FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1B): Remaining Players Entering The Final Level Of Play

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 1B Entries: 51
Flight 1B 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 1B): Card Player 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 1B Entries: 50
Flight 1B Players Remaining: 20

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 1B): Updated Chip Counts From The Field (Full Listing)

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 1B Entries: 48

Flight 1B Players Remaining: 

Table 1

1. Jeff Trudeau - 56,000
2. James Salmon - 112,000
3. John Fischer - 28,000
4. Frederico Dabus - 89,000
5. Jason Atherley - 52,000
6. Marcin Plewinski - 21,000
7. Ruslan Dykshteyn - 56,000

Table 3

1. Bob Cavataio - 67,000
2. Jamie Wiegrefe - 139,000
3. Yilmaz Yosul - 68,000
4. Marc Levy - 26,000
5. Brett Bader - 53,000
6. Johann Riemann - 54,000

Table 9

1. Steve Harris - 168,000
2. Michael Beasley - 100,000
3. Seth Evans - 38,000
4. Noel Atherley - 145,000
5. Erik Nomberg - 120,000
6. Ian O'Hara - 21,000
7. Tom Gity - 103,000

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1B): Steve Harris Returns From Break At The Flight 1B Chip Leader

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 1B Entries: 48

Flight 1B Players Remaining: 20

Steve Harris (Pompano Beach, FL) has never cashed in a tournament that had a buy-in higher than $500, but bagging chips for Monday's Day 2 will be a huge step towards changing that.

After spending most of the day under the radar, Steve Harris (Pompano Beach, FL) returns to play as the Flight 1B chip leader (160,000).  Harris has just under $25,000 in live tournament earnings, including a cash in Event #1 ($175 No Limit Hold'em $100,000 GTD) of this series (109th place for $275). Steve's biggest threat to bagging the chip lead bonus shares the table with him, as Noel Atherley returns from break to a stack of 130,000.  

Players will go on the final break of the day at the end of the next level, before returning for the last two levels of scheduled play.  The bagging process will begin at the conclusion of Level 13 (or unless the field reaches the 10% mark before that point).

Steve Harris - 160,000 (133bb)

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1B): And If You Don't Know, Well Now You Know...Trudeau

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 1B Entries: 48

Flight 1B Players Remaining: 26

Jeff Trudeau (Orlando, FL) became a name known across the poker world during Day 6 coverage of this year's WSOP $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event.

Jeff Trudeau (Orlando, FL) had a career highlighting summer, coming out of the World Series Of Poker a household name in the tournament world.  Jeff seemed primed for this summer, coming off a 2017 in which he earned over $397,000, which was almost three times more than any year prior.  He started the series off with a bang, making the final table of the $3,000 No Limit Hold'em Shootout (Event #3), but ended up bowing out in 10th place ($14,437).  The result may have been a disappointment for Trudeau at the time, but he had the whole summer ahead of him.  Jeff would end up recording two more cashes after the final table, but it wasn't until the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event (Event #65), that Trudeau had breakout.  

The 2018 $10,000 Main Event will be remembered for a lot of things, but two of the most talked about moments of the tournament (prior to the final table), belonged to Trudeau.  He made one of the bluffs of the tournament against Aram Zobian (who ended up finishing in 6th place), which was caught on ESPN cameras (check-shoving for his tournament with pocket fives on a four flush board after Aram bet river).  There was a lot of talk about that hand, until he faced off against Laurynas Levinskas, in a hand where he'd call three-street with ace-high.  The final call was of a 3,300,000 shove from Levinskas, with Trudeau holding A♣ J♣ on a 5♠ 6♣ 2♦ K♠ Q♥ board.  It will go down as probably the best call of the tournament, and is still being talked about today.  A video interview that Jeff did after the hand is posted below (courtesy of PokerNews):

.@Jeff_Trudeau talks about the insane ace-high call he made to soar near the top of the counts in the Main Event. pic.twitter.com/HxlQhHlTSk

— PokerNews (@PokerNews) July 11, 2018

Let's not forget to mention that Jeff finished in a beyond impressive 26th place in the event, earning a career best score of $282,630.

