tournament cash, only behind his final table bubble of the $1,675 No Limit Hold'em WSOP Circuit Main Event at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood (11th place for $20,001). Although the Flight 1A field may be "intimate" at the moment, a majority of the players already in action, are notables to followers of the blog:

Michael Chiappetta
Hal Klein
Thomas Gari
Jose Parra
Kenneth Bruno
Paul Shafran
Alberto Niebla
Tom Gity
Walter Bravo
Alan Ramkhalawn

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): Third "Headlining" Tournament Of The 2018 FSPC Now Underway

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 1 (Blinds 100/100)
Total Flight 1A Entries: N/A

When the 2018 FSPC schedule came out, many players circled four of the seventeen total tournament, considering them "headlining" events.  The first two are now in the book (Event #1 and Event #4), with the third beginning in just a few minutes.  Event #9, which is an $1,100 No Limit Hold'em tournament, boasts the second largest prize pool of the series ($200,000 GTD).  It will attract a mixture of players, from recreational players that won satellite seats, to tournament professionals we will see in next week's $1,500 No Limit Hold'em FSPC Main Event.

This same tournament was Event #14 on last year's Florida State Poker Championship schedule, and ended up attracting a total of (279) entries.  The prize pool grew to $280,280, and was won by Florida poker legend Stuart Paterson ($55,000).  With the numbers we've seen for the recent FSPC events, it would be surprising if this event did not surpass those numbers from last year.

The tournament is structured with 30,000 unit starting stacks, and levels that last (40) minutes during each opening flight (Levels 1-13).  Those levels will transition after Day 1, with Levels 14+ lasting (50) minutes in length.  Registration is open throughout all of the open flights, and stays open until the first card is dealt on Day 2 (which falls on Monday).  The chip lead bonus will see the largest stack from each flight walk away with an Event #14 ($1,500 NLH FSPC Main Event) seat.

Cards got in the air just a few minutes ago, with live blogged coverage bringing you updates throughout each of the tournament's opening flights.  

Thursday, July 19th: Clemente Grabs Event #8 Trophy, As Event #9 ($1,100 NLH $200,000 GTD) Headlines Today's Schedule

ICYMI: Yesterday's tournament schedule hosted two step satellite (into future $250 No Limit Hold'em Event #9 satellites), and one "main event schedule" tournament.  That tournament was Event #8 ($275 No Limit Hold'em "Black Chip Bounty" $15,000 GTD), which got underway at 2:00pm.  By the time registration for the event closed, the field would grow to (112) entries, and the prize pool would officially close at $14,896 (not including bounties).  A total of (14) players were schedule to reach the money, with players all vying for the $4,469 first place prize.  While the 4th through 14th spots would be paid as according to listing payouts, the top three numbers were altered, as a three-way chop was agreed to.  Jose Clemente (Key West, FL) was declared the tournament's winner in the deal, and would be awarded the event's trophy.  Official results from Event #8 are listed below:

1. Jose Clemente (Key West, FL) $3,500
2. Patrick Biancone (Delray Beach, FL) $3,500
3. Aleem Chandrani (Ft. Myers, FL) $1,878
4. Anthony Abdo (West Palm Beach, FL) $1,080
5. Demoy Thomas (Port St. Lucie, FL) $834
6. Paul Shafran (Boca Raton, FL) $685
7. Joseph Mancuso (Deerfield Beach, FL) $581
8. Jeffrey Wilcox (Hialeah, FL) $506
9. Francis Margaglione (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $447
10. Gregory Weber (Naples, FL) $395
11. Joseph Durso (Hollywood, FL) $395
12. Bret Bowman (Okeechobee, FL) $395
13. Bruce Turner (Louiseville, KY) $350
14. Al Gomez (Miami, FL) $350

Tournaments: There are once again three events on the tournament schedule, with two satellites (for Event #9), and the opening flight of Event #9.  The $1,100 No Limit Hold'em has a $200,000 guarantee, and is considered a "warm-up" for next week's $1,500 No Limit Hold'em FSPC Main Event.  Event #9 gets underway at 2:00pm, and is structured with 30,000 unit starting stacks.  The levels on Day 1 (Levels 1-13) are (40) minutes in length, and will transition to (50) minutes on Day 2 (Levels 14+).  Registration is open through all of the opening flights, with the opportunity also open to enter before the first hand it dealt on Day 2.  The chip lead bonus is also back, with each of the flight's largest stacks earning an Event #14 seat (FSPC $1,500 NLH Main Event).

The first of two satellites begins at 10:00am, and is a $250 No Limit Hold'em Satellite, directly into Event #9.  The structure sees players sitting down to 12,000 unit starting stacks, and levels that last (20) minutes.  Registration is open through Level 8 (and the break that follows), with (2) seats guaranteed into Event #9.

The 6:00pm satellite is a $130 buy-in event, with (5) seats guaranteed into Event #9.  The event is structured with 10,000 unit starting stacks, and levels that last (20) minutes.  Just like the satellite earlier, registration is open through Level 8.

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 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 - 2018 Florida State Poker Championship (Satellite Schedule)| $250 No Limit Hold'em Satellite Into Event #9 ($1,100 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD) 2 Seats GTD

- Players start with 12,000 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 (20) minutes

2:00pm - 2018 Florida State Poker Championship Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)

- Players start with 30,000 in tournament chips

- Late and re-entries for the first (13) levels, including before the first hand is dealt on Day 2

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack

- Levels 1-13 will last (40) minutes, Levels 14+ will last (50) minutes

6:00pm - 2018 Florida State Poker Championship (Satellite Schedule)| $130 No Limit Hold'em Satellite Into Event #9 ($1,100 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD) 1 In 10 Wins Seat (10 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 (20) minutes