Saturday, May 18th: "Chip Buster" Likely To Eclipse The $75,000 Guarantee Today, With All Eyes On Cracking The Century Mark!!!

ICYMI: Yesterday was the second day of the $130 No Limit Hold'em "Chip Buster" ($75,000 GTD), with the hot start continuing.  The third flight of the event (Flight 1C) ended up attracting a total of (110) entries, with (21) players reaching that bagging process (at the end of Level 16).  Official chip counts from the flight are listed below:

Francois Gagne - 774,000
Gil Guadalpi - 450,000
Sebastian Martinez - 436,000
Ronald Arena - 411,000
Joe Jarboe - 300,000
Tim Aldrich - 296,000
Henri Nolette - 286,000
Frank Traino - 271,000
Michael Weinberg - 268,000
Joseph Diaz - 230,000
James Tamlin - 220,000
Alvaro Grisales - 201,000
Corey Bryman - 198,000
Jonathan Sanchez - 197,000
Gerald Blum - 185,000
Steven Randal - 164,000
Michael Ladda - 149,000
Nicholas Visconti - 117,000
Charles Odenz - 107,000
Philip Consolo - 106,000
David Richard - 101,000

Flight 1C got underway at 6:00pm, and after eight levels of open registration, the field would close with (121) entries.  Of those entries, (16) players would reach the bagging process (at the end of Level 16), with the official chip counts listed below:

Michael Corbett - 607,000
Stephen Thomas - 603,000
Louis Chiofulo - 555,000
Antonio De Araujo - 485,000
Danielle Bastarache - 484,000
Ray Nalbandian - 439,000
Peter Petakos - 366,000
Ryan Laiche - 351,000
Matthew Ewert - 343,000
Robert Transue - 321,000
Wendy Alexandris - 317,000
Aleksandr Tishchenko - 313,000
John Desoto - 204,000
James McCaffrey - 168,000
Hoa Lang - 162,000
Cesar Solares - 136,000

Just two days into the tournament, and we already have (480) entries, and an official prize pool of $46,560.  At this rate, the event will crush the posted guarantee ($75,000) today, and may eclipse the six-figure mark tomorrow!!

Tournaments: We've now reached the halfway point of the $130 No Limit Hold'em "Chip Buster" ($75,000 GTD), and it's clear this tournament is a favorite of the players.  The event has eight starting flights, of which four play out over the next two 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.

It should be noted, that from 9:00am-2:00pm, there will be $250 high hands awarded every (15) minutes.  The winning high hands that are made using two cards will be awarded the full $250 prize, while those using one card will be awarded $125.

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

- 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 1F

- 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