Event 8 (Flight 1C): Official Flight 1C Chip Counts

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/400)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 165

Flight 1C Players Remaining: 35

Thomas	Cuce	291,500
Antonio	Albanes	234,500
Paul	Vieira	226,500
Marc	Levy	199,500
Rafael	Reis	193,000
Dimitry	Agrachov	177,500
Louis	Leo, IV	168,500
Michael	Gariepy	142,500
Elias	Nassif	142,000
Luminita	Petric	139,500
Amir	Baroa	138,000
John	Sidman	126,000
Michael	Amato	121,500
Amir	Susak	120,500
Matthew	Yorra	120,000
Oniel	McCalla	116,000
Ben	Robinson	115,000
Clayton	Fletcher	115,000
Leo	Birov	108,500
Lou	Stadler	107,000
Luis	Santoni	102,500
Luke	Poljak	100,000
Debra	Pope	95,000
Eric	Polirer	85,500
Daniel	Letts	85,000
John	Restrepo	83,000
Scott	Hart	80,000
Michael	Tufaro	80,000
Tom	Gity	70,500
Richard	Griffis	64,000
Daniel	Sirota	59,000
Luke	McIntosh	57,000
Changfei	Cui	28,500
Manuel	Jo	27,000
Michael	Rizzuto	5,000

Event 8 (Flight 1C): "Glad We Played Five Hands, And Not Three"

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/400)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 165

Flight 1C Chip Leader Tom Cuce (Boca Raton, FL)

This was one of the more entertaining final levels to watch, as three different players held the chip lead, and one player made a run after entering at the beginning of Level 14.  Marc Levy was able to turn the 25,000 starting stack into over 200,000 in a matter of (20) minutes, while Rafael Ramos, Antonio Albanes, and Tom Cuce "battled" for the Battles At The Beach Main Event seat.  

It looked like Alabanes was going to take down the bonus, after getting a player to make a "speculative" call, while Antonio held a full house.  That pot put Albanes over 230,000, and while Tom Cuce was in striking distance (and at the same table), there were only five hands remaining in the night.  On the fourth of five hands, Cuce got it in (blind v. blind) holding A A against his opponents Q J.  The pot was over 100,000, and after Cuce's pocket aves held, he'd grab the chip lead with one hand to go.  The final hand would be played without dramatics, and once all tables finished up, Tom Cuce would be declared the flight's chip leader.

Official chip counts will be posted once the bagging process finishes (and tournament staff verifies the numbers), which should be somewhere around 8:00pm.  This will conclude the "live coverage" for the day, but followers of the blog can look forward to official chip counts from both this flight, and the evening's Flight 1D.

Event 8 (Flight 1C): And The Race Is On!!

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 13 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/300)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 164

Tom Cuce (Boca Raton, FL)

Players are about to enter the final level of play for the day, and we have yet to see anyone eclipse the 200,000 mark.  That means that the "chip lead bonus" is really anyone's to take at the moment, with a cluster of stacks between the 100,000-150,000 mark.  Dmitry Agrachov has been holding strong for a good portion of the day, but he hasn't been able to separate from the field.

Dmitry Agrachov - 170,000

Tom Cuce - 160,000

Luminita Petrica - 155,000

Alan Saltzman - 135,000

The clock will be passed with 10:00 minutes remaining in Level 14, and those still left will play five hands, before the bagging process begins.  We will bring you an update at the level's conclusion with the top stack, followed by official chip counts for the flight.

Event 8 (Flight 1C): Updated Chip Counts Before Final Break

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 12 (Blinds 800/1,600/300)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 167

Alan Saltzman (Lantana, FL)

After completing a few laps around the field to grab chip counts, we see Alan Saltzman (Lantana, FL) climbing up the leaderboard.  Saltzman has over $109,000 in live tournament earnings, a bulk of which came during this series last year.  Alan won Event 2 ($570 No Limit Hold'em) for $82,100, and followed that up with a seventh place finish in the $1,500 Main Event for just over $20,000.  Dmitry Agrachov still leads the field, but a handful of players are closing the gap:

Dmitry Agrachov - 170,000

Louis Leo - 135,000

Alan Saltzman - 120,000

Nagi Yassa - 120,000

Josh Sidman - 105,000

Dolphus Powers - 100,000

Luke Mcintosh - 100,000

Michael Tufaro - 100,000

Players are now taking their final break of the flight, and will return to finish off the last two scheduled levels, before bagging their chips for Sunday's Day 2. 

