$575 Main Event
Day 1bc Completed
2022 RGPS Tunica
$575 Main Event
Day: 1bc
Kenny Dang Bags Overall Day 1 Chip Lead of RGPS Contenders Tunica $575 Main Event
Level 12
: 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
Two full starting flights played to their conclusion Saturday inside the Horseshoe Casino Tunica for the 2022 RunGood Poker Series Contenders Tour Tunica $575 Main Event. Noon's Day 1b drew 245 entries and 7 p.m.'s Day 1c added another 173 to that tally, bringing the grand total to 602 entries for the tournament.
Coming into the day, Nashville's Donnie Phan (213,000) was the one to catch, and at least a handful of players did so with Richard Bolden (291,500) bagging the Day 1b chip lead to begin that trend. However, Day 1c chip leader Kenny Dang eclipsed that number, finishing play with 352,500 after a late-night surge saw multiple players' stacks end up becoming part of his.
In total, 61 players advanced from the first flight and another 43 made it through later in the evening. Barry Schultz (280,000), Thomas Canter (246,000), and ClubGG qualifier Hao Zhu (225,500) also finished with stacks above that of Day 1a chip leader Phan.
A perfect 25% of all three flights made it through their respective days, meaning 150 players from the 602 total entries will return for Sunday's Day 2 at noon local time to play down to a winner. Other notables on that list include RunGood Ambassador Julie Cornelius (187,500), BJ McBrayer (145,500), Mark Kehrees (126,500), former RGPS Tunica Main Event Champion Tiffany Keathley (117,500), and Event #5 ($200 Double Green Chip Bounty) Winner Chad Marsh (82,000).
Of the 150 to advance, 63 will make it into the money, with a first-level payout good for $1,023. Meanwhile, the eventual champion will earn $66,849, the RunGood Trophy, and a seat to the 2022 RunGood Pro-Am set to be played later this year at the PokerGo Studio in Las Vegas. Complete payout information has been provided below.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $66,849 |
| 2 | $42,592 |
| 3 | $25,886 |
| 4 | $21,070 |
| 5 | $17,308 |
| 6 | $13,696 |
| 7 | $10,686 |
| 8 | $8,428 |
| 9 | $6,171 |
| 10-12 | $3,913 |
| 13-15 | $3,161 |
| 16-18 | $2,408 |
| 19-27 | $1,806 |
| 28-36 | $1,505 |
| 37-45 | $1,204 |
| 46-54 | $1,114 |
| 55-63 | $1,023 |
PokerNews will be back at it again Sunday to take you through to the finish line, so be sure to come back then.
Combined End of Day 1bc Counts (full)
Level 12
: 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
352,500 | |
|
291,500 | |
|
280,000 | |
|
246,000 | |
|
225,500 | |
|
222,000 | |
|
211,500 | |
|
188,000 | |
|
187,500 | |
|
187,500 | |
|
|
187,000 | |
|
184,500 | |
|
|
175,500 | |
|
170,500 | |
|
162,500 | |
|
|
162,500 | |
|
159,000 | |
|
153,000 | |
|
|
151,000 | |
|
147,000 | |
|
|
146,500 | |
|
145,000 | |
|
144,000 | |
|
143,000 | |
|
142,000 |
End of Day 1c Counts
Level 12
: 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
352,500 | |
|
|
280,000 | |
|
|
246,000 | |
|
|
225,500 | |
|
|
188,000 | 188,000 |
|
|
162,500 | 162,500 |
|
|
147,000 | -500 |
|
|
146,500 | |
|
|
145,000 | -500 |
|
|
142,000 | 142,000 |
|
126,500 | |
|
123,000 | 123,000 |
|
121,000 | 121,000 |
|
118,500 | |
|
109,000 | 109,000 |
|
103,500 | 103,500 |
|
|
103,000 | 103,000 |
|
|
97,000 | 97,000 |
|
96,500 | 96,500 |
|
94,500 | 62,200 |
|
89,500 | |
|
|
86,500 | 86,500 |
|
|
81,500 | 81,500 |
|
80,500 | 80,500 |
|
|
76,000 | 76,000 |
End of Day 1b Chip Counts
Level 12
: 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
Chip counts from the 61 total players who advanced from Day 1b have been posted below. Day 1c's will be posted once they are provided, too, as will a combined master list for both of the day's flights.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
291,500 | |
|
|
222,000 | 222,000 |
|
|
211,500 | 85,500 |
|
|
187,500 | 170,500 |
|
|
187,500 | |
|
|
187,000 | 187,000 |
|
|
184,500 | 184,500 |
|
|
175,500 | |
|
|
170,500 | 111,500 |
|
|
162,500 | |
|
|
159,000 | 159,000 |
|
|
153,000 | 153,000 |
|
|
151,000 | 151,000 |
|
|
144,000 | 144,000 |
|
|
143,000 | 143,000 |
|
140,000 | 140,000 |
|
134,000 | |
|
132,000 | 132,000 |
|
|
126,500 | 126,500 |
|
117,500 | |
|
|
112,000 | 112,000 |
|
109,500 | |
|
|
107,000 | -81,000 |
|
|
101,500 | 24,500 |
|
97,000 | 97,000 |
End of Day 1c Assorted Counts
Level 12
: 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
Assorted End of Day 1c counts have been provided below. Complete chip counts from Day 1b, 1c, and a combined total will be posted later this evening.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
352,500 | 97,500 |
|
|
280,000 | |
|
|
246,000 | |
|
|
225,500 | 97,500 |
|
|
147,500 | -6,500 |
|
|
146,500 | 23,500 |
|
|
145,500 | 54,900 |
|
|
126,500 | 63,500 |
|
|
118,500 | -39,500 |
|
|
89,500 | -38,500 |
|
56,000 | 13,400 |
|
|
53,500 | -11,500 |
|
|
19,500 | -35,500 |
|
|
19,000 | -6,800 |
Play Finishes
Level 12
: 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
Play has finished with what looks to be 43 players making it through Day 1c. Chip counts and an end-of-day recap will be posted later this evening.
Three More Hands
Level 12
: 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
Ten minutes now remain in Level 12 and the tournament clock has been paused for the five remaining tables to play three more hands before bagging and tagging for the night.
Cao Gets a Double
Level 12
: 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
Under the gun open-limped and Phong Cao jammed for 26,700 one seat over. Action folded back to the limper and he called.
Cao: 
Opponent: 
Both players connected with the flop 
, giving Cao a set of sevens that pulled far ahead of his opponent's top pair, top kicker. The turn 
meant the last two tens in the deck were live to knock him out, but neither came on the river 
and the double was shipped his way.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
60,400 | 60,400 |
Lewis Ousted
Level 12
: 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
Noah Lewis open-jammed for 18,600 under the gun and BJ McBrayer re-jammed for 66,000. All remaining players folded, some of them taking longer than others to do so.
Lewis: 
McBrayer: 
The runout 
gave Lewis one extra out to counterfeited quads on the turn, but ultimately left his hand second best and brought about his elimination from the tournament in the final level of the evening.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
90,600 | 90,600 |
|
|
Busted |