button in Safari$400 PokerNews Cup Continues With Two Flights Ready for Takeoff
The opening day of the $400 PokerNews Cup at Thunder Valley Casino Resort featured a royal flush, a dramatic bubble and 142 entrants battling for a spot in the money at the RunGood Passport Season finale.
The fun continues today at 11:00 a.m. local time, when the second of four starting flights begins. That will be followed later in the day at 4:00 p.m. as Day 1c provides another shot to chase the $250,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Survivors from all four opening flights will combine on Sunday, July 19, with the first 14 players already booking their spot in the final day. That group is led by Xiong Thao (994,000), who put on a dominant performance in the later levels to collect almost a third of the chips on Day 1a and finished with almost 40 starting stacks.
Finishing in second was Nabil Zumout (569,000), while Sanjay Kochhar (321,000) rounded out the top three on the leaderboard.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xiong Thao | United States | 994,000 |
| 2 | Nabil Zumout | United States | 569,000 |
| 3 | Sanjay Kochhar | United States | 321,000 |
| 4 | Daeng Vang | United States | 281,000 |
| 5 | Nghia Nguyen | United States | 244,000 |
| 6 | Dylan Anderson | United States | 193,000 |
| 7 | Joseph Luke | United States | 191,000 |
| 8 | Manraj Chahal | United States | 180,000 |
| 9 | Michael McDonough | United States | 171,000 |
| 10 | Wayne Wilson | United States | 113,000 |
As an added for players participating the event at Thunder Valley, the PokerNews team is on site throughout the PokerNews Cup weekend giving away merchandise to those who share their story.
Whether you have a ludicrous bad beat, a fantastical poker journey, or simply want to tell people about the time you rubbed shoulders with some of poker's elite, our team will be on hand to record and share your story with our audience.
On the felt, participants will begin with 25,000 chips looking to navigate 30-minute levels and survive into the top 12.5 percent of the field. That will lock up a spot in the money, along with a $700 payday, while the top 10 percent will bag and advance to Day 2.
Nine-handed play will see blinds start at 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante, and the schedule includes breaks after every two hours of play. Players are limited to two entries per flight, and registration remains open until the start of Level 9.
Anyone bagging multiple opening flights will earn the lowest Day 2 payout, while only their top stack will remain in play. The final day will see the remaining field combine for eight-handed action, along with the introduction of time chips for the remainder of the tournament.
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Action is heating up at Thunder Valley, so stay tuned to PokerNews for continued live reporting coverage all weekend long. Plus, be sure to stop by and share your story with us.