Thursday, November 24th: Happy Thanksgiving!!!! Poker Room Open At 3:00pm

On behalf of everyone here at the Isle Casino Pompano Beach, and the Isle Casino Poker Room, we would like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!  We are very thankful for the staff and players that make up this amazing room, and appreciate everyone's loyalty.  The poker room will be open at 3:00pm this afternoon, and will stay open through the night.  There is no tournament on the schedule for the day, but the "standard" high hand promotion will still run as scheduled.

As expected, we saw a nice crowd last night for the $100 NLH "Big Stack Turbo" Bounty event, with (81) total entries battling it out for the $5,000 prize pool.  There would be no chop on the holiday eve, as Ali Khalil (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) took down the first place prize worth $1,635.  Tournament regular Luke Rosenberg (Parkland, FL) reached the final table as well, and ended up finishing in fifth place ($342).  The official results from the event will be posted during next weeks "Week In Review" feature, offering up all of the tournament results from this week as well.

Wednesday, November 23rd: "Spin To Win," Tournament Action On Thanksgiving Eve

It's the "high hand" promotion that players circle on their calendar, as the "Money Wheel" returns for today's "Spin To Win."  The qualifying high hand for each half-hour between 12:00pm-11:00pm will earn the opportunity to spin the "money wheel," and take home some serious prizes.  We saw numerous players walk away with over $1,000 last week, as it was one of the "richest" days of giveaways since the promotion began.

With businesses closed tomorrow, this evening's tournament sets up to be a solid one, as the $100 No Limit Hold'em "Big Stack Turbo" w/ $25 Bounties gets underway at 7:00pm.  Just a reminder, the poker room will close at the normally scheduled time (3:00am), and will reopen tomorrow at 3:00pm.   We would like to wish everyone (players, staff, blog followers, etc.) a very Happy Thanksgiving.

7:00pm - $100 No Limit Hold'em "Big Stack Turbo" w/ $25 Bounties ($5,000 GTD):

- Players will begin with a 18,000 starting stack

- Late and re-entries for the first (10) levels

- Option player "add-on" at the end of Level 10 ($25 for 10,000 tournament chips), with 100% of the "add-on" going to the prize pool 

- Levels are (15) minutes in length

"Tuesday $10K:" Bilia Takes Home Trophy In Final Table Chop

Sarah Bilia (Plantation, FL)

The Tuesday night $40 No Limit Hold'em ($10,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool) was again a success last night, attracted (397) total entries.  That guarantee was crushed for the second week in a row, this time boasting a prize pool of $14,072.

Once again, we were looking at a first place prize of over $3,700, which is a return on investment that is close to (100) buy-ins!!!  Of course we saw many of the Isle Poker notables show up for the event, including (but not limited to) Tom Gity, Dave Henry, Thomas Millward, Dave Albertson, Raymond Rickard, Rafael Ramos, and Bobby Perniola.  While the field was full of familiar faces, the theme of the night was "new introductions."  There were an abundance of new names and faces in the crowd (many that were featured on the blog, and those are the players that saw the real success in the event.

Things were moving surprisingly slow in the later stages of the event, and it was clear that the tournament was not going to end by the "hard stop" time set in place by the casino's closing for the night.  Opposed to bagging the chips and returning the following afternoon, the players agreed to a final table chop (ten ways), with Sarah Bilia (Plantation, FL) taking home the winner's share of the deal (and the tournament's trophy).  Posted below are the final table payouts:

1. Sarah Bilia ($1,268)
2. Billy Michel ($1,110)
3. William Arneral ($1,110)
4. Eugene Alkes ($1,110)
5. Juan Carlos Vasquez ($1,110)
6. Sean Ryan ($1,110)
7. Lascelles Peart Jr. ($1,110)
8. John Vidal ($1,110)
9. Alvaro Grisales ($1,110)
10. Arie Ben-Mayor ($1,110)

"Tuesday $10K:" 11th-12th Places ($183)

The following players have been eliminated from the "Tuesday $10,000 Guarantee," and have cashed for $183:

11. German Zaga (Coral Springs, FL)
12. Tevy Wellins (Hollywood, FL)

"Tuesday $10K:" 13th-15th Places ($148)

The following players have been eliminated from the "Tuesday $10,000 Guarantee," and have cashed for $148:

13. Richard Contell (Miami, FL)
14. Andres Duran (Weston, FL)
15. Ali Khalil (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)

"Tuesday $10K:" 16th-18th Places ($127)

