FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Notables Still Alive After Final Break

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 11 (Blinds 800/1,600/1,600)
Total Day 1D Entries: 175
Day 1D Players Remaining: 77

Players are now back from their final break of the evening, with just two levels left to be played.  There are still numerous notables alive in the field, and while they may not have been mentioned over the course of the day, we did want to recognize their presence:

Michael Amato

Phillip Hui

David Diaz

Marc Luquete

Kevin Chan

David Albertson

Scott Baumstein

Ryan Gianquitti

Marc Levy

Ray Millard

Bob Farnan

Rudy Miret

Michael Tait

Tristan Wade

Manny Perez

Al Gomez

Scotty Nguyen

Joshua Hillock

Michael Beasley

Matthew Zarcadoolas

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Zyad Qasem Eclipses 200,000, After Sending Two To The Rail

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 10 (Blinds 600/1,200/1,200)
Total Day 1D Entries: 173
Day 1D Players Remaining: 82

Zyad Qasem (Ft. Myers, FL) had a brief moment of sweat, when the queen appeared in the window...but everything changed after the king appeared behind it.

At Table 3, action would fold around to Zyad Qasem, who was in the cutoff.  After opening for a raise, the button would fold, and a short stacked small blind would shove for 20,000.  Albert Destrade, who was in the big blind, would just flat the 20,000, bringing the action back to Qasem.  At that point, he'd three-bet shove for over 100,000, having Destrade covered he started the hand with 73,000).

"Am I really going to fold queens in no limit hold'em," Destrade said aloud, before counting out his stack. "I still have 53 bigs if I fold."  He'd eventually make the call, only to see the bad news:

Qasem: K♣ K♦
Destrade: Q♦ Q♣
Small Blind: 6♥ 6♦

Runout: Q♥ J♣ K♠ 10♠ 3♦

The queen was in the window, which brought a collective reaction from the table, but a king would be right behind it.  The turn brought extra outs to a chop for Albert, but the river would seal the deal.  Both players exited the tournament table, while Qasem chipped up to 220,000.

Zyad Qasem - 220,000 (183bb)

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Updated Chip Counts From The Field, Kobi Ribak Leads The Way

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 9 (Blinds 500/1,000/1,000)
Total Day 1D Entries: 173
Day 1D Players Remaining: 84

Kobi Ribak (Boca Raton, FL) had the "never give up" attitude for this event, which after a few failed attempts at bagging, seems to have paid off.

Kobi Ribak (Boca Raton, FL) had been hovering around the 50,000 mark for most of the afternoon, but was able to win two hands against the table big stack, that would change his entire day.  After getting it in with pocket ten against pocket jacks, Kobi would flop a set to double up.  Then just two hands later, agains the same player, he'd have pocket kings versus pocket queens.  His kings would hold, and in a blink of an eye, he'd go from 50,000 to 220,000.  That's currently the leading number in the field, but with three levels remaining, lots can change atop the leaderboard.

Kobi Ribak - 220,000 (220bb)
Devon Shalmi - 160,000 (160bb)
Mihaly Lukacs - 150,000 (150bb)
Qasem Zyad - 140,000 (140bb)
Peter Walsworth - 138,000 (138bb)
TK Miles - 120,000 (120bb)
Ruslan Dykshteyn - 120,000 (120bb)
Chad Millward - 110,000 (110bb)

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): 2018 FSPC Main To Eclipse Last Year's Number, And Continuing To Grow

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 9 (Blinds 500/1,000/1,000)
Total Day 1D Entries: 170
Day 1D Players Remaining: 83

With the most recent entry into the field (#170), the overall number of entries has eclipsed that of last year (before Day 2 entries were added).  We are expecting some more entries this evening, so it's very possible that we can reach the total number from last year (which was 548, after the Day 2 buy-ins were included).  If that's not the case, there will for sure be a group of players that will buy in tomorrow afternoon, giving us the largest field since 2015 (when the tournament became a $1,500 buy-in event). 

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Two Big Stack Battle, With Tran Nguyen Running Unsuccessful Bluff

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 8 (Blinds 400/800/800)
Total Day 1D Entries: 167
Day 1D Players Remaining: 87

Victor Figueroa (Miami, FL) chose the route of pot-control, with the check on the turn, allowing for his opponent to try and run a bluff.