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1B): The Players Still Trying To Find A Flight 1B Bag

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 8 (Blinds 400/800/800)
Total Flight 1B Entries: 47
Flight 1B Players Remaining: 26

The Flight 1B field is already down to three tables, as Level 8 begins, with new blinds of 400/800/800 (54,000 chip average).  The full field remaining is listed below (by seating assignments):

Table 1

1. James Salmon
2. John Fischer
3. Frederico Dabus
4. Jason Atherley
5. Marcin Plewinski
6. Carlos Rodriguez
7. Jordan Redavid
8. Ruslan Dykshteyn

Table 3

1. Bob Cavataio
2. Brendan Sheehan
3. Ian O'Hara
4. Jamie Wiegrefe
5. Michael Chiappetta
6. Yilmaz Yosul
7. Erik Nomberg
8. Jacob Boling
9. Johann Riemann

Table 9

1. Steve Harris
2. Brett Bader
3. Michael Beasley 
4. Seth Evans
5. Noel Atherley
6. Scott Levitt
7. Marc Levy
8. Tony Utnage
9. Tom Gity

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1B): Card Back In The Air, Nomberg Returns From Dinner With Chip Lead

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/600)
Total Flight 1B Entries: 47

Flight 1B Players Remaining: 28

Erik Nomberg (Dix Hills, NY) is looking to put himself in position for a second deep run of the series, after reaching the final two tables of Event #4.

The Flight 1B dinner break has concluded, and cards are once again in the air.  The landscape of the headboard has changed since the beginning of Level 6, with Erik Nomberg (Dix Hills, NY) returning from break with the chip lead (130,000).  Nomberg is coming off a deep run in Event #4 ($360 No Limit Hold'em), an event he finished 16th place ($2,665).  The result was Erik's first cash since March (Seminole Hard Rock Escalator Series), and first Isle Poker cash since October of last year (2017 Isle Open).

Erik Nomberg - 130,000 (216bb)

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1B): Remaining Flight 1B Players On Dinner Break, Action To Resume At 7:05PM

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/600)
Total Flight 1B Entries: 44

Players in the Flight 1B field of Event #9 ($1,100 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD) are on dinner break, and will be returning at 7:05pm.  When play resumes with Level 7, the new blinds being posted will be 300/600/600.

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1B): Updated Chip Counts Pre-Dinner Break, Mike Beasley Leads The Way

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 6 (Blinds 300/500/500)
Total Flight 1B Entries: 41

It's been two years since Michael Beasley's (Hollywood, FL) last five-figure cash, which happened to come during the $1,500 NLH Main Event of the 2016 FSPC.

Play has just entered Level 6, which will be followed the player's dinner break, splitting up the flight (basically) in half.  The smaller sized flight hasn't allowed for many exceptionally large chip stacks to emerge, but there is one player already above the century mark.  Mike Beasley (Hollywood, FL) had a strong start to the day, flopping a set against Sheldon Gross's two-pair, and doubling up in Level 3.  Beasley has trended in the right direction since then, and starts this level with just over 100,000.

Beasley has been around the tournament community for over thirteen years, and has an impressive resume to show for it.  Mike has recorded (121) results over that span, with combined earnings that are just over $1,477,000.  His highlighting score came back in 2010, when he finished runner-up to Vanessa Selbst in the NAPT $5,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event at Mohegan Sun (Connecticut).  The result was worth $428,000, and helped propel Mike's poker career to a new level.

The listed chip counts below are from the beginning of Level 6, with live blogged coverage of Flight 1B continuing once play resume (after dinner, which should be around 7:05pm).

Mike Beasley - 105,000 (210bb)
Seth Evans - 95,000 (190bb)
Ruslan Dykshteyn - 85,000 (170bb)
James Salmon - 75,000 (150bb)
Miguel Capriles - 70,000 (140bb)
Frederico Dabus - 68,000 (136bb)
Marc Levy - 55,000 (110bb)
Noel Atherley - 45,000 (90bb)

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1B): Marc Levy Doubles Up On His First Hand Back From Vegas

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 5 (Blinds 200/400/400)
Total Flight 1B Entries: 35

Marc Levy (Boynton Beach, FL) took little time getting acclimated to his Flight 1B table, doubling his starting stack within the first ten minutes of play.

