The first flight of the RGPS Tulsa $800 Main Event saw a total of 140 entrants occupy the seats in the multi purpose room at the Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Having done most of the heavy lifting in getting the tournament to its $100k guarantee, leaving the rest of the flights to act as some gravy on top of that prize pool.
Leading the way is Nathan Kimbrow who ended his day with 521,000. Kimbrow secured himself his first ever RGPS cash on top of the massive stack he bagged. Many confrontations with Michael Skimbo, saw a late night surge in the counts and his elimination of Skimbo ensured his top spot. Rosmel Munoz was the one who ended up ending the night for the rest of the players as he flopped a set on a king-high board to sit in second place by night’s end with 433,000. Munoz has seen a couple of deep RGPS main event runs over the past few years, but with his stack today he looks to cut a little deeper here than he did at the other stops.
Top Ten Day 1a Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Hometown | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nathan Kimbrow | Willow Springs, OK | 521,000 |
| 2 | Rosmel Munoz | Venezuela | 433,000 |
| 3 | Kevin Elwood | Salina, OK | 430,000 |
| 4 | Ashley Frank | Scottsdale, AZ | 365,000 |
| 5 | Brant Jolly | Fayetteville, AK | 347,000 |
| 6 | James Stone | Mabelvale, AR | 268,000 |
| 7 | Cory Aurentz | Springfield, MO | 267,000 |
| 8 | Andrew Todhunter | Tulsa, OK | 191,000 |
| 9 | Jeremy Radebaugh | Wyandotte, OK | 186,000 |
| 10 | Seth Wright | Hinton, OK | 186,000 |
Others that bagged were Ashley “PokerFaceAsh” Frank (365,000), Brant Jolly (347,000), Andrew Todhunter (191,000), and poker tournament director Michael “Murph” Murphy (163,000). They will be among the many to grab a sizable piece of this RGPS Main Event.
Fortune did not smile upon all players. Defending champion Eric Bunch was unable to find a stack and joined the rail with fellow RGPS Main Event champions Iman Al-Saden and William McCracken. Bryce Laymance, Kami Hudson, Yordanos Mebrathu, and EPT commentator Joe Stapleton saw their stacks dwindle and vanish, leaving only tomorrow for any hope of a bag in this event. They will have ample opportunity between the following two flights to enter and try for a bag again.
Players ended with 21:50 left in Level 15, with blinds at 4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 big blind ante. This will be the level they return to, barring a subsequent flight ending earlier. They will return Sunday at 12:00 p.m. to play down to a winner, joining the other flights.
