2018 Escalator Series

Escalator $560: Balzano Gives One Up, Still Double Stacked

2018 Escalator Series (Week 4)
$560 Buy-In, $400,000 Guaranteed
Level 8: 300/600 with a 75 ante | Structure
Flight A Entries: 179

Paul Balzano

A good chunk of Paul Balzano’s more than $1,300,000 in reported tournament earnings has come from right here at the Seminole Hard Rock. Most notably, he final tabled the 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $5,250 Championship finishing seventh for $125,000. Balzano is a regular at any pricepoint here in the room and has had a solid start in today’s $560.

Currently with about 45,000 chips, Balzano has more than doubled his 20,000 starting. He recently had a chance to grow it even higher, calling an opponent’s 10,100 turn shove on an AhJhJc2d board. Balzano had the worst of it with 7h4h for a flush draw and needed to hit versus Js9h. The river was a blank and Balzano missed an opportunity to scoop a nice one.

No heart on the river for Paul Balzano.

Escalator $560: Earned Seats for Levitt and Hadida

2018 Escalator Series (Week 4)
$560 Buy-In, $400,000 Guaranteed
Level 6: 200/400 with a 50 ante | Structure
Flight A Entries: 165

Scott Levitt

Scott Levitt and Ilan Hadida earned their way into today’s $560 Escalator via final table appearances in last week’s $350. Each of the three Escalator events that preceded today’s finale boasted seats in the following week’s event for the 10 final tablists.

Ilan Hadida

Last week, Levitt carded a third-place finish while Hadida bowed out ninth. Included in their roughly $33,000 and $8,000 payouts was an entry in today’s event. As luck would have it, they’ve found themselves together at a again, although this time they’re quite a ways from the final one.

Scott Levitt (Seat 8) and Ilan Hadida (Seat 5) share Table 33. Coincidentally, Table 33 served as the final table during Sunday’s Escalator $360 when they finished third and eighth respectively.

Escalator $560: Big Turnout Early with 150+

2018 Escalator Series (Week 4)
$560 Buy-In, $400,000 Guaranteed
Level 5: 150/300 with a 50 ante | Structure
Flight A Entries: 153

I spy WSOP gold bracelet winner Jacquelyn Scott

The first break is behind the Escalator $560 Flight A field and play is deep into Level 5. The clock shows a strong start with with 153 entries already in the game. That accounts more than $75,000 of the tournament’s $400,000 guarantee and the figure will climb even more between now and the close of registration at roughly 3:30pm.

Escalator $560: Shuffle Up and Deal; $400K Guaranteed

2018 Escalator Series (Week 4)
$560 Buy-In, $400,000 Guaranteed
Level 1: 25/50 | Structure

The clock strikes the 11 o’clock hour in South Florida and poker action is underway at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Going now is Flight A of the property’s unique Escalator Series headliner, a $560 buy-in no limit hold’em tournament. This marks the last of four month-long events and boasts the biggest of the guarantees — $400,000.

Each of the first three tournaments saw fields in excess of 1,400 entries and another 1,000+ are expected over the course of the next few days. While cards are freshly in the air for Flight A, Flight B is still to come tonight at 7pm followed Flight C, D, E and F set for 11am and 7pm Friday and Saturday.

Flight A details:

11am: Flight A – $560 Buy-In, $400,000 Guaranteed

  • 20,000 chips and 30-/40-minute levels
  • Registration and re-entry available until the start of Level 9 (about 3:30pm)
  • Play concludes following Level 14 (6:40pm) or 10 percent of the field
  • Day 2 begins Sunday, March 18th at 1pm
  • Structure Sheet

This series last ran in 2016 and this same event drew 1,081 entries generating a total prize pool of better than $540,000. Claiming the top spot along with $88,506 and a $3,500 seat was Richard Whitebrook whose crowning came following a three-way chop.

Updates will be available daily now through Sunday right here at SHRPO.com. We’ll check back in on Flight A following the first break.

Good luck, players!

