Friday, May 17th: "Chip Buster" Off To An Incredible Start, Going To Be A Special Event

ICYMI: Yesterday was the start of the $130 No Limit Hold'em "Chip Buster" ($75,000 GTD), with things getting off to a raging hot start.  The opening flight of the event (Flight 1A) ended up attracting a total of (109) entries, with (21) players reaching that bagging process (at the end of Level 16).  Official chip counts from the flight are listed below:

Herbert Nairn - 764,000
Eric Kolodny - 484,000
Frank Scala - 443,000
Daniel Gonzalo - 359,000
Guillermo Hamilton - 316,000
Jose Reyes - 281,000
Lukacs Mihaly - 267,000
Kenneth Bruno - 252,000
Chris Zollo - 251,000
JC Madrid - 226,000
Nancy Thomas - 225,000
Allen Stern - 216,000
Stuart Cheshire - 204,000
Andre Rakusa - 177,000
Jason Puzacke - 172,000
George Tardugno - 165,000
Chris Arcidiacano - 152,000
David Oshry - 137,000
Jose Ardila - 113,000
James Hamburger - 111,000
Michael Ingber - 104,000

Flight 1B got underway at 6:00pm, and after eight levels of open registration, the field would close with (140) entries.  Of those entries, (22) players would reach the bagging process (at the end of Level 16), with the official chip counts listed below:

Michael Stewartson - 754,000
Herman Alter - 738,000
Scott Sommer - 634,000
Tim Shane - 377,000
Leonid Goldshteyn - 371,000
Jairo Carillo - 356,000
Sandy Sanchez - 328,000
Richard Shtrax - 282,000
Jeffrey Silverstein - 262,000
Raymond Rickard - 257,000
Paul Smerdon - 243,000
Karsten Bauer - 218,000
Willie Wiggins - 197,000
Luminita Petric - 181,000
Alex Thomas - 180,000
Scott Levitt - 175,000
Stephen Harris - 118,000
Matt IeConche - 114,000
Ed Rappa - 111,000
Ifkhar Meman - 98,000
Bruce Rawan - 81,000
Erik Reed - 49,000

Just one day into the tournament, and we already have (249) entries, and an official prize pool of $24,153.  At this rate, the event will crush the posted guarantee ($75,000), and may eclipse the six-figure mark.  

Tournaments: It's only been (24) hours since the $130 No Limit Hold'em "Chip Buster" ($75,000 GTD) started, but it's already clear that the tournament is going to be a hit.  The event has eight starting flights, of which six play out over the next three days, with players then returning for Day 2 on Monday (May 20th).  Each of the opening flights is structured with 50,000 unit starting stacks (hence the "Chip Buster" name), has levels of (30) minutes, and registration that is open through Level 16.  Action is scheduled to wrap up at the conclusion of Level 16, or if the 10% mark is reached...whichever comes first.  Each of the next four days will see a flight begin at 11:00am (today that is Flight 1C), a flight begin at 6:00pm (Flight 1D), and a $40 No Limit Hold'em Satellite at 3:00pm.

Promotions: The high hands will run from 9:00am-12:00am, 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.  

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).

From 12:00am-9:00am, the high hand will be awarded $100 every (60) minutes.

11:00am - $130 No Limit Hold'em "Chip Buster" ($75,000 GTD) Flight 1C

- Players start with 50,000 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 (30) minutes, transitioning to (40) minutes at the final table

3:00pm - $40 No Limit Hold'em Satellite Into $130 No Limit Hold'em "Chip Buster" ($75,000 GTD) 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

6:00pm - $130 No Limit Hold'em "Chip Buster" ($75,000 GTD) Flight 1D

- Players start with 50,000 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 (30) minutes, transitioning to (40) minutes at the final table