Jimenez Leads Advancing 17 Day 1c Players; RunGood Ambassador Bernard Lee Sitting Pretty
On Saturday, the RunGood Poker Series Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs $675 buy-in Main Event continued with two more starting flights. Day 1b attracted 166 entrants, and after 13 levels of play just 32 remained with RunGood Ambassador Joe Hebda and his stack of 323,000 leading the way. Later in the evening, Day 1c kicked off with 111 more entrants, but by the end of the night only 17 made it through with Adrian Jimenez and his stack of 353,000 leading the way.
Along with Day 1a's 149 entrants – which was lead by RunGood Ambassador Ryan Tepen with 330,000 – the tournament officially attracted 426 entries, which created a prize pool of $251,340 and smashed the $100,000 guarantee. That will be spread amongst the top 45 finishers with the eventual winner taking home $57,806.
Among those still in contention from the Day 1b/1c flights are RunGood Ambassadors Bernard Lee (219,000), Jamie Kerstetter (219,000), Jonathan Gaviao (102,500), Justin Gardenhire (160,000), and Michael Sanders (153,000); Nick Marsh (299,000); Mike Vanier (208,000); and Bob Slezak (170,000).
As for Jimenez, he dominated the later levels on Day 1c first by busting Eric Rodawig, who held kings, with pocket rockets, and then using the same hand to eliminate Isaac Tucker, who held 
on a king-high flop. Toss in a bit of luck in Level 12, which is when his 
found a nine on the turn to best Mike Conlan's 
, and it proved a great day for Jimenez, who will begin Day 2 as the overall chip leader.
Of course not everyone was so lucky. RunGood Ambassador Ross Bybee and three-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Stephen Kats both fired on Day 1b and missed. Neither opted to return on Day 1c, though plenty of other casualties from the earlier flights did. Unfortunately it proved a fruitless endeavor for the likes of RunGood Poker Series Downstream champ Saied Moradi; Wisconsinites Ben Wiora and Josh Reichard; and RunGood Ambassadors Clint Tolbert and Jordan Morgan.
Top 10 Counts Heading Into Day 2
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Jimenez | 353,000 |
| 2 | Ryan Tepen | 330,000 |
| 3 | Joe Hebda | 323,000 |
| 4 | Fred Walker | 302,000 |
| 5 | Nick Marsh | 299,000 |
| 6 | Joe Thornton | 265,000 |
| 7 | Bernard Lee | 219,000 |
| 8 | Jamie Kerstetter | 219,000 |
| 9 | Mike Vanier | 208,000 |
| 10 | James Hall | 206,000 |
On Sunday at 12:00 p.m. local time, the surviving 73 players from all three starting flight will return to the Horseshoe Council Bluffs Poker Room to play down to a winner. Of course you can follow all the action right here on PokerNews.