Monday, March 22nd: Celso Leroy Shows Up, And Finds His Way Back To The Top Of The Player Of The Month Leaderboard!

ICYMI: One of the most difficult things to do in tournament poker, is to "make things happen" when needed, as in the case of Celso Leroy.  Leroy had got often to a quick start this month, immediately finding himself atop the leaderboard, and stayed there for a solid two weeks.  Recent performances from David Albertson and Jeremy Ehrke have bumped Celso from the top spot, but he made his presence known last night.

Celso was one spot away from besting a field of (110) entries, eventually falling to Nancy Birnbaum during heads-up play.  The $11,000 prize pool was scheduled to be paid out across (14) spots, with the official results listed below:

1. Nancy Birnbaum (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $3,297
2. Celso Leroy (Delray Beach, FL) $2,035
3. Darkhan Botabayev (Sunny Isles, FL) $1,221
4. Daniel Genachte (Deerfield Beach, FL) $798
5. Francisco Milanes (Miami, FL) $616
6. Irwin Block (Deerfield Beach, FL) $506
7. Miguel Chirino-Arteaga (Palm Beach, FL) $429
8. Steven Fostoff (Delray Beach, FL) $374
9. Deborah Dana (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $330
10. Charles Petruzzi (Deerfield Beach, FL) $292
11. Scott Wyler (Ocean Reef, FL) $292
12. Raul Jimenez-Diaz (Miami, FL) $292

More important than the cash (for Celso Leroy), was the 20.35 leaderboard points he earned for the second place finish.  He's now back atop the leaderboard, with a total of 71.55 points (less than four points ahead of Jeremy Ehrke (67.70).

Tournaments: At 6:00pm this evening, the $250 No Limit Hold'em ($10,000 GTD) "Final Table Finish" returns, with a little wrinkle.  This particular tournament had such a good structure, that the final table action ran into the closing time of the poker room (players are then faced with chopping, or bagging for a Day 2).  To keep that from occurring, there will be some slight changes moving forward.

The event will be structured with 25,000 chip starting stacks, (20) minute levels, and open registration through Level 8 (and the break that follows).  The new format-wrinkle comes into play when discussing payouts, as the tournament will pay out just the final table, regardless of how many entries.  Exact payout percentages are as follows (final tables are now eight-handed):

1. 40%
2. 20%
3. 10%
4. 7%
5. 7%
6. 6%
7. 5%
8. 5%

Promotions: From 11:00am (the minute the doors open) until 11:00pm, $300 high hands will be awarded every (30) minutes. These high hands must be aces-full or better, use both hole cards, and be the winning hand (in a pot that has at least $10).  From 11:00pm until close, $100 high hands will be awarded every (30) minutes.

6:00pm: $250 No Limit Hold'em "Final Table Finish" ($10,000 GTD)

• Players start with 25,000 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