The following players have been eliminated from the "Tuesday $10,000 Guarantee," and have cashed for $127:

16. Jeffrey Baisley (Pompano Beach, FL)
17. Rafael Santoni (Boca Raton, FL)
18. Michael Fraidin (Boca Raton, FL)

"Tuesday $10K:" 19th-27th Places ($106)

The following players have been eliminated from the "Tuesday $10,000 Guarantee," and have cashed for $106:

19. Nathan Schwartz (Boca Raton, FL)
20. William Norbeck (Lake Worth, FL)
21. Larisa Kogan (Delray Beach, FL)
22. Kaitlin Sims (Miami, FL)
23. Jimmy Cortes (Miami, FL)
24. Sandy Jean (Mirimar, FL)
25. Bruno Goulart (Deerfield Beach, FL)
26. Andres Verona (Miami, FL)
27. Melissa Mancini (Oakland Park, FL)

"Tuesday $10K:" 28th-36th Places ($91)

The following players have been eliminated from the "Tuesday $10,000 Guarantee," and have cashed for $91:

28. Karen Deramo (Deerfield Beach, FL)
29. Guillermo Randu (Miami, FL)
30. Sabasti Blandon (Weston, FL)
31. Vito Polera (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
32. Ramon Munoz (Santiago, DR)
33. Hosney Boutros (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
34. David Hrin (Margate, FL)
35. Susan King (Victoria, BC)
36. Demetrius Givens (Deerfield Beach, FL) ($46)
37. Ingo Jurgen (Germany) ($45)

"Tuesday $10K:" Grinding Towards The Money

Even though the stacks across the field are fairly shallow, and the structure leans towards a turbo-ish feel, things are moving much slower than they did last week.  The field is still a handful of eliminations from the money, but we were able to snap some great photos of players as they creeped towards the money bubble.

Jimmy Cortez

Kaitlin Sims

Guillermo Irving

Bruno Goulart

Ali Khalil

Juan Guzman

David Hrin

Alvaro Grisiles

Robyn Marshman and Mellisa Mancini (sisters)

Gene Alkes

Sandy Jean

"Andy Warhol"

Billy Michel

Floor Supervisor Alfred

Tournament Director Mike

"Tuesday $10K:" Official Event Payouts

We didn't reach the (400) player mark like we did last week, but the field came as close as possible, finishing with a total of (394) entries.  That gives us a total prize pool of over $14,000, well clear of the $10,000 guarantee posted on the event.  There will be (36) players making money tonight, with a min-cash bringing home $91, and first place taking with them $3,797.  Here are the official numbers for the event:

Tuesday $40 No Limit Hold'em ($10,000 Guaranteed)
Total Entries: 394
Total Prize Pool: $14,072

Payouts:

1. $3,797
2. $2,252
3. $1,478
4. $1,020
5. $753
6. $598
7. $457
8. $331
9. $239

10-12. $183

13-15. $148

16-18. $127

19-27. $106

28-36. $91

"Tuesday $10K:" Faces In The Crowd (Part IV)

 While the blog was designed to focus on updates, results, and hand histories, these smaller buy-in events are covered to give player's an opportunity to see their "name in lights."  The "coverage" of these special daily events is something that separates this room from the many in the area, which may be the reason you see so many smiling faces in the field.

Kirby Conserve (left) and Sandy Jean (right) are pictured as they are catching up (and all smiles) between hands.

Sandy Jean also requested that her photo be taken while in action at the table.  Jean doesn't have any recorded results on Hendon Mob, but taking down an event like tonight's would be a great start to a resume.

"Tuesday $10K:" Faces In The Crowd (Part III)

The poker room is about as full as you'll ever see it, with most every table in action on the tournament side...as well as numerous cash games (11 to be exact).  The cash game action is spread across limits that would appeal to most every player.  You could join a 1/2 No Limit game, a 2/5 Pineapple game, or if your preference is "nosebleed," try out the 100/200 Mixed Game that is running at the moment.  We continue our "Faces In The Crowd" feature with some names that should sound familiar to followers of the blog.

Raymond Rickard (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) was the winner of the first "daily" event to ever be blogged here at the Isle.  He asked to be mentioned as "Dirt," and since then, the nickname has just stuck.  "Dirt" has just under $9,500 in career earnings, with his best cashing coming here at the Isle during the 2015 Isle Poker Open (Event 14 - 2nd Place $4,400). 

