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Trophy Time for One of 88 Contenders in $400 PokerNews Cup
The opening week of the RunGood Passport Season Finale series is off to a great start, as the return of the $400 PokerNews Cup easily surpassed the guaranteed prize pool entering the final day.
The tournament drew 901 entries at Thunder Valley Casino Resort, with 88 players battling into the money before earning a spot in Day 2. Action resumes today at 11:00 a.m. local time, when the final 11 tables will be filled with dreams of a deep run tonight.
Four opening flights created a total prize pool of $306,340, with a minimum cash of $700 already paid out to several players who missed out on bagging up chips. The remaining field has already earned the first pay jump, and everyone is chasing Xiong Thao (994,000). The Day 1a chip leader dominated the first flight of the week, amassing almost 30 percent of the chips in play to take a commanding lead with just shy of 100 big blinds.
Thao is followed by Day 1c leader Ryan Carr (721,000), while Eric Estrellado (662,000) rounds out the top three after setting the pace on Day 1b.
Khamla Kounlavouth (655,000) led the way on the final flight, and returns to the table as the only other contender with more than 60 big blinds in his stack.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xiong Thao | United States | 994,000 | 99 |
| 2 | Ryan Carr | United States | 721,000 | 72 |
| 3 | Eric Estrellado | United States | 662,000 | 66 |
| 4 | Khamla Kounlavouth | United States | 655,000 | 66 |
| 5 | Joseph Stevens | United States | 571,000 | 57 |
| 6 | Nabil Zumout | United States | 569,000 | 57 |
| 7 | Eric Lee | United States | 567,000 | 57 |
| 8 | Christopher Rudd | United States | 532,000 | 53 |
| 9 | Francis Nguyen | United States | 471,000 | 47 |
| 10 | James Lee | United States | 444,000 | 44 |
Only one player in the field was able to take advantage of the double bag bonus, as Ricky Flora collected almost three times as many chips in the third flight after also surviving Day 1a. That leaves his larger stack in play today, and Flora will take home an additional Day 2 minimum payout of $760.
Another name to look out for is Jaime Haletky (365,000), who already owns two WSOP Circuit Main Event rings at Thunder Valley, and secured a big score at the 2026 World Series of Poker by finishing sixth in Event #72: $1,000 Mini Main Event.
All 88 players are in the money, aiming for a shot at the top prize of $48,340 and the PokerNews Cup trophy. Play resumes at the start of Level 15, with blinds of 5,000/10,000 along with a 10,000 big blind ante.
The start of Day 2 means two changes to the tournament structure, as action will now be eight-handed for the remainder of the event. Time chips will also be introduces when players take their seats, with each receiving five at the start of the day and five more once the final table is reached. Levels will remain 30 minutes in duration, and breaks are scheduled after every two hours of play.
The final day also brings the last chance to earn merchandise by sharing your story with the PokerNews team. Whether you have a ludicrous bad beat story, 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.
Day 2 Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $48,340 | 13-15 | $3,440 |
| 2 | $32,000 | 16-19 | $2,880 |
| 3 | $23,800 | 20-23 | $2,420 |
| 4 | $17,800 | 24-31 | $2,020 |
| 5 | $13,500 | 32-39 | $1,680 |
| 6 | $10,300 | 40-47 | $1,420 |
| 7 | $7,900 | 48-55 | $1,200 |
| 8 | $6,100 | 56-63 | $1,020 |
| 9-10 | $4,820 | 64-76 | $860 |
| 11-12 | $4,080 | 77-88 | $760 |
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The first weekend of action is wrapping up at Thunder Valley, so be sure to follow along as the PokerNews live reporting team brings you all of the excitement on the road to determining a winner tonight.