Day 1a of the RGPS Thunder Valley Golden Ticket $575 Main Event kicks off today in Lincoln, California as part of the All-Stars Comeback Tour presented by the RunGood Poker Series. Held in The Poker Room at Thunder Valley Casino Resort, the tournament has a guaranteed prize pool of $200,000.
Players can choose from three different starting flights, with the first flight commencing at noon local time. Flight 1b will kick off on Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. and Flight 1c will begin on Sept. 25 at the same time. The survivors of each flight will then fight it out during Day 2 on Sept. 26 at 11 a.m.
Each player will begin with a stack of 20,000 chips with blinds beginning at 100/100 and an ante posted by the big blind kicking in on Level 2. Levels on Day 1 will last 30 minutes and play will end when 12.5% of the field remains that is in the money. Levels on Day 2 will increase to 45 minutes.
Players can late-register for the tournament up until the start of Level 9. At the completion of Level 8, players may forfeit their stack and re-enter for $575.
In addition to a share of the prize pool, the Main Event winner will earn an entry into the All Star Pro-Am event in December.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team is on site to bring you updates on the tournament action.
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In a heads-up pot that went bet-call on a flop of , Joe Nguyen fired again from out of position on the turn with a bet of 1,800. His opponent laid it down.
Majdei Abzakh had just lost most of his stack when he went all-in for 300 chips and got three callers.
The flop came and the floor was called over on the turn when Jack Cavanaugh checked out of turn. At showdown on the river, Cavanaugh tabled ace-queen with the for the nut flush, sending Rodriguez to the rail with his after he flopped two-pair.
"That hand was bizarre," said Michael Sweeney, who was involved the hand.
Elisa Nakagawa told the table that she folded a set.
Leonard Boltasiu raised to 1,200 in the big blind and got a call from an in-position opponent. Boltasiu continued with a bet of 2,100 on the flop and his opponent called, and called again when Boltasiu bet on the turn.
Boltasiu slowed down and checked the river and his opponent fired for 6,000. Boltasiu called. His opponent tabled his hand but quickly mucked when Boltasiu showed the winner with pocket tens. Shorty after the hand he told PokerNews his stack was around three-times starting stack at approximately 60,000.
The RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) was born out of RunGoodGear, a premier poker clothing company founded in 2012. From its humble beginnings, which included president Tana Karnchanakphan (AKA Tana Karn), distributing RunGood shirts out of a backpack at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), the RGPS tour launched in 2014 and had established itself as a major force in the mid-major market. In fact, it won “Mid-Major Tour/Circuit” in back-to-back years at the Global Poker Awards (2018 & 2019).
What is the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS)?
The RGPS is a two-time Global Poker Award-winning tour for “Mid-Major Tour/Circuit”. The tour usually hosts weeklong festivals comprised of affordable side events culminating in traditionally $575-$675 Main Events, which run Friday-Sunday.
Each season of the RGPS, which currently awards championship rings but has previously awarded medallions, championship belts, and even cowboy boots, comes with a fun theme. Some of the themes from past seasons include “Showbound”, “Game Seven”, “RunGood Cup”, “Old West”, a charity-themed season with Operation Gratitude, and their post-pandemic “Comeback Tour”.
They have also formed a partnership with PokerGO to send players to an end-of-year, 64-player tournament to be filmed at PokerGO Studios in Las Vegas.
When is the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS)?
The RGPS holds stops throughout the year across the country. In the past, they’ve hosted two themed seasons each year – the first taking place in the first half of the year before the WSOP, and the other in the second half of the year after the WSOP.
The RGPS tour launched in 2014 with three stops starting with its inaugural stop at Downstream Casino & Resort in Quapaw, Oklahoma. Bernard Lee topped a 344-entry field, including Ross Bybee in heads-up play, to win the $675 Main Event for $47,555.
Bybee redeemed himself at the next stop at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa when he bested a 317-entry field to win the $675 Main Event for $26,440 after a four-way deal. A month later, the RGPS returned to Downstream and hosted another $675 Main Event, which attracted 262 runners and saw Mark Martin come out on top to claim a $36,218 first-place prize.
In 2015, the tour expanded to seven stops after adding Horseshoe Council Bluffs and an RGPS Cup Championship in New Orleans. The following year, six stops were held including a pair in North Kansas City, while a total of seven stops took place in 2017.
In 2018, Horseshoe Bossier City joined the tour, as did the first-ever RGPS Global Championship Cruise, which was won by Shawn Sparks for $21,417. That year saw 13 stops, but in 2019 that jumped to 17 thanks to Horseshoe Tunica joining the fray.
In 2020, a new stop Jamul Casino in San Diego was held before the global pandemic put the tour on hiatus. It took a year, but the RGPS stormed back in 2021 with a “Comeback Tour” and resumed making its mark in the mid-major market, including at new stops at Florida’s Seminole Hard Rock Coconut Creek and California’s Thunder Valley.
Top RGPS Players
RGPS superstar Daniel Lowery
As of August 2021, Daniel Lowery sits atop both the RGPS all-time money list ($188,794) and most titles (7). Lowery also tops the list for most RGPS cashes with 40, as well as most top 10 finishers with 22.
Justin Gardenhire sits behind him with $186,669 in earnings, 5 titles, 20 top 10 finishes, and 33 cashes. Meanwhile, Blair Hinkle has established himself as a force on the tour with $141,296 in earnings from three titles.
Other players with three titles to their credit are Preston McEwen, James Devaney, Derrick Contreras, Eric Bunch, Julie Anna Cornelius, Rodney Spriggs, Michael Albert, John Heckenkamp, and Ross Bybee.
Yani Fangayen built up his stack by busting an all-in opponent who couldn't get there with his ace-high against the pocket eights of Fangayen. Fangayen estimated that he had about 45,000 chips after the hand.
Tommy Coker three-bet shoved a stack of about 16,000 in the hijack and the original raiser and a flat-caller both folded. Coker showed he had the goods when he flipped over pocket queens. Coker looked to have around starting stack at the end of the hand.
Merrill Schneeberger went all-in on the river in a heads-up pot and tabled a set of tens before his opponent made a decision. His opponent then folded on the ace-high board and flipped over an ace as he did so.
, Joe Nguyen fired again from out of position on the 
turn with a bet of 1,800. His opponent laid it down.
and the floor was called over on the 
turn when Jack Cavanaugh checked out of turn. At showdown on the 
river, Cavanaugh tabled ace-queen with the 
for the nut flush, sending Rodriguez to the rail with his 
after he flopped two-pair.
flop and his opponent called, and called again when Boltasiu bet on the 
turn. 
checked through and Saelee continued with a bet of 600 on the 
turn. 