Ray Millard would open the action at Table 2 with a raise to 2,300, with Tran Nguyen making the call.  Action would fold around to Victor Figueroa, who put out a three-bet to 9,000, causing Millard to release his hand.  Nguyen would make the call, giving us a heads-up pot, between two of the larger stacks at the table.  After the 10♦ 5♦ 4♠ flop, Nguyen lead for 7,000, with Victor just making the call.  Action then went check-check after the board paired with the 10♥.  Following the 6♣ on the river, Nguyen one again led out, this time tossing forward a bet of 20,000.  Figueroa made the call, with his Q♦ Q♥ good for the pot, after Nguyen tabled 8♦ 9♠.

The unsuccessful bluff would leave Tran with a stack of 145,000, while Victor chipped up to 149,000.

Victor Figueroa - 149,000 (186bb)
Tran Nguyen - 145,000 (181bb)

Players are about to take a ten minute break (at the end of this level), and will be returning to Level 9, with new blinds of 500/1,000/1,000.  Updated chip counts from the field will follow, once play resumes.

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Scott Baumstein Pushes Forward Florida Arrival Time, Takes His Seat In Day 1D Field

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 8 (Blinds 400/800/800)
Total Day 1D Entries: 166
Day 1D Players Remaining: 92

Scott Baumstein (New York, NY) chose to arrive in Florida a few days earlier than planned, looking to make some noise in this FSPC Main Event.

Scott Baumstein (New York, NY) spent most of his poker career traveling around the world playing tournaments, but bypassed the state of Florida for a long time.  His first recorded cash in Florida came in 2016, and since that point, he's added the "Sunshine State" as a spot on his traveling schedule.  Earlier this year, he gained a newfound affinity for this area, after shipping the $1,100 No Limit Hold'em WPT DeepStacks event during the Lucky Hearts Poker Open (Seminole Hard Rock).  The win was worth $220,238, which stands as the largest cash on his resume.  Baumstein now has over $1,866,000 in lifetime tournament earnings, and ahead of future series in the area, he decided to arrive a little earlier than planned.  

Scott jumped into the field after dinner break, and has already been able to run his stack up to 55,000.  A result in this event would go down as his first a the Isle Casino Pompano Park Poker Room.

Scott Baumstein - 55,000 (68bb)

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Lagace-Bastien May Be Taking A Few Days Off From Cash

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/600)
Total Day 1D Entries: 162
Day 1D Players Remaining: 101

Jonathan Lagace-Bastien (Canada) is primarily a cash-game player, but does have over $54,000 in lifetime tournament earnings.

At Table 3, Alan Ramkhalawan opened the action UTG, with a raise to 1,400.  He'd be three-bet by the button to 4,200, with Jonathan Lagace-Bastien four-betting to 11,000 out of the small blind.  The player in the big blind would five-bet shove for 26,000, with Ramkhalawan releasing his hand.  The three-bettor would shove as well (for just over 28,000), with Lagace-Bastien quickly making the call:

Lagace Bastien: K♦ K♥
Big Blind: Q♥ Q♣
Button: A♣ K♣

Runout: K♠ J♣ 4♦ 6♦ 10♥

Jonathan flopped a set, but still needed to fade a queen on the turn or river (with only one remaining, as Alan folded A Q).  Things ran out clean for Lagace-Bastien, who would chip up to over 100,000 with the pot.  Lagace-Bastien rarely plays tournaments, as his focus is mostly on high-limit cash, but he may be changing his schedule for the next two days.

Jonathan Lagace-Bastien - 115,000 (191bb)

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Eric Polirer Runs Out Pure, To Knock Out Johnny Chan

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/600)
Total Day 1D Entries: 152
Day 1D Players Remaining: 101

Eric Polirer (Coral Springs, FL) now has a story to tell, after eliminating the great Johnny Chan from the 2018 Florida State Poker Championship Main Event.

