FSPC Event #14 (Day 1C): Nicholas Mahabee Knocks One Out, Eclipses The Century Mark

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/600)
Total Day 1C Entries: 158
Day 1C Players Remaining: 94

Nicholas Mahabee (Miami, FL) has over $211,000 in lifetime tournament earnings, with his deepest Isle Poker Main Event run coming during the 2016 Isle Open.

Passing by Table 10, we'd see Nicholas Mahabee (Miami, FL) deep in the tank, as he was heads-up on a 7♦ 6♦ 5♣ Q♥ board.  Nicholas had just bet 18,000, with his opponent raising all-in for 41,600.  While Mahabee had his opponent covered, if he was to call and lose, he'd be left with just a few big blinds.  After about forty seconds of thought, Mahabee dropped the chips for a call in front of his cards, and waited to see the hand he was up against:

A. Nonymous: Q♦ J♥
Mahabee: 5♠ 7♠

River: 3♣

It took a few seconds for everyone to find out what the all-in player had, as he was very reluctant to table his hand first.  When he finally did (and Nicholas saw the hand), Mahabee rolled over his two-pair...which were in the lead, but very vulnerable heading to the river.  The two-pair would hold strong though, and Mahabee would eliminate the unknown player from the field.

Nicholas Mahabee - 115,000 (191bb)

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1C): Danit Dayan Enters Late, But Rockets Up The Leaderboard

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 6 (Blinds 300/500/500)
Total Day 1C Entries: 154
Day 1C Players Remaining: 95

Danit Dayan (Miami Beach, FL) plays fast, and applies a lot of pressure, making her a candidate to spin a stack up in a short period of time.

Danit Dayan (Miami Beach, FL) didn't enter the field until the middle of Level 5, but wasted no time acclimating herself to the table, and multiplying her stack.  The once 30,000 unit starting stack has now grown to just over 175,000, and leads the remaining Day 1C players.  Dayan has over $103,000 in lifetime tournament earnings, including an Isle Poker trophy win, from the 2013 Isle Open.  The $20,350 she won for taking down the $1,600 No Limit Hold'em Purple Chip Bounty, still stands as her career best cash.

Danit Dayan - 178,000 (356bb)

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1C): The Field Just Continues To Grow, As The "Dinner Break Entry" Becomes The New Trend

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 6 (Blinds 300/500/500)
Total Day 1C Entries: 143
Day 1C Players Remaining: 101

Michael Newman joined the Day 1C action just before dinner, and while he returned from break with a very short stack, he was able to triple up just a few hands back.

Everything has been bigger during Day 1C, including the amount of players to join the action around the time of dinner break.  We saw a spike of over twenty entries over the last ninety minutes, including the addition of Michael Newman to the field. Michael was a well-known tournament professional in the community, but broke out on more of a country-wide scene, after taking down one of the more prestigious events of the year.  Newman shipped the $3,500 No Limit Hold'em Rock 'N Roll Poker Open Championship Event (Hard Rock Hollywood), earning a career best $374,240.  

Michael has some history in this particular event, reaching the final table of last year's FSPC Main Event, where he finished in 7th place ($23,777).  Other dinner break arrivals include:

Sam Panzica
Raminder Singh
Chad Eveslage
TK Miles
Joshua Beckley
Paul Balzano
Victor Figueroa
Riley Fuller
Adam Adler
Dayan Danit

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1C): Remaining Players Heading On Dinner Break, Play To Resume At 7:20PM

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 5 (Blinds 200/400/400)
Total Day 1C Entries: 127
Day 1C Players Remaining: 106

Players in Day 1C of Event #14 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em FSPC Main Event $500,000 GTD) are about to head on dinner break, and will be returning at 7:10pm.  When play resumes with Level 6, the new blinds being posted will be 300/500/500.

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1C): Updated Chip Counts Before Dinner Break

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 5 (Blinds 200/400/400)
Total Day 1C Entries: 124
Day 1C Players Remaining: 104

The first updated list of Day 1C chip counts see Joe Wilson as the chip leader, as he entered Level 5 with 115,000.

