Randy Gil Leads 19 Players in Day 1b of RGPS Thunder Valley Golden Ticket $575 Main Event
Randy Gil ended Day 1b of the RGPS Thunder Valley Golden Ticket $575 Main Event, $200K GTD as chipleader with stack of 375,000 after a massive flip where his ace-king got there against the pocket queens of Wilson Tolon. Tolon busted out on the money bubble shortly after when he was up against queens and couldn't get ahead with his eight-seven.
Gil, of California, had a fantastic day that included busting two opponents when his rockets held against their smaller pocket pairs. He is trailed by Sukhdip Singh with a stack of 311,000 and Jerez Mercado, who tripled up in one of the most memorable hands of the day where he flopped a set of sevens, with a stack of 272,500.
Paul Taeza had a big chip lead early but his stack dwindled down throughout the day, including in the hand where Mercado flopped a set. Other players who made the money on Day 1b include Kris Burchfield, Zihan Men and Kevin Nguyen.
Poker commentator Joe Stapleton was in the field but busted when his sixes were no good against an opponent's nines.
Day 1c will commence on Sept. 25 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time and the survivors of all three flights will combine on Sept. 26 at 11 a.m. for Day 2 action.
That wraps up coverage of Day 1b of RGPS Thunder Valley Golden Ticket $575 Main Event, $200K GTD. The PokerNews live reporting team will be back covering Day 1c tomorrow.
on a board of 
and had the nut flush.
and Gil eliminated both opponents.
and Weinmann spiked a nine to stay alive, while Stapleton was sent to the rail.
