Main Event
Day 1bc Started
2019 RunGood Poker Series Downstream
Main Event
Day: 1bc
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2019 RunGood Poker Series Downstream
Buy-in
$575
Entries
372
Level
25
Blinds
25,000 / 50,000
Ante
50,000
Get Ready to Go Showbound at Downstream with RGPS Day 1bc
Welcome back to the latest stop of the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) “Showbound” season!
We're at Downstream Casino and Resort in Joplin, Missouri to continue this weekend $575 buy-in, $100K GTD Main Event with Flights B and C at Noon and 7 p.m. respectively. The surviving players from all flights will then return for Day 2 at Noon on Sunday and play down to a winner.
In last night's Day 1a field, 83 runners took to the felt but only 12 made it through the night with Craig Dick and his stack of 309,000 leading the pack. Others to bag and tag were William McCracken (265,500), Matt Bond (181,500), Mike Tang (117,500), Bart Bogard (52,500), and the short-stacked Daniel Lowery (48,500).
Located less than three hours from Kansas City, Downstream’s Pavilion Event Center is playing host to a series of side events and satellites leading up to the Showbound Main Event.
Throughout the 2019 RGPS Showbound Season, powered by PokerGO, players have the chance to win invitations to compete in a season-ending invite-only freeroll satellite at Hard Rock Tulsa for a pair of $5,000 Sit & Go seats to be on Poker After Dark in Las Vegas. Packages include an “airfare and hotel” travel stipend (Must be 21 to participate in the freeroll satellite, invitations are non-transferable, limited to one invitation and seat per player.)
To receive an invite, all you need to do is win any RGPS Showbound side event or final able any Main Event. “Showbound Powered by PokerGO” will encourage tournament participants at all tour stops to dress to impress and walk the crimson carpet on their way to the poker table.
Several players received invitations in the RGPS Council Bluffs stop earlier this month. It was there that Nick Burris, AKA Re-Burris because of his home game rebuy record, came out on top of a 399-entry field to win a $44,767 first-place prize. Others to cash that stop’s Main were MSPT champ Travis Gant (2nd - $27,664), Blair Hinkle (11th - $3,427), and Julie Cornelius (30th - $1,274), just to name a few.
Remaining RGPS Downstream Showbound Schedule
| Date | Time | Event | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, February 23 | Noon | RG Main Event $100K GTD Flight B | $145 |
| Saturday, February 23 | 4 p.m. | RG Main Event Turbo Satellite (5 seats GTD) | $145 |
| Saturday, February 23 | 7 p.m. | RG Main Event $100K GTD Flight C | $575 |
| Sunday, February 24 | Noon | Main Finals | - |
| Sunday, February 24 | 3 p.m. | RG Double Stack Turbo | $165 |
Main Event Details
Each Day 1 flight will see players start with 20,000 in chips and play a dozen 30-minute levels. Levels switch to 45 minutes on Day 2. Players are allowed to enter or reenter the event until the start of Level 9. A 15-minute break will be taken after every four levels.
Day 1 Structure
| Level | Duration | Small Blind | Big Blind | Big Blind Ante |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 min | 100 | 100 | - |
| 2 | 30 min | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 3 | 30 min | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| 4 | 30 min | 200 | 300 | 300 |
| 5 | 30 min | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| 6 | 30 min | 300 | 600 | 600 |
| 7 | 30 min | 400 | 800 | 800 |
| 8 | 30 min | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| 9 | 30 min | 600 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
| 10 | 30 min | 800 | 1,600 | 1,600 |
| 11 | 30 min | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| 12 | 30 min | 1,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 |
Cards Are In The Air For Flight B
The second of three Day 1 flights of the RunGood Showbound Main Event at Downstream is off and running. Players aiming for the top of the leaderboard have their work cut out for them as Craig Dick bagged up the chip lead in Flight A with an impressive 309,000 chips. A total of 83 entries were notched in the first flight, with twelve players making it through to Day 2.