Yesterday we posted numerous different "couples" in the field, and while the next two players are a pair, it's a pair of brothers.  Nestor Caraballo (Miami, FL) is only a few tables away from his brother at the moment, and needs to do some work to catch up to Hector's resume.  Nestor has over $9,300 in career tournament earnings, with his highlighting score coming earlier this year during the "Isle April $100,000 Guarantee," when he finished in 5th place for $5,139.

The more accomplished of the two Caraballo brothers (Hector) has over $39,000 in career tournament earnings, and also has Isle to thank for his career highlighting score.  In 2012, Hector finished in 3rd place during a $100 buy-in ($100,000 guarantee) event here for over $10,300.

"Tuesday $10K:" Faces In The Crowd (Part II)

While it's easy to spot the players that been featured on the blog before, there are many in the field that fly under the radar.  As they introduce themselves to the "blogger," we introduce them to you during our coverage of these events.  As the field continues to grow, and we eclipse the (200) entry mark, we give you some new names and faces to the blog.

Rafael Ramos (Cape Coral, FL) has over $29,500 in recorded tournament earnings, with a good portion of that coming here at the Isle.  His career best score occurred just a few months ago, when he chopped the Isle "August Monster Stack," a $150 buy-in event that attracted well over 1,000 runners.  The $7,193 finish is his highest score by a few thousand dollars, but a win today would slide ride into second place if it were to happen.

Susan King doesn't have any recorded results on Hendon Mob, but that's likely because she sticks to these "smaller" buy-in events that offer recreational players the opportunity to gain experience...and some extra pocket change.  King is hoping to  notch her first recorded score tonight, as the results of this event (and all the other dailies since November 1) will be submitted to Hendon Mob.

Michele Milker (Delray Beach, FL) is a great example of what were just mentioning with Susan (picture above).  When you find Michele on Hendon Mob, it only yields one result from Palm Beach Kennel Club.  One would think that she would be a "novice," considering those results...but don't fool yourself, she just made a super deep run in this exact tournament last week.

"Tuesday $10K:" Faces In The Crowd (Part I)

The field size has increased by (60) players over the last thirty minutes, which is a pace you can expect for the next hour or so.  The room is littered with notable (and loyal) tournament players, with the three featured below some of the most "die hard."  Dave Henry, Bobby Perniola, and Thomas Millward are in attendance for what seems to be every evening event run during the week.  Their success here at the Isle may be the reason they keep coming back, as their tournament resumes reflect mostly cashes at this poker room.

Dave Henry (Pompano Beach, FL) is the "model" tournament poker player for this room.  He has (31) career results, totaling over $41,000...all of which have come in this room!!! Henry has three recorded Isle Poker title on his resume, with two of them coming only two weeks apart during the 2015 Battle At The Beach (Event #3 and Event #11).

Thomas Millward's (Boca Raton, FL) results aren't as "one-sided" as Dave Henry, as his $36,000 in career earnings spans many different room in the area.  In face, Millward is coming off a career highlighting score at the Palm Beach Kennel Club last week, when he finished in 5th place during the WSOPC $365 No Limit Hold'em event ($12,846).

Robert Perniola's (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) tournament resume isn't as accomplished as the two players mentioned above, but that's likely because these "daily" events weren't submitted to Hendon Mob until earlier this month.  Perniola is a fixture in this dailies, and is still looking to notch his first "recorded" win here at the Isle.

"Tuesday $10K:" No Better Value

It's the tournament that everyone circles on their calendar...the best value you'll find from any tournament run in the area...the Tuesday night $40 No Limit Hold'em with a $10,000 guarantee.  Last week this tournament attracted over (400) entries (with additional add-ons), and saw six players walk away with over $1,000 after a chop was agreed to.  The posted first place prize was over $3,700, which is just a ridiculous return on investment for a tournament price point such as this.  The room is already filling up, and we have (109) players seated...with the cards just getting in the air!!!  Pictures will be posted throughout the night, with updates and official results following as the happen.

