Villaneuva Leads 35 Players Advancing in Day 1c of RGPS Thunder Valley Golden Ticket $575 Main Event
Victor Villaneuva leads 35 players who advanced on Day 1c of the RGPS Thunder Valley Golden Ticket $575 Main Event, $200K GTD. Day 1c action lasted nearly nine hours and ended when Ken Loveless eliminated a player on the money bubble with nines against ace-five.
The 565 total entries in the tournament generated a prize pool of $282,500 that smashed the $200,000 guarantee. A total of 72 places will be paid and the top payouts include $53,525 for first, $37,305 for second and $24,165 for third.
The field on Day 1c was nearly the size of both previous flights with 279 entrants filling the tournament hall. Other players who survived the third starting flight include Steve Goodman, Ken Loveless, and Mai Xiong.
Memorable hands from Day 1c include when Johnny Namauleg went runner-runner to make a straight flush, as well as when Deryl Taylor scooped a big pot in a set-versus-set-versus-aces hand.
Day 2 will commence on Sept. 26 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time and blinds levels will increase from 30 minutes to 45 minutes. The final table will begin when there are nine players remaining.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow bringing you Day 2 updates.