After quick start the day, Johnny Chan returned from dinner with a stack that was less than ten big blinds.  On one of the final hands of Level 6, Chan would be all-in for 6,300, and called by Eric Polirer:

Polirer: K♠ 10♠
Chan: A♠ 4♠

Runout: Q♥ 2♦ 8♦ 9♠ J♠

Having the spades covered going in, Chan would become a big favorite on the turn, but the turn and river would bring Polirer a straight.  Johnny would collect his things and exit the table, with his return to the field still in question.

Eric Polirer - 21,000 (35bb)

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Biancone Putting Friday Behind Him, And Recovering Very Nicely

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 6 (Blinds 300/500/500)
Total Day 1D Entries: 143
Day 1D Players Remaining: 104

Patrick Biancone has already bested his effort from Friday's Day 1B, when he would be eliminated from play right around this point in the day.

Just after dinner break on Day 1B, Patrick Biancone got involved in a (300) big blind pot with David Coughlin, holding the nut-flush draw.  Usually when you're opponent also holds a flush draw, you're in great shape, but Coughlin had already flopped a straight, and had outs to a straight flush (taking away two of Patrick's outs).  Biancone would be eliminated from play after losing the hand, and took a day off from the tables, before returning this afternoon.

Things have been different for the tournament veteran this afternoon, as he has over 128,000 at the midway point of Level 6, which is already a better result than Friday.

Patrick Biancone - 130,000 (260bb)

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Players Heading On Schedule Dinner Break, Play To Resume At 7:10PM

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 5 (Blinds 200/400/400)
Total Day 1D Entries: 134
Day 1D Players Remaining: 105

Players in Day 1D of Event #14 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em FSPC Main Event $500,000 GTD) are about to head on dinner break, and will be returning at 7:10pm.  When play resumes with Level 6, the new blinds being posted will be 300/500/500.

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Updated Chip Counts Heading To Dinner Break

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 5 (Blinds 200/400/400)
Total Day 1D Entries: 133
Day 1D Players Remaining: 104

Bebert Benhamo (Tarzana, CA) will be heading to dinner break with the overall chip lead, and would like to continue his upward trend once play resumes.

The field is now fifteen minutes into Level 5, with the remaining players heading on dinner break at the end of the level.  A lap around the room yielded some updated chip counts, with Bebert Benhano well ahead of the group.  Benhamo, who spent most of his career playing in the poker rooms of California, has been a frequent flyer at the three major poker rooms in the area.  He has just over $23,000 in lifetime tournament earnings, including a trophy win during the 2017 Isle Classic ($150 No Limit Hold'em).

Bebert Benhamo - 155,000 (387bb)
Tom Millward - 85,000 (212bb)
Scott Levitt - 75,000 (187bb)
Jesus Andreu - 70,000 (175bb)
Chad Millward - 70,000 (175bb)
Eric Polirer - 60,000 (150bb)
Alexander Michaels - 58,000 (145bb) 
Michael Marks - 50,000 (125bb)
Johnny Chan - 50,000 (125bb)
Scotty Nguyen - 35,000 (87bb)

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Gianquitti Shows Up, And After A Short While...Doubles Up

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 4 (Blinds 200/300/300)
Total Day 1D Entries: 125
Day 1D Players Remaining: 100

After a few unsuccessful attempts at bagging chips for Event #14's Day 2, Ryan Gianquitti (Lake Worth, FL) hopes that this quick start is a sign of things to come.

The late arriving players have seen a lot of success this event, with Ryan Gianquitti (Lake Worth, FL) continuing that trend just moments ago.  On a flop of A♥ 3♠ 5♥, Gianquitti was able to check-raise a 1,800 bet from Joseph Gaylo.  Joseph immediately called the 5,000 raise, and was more than happy to call Gianquitti's all-in on the river (after the board ran out 8♠ 4♦).  Ryan tabled 2♥ 4♥, having flopped the wheel, with a steel-shell draw as a backup plan.  The four-liner that completed on the river did not deter Gaylo, who made the 14,000 river call with A♠ 10♥.  After just a few minutes at the table, Ryan has turned his 30,000 unit staring stack into 52,000.

He hopes to follow in the footsteps of players like Raj Vohra and Jonathan Jaffe, who showed up long after dinner break, and ended up bagging top five Day 2 stacks.

