RGPS Thunder Valley Golden Ticket $575 Main Event, $200K GTD
Day 1a Completed
RGPS Thunder Valley Golden Ticket $575 Main Event, $200K GTD
Day 1a Completed
Joe Nguyen of Sunnyvale, California ended Day 1a of the RGPS Thunder Valley Golden Ticket $575 Main Event, $200K GTD with a massive stack of 563,000 after running hot throughout the day and eliminating multiple opponents in the process. He is joined by 17 other players who finished the day in the money and will move on to compete on Day 2 with the other Day 1 flights.
Dawson Dvorak ended the day second in chips with 366,000 and was followed by Ed Miller with 352,000. Other players who made it to the end of nearly eight hours of play include Bong Nguyen, Anubhav Jolly and Leonard Boltasiu.
Nguyen, who has $1.1 million in live tournament earnings, per HendonMob, built a chip lead early in the day and kept the momentum going up until the end of play. He took down one of the biggest pots of the day when he got it in with trip queens against a royal flush draw and filled up on the river. Not long after, he busted Yani Fangayen with a straight.
Hector Martin was sent home on the money bubble in a cooler where he flopped a set of jacks against the aces of Dawson Dvorak, and Dvorak spiked an ace on the river.
The Day 1a survivors will be joined by whoever is alive at the end of the Day 1b and Day 1c flights, which will respectively take place on Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. and Sept. 25 at the same time.
That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting team's coverage of Day 1a, but stay tuned as action picks up again tomorrow.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Joe Nguyen |
563,000
103,000
|
103,000 |
|
||
Dawson Dvorak |
366,000
236,000
|
236,000 |
Ed Miller |
352,000
-8,000
|
-8,000 |
Leonard Boltasiu |
203,500
143,500
|
143,500 |
Chris Wrabel
|
161,000
161,000
|
161,000 |
Sam Srinivasan |
153,500
153,500
|
153,500 |
Ronald Matsuura |
141,500
-3,500
|
-3,500 |
Bong Nguyen |
124,000
124,000
|
124,000 |
Anubhav Jolly |
120,000
120,000
|
120,000 |
Huy Vu |
108,500
108,500
|
108,500 |
Art Murillo
|
98,500
43,500
|
43,500 |
Yekaterina Lukina |
80,500
80,500
|
80,500 |
Dustin Estrada |
78,000
-47,000
|
-47,000 |
Ostas Lacayango
|
74,000
74,000
|
74,000 |
Rob Hernandez
|
73,500
73,500
|
73,500 |
James Dipippo |
40,500
40,500
|
40,500 |
Michael Needle |
28,000
28,000
|
28,000 |
Dhanasekar Arumugan |
12,500
12,500
|
12,500 |
Hector Martin flat-called a three-bet from Dawson Dvorak pre-flop.
Hector Martin then got all his chips in on the flop of with Dvorak having him covered.
Hector Martin:
Dawson Dvorak:
Martin had a massive lead with a set. However, the board ran out and Dvorak made the bigger set, sending Martin out on the money bubble
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Hector Martin | Busted |
Level: 15
Blinds: 2,500/5,000
Ante: 5,000
Had-for-hand play began with 19 players left and 18 moving on to Day 2.
An out of position opponent got all in against Dustin Estrada pre-flop.
Opponent:
Dustin Estrada:
Estrada's opponent was dominated and ultimately eliminated when the board ran out and Estrada made a flush.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Dustin Estrada |
125,000
16,000
|
16,000 |
Joe Nguyen eliminated Yani Fangayen when Nguyen check-jammed from the big blind on the river on a board of with Fangayen covered.
Fangayen eventually called and Nguyen announced he had a straight and showed . Fangayen did not show but said he had an overpair.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Joe Nguyen |
460,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
|
||
Yani Fangayen
|
Busted |
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Ed Miller |
360,000
302,000
|
302,000 |
Hector Martin |
140,000
85,000
|
85,000 |
Dawson Dvorak |
130,000
-40,000
|
-40,000 |
Level: 14
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 4,000