Escalator Schedule | Week 4

Week 4 | $560 Buy-In, $400,000 Guaranteed

Winner receives added $3,500 WPT Showdown Championship seat

Thursday, March 15th

11am: Flight A – $560 Buy-In, $400,000 Guaranteed

  • 20,000 chips and 30-/40-minute levels
  • Registration and re-entry available until the start of Level 9 (about 3:30pm)
  • Play concludes following Level 14 (6:40pm) or 10 percent of the field
  • Day 2 begins Sunday, March 18th at 1pm

7pm: Flight B – $560 Buy-In, $400,000 Guaranteed

  • 20,000 chips and 30-/40-minute levels
  • Registration and re-entry available until the start of Level 9 (about 11:30pm)
  • Play concludes following Level 14 (2:40am) or 10 percent of the field
  • Day 2 begins Sunday, March 18th at 1pm

Friday, March 16th

11am: Flight C – $560 Buy-In, $400,000 Guaranteed

  • 20,000 chips and 30-/40-minute levels
  • Registration and re-entry available until the start of Level 9 (about 3:30pm)
  • Play concludes following Level 14 (6:40pm) or 10 percent of the field
  • Day 2 begins Sunday, March 18th at 1pm

7pm: Flight D – $560 Buy-In, $400,000 Guaranteed

  • 20,000 chips and 30-/40-minute levels
  • Registration and re-entry available until the start of Level 9 (about 11:30pm)
  • Play concludes following Level 14 (2:40am) or 10 percent of the field
  • Day 2 begins Sunday, March 18th at 1pm

Saturday, March 17th

11am: Flight E – $560 Buy-In, $400,000 Guaranteed

  • 20,000 chips and 30-/40-minute levels
  • Registration and re-entry available until the start of Level 9 (about 3:30pm)
  • Play concludes following Level 14 (6:40pm) or 10 percent of the field
  • Day 2 begins Sunday, March 18th at 1pm

7pm: Flight F – $560 Buy-In, $400,000 Guaranteed

  • 20,000 chips and 30-/40-minute levels
  • Registration and re-entry available until the start of Level 9 (about 11:30pm)
  • Play concludes following Level 14 (2:40am) or 10 percent of the field
  • Day 2 begins Sunday, March 18th at 1pm

Escalator $350: Idris Ambraisse Wins $88K and a Showdown Seat Following Outright Win

2018 Escalator Series
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Week 3: $350 Buy-In, $300,000 Guaranteed
No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Entries: 1,435
Prize Pool: $430,500
March 8-11, 2018

2018 Escalator Week 3 champion, Idris Ambraisse

Final results:

1st: Idris Ambraisse – $88,939* + $3,500 Seat
2nd: David Poces – $53,460*
3rd: Scott Levitt – $33,362*
4th: Donald Williams – $28,179*
5th: Joseph Gotlieb – $23,505*
6th: Butch Mitchell – $19,171*
7th: Jordan Wunder – $14,892*
8th: Bobby Leff – $11,013
9th: Ilan Hadida – $8,081*
10th: Michael Johnson – $5,531*
11th: Jonathan Snead – $4,971
12th: David Shmuel – $4,971
13th: Evan Teitelbaum – $3,314
14th: Dejan Petkovic – $3,314
15th: Jose Navarrete – $3,314
16th: Adam Mann – $2,252
17th: Juan Vazquez – $2,252
18th: Brandon Setzer – $2,252
19th: Georges Boyadjian – $1,878
20th: Alan Gold – $1,878
21st: Sean Shah – $1,878
22nd: Gabriel Caballero – $1,878
23rd: Alberto Niebla – $1,878
24th: Shlomi Bracha – $1,878
25th: Ory Hen – $1,878
26th: Michael Graffeo – $1,878
27th: Charlemagne Benjamin – $1,878
28th: Iman Dan – $1,581
29th: Salvador Hernandez – $1,581
30th: Manny Tarich – $1,581
31st: Mark Wahba – $1,581
32nd: Michael Bucar – $1,581
33rd: Franis Margaglione – $1,581
34th: Michael Babani – $1,581
35th: Mark Nahama – $1,581
36th: Ronald Campillpo – $1,581
37th: James Clark – $1,351
38th: Raymond Roberty – $1,351
39th: Alan Saltzman – $1,351
40th: Pedro Palacio – $1,351
41st: Zoltan Czinkota – $1,351
42nd: Arturo Trujillo – $1,351
43rd: Emerson Ward – $1,351
44th: Angelo Miele – $1,351
45th: Karen Mairena – $1,351
46th: Aldring Torres – $1,168
47th: Frederico Dornelas – $1,168
48th: Jordan Meltzer – $1,168
49th: Reinaldo Trutschel – $1,168
50th: Lester Trimino – $1,168
51st: Chad Starker – $1,168
52nd: Robertas Zebrauskis – $1,168
53rd: Kristopher Stupicic – $1,168
54th: Jason Ehlen – $1,168
55th: Dimitry Agracho – $1,020
56th: Jorge Gomez – $1,020
57th: Jonathan Brody – $1,020
58th: Daniel Pearlman – $1,020
59th: Bebert Benhamo – $1,020
60th: Adam Ross – $1,020
61st: Loc Nguyen – $1,020
62nd: Ross Corless – $1,020
63rd: Shariff Nassar – $1,020
64th: Michael Fryett – $871
65th: William Farnan – $871
66th: Charles Horton – $871
67th: Chas Samuel – $871
68th: Paul Balzano – $871
69th: Scott Efron – $871
70th: Nicolas Yunis – $871
71st: John Dermody – $871
72nd: Haim Nagar – $871
73rd: Jordan Keller – $790
74th: Michael Newman – $790
75th: Kenneth Bruno – $790
76th: Roberto Martelo – $790
77th: Adam Koppel – $790
78th: Quyen Hoang – $790
79th: Brian Appel – $790
80th: Andre Rakusa – $790
81st: Alexander Ruth – $790
82nd: Anthony Perrotta – $744
83rd: Bryan Reinsel – $744
84th: Joshua Robins – $744
85th: Christian Rodriguez – $744
86th: Thomas Schlesinger – $744
87th: Paulius Bikus – $744
88th: Juan Rodraguez – $744
89th: Vincent Spadavecchia – $744
90th: Shawn Defoe – $744
91st: Eduardo Kock – $710
92nd: Stephen Novak – $710
93rd: Brian Eisenberg – $710
94th: Frederico Dabus – $710
95th: Michael Mizrachi – $710
96th: Justin Harvell – $710
97th: Marvin Young – $710
98th: Rafael Calero – $710
99th: Andrew Dakoski – $710
100th: Juan Peralta – $710
101st: Dennis Rodriguez – $680
102nd: Colby Covington – $680
103rd: Marc Anderson – $680
104th: Richard Leger – $680
105th: Shadrach Samuel Tercy – $680
106th: Steve Karp – $680
107th: Witold Wasik – $680
108th: Bran Crudden – $680
109th: Haim Toorgeman – $680
110th: Dylan Drazen – $680
111th: Robert Kessler – $654
112th: Vitaly Chaika – $654
113th: Jonathan Williams – $654
114th: Marcus Stein – $654
115th: Joseph Rahman – $654
116th: Edgar Varas – $654
117th: Scott Zakheim – $654
118th: Francisco Castillo – $654
119th: Steven Bennett – $654
120th: Chad Freedman – $654
121st: Randy Burstein – $637
122nd: Antonio Colon – $637
123rd: Blake Kouwenhoven – $637
124th: Michael Kopjanski – $637
125th: Vito Polera – $637
126th: Ievgenii Geletek – $637
127th: Anthony Astarita – $637
128th: Sheldon Gross – $637
129th: Eric Mutschler – $637
130th: Brent Philbin – $637
131st: Nicolas Nieto – $629
132nd: Peter Chin – $629
133rd: Tomislav Krizanic – $629
134th: Adam Reitoral – $629
135th: Christopher Brown – $629
136th: Rayme Silvestre – $629
137th: Nissim Gozlan – $629
138th: Antonio Albanes – $629
T139th: Lawrence Klur – $315
T139th: Kharlin Sued – $315
T140th: Lee Cain – $314
T140th: Wlidir Guerra – $314