"Structure Beast:" 1st Place - Singh ($5,069)

Raminder Singh (Delray Beach, FL) 1st Place - $5,069

"Structure Beast:" 2nd Place - Shafran ($4,738)

Alex Shafran (Boca Raton, FL) 2nd Place - $4,738

"Structure Beast:" 3rd Place - Guardino ($2,878)

Michael Guardino (Coconut Creek, FL) 3rd Place - $2,878

"Structure Beast:" 4th Place - Jaffa ($2,854)

Scott Jaffa (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 4th Place - $2,854

"Structure Beast:" 5th Place - Weiss ($1,416)

Gregg Weiss (Delray Beach, FL) 5th Place ($1,416)

"Structure Beast:" 6th Place - Palace ($1,076)

John Palace (Jupiter, FL) 6th Place - $1,076

"Structure Beast:" 7th Place - Campinpin ($838)

Jeram Campinpin (Jacksonville, FL) 7th Place - $838

"Structure Beast:" 8th Place - Mendes ($623)

Edgard Mendes (Deerfield Beach, FL) 8th Place - $623

"Structure Beast:" 9th Place - Bikus ($442)

Paulius Bikus (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 9th Place - $442

"Structure Beast:" 10th Place - McVay ($351)

Bryce McVay (Jupiter, FL) 10th Place - $351

"Structure Beast:" 10th-12th Places ($351)

The following players have been eliminated from the "Structure Beast," and have cashed for $351:

10. Bryce McVay (Jupiter, FL)
11. Eddie Do (Parkland, FL)
12. Gunnar Rabe (Sweden)

"Structure Beast:" Final Table Seating Assignments

It's been a long day for the players remaining in the "Structure Beast," but there is still a lot of business to be settled.  The ten remaining are currently playing Level 22, with blinds of 5,000/10,000/1,000.  The chip average has gotten a little shallower (236,000), with average stacks playing only (23) big blinds.  Here are the seating assignments for the final table:

1. Alex Shafran
2. Bryce McVay
3. Gregg Weiss
4. Paulius Bikus
5. John Palace
6. Edgard Mendes
7. Scott Jaffa
8. Michael Guardino
9. Jeram Caninpin
10. Raminder Singh

"Structure Beast:" 13th-15th Places ($295)

The following players have been eliminated from the "Structure Beast," and have cashed for $295:

13. Tom Gity (Pompano Beach, FL)
14. Andres Ramirez (Lauderhill, FL)
15. Neil Plotkin (Melbourne, FL)

"Structure Beast:" 16th-18th Places ($261)

The following players have been eliminated from the "Structure Beast," and have cashed for $261:

16. Steven Abramowitz (Boulder, CO)
17. Vendel Johnson (Pembroke Pines, FL)
18. Norman Boothe (Oakland Park, FL)

"Structure Beast:" Field ITM, All Eyes On The Prize

With the elimination of John "O," the "Structure Beast" field is now in the money. Everyone remaining in the tournament is guaranteed at least $261. There are still a lot of "heroes" left, which means that we shouldn't be without some dramatic storylines. This is scheduled to be a one-day event, so we will be crowning a winner in the "wee" hours of the morning.  As we reach each pay jump, a list of players eliminated will be posted, with updated chip counts and photos once we reach the final table.

"Structure Beast:" Final Two Tables On The Money Bubble

The "Final Two" 

Once returning from dinner, the action in the "Structure Beast" slowed down to a crawl, as it took close to two hours to lose (15) players.  We are now two eliminations away from the money bubble, with those remaining playing Level 18 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/500).  The chip average at the moment is just under 120,000, meaning that the average stack is hovering around (30) big blinds.  Here are the lineups for the two tables that remain:

Table 1:

1. Eddie Do
2. Bryce McVay
3. Neil Plotkin
4. Paulius Bikus
5. Edgard Mendes
6. Raminder Singh
7. Norman Booth
8. Jon "O"
9. Vendel Johnson
10. Jean Chery

Table 2:

1. Gregg Weiss
2. Michael Guardino
3. Andres Ramirez
4. Steve Avo
5. John Palace
6. Jeram Caninpin
7. Scott Jaffa
8. Alex Shafran
9. Tom Gity
10. Gunnar Rabe

"Structure Beast:" Still Alive And Creeping Towards The Money

The "Structure Beast" field is only (17) eliminations from the money, and we have a handful of notable names still remaining.  Raminder Singh (Delray Beach, FL) jumped into the event late, and immediately made his presence felt, having chipped up to 80,000 from the original 12,000 starting stack.  Some other names still left in the field include Tom Gity, Angela Julian, Patty Conrad, Edgard Mendes, and Andres Ramirez.

Raminder Singh (Delray Beach, FL) is really a name that needs no introduction here at the Isle.  He seemingly chips up quickly in every event he plays, which could be the reason behind his 2016 tournament cashes ranking.  Singh is 12th in the world currently on Hendon Mob for the year, with (36) recorded results (many of which came in this poker room).

Jeff Burdeen (Delray Beach, FL) is a name that has been mentioned numerous times on the blog, with many of those mentions coming during the Isle Poker Open last month.  Burdeen ended up cashing in one event during the series, falling a few spots short of the Event #9 final table (15th Place - $2,520).