Event 8 (Flight 1C): Lots Of "Heroes" Still Remain

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 11 (Blinds  600/1,200/200)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 167

The Flight 1C field is down to (68) players from the (167) total entries, with a large number of notable players still alive.  Updated chip counts will be tallied during the next level (Level 12), with players then taking their final break of the day, and returning to play the last two scheduled levels.  Here is a list of players that are still alive in the field:

Guillermo Irving

Frederico Dabus

Michel Gariepy

Tom Gity

Daniel Letts

Giovanni Cantatore

Zach Mullinax

Lou Stadler

Dmitry Agrachov

Antonio Albanes

Ory Hen

Luminita Petric

Bryce McVay

Adel Jo

Lou Santoni

Changfei Cui

Rafael Reis

Mark Dube

Debra Pope

Event 8 (Flight 1C): "It's Time To Play Some Poker"

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 10 (Blinds 500/1,000/200)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 155

Michael Tufaro (Ft. Myers, FL)

Any hand that starts with the opener saying, "It's time to play some poker," before he tosses a raise forward, has to be a notable one.  While Rafael Reis did exclaim that before he opened from early position, he actually never had a chance to even see the flop.  After an unknown player called Reis's open, Nancy Thomas shoved for 12,000, followed by Michael Tufaro re-shoving on the button for just over 30,000.  Reis ended up folding his hand, and after a long tank by the first player to call the original raise, he would toss a chip forward (signifying a call):

Thomas: 5♥ 5♦

Tufaro: A♣ A♦

Player X: 10♦ 10♥

Runout: 7♠ 4♥ 3♣ 9♠ A♠

Thomas would ask the dealer for a five or six after that flop, but it would be Tufaro's pocket aces that would hold for the win.  After his stack a matched, and the pot was shipped his way, Tufaro would chip up to 75,000.

Event 8 (Flight 1C): Albanes Feeling "Groovy" Once Again

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 9 (Blinds 400/800/100)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 153

Antonio Albanes (Key Largo, FL)

The last we saw Antonio Albanes (Key Largo, FL), he was more likely wanting to toss his patented "groovy" glasses, than wear them in a hand.  Albanes was cruising on Day 2 of Event 1 last weekend, poised to make a deep final table run...until he got involved in a hand with the only player at the table holding a similar stack size.  Antonio had to watch as his pocket aces were cracked by pocket queens, as his opponent flopped top set, eventually leaving Albanes with just one orange chip (1,000).  Antonio would be eliminated the very next hand, walking away in 14th place ($1,308).

With that now behind him, Albanes is back where he left off (prior to that hand), controlling his current table, and sitting with a top three stack.  He joins Dmitry Agrachov as the only players to have eclipsed the century mark, and is looking to continue the trend towards a "chip lead bonus."

Event 8 (Flight 1C): Agrachov With The Early Lead Before Break

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 8 (Blinds 300/600/75)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 143

Dmitry Agrachov (Weston, FL)

Yesterday it was Timothy Kegel, who grabbed the early chip lead, amassing a stack over 125,000 just a handful of levels into the day.  Kegel was not able to find a bag though, as he was eliminated by the eventual flight leader Ido Ashkenazi.  It's a testament to the wise words, "It's not how you start, but how you finish."  While an early chip lead doesn't come with any guarantees, it's much better than grinding a peashooter for most of the day.

Today's early chip leader is Dmitry Agrachov (Weston, FL), a very accomplished tournament professional with over $423,500 in career earnings.  Dmitry is already off to a hot start this year, cashing in five events to date, including a final table finish during the $300 No Limit Hold'em (Event 1) event at Beau Rivage in Biloxi (5th Place - $35,467).  