*Prize value is inclusive of $560 Escalator Week 4 seat

2018 Escalator Week 3 champion, Idris Ambraisse

Escalator $350: Idris Ambraisse Wins Escalator $350 Outright for $88,939; David Poces — 2nd Place ($53,460)

2018 Escalator Series (Week 3)
$350 Buy-In, $300,000 Guaranteed
Level 32: 75,000/150,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining: 1 of 1,435 | Structure | Payouts

Idris Ambraisse

The flop laid 7c5d3s. Idris Ambraisse checked and David Poces bet 400,000. Ambraisse raised to 1,000,000 and Poces called.

The turn was the 3h. Ambraisse lead for 500,000 and Poces moved all-in. Ambraisse called and had the title within reach.

Ambraisse: 5s5c for a fullhouse
Poces: Qc7s for two pair

River: 6c

Ambraisse’s boat was best and he earned the outright win in the Escalator $350 scoring $88,939 and a $3,500 WPT Poker Showdown Championship seat in the process. Poces, meanwhile, scored $53,460 for the runner-up finish.

David Poces

1st: Idris Ambraisse – $88,939* + $3,500 Seat
2nd: David Poces – $53,460*

The complete results will be posted shortly along with a winner’s photo.

Escalator $350: Scott Levitt – 3rd Place ($33,362)

2018 Escalator Series (Week 3)
$350 Buy-In, $300,000 Guaranteed
Level 32: 75,000/150,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 1,435 | Structure | Payouts

Scott Levitt

Short stack Scott Levitt was all-in from the button holding KsQc against Idris Ambraisse’s Ah8c in the small blind.

Runout: JcJd5s5h9s

Ambraisse’s ace-high held and Levitt was eliminated in third place. Ambraisse took the chip lead into heads-up play versus David Poces.

Scott Levitt – Eliminated in 3rd place ($33,362)

Escalator $350: Ambraisse Doubles through Levitt in Huge Pot

2018 Escalator Series (Week 3)
$350 Buy-In, $300,000 Guaranteed
Level 31: 60,000/120,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 1,435 | Structure | Payouts

Idris Ambraisse was on the button and raised to 250,000. David Poces called from the small blind as did Scott Levitt from the big.

The final three saw a flop of Qh6h5d. Poces and Levitt checked. Ambraisse C-bet 200,000. Both Poces and Levitt called.

The turn fell the 5c. It again checked to Ambraisse and he again bet, this time 400,000. Poces quickly folded, but Levitt mixed it up raising to 1,200,000. Ambraisse called and it was river time.

The river came the Jh. Levitt lead for 1,000,000. Ambraisse jammed for 2,890,000 more. Levitt had Ambraisse covered, but just slightly. After some time in the tank, he called.

Ambraisse: 6s6d for sixes full
Levitt: 8d5s for trip fives

Ambraisse doubled to take a sizable chip lead while Levitt was left short.

Idris Ambraisse – 11,600,000 (96 bb)
David Poces – 8,375,000 (69 bb)
Scott Levitt – 1,550,000 (12 bb)

Escalator $350: Donald Williams — 4th Place ($28,179)

2018 Escalator Series (Week 3)
$350 Buy-In, $300,000 Guaranteed
Level 31: 60,000/120,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 1,435 | Structure | Payouts

Donald Williams

Scott Levitt was first to act and opened to 500,000. Donald Williams promptly shoved the button for 2,020,000 total. Levitt verified the all-in bet, then called. Williams was at risk.

Levitt: 8s8d
Williams: KdJd

Runout: Qd3s2cTh4s

Levitt’s eights were best and Williams was eliminated in fourth place.

Scott Levitt – 8,550,000 (71 bb)
Donald Williams – Eliminated in 4th Place ($28,179)