Bryce McVay (Tampa, FL) is a Florida tournament professional with over $150,000 in career earnings, but he calls Tampa home, so most of his results have come in poker rooms north of here.  He's currently sitting with over 100,000 and is looking to score his first tournament cash here at the Isle. 

"Structure Beast:" Official Event Payouts

The dinner break has come and gone, and registration is now closed for the "Structure Beast."  The tournament ended up with (197) total entries, giving us a final prize pool of $22,655.  There are currently (38) players remaining, from which (18) will end up making the money.  Here are the official payouts for the tournament:

$150 No Limit Hold'em "Structure Beast" ($20,000 GTD)
Total Entries: 197
Total Prize Pool: $22,655

Payouts:

1. $7,021
2. $4,078
3. $2,605
4. $1,835
5. $1,416
6. $1,076
7. $838
8. $623
9. $442

10-12. $351

13-15. $295

16-18. $261

"Structure Beast:" Dinner Break, Registration Window Closing

The remaining (54) players are currently on their (30) minute dinner break, and will be returning to Level 13 9600/1,200/2000.  Once play resumes, registration for the event will be closed, and we will then bring you the official numbers for today's event. Live coverage will follow with official results as we reach the money, with players that cash posted after each pay jump.  The tournament will resume at approximately 7:00pm.

"Structure Beast:" Service With A Smile

The remaining players in the field are taking a quick five minute break, while the tournament staff colors off the green (25) chips from play.  There will be another two levels played afterwards, followed by the (30) minute scheduled dinner break.  The field is up to (185) total entries, giving us a current prize pool of $21,275 (first place is over $6,500!!!).

You may think that I'd be slightly bias, having spent countless hours working in this poker room, but the dealers here at the Isle Casino Pompano Beach are some of the best you'll find.  They are always smiling, personable, but most importantly...they run a good game.  Yes...they may throw down a bad beat here and there, but we certainly can't blame them...it's the cards.  It's always nice to recognize the staff for their hard work, so don't forget to thank them when you have a chance.

Marco Chan (Coral Springs, FL) has over $12,000 in recorded tournament earnings, including a deep run in the recent $2,500 Championship Event at Coconut Creek (34th Place - $6,000).  That was Marco's largest career cash to date, so don't be surprised if you see him sitting next to you at one of the many tournament venues in the Florida.

A search of Nick Tally's name didn't yield any recorded tournament results, but he's another dealer that is always smiling, and has a great rapport with the players.

Karl Heine is another dealer without a tournament resume, but that could be because of the time he spends working here in the poker room.  Don't let the lack of results fool you though, a lot of the dealers you see here at the Isle are very adept at poker, having seen hundreds of thousands of hands play out in front of their eyes.

We will have to confirm with Trung Le, but we weren't able to find any results on Hendon Mob, when it comes to tournament poker recorded cashes.  While he may not have a tournament resume, his "dealer" resume is super strong, as he embodies a lot of what a poker room would like to see out of their staff.

"Structure Beast:" Earlier Leaders Across The Room, Guarantee Reached

The first "Structure Beast" tournament of the month attracted a total of (206) entries, and it looks as if we are on the same pace for today's event.  The prize pool was just over $20,000 as players headed on their second break of the day, so everything that arrives before registration closes is just going to "pad the pool."  One of the notables to show up just before break was Raminder Singh, the vocal piece of Slum Donkey Poker.  We are seeing some players separate themselves from the field in terms of chip counts, while the rest of stacks seem pretty flat across the room.

Sahadeo Seenarraine (Tamarac, FL) has (13) recorded cashes for over $6,380 that make up his tournament resume, with all of those cashes coming here at the Isle Poker Room.  Seenarraine is looking to add another score to that list, as he currently sits with over 80,000, and is in the top five in current chip counts.

Greg Barker (Delray Beach, FL) is currently doing something that many poker players seem to have trouble with, continuing an upward trend after a very early "fast start."  You may remember that Barker hit a two-outer earlier in the afternoon to take a immediate chip lead in the field, but he has since continued to accumulate chips, and is just under 90,000 at the moment.

Jean Chery (West Palm Beach, FL) is another player with a small amount of cashes on his tournament resume (three), but is focusing on a deep run today.  Anything better than 6th place this evening would eclipse his total earnings coming into the day, and with his propensity for activity today, it wouldn't surprise anyone to see him spin his 80,000 stack up more than he has to this point.