Ryan Gianquitti - 54,000 (180bb)

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Chan Liking His New Surroundings, Finds Fortunate River Against Christopher Brown

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 4 (Blinds 200/300/300)
Total Day 1D Entries: 124
Day 1D Players Remaining: 103

Johnny Chan (Las Vegas, NV) is seeing a little run good to start his day, rivering an opponent...and then getting max-value out of the hand.

Passing by Table 11, we'd see Christopher Brown heads-up with Johnny Chan, with the two staring down at a board of K♥ 2♠ 3♣ 2♣ J♥.  Brown checked to Chan, who fired out a pot sized bet of 10,000. with Christopher quickly making the call.  Johnny rolled over K♠ J♠, as Brown reacted by slamming down his A♦ K♦ on the felt.  Brown would be eliminated just four hands later, but he can always take away the story that Johnny Chan took him to value-town.  Chan is now up to 54,000, and on his way towards doubling the day's 30,000 starting stack.

Johnny Chan - 55,000 (183bb)

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): First A Two-Time WSOP Main Event Winner, And Now Someone Who Fell Just One Spot Short

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 3 (Blinds 100/200/200)
Total Day 1D Entries: 105
Day 1D Players Remaining: 94

Joshua Beckley (West Palm Beach, FL) is best known in the poker community, for finishing second to Joe McKeehen in the 2015 WSOP Main Event.

One of the most common phrases in sports is, "You never remember who finished in second place."  While that may hold true in certain athletic endeavors, that really isn't the case for the WSOP $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event.  The player to fall during heads-up play made just as incredible of a run as the winner, with numerous runner-up finishers going to have very successful careers.  Names like Sammy Farha, Tony Miles, John Racener, Jesse Sylvia, David Williams, Dewey Tomko, TJ Cloutie, and Erik Seidel...these are no slouches, and all runner-up finishers in the WSOP Main Event.  

We can also add Joshua Beckley's (West Palm Beach, FL) name to that list, after falling to Joe McKeehen at the 2015 WSOP Main Event final table.  Beckley earned $4,470,896 for his runner-up finish, which is far and beyond is largest tournament cash.  We've seen Beckley make deep runs in the 2017 Battles At The Beach Main Event, along with the 2017 Florid State Poker Championship Main Event...so he does have history in this room.  

Beckley headlines out second look at notables in this afternoon's field, joining the likes of:

Eric Polirer

Michael Tait

Richard Rice

David Inselberg

Steve Karp

Rudy Miret

Alan Ramkhalawan

Marc Duquette

Stephen Ibrahim

Ruslan Dykshteyn

Chad Millward

Players will be taking their first break of the day in just a few minutes, returning to Level 4, and new blinds of 200/300/300.

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Williams Returns To Play, After Making Dream Run In The WSOP Main Event

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 3 (Blinds 100/200/200)
Total Day 1D Entries: 102
Day 1D Players Remaining: 95

Cory Williams (Alva, FL) cashed in two Isle Poker events, before heading to Las Vegas for the WSOP Main Event.  Williams made a run of a lifetime, to earn what stands as his largest tournament cash.

So we have a two-time WSOP Main Event bracelet winner in the field, and one who made an incredible effort to grab that title this past year.  Cory Williams (Alva, FL) was a name we were introduced to earlier this year, when he reached the final table of June's $200 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD) event.  It was Cory's first appearance on the blog, as we followed his deep run, which would eventually end in 9th place ($2,045).  Just one week later, Williams would be back in action for the $360 No Limit Hold'em ($50,000 GTD), earning a min-cash in the event.

Cory's next recorded result would come during the WSOP $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event, and it would be a special one.  Williams would just miss out on cracking the top hundred, but ended up finishing in a very respectable 103rd place.  He would earn invaluable experience of playing in front of the bright lights (on the live streamed feature table), along with his biggest cash of $57,010.  

It's pretty hard to follow up a list of notables with Johnny Chan in the field, but posted below are the notables in the Day 1D field that we know and love:

Nagui Yassa

William Underdown

Nancy Birnbaum

Tom Millward

Marc Sacheli

Stephen Bromfield

Matthew Zarcadoolas

Paul Shafran

Hal Klein

Maurice Paradis

Jordan Redavid

Ory Hen

Alexander Michaels

Michael Marks

David Diaz

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Now There Are Notables In The Field...And Then There Is Johnny Chan!!!