Dmitry Agrachov - 145,000

Oneil McCalla - 96,000

Evan Braunstein - 85,000

Antonio Albanes - 70,000

Zach Mullinax - 68,000

Mike Rizzuto - 60,000

Dolphins Powers - 59,000

Players will head on their second break of the day at the conclusion of this level, returning to Level 9, and new blinds of 500/1,000/100.

Event 8 (Flight 1C): Last Look At Notables, Time For Some Action

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 7 (Blinds 250/500/50)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 135

The field just continues to grow, and the names that are arriving continue to trump the last (in terms of "notability" and resume), but at some point we need to focus on the action at hand.  A lap through the field didn't yield any stacks over the century mark just yet, but they'll be sure to pop up shortly.  Before we tally the first updated chip counts from the field, here is a final look at some of the big names to have taken their seats over the last level:

Taylor Dean-Lipson

Vendel Johnson

Mark Dube

Kevin Chan

Uri Kadosh

Elias Nassif

Eric Polirer

Dmitry Agrachov

Event 8 (Flight 1C): Shaping Up To Be Something Special

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 6 (Blinds 200/400/50)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 121

Rafael Reis (Curitiba, Brazil)

As mentioned in an earlier post, this same tournament (just one month ago) had a field of (583) entries...we are looking at reaching that number during Flight 1D.  We could potentially see a prize pool well over $300,000, and a first place prize somewhere close to $50,000!  This event's coverage has seen one common trend, and that is "breakout" players (or breakout years for players).  Now Rafael Reis's "breakout" came in 2014, where he went from earning $8,000 the year before, to over $103,000.  Reis then followed that up with over $123,000 in 2015, but he was missing something on his resume...a six-figure score.  

After introducing himself to the blog during the 2016 Isle Poker Open, Reis went on to play in the opening event of the 2016 Rock N' Roll Poker Open ($360 No Limit Hold'em) at SHR.  The tournament had the largest field in Florida's history (5,018), and after a nine-way deal was agreed to, Reis would earn himself the trophy...and his first six-figure score ($155,642).  Rafael is back in action  here at the Isle for the first time since the Isle Poker Open, and is just one of large group of players to enter during break:

Brian O'Keefe

Changfei Cui

Dolphus Powers

Michael Wetcher

Paula Alibrandi

Zaki Lichaa

Michael Rizzuto

Moshe Wasser

Event 8 (Flight 1C): Luminita Looking For A Repeat Performance

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 5 (Blinds 150/300/25)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 105

Luminita Petric (West Palm Beach, FL)

This same event was run just over a month ago, during the 2017 Isle Poker Classic, and drew a field of (583) entries.  Now we are looking at a different animal this series, as we may eclipse that number by the time tonight's Flight 1D has concluded.  With that in mind, Luminita Petric (West Palm Beach, FL) would likely sign up right now for the same run she made in that earlier event.  Petric was part of a six-way deal that was agreed upon to end the tournament, with Petric earning sixth place money ($16,646), the largest cash of her career.  Since that night (January 6th), Petric has cashed in three high profile events, including two final tables:

Luminita has already bested her career earnings in 2017 alone, and is looking to make this a true "breakout" year.  Petric tops the list of late entries to join the field since just before break:

Gregory Spinder

Timothy Kegel

Sheldon Gross

Michael Tufaro

Joshua Wasserman

Allan Bieler

Ryan Gianquitti

Benkamin Robinson

Luis Santoni

Debra Pope

Giovanni Cantatore

Event 8 (Flight 1C): Stabinski's Second Shot

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 4 (Blinds 100/200)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 85

Daren Stabinski (Miami, FL)