A lap around the field yielded some of the larger stacks in the tournament area, with Joe Wilson currently leading the way (115,000).  Wilson is the only player to have eclipsed the century mark, but that's sure to change over the next level or so.  At the end of this level, players will be heading on their dinner break, which will run from 6:21pm-7:11pm.  Listed below, are some of the chip counts collected from the early stages of Level 5:

Joe Wilson - 115,000 (287bb)
Mike Gutterman - 80,000 (200bb)
Richard Griffis - 75,000 (187bb)
Christopher Gilkey - 70,000 (175bb)
Stephen Ibrahim - 65,000 (162bb)
Israel De La Cerda - 65,000 (162bb)
Diane Linke - 60,000 (150bb)
Richard Kirsch - 57,000 (142bb)
David Alberston - 54,000 (135bb)
Vanessa Rousso - 49,000 (122bb)

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1C): A Little Run Good For The "Hat Giveaway" Winner

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 4 (Blinds 200/300/300)
Total Day 1C Entries: 123
Day 1C Players Remaining: 104

Scott Levitt (Delray Beach, FL) didn't even know about the giveaway until he checked his Twitter on the walk in, but may have found himself a little run good attire.

Before the start of Day 1C, Tournament Supervisor Ralph Brandt (@uniden32) tweeted out a hat giveaway, with the first three people to follow @PokerIslePP and @SuitedPokerGear winning a hat.  Two of those players were participants in today's Day 1C, and the pair are running above average at the moment.  Scott Levitt sits with just over 71,000, and is looking to find himself a bag, after unsuccessful attempts the past two days.  Ross Willner (Boca Raton, FL) was the first player to be awarded the headwear, and happens to be sitting with a 63,000 stack.

The "hat run good" can not yet be confirmed as a definite, but if it ends up being the case, Ralph does have seven more available for players in tomorrow's field.

Scott Levitt - 71,000 (236bb)
Ross Williner - 63,000 (210bb)

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1C): Here We "Grow," Day 1C Already The Largest Field Size

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 4 (Blinds 200/300/300)
Total Day 1C Entries: 112
Day 1C Players Remaining: 98

Rafael Reis (Orlando, FL) wasn't going to pass up on this event, especially considering the size of the final prize pool.

The number of entries on the tournament clock has been rising at a steady pace, as the Day 1C has already surpassed the number from Day 1A (which was the largest with 106 entries).  The list of notables continues to grow longer, as players like Richard Kirsch, Tony Ruberto, and Rafael Reis joined the action in the last hour.  Reis returns from Las Vegas with some nice cashes, including a runner-up finish in the $300 No Limit Hold'em "Big Low Roller," which was held at Planet Hollywood.  Rafael earned $30,382 for the second place share (of a five-way deal), which was the largest score of his summer.  Reis is a proven beast in the super-large field events, and has also seen some success in these $1,500 buy-in main events.  He made the final table of the 2017 Battles At The Beach Main Event, finishing in 7th place ($20,172).

Rafael joins good friend Rafael Fernandes and Wagner Correia (who were also late arrivals), as we look to put a bow on the list of notables in today's field:

Ruslan Dykshteyn
Brandon Ageloff
Kobi Ribak
Jose Parra
Eric Brewster
Maurice Hawkins
Maurice Lightner
Hyndi Khomutetsky
Austin Kempa
TJ Shulman
David Inselberg
Qasem Jamhour

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1C): Mike Guttermann Coolers Adel Jo, Heads To Break With A Top Stack

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 3 (Blinds 100/200/200)
Total Day 1C Entries: 95
Day 1C Players Remaining: 88

Mike Guttermann (Delray Beach, FL) will head to break at one of the chip leaders, after flopping top set against the two-pair of Adel Jo.

About twenty minutes into the level, we'd spot a hand unfolding between Adel Jo and Mike Guttermann, as the two were on the turn (of a board that read Q♠ 3♠ 5♥ 8♦).  With over 20,000 in the pot, we approached just as Adel checked the turn, with Guttermann going all-in (forcing Adel to decide for his tournament life).  Jo begrudgingly made the call, only to see Guttermann table Q♥ Q♦.  It was tough for Adel to put Mike on that particular hand, considering he held Q♣ 3♣.  Jo's two-pair would be drawing dead heading to the river, and he'd collect his things and exit the table.  Gutterman collected Adel's last 21,000...along with the pot, chipping up to 73,000.

