Tuesday, June 29th: Andre Bryan Tops Record "Final Table Finish" Field, Deonarine Itwaru Wins June's Player of the Month!!!

ICYMI: Players in the South Florida poker community already knew how good the $250 No Limit Hold'em "Final Table Finish" ($10,000 GTD) was, but last night the event went to new heights.  The tournament attracted a record breaking field of (190) entries, and had an official prize pool of $39,900.  Those numbers meant that first place was scheduled to walk away with over $15,000, a number just unheard of, for a recurring tournament.  

With the payouts so top heavy, it was no surprise to see the tournament conclude in a multi-way chop, with the top six players all walking away with over $4,099.  Andre Bryan took home the lion's share of the chop, earning $9,353 for first place.  The leaderboard points that came along with the finish were significant, but not enough to see him crack the top ten.  Official results from last night's event are listed below:

1. Andre Bryan (Pembroke Pines, FL) $9,353
2. Michael Laufer (Boca Raton, FL) $7,029
3. Robert Leff (Coconut Creek, FL) $5,730
4. Nancy Birnbaum (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $4,565
5. David Inselberg (Boca Raton, FL) $4,336
6. Wilson Pimentel (Did Not Report) $4,099
7. Gary Fitzgerald (Miami, FL) $2,394
8. Curtis Keld (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $1,197
9. Brandon Schwartz (North Miami, FL) $1,197

With Monday's results now official, the standings for June's Player of the Month are set as well.  After a strong final ten days of the month, Deonarine Itwaru takes home the extra $2,000, with the rest of the top ten shown below:

Promotions: From 10:00am (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.

Monday, June 28th: Roy Cohen Wins "Monster Stack" Outright, As The Player Of The Month Race Goes Down To The Final Event!!

ICYMI: With just two events remaining in the month, leaderboard points are at a premium, which is why it's no surprise to see an event play down to an outright winner.  It should be remembered, that the official leaderboard points from each tournament, are determined by the end result of the tournament (in correlation to deals that are made).  So while a chop may seem beneficial in terms of dollars, it may be better suited for players to try and win outright, and earn even more points.  Last night was exactly that case, as action in the $130 No Limit Hold'em "Monster Stack" ($3,000 GTD) played down to an outright winner.  Roy Cohen was able to best Roman Ojeda during heads-up play, and ended up taking home $4,087 (along with 40.87 leaderboard points).  That result now sees Cohen just outside the top ten on the monthly leaderboard, with today's $250 No Limit Hold'em "Final Table Finish" ($10,000 GTD) remaining on the schedule.

The "Monster Stack" saw registration close with a total of (148) players, which equated to an official prize pool of $14,800 (almost five-times the posted guarantee).  Official results from the tournament are listed below:

1. Roy Cohen (Boca Raton, FL) $4,087
2. Roman Ojeda (West Palm Beach, FL) $2,590
3. Joshua Martinez (Boca Raton, FL) $1,524
4. Amy Conner (Deerfield Beach, FL) $925
5. John Marzulli (Coconut Creek, FL) $718
6. Anderson Patino (Miami, FL) $593
7. David Barbieri (Coconut Creek, FL) $518
8. Nancy Birnbaum (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $463
9. Alexander Tabares (Palmetto Bay), FL) $409
10. Scott Bailey (Loxahatchee, FL) $355
11. Daniel Miller (Pompano Beach, FL) $355
12. Charles Petruzzi (Deerfield Beach, FL) $355
13. Brenda Nelson (West Palm Beach, FL) $303
14. Ronald Esmann Jr. (West Palm Beach, FL) $303
15. Norman Zapcynski (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $303
16. Daniel Wu (Cypress, TX) $259
17. Mark Brannick (Boca Raton, FL) $259
18. Larry Stoddard (Babylon Village, NY) $259
19. Jairo Velasquez (Sunrise, FL) $222

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 10:00am (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.

In addition to the high hands, there is a "bonus" promotion in place, which offers $1,000 to the highest hand from the 10:00am-12:00pm time period.  If a player makes a straight flush in the 10:00am-10:30am qualifying period, and that is the best qualifying high hand from 10:00am-12:00pm, they will earn an extra $1,000 (in addition to the $300 they were awarded for the half-hour time period).

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