There's the "model of consistency," and then there is Daren Stabinski (Miami, FL).  Since 2011, Daren's tournament resume has been consistent in terms of volume, but even more impressive has been the fact that his total earnings have increased each and every year.  From $9,076 in 2011, to $153,463 last year, Stabinsky has put together a resume with career earnings over $553,000.  While he has (8) titles to his name, none of those cashes were more than his third place finish during last years Isle Poker Open $1,200 Main Event ($65,000).  Daren's first bullet (Flight 1A) didn't pan out like he may have wanted, but he's in the field again this afternoon, looking to bag up chips for Sunday's Day 2.  Stabinski joins our second wave of notables in the field, including the likes of:

Nancy Thomas

Craig Schlesinger

Karin Powsner

Tom Gity

Kobi Ribak

Michel Gariepy

Frank Katana

Dwight Pinkerton

Paul Shafran

Mark Guadino

Nagui Yassa

Raymond Winters

Daniel Letts

Players will be taking their first break of the day at this level's conclusion, returning to Level 5, and new blinds of 150/300/25.

Event 8 (Flight 1C): Braunstein Looking For Back-To-Back "Majors"

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 3 (Blinds 75/150)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 60

Evan Braunstein (Lighthouse Point, FL)

Event 1 trophy winner Evan Braunstein (Lighthouse Point, FL) ditched the hoodie and sunglasses, for a button down and slicked back hair, making almost easy to overlook him in the field.  After a few days away from poker, Evan is back in action, and looking to be the first player to win back-to-back "major" events during a seasonal series (Isle Poker Classic, Isle Poker Open, Florida State Poker Championships, or Battles At The Beach).  The $22,251 that Evan earned as his part of the four-way deal is by far his largest tournament cash, and eclipsed his total earnings coming into the event.  Before he can even think about another title, navigating his way through one of these opening flights is first and foremost.  Braunstein headlines our early look at notables in the field:

Antonio Albanes

Frederico Dabus

Dylan Drazen

Zach Mullinex

Luiz Stadler

Ory Hen 

John Palace

Bryce McVay

Event 8 (Flight 1C): Official Chip Counts (Flights 1A-1B)

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 2 (Blinds 50/100)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 44

Combined chip counts from yesterday's flights

Event 8 (Flight 1C): Flight 1C Kicks Off Weekend Action

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)

Total Flight 1C Entries: 28

Tournament supervisor just finished up yet another sterling rendition of the rules announcement for the seated Flight 1C players, and the cards are now in the air.  Yesterday's pair of flights drew a total of (315) entries, and amassed $96,075 towards the overall prize pool.  A total of (61) players booked their tickets to Sunday's Day 2 action, with Ido Ashkenazi (402,000) and Haim Shrayer (264,500) bagging the chip lead for their respective flights.

The same rules apply for today's flights, as players sit down to 25,000 starting stacks, play a scheduled (14) levels (at 30 minutes each), and have all day to enter each flight (registration open until the cards are in the air for Day 2).  You can look forward to updates during each level of this afternoon flight, as we reach the halfway point of the "multi-flight madness."

Friday, February 24th: Event 8 Flights Continue, High Hands Abound

Yesterday's Event 8 action opened up with the first two flights of the tournament, attracting a total of (315) entries.  After everything wrapped up for the day (around 2:00am), (61) players bagged chips for Sunday's Day 2.  The afternoon flight (Flight 1A) saw Ido Ashkenazi (Queens, NY) bag the chip lead with 402,000, earning himself a seat into the Battles At The Beach $1,500 Main Event.  Haim Shrayer (264,500) bagged the evening flight's (Flight 1B) chip lead, joining Ido in the penultimate event of the series.  We also saw the return of Raminder "Real Deal" Singh (Delray Beach, FL), back in action after winning the WSOPC $1,675 Main Event at the Palm Beach Kennel Club.  Singh bagged 87,500 in Flight 1B, assuring his reappearance this weekend.

There are two more Event 8 flights on the schedule today, with Flight 1C beginning at 11:00am, followed by Flight 1D at 6:00pm.  There are two popular high hand promotions on the schedule as well, with "Turbo High Hands" to start the day (9:00am-12:00pm), followed by high hands every (20) minutes from 12:00pm-12:00am ($250 from 12:00-4:00pm, transitioning to $500 from 4:00pm-12:00am).

