Nevius and Barnes Lead The Final 9 Of Flight 1A into Day 2
The first of four flights came to its conclusion in The Rungood Poker Series $600 Main Event at Atlantis Casino in Reno, Nevada. A total of 79 players registered this flight in the hopes that they could snag a piece of the $150,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Leading the way is Steve Nevius who bagged 603,000. Nevius is no stranger to tournament poker, holding $129,058 in Hendon Mob earnings. He has cashed in two prior RGPS events, with a third place in last year’s iteration of the Seniors event at Reno. Many of his chips came courtesy of a late night double against Joshua Prager (92,000) where his queens held up against ace-king.
Brittney Barnes ended her day in second place with 574,000. Barnes held the lead throughout much of the late stages of the tournament, knocking many players in her path. She final tabled last nights PLO event, finishing in fifth giving her a fourth final table in her RGPS career. The tournament director and player holds $97,924 in tournament earnings and she will look to cross the six-figure mark with a good finish in this event today.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Nevius | 603,000 |
| 2 | Brittney Barnes | 574,000 |
| 3 | Dann Turner | 420,000 |
| 4 | Sarah Sherman | 191,000 |
| 5 | Levi Klump | 160,000 |
| 6 | Rory Lucero | 148,000 |
| 7 | Christina Prescott | 148,000 |
| 8 | Joshua Prager | 92,000 |
| 9 | Vanya Zwijsen | 35,000 |
WSOP bracelet winner Dann Turner rounded out the Podium with 420,000 at day’s end, looking to add a RGPS title to his already decorated resume. Others that bagged were Sarah Sherman (191,000), Levi Klump (160,000), Rory Lucero (148,000), Christina Prescott (148,000), and Vanya Zwijsen (35,000).
Defending champion Stacey Berger could not get things going in today’s flight and will have to look towards the following flights for her title defense. Others that did not fare well in today’s flight included Tyler Patterson, Daniel Hughes, Jeffrey Day, and Bob Mather. Ian Steinman was one of the last to fall during the flight when he ran into Barnes. They will all have ample opportunity to fire into the subsequent flights.
Play ended on the final hand of Level 15, meaning that players will return to Level 16 with blinds at 5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 big blind ant, unless one of the following flights ends earlier than this one.
We will now be going on a break from coverage of this event. Check back in around 10:30 to see coverage of Flight B after registration closes.