Moneymaker Bags Monstrous Chip Lead In Day 1a of RGPS Tunica
184 players came out to play the first flight of The RunGood Poker Series $600 Main Event at Horseshoe Casino and Hotel in Tunica, Mississippi. Each player was looking for a piece of the $200,000 guarantee set on the prizepool, but as the dust settled and Friday night became Saturday morning, only 23 made it to bagging. Each of the 23 is secured a spot to return to play on Sunday, September 3rd.
Leading the way is none other than 2003 WSOP Main Event champion Chris Moneymaker, who ended his day with 1,285,000. Moneymaker, who recently launched the Moneymaker Poker Tour, is most known for his big televised win starting the “poker boom” which lasted much of the 2000s. The most famous underdog story in poker, how a former accountant from Georgia beat the best in the world to conquer the most prestigious poker event.
He showed up in top form today, starting out strong and raking in many massive pots as the day progressed. Ending up with triple what his next closest opponent ended the day with, Moneymaker’s style of poker benefitted him as he found himself breaching the seven figure threshold before the night’s end. The second to last hand of the night saw a massive three way pot where Moneymaker ended up making Broadway on the turn and this pot propelled him into the seven figure territory. The Poker Hall of Famer also found himself being the engaging ambassador that he is known for, taking pictures with fans and other players who were awestruck playing with one of the most famous players of all time.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player Name | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Moneymaker | 1,285,000 |
| 2 | Jacob Schiros | 421,000 |
| 3 | BJ McBrayer | 387,000 |
| 4 | Edward Hill | 382,000 |
| 5 | Jacob Foley | 336,000 |
| 6 | Peter Rouviere | 285,000 |
| 7 | Morgan McBrayer | 259,000 |
| 8 | William Tubbs | 227,000 |
| 9 | Thomas Montoya | 218,000 |
| 10 | Stuart Breakstone | 166,000 |
Bagging up second in chips is newcomer to the RGPS circuit, Jacob Schiros (421,000). Schiros spent much of the day as the chip leader, and a late night surge brought him to his peak of the day as he called off with a flush draw against an opponent’s aces. The flush came in on the turn and he was given the pot to put him into second place overall. He now secures his first RGPS cash. BJ McBrayer (387,000) ended the night third in chips, and is no stranger to success at this particular casino. In 2022, McBrayer finished in fourth in this very event for $21,358. He looks to spin this particular stack into a podium finish as he rounds out the first flight’s top three.
Others who found their way to bags included RunGood Poker Series regulars like Thomas Montoya (218,000), Emily Berglund (144,000), Walker Miskelly (118,000), and four-time WSOPC ring winner Pam Belote (81,000). Each one of them looking to secure their first ever RGPS main event win.
Fortune did not smile on all today. Players like RGPS Tunica Main Event Champions Tiffany Keathley and JW Carter, Donnie Phan, Michael Sanders, Ben Mintz, Cody Stanford, Forrest Kollar, Daniel Lowery, and Ashley “PokerFaceAsh” Frank, all found their day end earlier than they wanted, Frank even becoming a victim of Moneymaker’s carnage. The day came to an end when the always engaging Dawson Darbouze ended up moving all in with a pair and a flush draw against Moneymaker’s turned top pair for a pot worth over 300,000 chips. The draw did not come home on the end, meaning that Darbouze would be the final player not receiving a payout from this flight. Each player can exercise their right to play the other flights and put in as many buy-ins as they need to make Day 2 of the tournament.
Play ended with 5:40 left in Level 14, with blinds at 3,000/6,000 and a 6,000 big blind ante. The 23 players from this flight will return on noon this Sunday to combine with the other flights of the tournament. They will return to this level unless one of the following flights ends earlier than this.
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