Troendly Bags Lead in Day 1a; Betti, Prager, and Paredes Advance
The first flight of the Rungood Poker Series $800 Graton Main Event has come to its conclusion. A total of 189 entrants tried to make their mark in this flight, in an attempt to secure a piece of the $500,000 guaranteed prize pool. When the dust settled, just 24 made it through to return on Sunday, May 12.
Leading the way is Richard Troendly, who bagged 460,000. The Reno native is no stranger to running deep in RunGood Poker Series main events as just last fall, he ended his run in the same event in seventh place for $17,395. Already holding a RGPS ring, Troendly will be taking his massive stack in the hopes to better his finish from last year’s final table.
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Troendly | 460,000 |
| 2 | Matthew Betti | 437,000 |
| 3 | Kong Wang | 413,000 |
| 4 | Lawrence Chow | 392,000 |
| 5 | Angel Castro | 389,000 |
| 6 | Josh Prager | 350,000 |
| 7 | Niv Decalo | 317,000 |
| 8 | Rifki Yazid | 300,000 |
| 9 | Charles Hiat | 276,000 |
| 10 | Cody Golden | 268,000 |
Matthew Betti (437,000) ended the day just shy of chip lead, coming fresh off of a deep run in the RGPS Main Event last week in Reno. Others that found bags were Lawrence Chow (392,000), Josh Prager (350,000), and Victor Paredes (144,000). Each one looking for their first RGPS ring.
Not all could find fortune today. Two-time RGPS ring winner John Koo couldn’t find enough momentum, joining the rail with RGPS Thunder Valley Main Event champion Tyler Patterson, Terrance Reid, and Denis Lee. Ronny Gil became the final player to bust out of the flight, leaving his brother Randy Gil (217,000) to carry the Gil name into the second day. These players will have ample opportunity to fire in tonight or tomorrow’s flights.
Play ended with 25:13, left on the clock in Level 16 with blinds at 5,000/10,000 and a 10,000 big blind ante. The players will return at this level unless a subsequent flight ends earlier than this one.
Reporting will now go on a break. Come back in a couple of hours to see coverage continue with our night flight.