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 2 (Blinds 100/100/100)
Total Day 1D Entries: 90
Day 1D Players Remaining: 88

Johnny Chan (Las Vegas, NV), one of (in not) the most well-known poker players in the world, is currently seated in the Day 1D field.

Over the past few days, there were rumblings that another "special guest" would be making his way to the Isle Casino Pompano Park, but they were kept under wrap to the public.  Who would think that one of the most iconic figures in the history of poker would join the Event #14 action?  Well, it's our honor (and pleasure) to have back-to-back WSOP Main Event winner Johnny Chan (Las Vegas, NV) in the house.  

Chan is a player that needs no introduction, with over $8,710,000 in lifetime earnings, and the proud owner of (10) WSOP bracelets.  He's withstood the test of time in this industry, consistently beating some of the highest limit cash games, and including many televised appearances on High Stake Poker (GSN) and Poker After Dark (NBC).

While Johnny's tournament volume has dipped in recent years, we did see him make a run in this year's WSOP $10,000 Main Event, finishing in 612th place (for $21,750).

One of Chan's most famous "public" appearances came in the movie Rounders, where a video of his WSOP Main Event win against Phil Hellmuth was used...along with an actually cameo in the movie.  If you consider yourself a poker player, you've at one point repeated the line, ""Sorry John...I don't remember."

It's really incredible to have one of the top players in the history of the game in the field, so we'll keep a close eye on his progress, as the day plays on.

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Trying To Make The Dream A Reality, As Final Satellite Winner Take Their Seats

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 2 (Blinds 100/100/100)
Total Day 1D Entries: 86
Day 1D Players Remaining: 84

We hadn't seen Al Gomez (Miami, FL) all week, leading us to believe that he may have chosen to bypass this event.  It was all just a plan though, to win a seat in the final satellite, and give us a special storyline to cover.

There are four players in the field that have the opportunity to write the story of a lifetime...winning a seat from the last satellite run, and turning that into what could potentially be a $150,000+ tournament cash.  The $340 No Limit Hold'em "Turbo" Satellite into Event #14 began at 10:00am, and was over before 1:30pm.  Three seats were awarded to the following players:

Al Gomez

David Albertson

Michael Inberger

Leo Birov would take home the fourth place prize, which was $900 cash.  Birov decided to turn that money into an Event #14 buy-in, and is also in the early afternoon field.  These are the type of stories that we hear across the tournament poker world all of the time, so we will keep a close eye on those four players, to see how their Day 1D progresses.

We should also mention the numbers we are seeing in this field already, as the total number of entries has climbed to (86).  This pace could see the field eclipse (200) entries before the night's done, which would give us a prize pool north of $750,000.  Registration is open all day, so if you're reading this...and you're with driving distance of the room, you can make it in time to enter with a manageable stack.

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Official Chip Counts (Flight 1A-Flight 1C)

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 2 (Blinds 100/100/100)
Total Day 1D Entries: 60
Day 1D Players Remaining: 60

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1D): Final Starting Day About To Get Underway, Numbers Are Going To Continue To Grow

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 1 (Blinds 100/100)
Total Day 1D Entries: N/A
Day 1D Players Remaining: N/A

After three starting days, and a combined total of (364) entries, we have reached the final opening day of Event #14 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Florida State Poker Championship $500,000 GTD).  Another group of players will do their best to reach tonight's bagging process, and join the (77) players that have already booked tickets to tomorrow's Day 2 (12:00pm).

To this point, we've seen some very familiar names bag top stacks heading to Day 2, with the top five overall stacks listed below:

Luis Zedan - 564,500

Jonathan Jaffe - 437,000

Raj Vohra - 428,000

David Coughlin - 355,000

Jeffrey Trudeau - 345,000

There are numerous other notables heading to Day 2, including the "celebrity" guests to the event, Vanessa Rousso (210,500) and Scotty Nguyen (93,000).  Before the first card is dealt today, the $500,000 guaranteed prize pool will be eclipse, so it will be interesting to see how large the prize pool actually gets.

Coverage of today's action will begin with a full list of chip counts (from the first three flights), and will then continue with our first look at notables in today's field.