Mike Guttermann - 73,000 (365bb)

Players are heading on their first break of the day (at the end of this level), and will be returning to new blinds of 200/300/300.

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1C): Tristan Wade Hoping To Continue A Very Solid Summer

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 3 (Blinds 100/200/200)
Total Day 1C Entries: 84
Day 1C Players Remaining: 77

Tristan Wade (Boynton Beach, FL) couldn't get his hands on a second WSOP bracelet, but did have a great summer, cashing in seven WSOP events.

We are beginning to see a lot of notable players that are arriving for the first time all series, as the window is beginning to close on registration for this event.  While Tristan Wade (Boynton Beach, FL) doesn't technically fall into that group (he played in one event earlier this week), he is making one of his few Isle Poker Room appearances.  Wade final tabled Event #13 ($360 No Limit Hold'em Six-Max $10,000 GTD) on Wednesday, finishing in 8th place, and earning $817 for his efforts.

Wade can add that result to the eight he recorded over the summer, in what was a very impressive run out at the WSOP.  Of those eight cashes, seven of them were in WSOP events, with the other coming during the MSPT series at the Venetian.  That MSPT cash happened to be his largest of the summer, finishing 16th in the $3,500 No Limit Hold'em Big Blind Ante ($34,371).  In total, Tristan had combined earnings of $88,745 over the month long "summer camp," bringing his career total to $1,718,503.

Some other players that we only see a few times a year (that are in today's field) include:

Jay Feierstadt
Mark Dube
Nghia Nguyen
Thuy Kuwano
Richard Zipes
Sheddy Siddiqui
Leo Birov
Mihaly Lukacs
George Fountoulakis

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1C): Looking To Defend His Title, Daryl Jace Takes His Seat At Table 5

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 2 (Blinds 100/100/100)
Total Day 1C Entries: 81
Day 1C Players Remaining: 74

We began to wonder whether last year's champ was going to show up, but any doubts were just squashed, as Daryl Jace (Saugus, MA) took his seat at Table 5.

The event's defending champ just took his seat at Table 5, as Daryl Jace (Saugus, MA) returns to the Isle Poker Room for the first time in a while.  Daryl bested a field of (548) entries, and a final table stacked with notable names, to win his first ever major title.  After beating Samuel Mayer-Backer during heads-up  play, Jace would earn $142,173, which still stands as his largest tournament cash to date.  Daryl has since recorded six cashes, including a 16th place finish in April's $1,100 No Limit Hold'em Single-Ante ($3,424).  

Jace headlines our second look at notables in this Day 1C field, joining the likes of:

Noel Atherley
Tim Shane
Joel Deutsch
Jesica Gonzalez
Ross Willner
Christopher Zito
Leo Birov
Donald Francois
Marc Duquette
John Restrepo

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1C): Diane Linke's PCA Ladies Event Title Comes Full Circle

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 2 (Blinds 100/100/100)
Total Day 1C Entries: 60
Day 1C Players Remaining: 58

Diane Linke (Delray Beach, FL) had her 2010 PCA experience come full circle earlier today, when she was able to have Vanessa Rousso sign a picture they took together.  The pair were the two winners of the Ladies Events that ran during the series.

In 2010, Diane Linke (Delray Beach, FL) won the $330 No Limit Hold'em Ladies Event at the PCA (PokerStars Carribean Adventure), besting a field of (73) entries to win $6,504.  That also happened to be the series that Vanessa Rousso won the $1,000 No Limit Hold'em Ladies Event, with the two crossing paths over the course of the week.  Linke was able to get a picture with Vanessa, which she kept as a memento from the trip.  

Now eight years later, Vanessa Rousso is at the Isle Poker Room, and doing a "meet and greet" for players and fans.  Linke was able to bring the old photo to have signed, and talk to Rousso for a short while, as the two shared memories of the series.  With that taken care of, Diane is now focused on the task at hand...trying to bag chips for Monday's Day 2.  Linke is one of the more successful tournament players at the Isle, with two five-figure scores in $360 No Limit Hold'em multis.  One of those cashes came during last year's FSPC, when she won Event #7 for $32,500 (a career best cash).