A third Day 1 flight is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight. For a chance to win your Main Event seat at a discount, a $145 turbo satellite with a 5-seat guarantee will begin at 4 p.m.
Players entering the $575 buy-in Main Event will start with 20,000 chips and must survive twelve 30-minute levels to reach Sunday's Day 2. Late registration and unlimited re-entry are available until the start of Level 9 (approximately 4:30 pm). A full structure sheet can be found here.
Aside from the cash and glory, the players who reach the final table of the Main Event will receive a reserved seat in a freeroll satellite at the Hard Rock Tulsa for two $5,000 Sit & Go seats and the high roller experience of a lifetime at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.
Main Event Champions Everywhere
Flight B is a who's who of RGPS Main Event Final tables.
Former RGPS ME Champions Grant Hinkle, Nick Burris, Michael Beatty, and Mark Martin are all in action.
As are final tablists Charles Aron, Brandon Zallar, David Queen, Joseph Gatlin, Mark Barrientos, Mike White, Grant Hart, Matt Donaldson, and William Scarsdale, just to name a few.
Early Leaders
Monkey Island rancher James Jennings came by to tell us how his top set of kings went down in flames against his opponent's flush draw, sending him to the cashier to re-enter. Surveying the stacks in the room, it's clear we're in for another day of heavy action even in the early going of the Main Event.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
48,600 | 28,600 |
|
|
48,000 | 28,000 |
|
46,600 | 26,600 |
|
|
39,600 | 19,600 |
|
34,500 | 14,500 |
|
32,700 | 12,700 |
|
|
31,500 | 11,500 |
|
30,600 | 10,600 |
Card Whisperer Rodney Spriggs Runs Hot and Cold
Local player Rodney Spriggs has a habit of calling for cards and when he gets them right, of course, it's cause for celebration. We arrived at his table on the turn with the board reading 
. Spriggs had a bet already out and his opponent moved all in. Spriggs snap-called and the hands were turned up.
Spriggs: 
Opponent: 
Spriggs was behind with top pair against his opponent's two pair, but any club, ace, or king would give Spriggs the double up and send his opponent to the rail.
"Three of clubs!" Spriggs called. The dealer burned and turned the 
to complete the board. "Well, I was half right."
Spriggs was left with 800 chips after the hand and was felted shortly thereafter. He's back in action after rebuying and as luck would have it, drew the same seat.
Faces In The Field
First Break
The players are enjoying their first of two scheduled 15-minute breaks. After the break, Level 5 will bring increased blinds of 200/400 with a 400 ante.
Faces In The Field
Both Sides of the Felt
We know Kurt Haiss from his more than a decade as a poker dealer at the Hard Rock Tulsa, but Haiss is a regular at all the major tournaments in the area. With $211,848 in career tournament winnings, including $82,363 for a third-place finish in the WPT-Choctaw Durant $350 NLH Monster Stack in the summer of 2017, Haiss is a grinder at heart. When we asked him why he doesn't turn pro and play full-time, Haiss comes back with common sense.
"Security," he says. To paraphrase the conversation, Haiss says working as a dealer is beneficial in many ways. First, you have the guaranteed income to stave off downswings. Second, you have the benefits of insurance and PTO for life's unexpected events. Third, it provides a stability often missed by road gamblers. Plus, he says, "The Hard Rock is the best place to work. They've always been great about working my schedule so that I can play the majors when they're in town. How many employers would do that, right? They're just the best."
As for grinding tournaments, Haiss takes a common sense approach to them, as well, starting with minimizing the expenses. "I usually team up with Clarence Prevost or someone else to split the travel costs. Clarence and I have been doing that for years. I'm here this time with Shane Young, who I've been traveling with for the last five years or so."
As a long-time dealer, Haiss knows the players, the staff, and seems to have a solid grip on everyone's back story, not to mention a keen understanding of their poker game.
The hard work is clearly paying off. Last month alone, Haiss booked four cashes at the WSOPC in Choctaw for a combined $7,544.