Zachary Smith Bags Day 1a Chip Lead in RGPS Tulsa Main Event
The first of three Day 1 flights in theRunGood Poker Series $800 Main Event here at Hard Rock Tulsa, Oklahoma has come to a close with a $112,000 prize pool, already surpassing its $100,000 guarantee with two flights still left to play. The day saw non-stop action from onset to end with 160 total entries sitting down in an attempt to find a bag for Day 2. Of those 160 entries, 20 players will return to join the players that end up bagging the two remaining Day 1 flights, both of which will take place tomorrow.
Ending the day with the chip lead for this flight was Zachary Smith who caught fire midway through the day, knocking out several opponents and will unbag 608,000 chips when the three Day 1 fields converge on Sunday to play down to a champion. Joining him at the top of the end-of-day chip counts is Yahya Aamer with 541,000 and Bobby Sanoubane with 374,000.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Hometown | Chips | Big Blinds | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zachary Smith | Hot Springs, AR | 608,000 | 101 | |||||
| 2 | Yahya Aamer | Tulsa, OK | 562,000 | 94 | |||||
| 3 | Bobby Sanoubane | Aurora, CO | 374,000 | 62 | |||||
| 4 | David Soskin | Highland, AR | 335,000 | 56 | |||||
| 5 | William McCracken | Bolivar, MO | 293,000 | 49 | |||||
| 6 | Joshua Brower | Tulsa, OK | 255,000 | 43 | |||||
| 7 | Brian "Winter" Frenzel | Deneva, IL | 224,000 | 37 | |||||
| 8 | Darren Rogers | Claremore, OK | 220,000 | 37 | |||||
| 9 | Daniel "Duma" Lowery | Peter Pender, AR | 206,000 | 34 |
Other notable names also advancing to Day 2 include David Soskin (335,000), Brian Winter (224,000) Daniel Lowery (206,000), Ashley Frank (203,000), and Terakun Karnchanakphan (158,000). Also taking a seat in the first Day 1 flight but failing to find a bag were RGPS Ambassadors Michael Lech and Kasey Mills, along with former champion Pete Petree.
Play ended with 14:09 left on the clock in level 14 with blinds at 3,000/6,000 and a 6,000 big blind ante. The 20 players to bag will join the surviving players of the two remaining Day 1 flights on Sunday, January 21 at noon at this level unless one of the remaining two flights ends before that time.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage of this event as we will provide live updates all the way down to the eventual champion!