There was a new table opened in the field (Table 9), which ended up hosting a group of late arriving players, including the likes of Brett Bader, Noel Atherley, Jason Atherley, and Marc Levy.  Levy, who had just returned from a summer in Las Vegas, did a bunch of folding to start his afternoon.  He would open his first pot played with a raise, and got called by Jason Atherley.  The two would see a flop of Q♥ 7♣ 9♠, with Levy continuing, and Atherley calling in position.  After the 5♥ fell on the turn, Levy would bet once again (for approximately 6,500), and watched as Atherley clicked it back.  The min-raise was very alarming to Levy, who said aloud to Jason, "Wow, did you really just turn the nuts?"  

While that particular hand range crossed Levy's mind, he still decided to three-bet shove, having Atherley covered.  Jason made the call, with his A♦ Q♦ drawing dead against the Q♣ Q♠ of Marc Levy.  The A♥ on the river completed the board, but it just served as a little needle for Atherley.  It's safe to say that Marc is happy to be back in Florida, as he sits with over 60,000, just a few hands into his afternoon.

Marc Levy - 62,000 (155bb)

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1B): Off A Deep Run In The WSOP Monster Stack, James Salmon Takes His Seat In The Field

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em ($200,000 GTD)
Level 4 (Blinds 200/300/300)
Total Flight 1B Entries: 27

James Salmon (Davie, FL) had himself a busy summer, just missing out on the final table of one of the most popular events during the WSOP ($1,500 NLH Monster Stack).

James Salmon (Davie, FL) is another player that is very familiar to followers of the blog...and another player returning from Las Vegas with a sizable WSOP score.  Salmon reached the final table of Event #48 during the WSOP ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Monster Stack), which was one of the most popular events of the series (in terms of total entries).  The event attracted 6,260 entries, and an official prize pool of $8,451,000, making Salmon's deep run a rich one.  His 17th place finish was worth $44,833, which stands as the fourth largest score of his career.  After a summer in Las Vegas, and seven cashes, his career earnings are now over $687,000.  

James made up a group of late arriving players to this Flight 1B field, joining names like:

Tom Gity
Marcin Plewinski
Sheldon Gross
Ruslan Dykshteyn
Stephen Harris
Jacob Boling
Frederico Dabus

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1B): Gozlan Exactly A Year Removed From Best Isle Poker Tournament Result

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 3 (Blinds 100/200/200)
Total Flight 1B Entries: 21

Today is the one-year anniversary of Nissim Gozlan's (Plantation, FL) best Isle Poker tournament cash, when he finished ninth place in Event #14 of the 2017 FSPC.

Nissim Gozlan (Plantation, FL) is a Florida tournament poker veteran, with just under $170,000 in lifetime earnings, spread across seven years of play.  A majority of that figure was from results at surrounding properties, but that hasn't stopped Nissim from playing events during the major series here at the Isle Poker Room.  In fact, exactly a year ago (to the day), Gozlan recorded his best Isle Poker tournament score.  

Nissim bested (270) entries in Event #14 of the 2017 Florida State Poker Championship ($1,100 No Limit Hold'em), reaching the tournament's final table, and finishing in 9th place ($6,117).  Gozlan has since cashed in a $360 No Limit Hold'em event during the 2017 Isle Classic, but is back in this $1,100 No Limit Hold'em field, looking to recapture the magic from last year.