Diane was one of the first players seated at their table this afternoon, joining a group of "early bird" arrivals:

Scott Levitt 
Matthew Lambrecht
Pedro Palacio
David Albertson
Michael Beasley
Vanessa Rousso
Jim Gleason

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1C): Official Chip Counts (Flight 1A-Flight 1B)

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 1 (Blinds 100/100)
Total Day 1C Entries: 40
Day 1C Players Remaining: 40

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1C): Third Starting Day About To Begin, Big Numbers Expected

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 1 (Blinds 100/100)
Total Day 1C Entries: N/A
Day 1C Players Remaining: N/A

The $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Florida State Poker Championship Main Event has reached it's midway point, with two starting days in the books, and two yet to be played.  The third of four starting days is about to begin, as players are in their seats, and ready for the first hand of Day 1C to be dealt.  

To this point in the event, there have been a total of (192) entries, of which (39) players have bagged chips for Monday's Day 2 (12:00pm).  The combined prize pool currently sits at $189,120, with just (179) needed to reach the $500,000 guaranteed prize pool.

Players are chasing down Luis Zedan (Miami, FL) who bagged the Flight 1B chip lead with 564,500, which also happens to be the overall leading number.  Those that are looking to set a goal in today's flight can put the number 148,000, which is the current chip average for those that have bagged Day 2 stacks.

An official post with Day 2 chip counts will be posted shortly, followed by an initial look at notables players in this Day 1C field.

Saturday, July 28th: As The FSPC Main Event Continues, Players Have Opportunity To Meet Vanessa Rousso And Scott Nguyen (12:30-1:30PM)

ICYMI: The second opening day of Event #14 ($1,500 NLH Florida State Poker Championship $500,000 GTD) headlined yesterday's schedule, and definitely didn't disappoint.  We saw the return of numerous notable players, a new overall chip leader, and the appearance of Vanessa Rousso and Scott Nguyen.  Vanessa showed up early in the day, sitting down to a poker table for the first time in over a year (after graduating law school and studying for the bar).  After peaking over 100,000 after dinner break, Vanessa would see her stack slip, and would eventually be eliminated during Level 11.  Scotty chose to show up later in the day, which ended up working out for him, as he bagged 93,000 for Monday's Day 2 (12:00pm).  Both players will be back in the poker room this afternoon, as they have a "meet and greet" scheduled from 12:30pm-1:30pm.  Anyone interested in getting an autograph or picture from the pair, can arrive to the poker room during that time period to do so.

Day 1B would close with (86) entries, of which (15) players were able to bag chips for Monday's Day 2.  The overall prize pool sits at $189,120, with two more flights left to be played.  Luis Zedan bagged the chip lead (564,500), which also happens to be the top overall number, leading the (39) players to have booked tickets to Day 2.  Rounding out the top five Day 1B stacks were:

Luis Zedan - 564,500
Raj Vohra - 428,000
David Coughlin - 355,000
Brian Wilson - 187,500
Dmitry Agrachov - 165,000

Event #14 continues this afternoon, with Day 1C getting underway at 2:00pm, as the numbers are expected to pick up.  Live blogged coverage will be available throughout the afternoon/evening, and will continue through the bagging process.

Tournaments: For the next two days, the tournament schedule will focus solely on Event #14, and the 2018 Florida State Poker Championship $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Main Event ($500,000 GTD).  Not only are there starting flights each day, but multiple satellites are also offered each day, giving players the opportunity to join the tournament for a fraction of the price.

The day kicks off at 10:00am, with a $175 No Limit Hold'em Satellite Into Event #14, which will run with a (1) seat guarantee.  The satellite is structured with 12,000 unit starting stacks, and levels that last (20) minutes each.  Registration for the event is open through Level 8, and the ten minute break that follows.

