$560 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 9: 500/1,000/100 Ante

Level 9 is underway and registration is closed for the third flight of the $200,000 guarantee Event 7. The morning session attracted 88 entrants to put us well over the halfway point.

Eddie Kofler and Bam Angelo continue to have a nice run but Joseph Acquavella has taken over the chip lead with six levels to go in Flight C. He came back to a stack of 87,300 which is good enough for a small lead over the previously mentioned John Pappas’ 85,400.

The field should quickly shrink until the stacks slow things down with two tables by the time we shut this one down for the day.

Flight-by-flight breakdown:

$560 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 8: 400/800/100 Ante

Flight C is now off on their second break of the day as players decided whether they want to forfeit their current stack and buy-in fresh.

We should hit 90 entrants while they’re away and get a little closer to that $200,000 guarantee.

$560 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 8: 400/800/100 Ante

We’re into the eighth level of the day as we hit 80 entrants in the game, quite a few on their second or third bullet of the flight. Players have this level plus the 15-minute color up break to jump in.

We found two friends willy nilly pushing chips around their table and having fun. AJ Santos’ good-time antics have been well documented and he’s back (we can’t tell where he’ll be from one entry to the next). Anthony Pellegrini is sitting at a nearby table and neither is in their seat for very long.

Both players made the PLO event final table and were part of a three-way deal that saw Pellegrini pick up the bonus $1,650 Winter Poker Open Championship seat. That was the second final table of the series for Pellegrini, he finished 6th in Event 3 and the remaining players immediately chopped it up.

$560 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 6: 200/400/50 Ante

We hit 75 entrants in Level 6 and we inching up towards yesterday’s numbers and more than halfway to the $200,000 guarantee with plenty of time to join in the fun.

We found another familiar face in the crowd today with happy-go-lucky John Pappas slinging chips. He already has two cashes this series including part of a five-way chop in Event 4. Pappas also has three runner-up results here with the biggest coming during our Fall Deep Stack Poker Series.

$560 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 5: 150/300/25 Ante

Players are back in their seats and we picked up a few more entrants during the break. The count is up to 65 for the third flight with promises that tonight’s flight will eclipse the morning by a significant percentage.

Eddie Kofler is leading the way after a fine four levels. His 62,600 stack is good enough for the top spot among those still in the game. Kofler only has two results to his credit, but both are pretty nice. He finished second in the 2013 PPC Aruba World Championship and followed that up with a 2013 PPC Tampa Downs Main Event title.

Kofler’s closest competitor is Bam Angelo at the front of the room. He earned most of his 56,000 stack by knocking out a player on the last hand before the break. He sent one out when his Kings full was a little better than the trip Kings he was facing.

$560 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 4: 100/200

Players are about to head off on their first break of day as we close in on 60 entrants. Tables are filling on a consistent basis with more than two hours to register.

We’ll be on the lookout for the early big stacks and see if they can ride it to Day 2.

$560 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

We’re still early in the process but here’s the breakdown of the first two flights of Event 7 with Flight C underway now with 55 in the game.

We need 400 entrants to reach the $200,000 guarantee and we are on a pace to easily surpass it sometime early Saturday afternoon.

Flight-by-flight breakdown:

$560 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 3: 75/150

It can be tough to get poker players to the room while the clock is still showing the morning hours, but we’ve gradually passed over the 40 entrant mark and have a few players lined up at the registration desk as we hit the noon time hour.

One of our early entrants is trying to cap off a nice year. John Depersio has several final tables in 2015 with a couple happening during the 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown and the Coco Poker Open. His biggest moment came in September when he won his first WSOP Circuit ring.

$560 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

After two flights of Event 7, Maroun Akiki has set himself up with a big lead on the rest of the field. He spent the latter portions of Flight A over 400,000 and put 397,000 in the bag at the end of the day.

The two opening flights drew 186 entrants with 35 making it through to Day 2 at noon on Sunday.

Complete chip counts from Flights A and B:

$560 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 1: 25/50

The second round of Event 7 starting flights is about to get underway with the morning shift taking their seats. The first two attracted 186 entrants with 35 making it through to Day 2 on Sunday.

Everyone is chasing Maroun Akiki after he spent a good part of Flight A over 400,000 before he bagged up 397,000 to lead the first two starters.

Event 7 grinders sit down to deep 25,000 stacks and play 30-minute levels throughout Day 1. Late registration is available until the start of Level 9 at 3:30pm and players can re-enter as often as they’d like if they lose their stack.

Play will conclude for the flight at the end of Level 14 and everyone with chips will return at noon on Sunday to play down to a champion.

It was a great turnout yesterday and we expect the fields to grow as we move into the weekend. Players are ready to go and cards will be in the air shortly.