Corey Paggeot Finishes as Day 1a Chip Leader
Day 1a attracted a total of 107 entrants during the opening flight of the RunGood Poker Series Grand Prix San Diego $600 Main Event at Jamul Casino Resort. Players were tasked with battling it out to reserve one of the final 13 seats that were permitted to bag and advance to Day 2 on Sunday at 12 p.m.
It was Corey Paggeot who finished atop the leaderboard, bagging a smooth 600,000 in chips. Robert Fortuno (509,000) and Christopher Black (463,000) rounded out the top three finishers of Day 1a.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corey Paggeot | United States | 600,000 | 120 |
| 2 | Robert Fortuno | United States | 509,000 | 102 |
| 3 | Christopher Black | United States | 463,000 | 93 |
| 4 | Jonathan Fagin | United States | 360,000 | 72 |
| 5 | Bradley Miller | United States | 288,000 | 58 |
| 6 | Wangcheng Yuan | United States | 286,000 | 57 |
| 7 | Long Hoang | United States | 232,000 | 46 |
| 8 | Zach Kelley | United States | 220,000 | 44 |
| 9 | Susan Millstone | United States | 193,000 | 39 |
| 10 | David Avina | United States | 127,000 | 25 |
| 11 | Jeremy Clemons | United States | 79,000 | 16 |
| 12 | Juan Vazquez | United States | 65,000 | 13 |
| 13 | Taylor Howard | United States | 64,000 | 13 |
Paggeot has been a poker professional for roughly eight years since he began to rely on poker for a living. He stated that he began to play tournaments full-time and has been pursuing his poker ambitions ever since.
Paggeot has yet to notch a RunGood Poker Series main event title during his accomplished poker career that includes over $400,000 in lifetime earnings according to The Hendon Mob. Finishing atop the leaderboard on Day 1a will certainly not hurt his chances at earning his first RGPS main event title.
“It’s the best possible result for the day. I can’t complain about that, I ran hot to end the day,” Paggeot said. “Just keep playing cards. There’s still a long way to go.”
Paggeot was the beneficiary of a hot streak in the final hour of play that saw his stack rise exponentially. Paggeot got the ball rolling late when he doubled through Anastasiia Knapp in a blind versus blind battle.
Paggeot’s rise would continue to be at the expense of Knapp as Paggeot went on to bested Knapp in another pivotal hand before he eliminated Knapp to burst the bubble on Day 1a.
Notables Tavish Margers, Karl Hedberg, and Phovieng Keokham did not bag for Day 1a, but will have two additional flights to secure a spot for Day 2.
Saturday will host the final two flights of the Main Event to decide how many players will return for Day 2 on Sunday. Day 1b is slated to begin at 11 a.m. local time, while Day 1c will get going at 6 p.m.
The top 12.5% of each field, rounded down, will be entitled to advance to Day 2. Players are entitled to unlimited re-entries. Should a player qualify for Day 2 more than once, they will only be entitled to play the higher chip stack and the lower stacks will be removed from play.
Players will begin with 30,000 in chips. The tournament will have 30-minute blind levels for the first eight levels of play. Blinds will then be 40-minute levels from that point forward until the tournament’s conclusion.
Stay tuned here at PokerNews for coverage of Day 1bc and beyond as the action continues to heat up in the RGPS Grand Prix San Diego $600 Main Event at Jamul Resort Casino.