At 2:00pm, the cards will fly for Day 1C of Event #14 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em FSPC Main Event $500,000 GTD), the second of four starting flights for the event.  The series' premier tournament offers an incredible structure, with players sitting down to starting stacks of 30,000 units.  Levels 1-12 will last (50) minutes (which is the duration of each opening flight), and will transition to (60) minutes from Level 13 onward.  Registration will be open through Level 12 (all of the opening flight), and will stay that way until the first card is dealt on Day 2 (12:00pm on Monday).

Right around the time Day 1C players are on dinner break, the second satellite of the day will be getting underway (6:00pm).  The $340 No Limit Hold'em Satellite Into Event #14 will be guaranteeing (8) seats into the FSPC Main Event.  Players will be sitting down to starting stacks of 15,000 units, with levels last (20) minutes for the duration of the event.  Registration is open through Level 8, and the ten minute break that follows. 

Promotions: The standard high hands begin at 9:00am, with the opportunity to win $400 every (30) minutes. During that period , the promotion sees tournament (FSPC Event #14 and satellite not eligible) 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.  

At 6:00pm, the promotion transitions, and offers the opportunity for players to earn $1,500 every (30) minutes.  During that time period, high hands will be awarded as follows (if a player flops a qualifying high hand, that holds up for the time period, they will be awarded $1,500):

NLH: 2 Cards ($1,000) 1 Card ($500)

Limit Hold'em: 2 Cards ($500) 1 Card ($250)

From 12:00am-9:00am, players are eligible for $100 high hands every hour.

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).

10:00am - 2018 Florida State Poker Championship (Satellite Schedule)| $175 No Limit Hold'em Satellite Into Event #14 ($1,500 NLH FSPC Main Event $500,000 GTD) 1 Seat GTD

- Players start with 12,000 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

2:00pm - 2018 Florida State Poker Championship Event #14 (Day 1C)| $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Main Event ($500,000 GTD) 

- Players start with 30,000 in tournament chips

- Late and re-entries for the first (12) levels, including before the first hand is dealt on Day 2

- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack

- Levels 1-12 will last (50) minutes, transitioning to (60) minutes Levels 13+

6:00pm - 2018 Florida State Poker Championship (Satellite Schedule)| $340 No Limit Hold'em Satellite Into Event #14 ($1,500 NLH FSPC Main Event $500,000 GTD) 8 Seats GTD

- Players start with 15,000 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

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1B): Official End Of Day 1B Chip Counts

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 12 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/2,000)
Total Day 1B Entries: 86
Day 1B Players Remaining: 15

Luis	Zedan	564,500
Raj	Vohra	428,000
David	Coughlin	355,000
Brian	Wilson	187,500
Dimitry	Agrachov	165,000
Steven	Rosen	119,500
Ian	O'Hara	105,000
Erik	Nomberg	104,500
Matthew	Smith	104,000
Juan	Martinez	102,500
Scotty	Nguyen	93,000
Ivan	Starostin	89,000
Dan	Rauhbaum	68,500
Josh	Kay	59,500
Andrew	Daire	35,500

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1B): Just Three Tables Remain, As Play Enters The Final Level Of The Evening

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 12 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/2,000)
Total Day 1B Entries: 86
Day 1B Players Remaining: 19

The tournament clock just transitioned to Level 12, which is the final scheduled level of the evening.  When 10:00 minutes remain on the tournament clock, the time will be paused, and the tournament staff will inform players how many hands are left in the night.  Once those hands are completed at each table, the bags will be brought out, and players will pack away their chips for Monday's Day 2 (12:00pm).

Once bags have been verified by tournament staff, the official Day 1B chip counts will be posted here on the blog.

FSPC Event #14 (Day 1B): Vanessa Rousso's Evening Ends Short Of Bagging, Back Tomorrow

2018 Florida State Poker Championship
Event #14 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em ($500,000 GTD)
Level 11 (Blinds 800/1,600/1,600)
Total Day 1B Entries: 86
Day 1B Players Remaining: 21

After a string of bad hands, couldn’t seem to build my stack back. Out late in the day (level 11) @PokerIslePP, back at it for 2nd try tmrw!

— 🦄Vanessa Rousso (@VanessaRousso) July 28, 2018