Monday, May 16th: Denian Costa Heads Sunday's Five-Way Deal, With Today's Schedule Hosting Return Of "Final Table Finish"

ICYMI: A lot of recognizable faces were in the crowd for yesterday's $400 No Limit Hold'em ($20,000 GTD), an event that's become one of the most popular on the calendar.  Yesterday's installment saw registration close with a total of (111) entries, which almost doubled the posted guarantee, as the official prize pool closed at $38,628.  Of those entries, (14) players were scheduled to reach the money, with action playing down to a five-handed final table.  A five-way chop saw Denian Costa take home the lion's share (with $9,504) for first place money.  Official results from the tournament are posted below, along with an updated Player of the Month leaderboard:

1. Denian Costa (Miami Beach, FL) $9,504
2. Steven Bennett (Deerfield Beach, FL) $5,403
3. Jonathan Lasko (Hollywood, FL) $5,120
4. Mark Rakoff (West Palm Beach, FL) $4,660
5. Erik Bartels (Boca Raton, FL) $3,298
6. Joseph Duchman (Miami, FL) $1,777
7. Raymond Ruszkowski (Cutler Bay, FL) $1,506
8. Patricia Conrad (Delray Beach, FL) $1,313
9. Emmanuele Marcello (Chevy Chase, MD) $1,159
10. Alexis Pou (Pembroke Pines, FL) $1,024
11. James Tomblin (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $1,024
12. Michael Johnson (Miami, FL) $1,024
13. Mark Salerno (Woodbridge, ON) $908
14. Werner Alvarado (Pompano Beach, FL) $908

Tournaments: At 5:00pm this evening, the $250 No Limit Hold'em ($20,000 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 nine-handed):

1. 40%
2. 18%
3. 10%
4. 7%
5. 7%
6. 6%
7. 6%
8. 3%
9. 3%

Promotions: From 9:00am (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.

5:00pm: $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