On a heads-up turn of 3♣6♠J♦J♣, Thomas Riggs checked to Paul Sampson who bet 10,000. Riggs then put in the ol' check-jam for 47,500 and the pressure was back on Sampson who went into the tank.
After some time thinking, Sampson decided to make the call to put Riggs at risk and flipped over A♥6♦ for two-pair. He was then shown J♠9♠ by Riggs for trip jacks for him to be completely drawing dead as the dealer ripped out the 4♦ on the river to complete the board. Riggs was then pushed the pot to jump him back into six digits while Sampson was left with a measly 500,000.
The first of two opening flights in the biggest RunGood Poker event of the year is in the books with Paul Sampson bagging the lead with 536,000. Sampson took the chip lead early on and remained there for almost the entire day. Close on his heels is Adam Dunkle who ended the day with 536,000 and behind him is Jared Jaffee with 356,000. Rounding out the top five is Alexander Rodriguez and Peter Dirksen with 295,000 and 294,500, respectively.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Chip Count
Country
Big Blinds
1
Paul Sampson
563,000
United States
225
2
Adam Dunkle
536,000
United States
214
3
Jared Jaffee
356,000
United States
142
4
Alexander Rodriguez
295,000
United States
118
5
Peter Dirksen
294,500
United States
118
6
Adam Miller
284,500
United States
114
7
Scott Mataya
283,500
United States
113
8
Joseph Mussat
264,500
United States
106
9
Yotam Shmuelov
244,000
United States
98
10
Steve Numoto
240,500
United States
96
205 players took their seats throughout the day with 49 finding their way to a bag after ten levels of play with a 75-minute dinner break after Level 6.
Among other notables bagging up were Stephen Song (218,000), Darren Rabinowitz (127,000), Ben Ludlow (97,000), and last year’s winner Brett Murray and runner-up Tyler Patterson will return with 41,000 and 28,000.
Those who didn’t make it through the day but can come back again tomorrow include RunGood Ambassadors [B[PLAYER="rob-mariano"]]"Boston" Rob Mariano[/PLAYER][/B] who busted just before bagging, Lexy Gavin-Mather, Jamie Kerstetter, and Kris Burchfield.
Rob Mariano
Another Opening Flight Saturday
With one successful opening flight in the books, the second will take place Saturday at 11 a.m. local time with an even bigger field expected that will send the prize pool past its $1,000,000 guarantee.
Players will again have two entries available to them throughout the day with late registration closing at the start of Level 9.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage from the beautiful Thunder Valley Casino Resort until a CheckPoint Champion is crowned on Monday.
