Xiong Thao Leads 33 Survivors from Day 1cd of the RunGood Bay Area Main Event

It was another exciting day of action at the 2025 RGPS Mission RunGood Bay Area $800 Main Event.

In a day that started at 11 a.m. and ended after 2 a.m., two more opening flights have come and gone here at Graton Resort and Casino.

Many came, most failed, but some succeeded in their search for a Day 2 bag. A total of 264 entries were tallied today: 150 in Day 1c and 114 in Day 1d. However, once the dust settled just 33 players had secured a spot in Monday’s Day 2.

Today’s turnout brought the total registrants to 512 to create a prize pool of $358,400, already surpassing the $300,000 guarantee with another flight yet to come tomorrow.

Leading the way from today’s flights was Xiong Thao who bagged an impressive 595,000. Behind him in second is Sigmund Anderman with 496,000. Rounding out the podium in third is Ian Steinman who finished with 470,000.

End of Day 1cd Top Ten Chip Counts

Place	Player	Chip Count
1	Xiong Thao	595,000
2	Sigmund Anderman	496,000
3	Ian Steinman	470,000
4	Lawrence Chen	428,000
5	Aquil Salahudeen	423,000
6	Victor Wan	422,000
7	Noel Rodriguez	394,000
8	Ratu Caucau	388,000
9	Jamie Kerstetter	353,000
10	Denis Lee	339,000

Some notable players who tried their luck today but did not advance include WSOP bracelet and WPT winner Pat Lyons, circuit grinder Corey Paggeot, and the dynamic duo of Mimi Luu and Toko Luu.

The hand of the day was one of the most absurd runouts seen in tournament poker history. Jeremy Smith found himself all-in with pocket sevens against the pocket threes of Joe Nguyen. Both players would flop a set before Nguyen turned the case three for quads. However, the last seven peeled off on the river as the room erupted at the quads over quads runout.

Those who were less fortunate today still have an opportunity to book their ticket to Monday’s restart, as there is a final opening flight tomorrow, Monday May 11 at 11 a.m. There is no evening flight but the morning flight follows the same structure as the previous four.

The earliest that play has ended is with 13 minutes left on the clock in Level 15 with blinds at 4,000/8,000 in Day 1a. The players will return at this level on Monday unless the final flight finishes at an earlier time.