Isidro Sandoval Bags Big Chip Lead on Day 1a of RGPS Council Bluffs
Day 1a of the RunGood Poker Series Contenders Tour Council Bluffs $575 Main Event saw 252 entries, a field that generated a full room of tables with an alternate list that had to form some 90 minutes prior to cards going in the air for the day. Nearly 13 levels were played to their conclusion in order to bring the field size down to a manageable total for Sunday's Day 2, and 38 players ultimately made it through the day.
Of those 38, Isidro Sandoval saw himself finish atop the counts with a finishing stack of 331,000. Sandoval was seen around 200K after registration closed for the evening and remained as one of the top stacks in the room for the last two-plus hours of play before winning a pot on the final hand of the night to take himself well clear of the other 37 players in the field.
Nobody else besides Sandoval finished above 300K, though six players did bag 200K or more: Nick Barksdale (241,500), Mike Henrich (216,500), Jacob Long (212,500), Brad Cohen (207,500), Anthony Scarborough (204,500), and Donald Nimneh (200,000).
Other notables to advance included Ryan Phan (175,500), Lawrence Prevost (161,500), RunGood Ambassador Blair Hinkle (74,500), and Kerry Hildebrand (48,500).
Plenty more failed to get through, including RunGood Ambassador Grant Hinkle, Johnnie Moreno, Taylor Howard, Brian Frenzel, and Mo Nuwwarah. All who have yet to find a bag will have two more chances Saturday, as Day 1b starts at 11 a.m. local time and will be followed up by Day 1c at 6 p.m.
PokerNews will be back on the floor tomorrow all day long, so be sure to come back and follow along as the action unfolds.