11:00am - Event 8 (Battles At The Beach) Flight 1C $360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack $200,000 GTD 

- Players receive 25,000 in tournament chips
- All late registrants and re-entries receive a full stack
- Levels 1-14 will be (30) minutes, Levels 15+ will be (50) minutes
- Late registration and re-entries for the first (14) levels, to include before the first card on Day 2
- The chip leader from each flight will win a $1,500 BATB Main Event seat (for any Day 1)

6:00pm - Event 8 (Battles At The Beach) Flight 1D $360 No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack $200,000 GTD

- Players receive 25,000 in tournament chips
- All late registrants and re-entries receive a full stack
- Levels 1-14 will be (30) minutes, Levels 15+ will be (50) minutes
- Late registration and re-entries for the first (14) levels, to include before the first card on Day 2
- The chip leader from each flight will win a $1,500 BATB Main Event seat (for any Day 1)

Event 8 (Flight 1B): Official Flight 1B Chip Counts

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/400)

Total Flight 1B Entries: 164

Flight 1B Players Remaining: 33

Haim	Shrayer	264,500
Rob	Kessler	239,500
Jordon	Meltzer	205,000
Pete	Gargarian	200,000
Steve	Ekin	193,500
Raymond	Ruszkowski	192,000
Marcus	Stein	190,500
Scott	Efrol	181,000
Julio	Sanchez	172,000
Jose	Raul Vargas	159,500
Gili	Prizament	142,500
Angelo	D'Angelo	135,500
Albert	Barney	131,000
Alex	Nguyen	130,500
Charles	Odenz	126,000
Bret	Grebow	125,500
Bill	Napier	110,500
Trent	Smith	110,000
Gunnar	Rabe	105,500
Anthony	Astarita	88,000
Raminder	Singh	87,500
Connor	White	79,500
Jonathan	Hilton	78,000
Steven	Carswell	78,000
John	Deignan	77,500
Marc	Daquelle	73,500
John	Magnetta	69,000
James	Salmon	68,000
Michael	Tait	68,000
Holland	Preap	67,500
Mauricio	Duarte	63,500
Rafael	Calero	53,500
Chauncey	Morris	52,500

Event 8 (Flight 1A): Official Flight 1A Chip Counts

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/400)

Total Flight 1A Entries: 151

Flight 1A Players Remaining: 28

Ido	Ashkenazi	402,000
TJ	Shulman	315,000
Manuel	Amaro-Alvarez	247,000
Damien	Simon	245,000
Jeff	Kessler	240,500
Matthew	Vetstein	199,000
Edward	Novak	179,000
Frank	Scala	160,500
Bret	Beebe	159,000
Asher	Conniff	155,000
Eugene	Cavaceci	142,000
Fred	Allenspach	142,000
Tracy	Scala	126,000
Rolando	Garcia	113,000
Juan	Rodriguez	107,500
Albert	Niebla	106,000
Gerald	Mortensen	91,000
Jason	Wandling	89,000
Erik	Silevitch	86,000
Marc	Sacheli	80,500
Montgomery	Cole	78,000
Joseph	Duchman	73,500
Kiaran	McLaughlin	58,500
Paul	Shafran	49,000
Mike	Fryett	45,000
Carlos	Loving	37,500
Sheldon	Gross	37,000
Andrew	Touchette	34,000

Event 8 (Flight 1A): Ashkenazi Bags Flight 1A Chip Lead

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/400)

Total Flight 1A Entries: 151

Ido Ashkenazi (Queens, NY)

Ido Ashkenazi (Queens, NY) made the most of the final two hours of play, starting his steady rise to the top during Level 11.  He won a pot during that level to chip up to 115,000, and never looked back from there.  It looked as if there was going to be some drama with the "race," but Ashkenazi won that key pot that eliminated Timothy Kegel, and essentially gave Ido the chips needed to coast for the rest of the flight.  TJ Shulman made a valiant effort to catch Ido over the final two levels of the day, but ended up falling short of the $1,500 Main Event seat.  Once the bagging process has concluded, a full list of official chip counts will be posted.