Nissim headlines the first look at notables in this Flight 1B field, including the likes of:

Jose Parra

Paul Shafran

Jamie Wiegrefe

Dmitry Agrachov

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1B): Official Chip Counts (Flight 1A), Ramkhalawn Leads The Way

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #9 | $1,100 No Limit Hold'em | $200,000 GTD
Level 2 (Blinds 100/100/100)
Total Flight 1B Entries: 21

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1B): Second Verse...Same As The First, Flight 1B Of Event #9 Underway

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

For these multi-flight tournaments, things don't really "get into gear" until the weekend arrives, as the first of three weekend flights is now underway (but the second of four overall flights).  Yesterday's Flight 1A attracted a total of (64) entries, with (13) players successfully bagging chips for Monday's Day 2 (12:00pm).  Alan Ramkhalawn is now a name to know as remember, as he bagged the Flight 1A chip lead, and will head to Day 2 with 427,000.  The official counts from Flight 1A will be posted shortly (as part of today's coverage), with notable names like Ryan Gianquitti, Matt Smith, and Erik Christensen, all getting a few days off.

The field is "intimate" to start this afternoon, but there should be no worries, as players in this price point event always like to arrive late.  Today's flight is structured the same a yesterday's, with players sitting down to 30,000 unit starting stacks, and playing levels that last (40) minutes (during the opening flight, as they will transition to 50 minutes on Day 2).  Registration is open throughout the day, and will stay open until the first hand is dealt on Day 2.  The chip lead bonus is up for grabs once again, as players that do bag the largest stack from each opening flight, will earn a seat into next week's Event #14 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em FSPC Main Event $500,000 GTD).

Live blogged coverage will be offered throughout today's flight, concluding with the bagging process, and official "end of Flight 1B chip counts."

Friday, July 20th: Flight 1A In The Books, Event #9 Continues This Afternoon (With Two More Satellites As Well)

ICYMI: Yesterday was the first opening flight for Event #9 (Flight 1A), and ended up with a total of (64) entries.  From those entries, (13) players were able to reach the bagging process, led by Alan Ramkhalawn, who bagged up 427,000.  The official prize pool from the flight closed at $63,040, which is very much on pace to surpass the $200,000 posted guarantee.  The top five stacks from the tournament's first flight are posted below:

Alan Ramkhalawn - 427,000
Juan Martinez - 349,500
Corey Dodd - 310,500
Matthew Smith - 169,000
Ryan Gianquitti - 113,500

The tournament continues this afternoon (with Flight 1B), with the action getting underway at 2:00pm.

Tournaments: Today's schedule is very similar to yesterday, expect that the satellite times are swapped (in terms of price point).  The day's action starts with a $130 No Limit Hold'em Satellite Into Event #9, which gets underway at 10:00am.  The satellite guarantees (2) seats into Event #9 ($1,100 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD), and is structured with 10,000 unit starting stacks, and (20) minute levels.  Registration is open through Level 8 (and the break that follows), and closes the moment the first hand is dealt in Level 9.

Event #9 gets underway at 2:00pm, and is structured with 30,000 unit starting stacks.  The levels of 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 starting flights, with the opportunity also open to enter before the first hand is dealt on Day 2.  The chip lead bonus is also back, with each of the flight's largest stacks earning an Event #14 seat ($1,500 NLH Main Event).

Promotions: The standard high hands begin at 9:00am, 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.

At 6:00pm, (every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday), the promotion transitions, and offers the opportunity for players to earn $1,500 every (30) minutes.  If a player (in no limit hold'em) flops the high hand (and it qualifies as the winning hand for that period), they will be awarded $1,500.  If the player is at a limit hold'em table (or tournament), and flops the high hand, they will be awarded $750.

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.

10:00am - 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 (2 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

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 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) | $250 No Limit Hold'em Satellite Into Event #9 ($1,100 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD) 1 In 5 Wins Seat (5 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

FSPC Event #9 (Flight 1A): Alan Ramkhalawn Leads The (13) Players To Bag From Flight 1A, Official Chip Counts

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: 13

Alan	Ramkhalawan	427,000
Juan	Martinez	349,500
Corey	Dodd	310,500
Matthew	Smith	169,000
Ryan	Gianquitti	113,500
Steve	Legault	105,000
Thomas	McGrath	94,500
Shaun	Lowe	87,500
Alex	Michaels	80,000
Josh	Rittenberg	62,000
Erik	Christensen	57,500
Dean	Schultz	34,500
Riley	Fuller	29,500