This will conclude today's "live blogged coverage," but followers of the blog can check back for chip counts from both this flight, and Flight 1B (which began at 6:00pm).

Event 8 (Flight 1A): Final Level Of The Flight

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 14 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/400)

Total Flight 1A Entries: 151

The remaining players in the Flight 1A field just started playing Level 14, which is the final level of the day.  The clock will be paused with 10:00 minutes on the clock, at which point the tournament supervisors will announce how many hands are left to play.  Once those hands are over, the bagging process will begin, and we will follow with an update on the winner of the "chip lead bonus."  Once the bagging process has concluded, a full list of official flight chip counts will be posted.

Event 8 (Flight 1A): Ashkenazi Gains Some Separation

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 13 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/300)

Total Flight 1A Entries: 151

What could be the deciding "chip lead bonus" pot just went down, with Ido Ashkenazi pulling away from the field after it's conclusion.  The action was caught up with on the flop, as three players (Ido Ashkenazi, Jose Rodriguez, and Timothy Kegel) were staring down at a board of 9♦ J♣ 5♣.  Ido checked to start the action, with Jose Rodriguez betting 17,000, and Kegel calling behind.  Ashkenazi then check-raised to 41,700, causing Rodriguez to fold, and putting Kegel in the tank.  

Kegel murmured something under his breath, along the lines of "I wish I was smart enough to fold here," before making the call.  Ido then smoked a bet of 100,000 before the turn came out, well enough to put Kegel all-in.  Timothy followed with a call after the 8♥ hit the table, and after Ido turned over Q♦ J♦, Kegel showed K♠ Q♥.  The river would bring the 7♥, giving Ido what could be the pot that sealed up the bonus, as he now sits with over 320,000.

Event 8 (Flight 1A): Updated Counts After Final Break

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 13 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/300)

Total Flight 1A Entries: 151

Players have just returned from the final break of the flight, and have two more scheduled levels of play remaining.  It's currently a two man race for the chip lead bonus, between Ido Ashkenazi and Damien Simon.  A lot can change over the next two levels, but here are updated (top five) counts tallied during the break:

Ido Ashkenazi - 275,000

Damien Simon - 255,000

Edward Novak - 170,000

Rolando Garcia - 155,000

Jose Rodriguez - 150,000

And another list of notable players still alive in the field:

Tom Gity

TJ Shulman

Asher Conniff

Jessica Dawley

Andrew Touchette

Luis Santoni

Joseph Duchman

Event 8 (Flight 1A): "And If You Don't Know, Well Now You Know"

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 12 (Blinds 800/1,600/300)

Total Flight 1A Entries: 149

Asher Conniff (Brooklyn, NY)

If this were the Borgata...or Parx...or Vegas, Asher Conniff (Brooklyn, NY) would really need no introduction.  Conniff was a tournament grinder in the Northeast, playing events at numerous stops, and doing well enough (in terms of results) to continue the path he was passionate about.  From 2012-2014, Conniff would earn himself over $150,000 via live tournaments, but he was also afforded the opportunity to return to online play (with the introduction of online poker in New Jersey).

Then came the month (and series) that would change his life forever.  Asher would get his breakthrough score during the opening event of the 2015 Borgata Spring Poker Open, besting a massive field of 2,408 entries in the $560 No Limit Hold'em event, and earning $203,321.  That's just where the story begins though...as Asher entered an online tournament later in the series while him and his friends were hanging in his hotel room.  As Conniff began to go deep, he realized that it was actually not a standard tournament, but a satellite into the $15,000 WPT World Championship.  Asher eventually won himself a seat through that satellite, but then had another decision to make...he had a European vacation planned with family that conflicted with the prestigious event, and didn't know what to do.  His mother insisted that he stay and play in the tournament...which could have been the wisest decision ever made.  

Conniff bested a field of some of the greatest players in the world (239 entries) to win the WPT World Championship, and just over $973,000!  He was then given the moniker 'Misclick,' and was literally featured on every news outlet in New York.  Asher is now part of the Event 8 field, making his first appearance here at the Isle Poker Room since moving to Florida.  Having covered Asher up North for most of his career, I can tell you that he's one of the nicest players (forget that...nicest person) you'll ever meet.  It's great to have him at the Isle, and great to see him run into a lot of dealers and staff he used to know well from the Borgata (that now work here).

Event 8 (Flight 1A): Ashkenazi Climbing Up The Leaderboard

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 11 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)

Total Flight 1A Entries: 144

Ido Ashkenazi (Queens, NY)

Ido Ashkenazi (Queens, NY) cashed in Event 1 of this series, but the min-cash is a results like he was likely disappointed with.  Obviously it's better than not reaching the money...or bubbling...but Ashkenazi made a habit of making deep runs for most of last year.  Ido is another player coming off of a "breakout" year so to say, as his best year (in terms of earnings) between 2010-2015 was $89,450.  His earnings last year alone were over $230,000, and he also gained valuable experience playing under the bright lights.  Ido reached the live streamed final table of Event 10 during the 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open ($570 No Limit Hold'em).  He would eventually chop the tournament heads-up, earning his largest payday to date ($158,304).  

Askenazi made a strong move up the leaderboard moments ago, as he raked in a pot worth just over 80,000.  The action was caught on the turn of a heads-up hand, with the board reading 10♠ 5♥ 9♣ 7♦.  The chips would get in the middle with Ido having his opponent covered, as well as having him in bad shape.  Ashkenazi flopped middle set with 9♠ 9♥, and just had to fade his opponents two-outer (holding Q♠ Q♣).  A six on the river would seal the deal, and Ido would chip up to 115,000.

Event 8 (Flight 1A): Novak's Back In Action

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 10 (Blinds 500/1,000/200)

Total Flight 1A Entries: 141

Edward Novak (Simsbury, CT)

To say last year was a "breakout" year for Edward Novak (Simsbury, CT) would be an understatement, as the Connecticut native went from $3,518 in earnings during 2015, to $246,033 in 2016.  Over half of last year's earnings came during his Isle Poker Open $1,500 Championship Event win ($166,071), which is why his name may sound familiar to followers of the blog.  The year was jump started though, by a win during the Coco Poker Open (Seminole Coconut Creek), when he took down a $350 No Limit Hold'em event during the series ($63,323).  Edward's tournament resume shows that he likes playing on the "big stage," with his three cashes this year all coming during "major" series at properties in the area (Isle Poker Classic, Lucky Hearts Poker Open, and Coco Poker Showdown).

Event 8 (Flight 1A): Play Resumes After Second Break, Updated Chip Counts

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 9 (Blinds 400/800/100)

Total Flight 1A Entries: 135

Players returned from their second break about (10) minutes ago, with the tournament staff racing off the green chips from play (25 denomination).  The removal of those chips from play make it a little easier to eye down stacks, and leads us to the first updated chip counts listing of the day.  Damien Simon (Hialeah, FL) has trended upward since being featured on the blog coverage, and currently holds the chip lead with six levels remaining:

Damien Simon - 170,000

Edward Novak - 125,000

Timothy Kegel - 112,000

Jeff Rodriguez - 105,000

Matt Vetstein - 90,000

Event 8 (Flight 1A): Catching Up On Battles At The Beach Results (Part II)

"Battles At The Beach"

Event 8 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $200,000 GTD)

Level 8 (Blinds 300/600/100)

Total Flight 1A Entries: 117

Level 8 is usually the point when registration closes on tournaments during the series (unless it's a turbo), but as mentioned earlier, the window is open all day for these opening flights (until the cards are in the air on Day 2).  This will be the time when the blog's focuses shift to the action on the felt, but before that happens, the remaining tournament results up to this point are posted below: