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$400 RunGood in Aruba Ring Event
Day 1a Completed
2026 RGPS Golden Expedition Aruba
$400 RunGood in Aruba Ring Event
Day: 1a
Players Left 8 / 78
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Final Table
6
268,000
Level 14
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
For the first time ever, the RunGood Poker Series has made its way to the Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino in a collaboration with the Caribbean Poker Series. The series kicked off today with the first of four starting flights in the $400 RunGood in Aruba Ring Event.
A total of 78 entries were tallied today, adding $25,740 to the $100,000 guaranteed prize pool for the event.
A flurry of eliminations in the final level of the night brought the action to a screeching halt after Carlos Gonzalez ran his ace-king into the pocket aces of Evgenii Tsatskin.
The final eight players then bagged up their chips, and will have some time to soak up some sun on white-sand beaches of Aruba before returning for Sunday's restart.
Leading the pack from today's action was Paul Nheiu, who finished with 494,000. He won a massive pot after flopping a set against the top pair of Christopher Hewitt. All the money went in on the turn, and Nheiu had his opponent drawing dead before riding that momentum to the chip lead.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Nheiu | United States | 494,000 | 62 |
| 2 | Ernest Bush | United States | 436,000 | 55 |
| 3 | Evgenii Tsatskin | Canada | 358,000 | 45 |
| 4 | Vanja Ovuka | 326,000 | 41 | |
| 5 | Douglas Lee | United States | 287,000 | 36 |
| 6 | Jose Goncalves | 268,000 | 34 | |
| 7 | Jose Duzanson | 128,000 | 16 | |
| 8 | Asi Elias | United States | 49,000 | 6 |
Ernest Bush (436,000) found himself in second place after a late-night heater, while the man responsible for bursting the bubble, Evgenii Tsatskin (358,000), rounds out the podium in third.
The middle of the pack is occupied by Vanja Ovuka (326,000), Douglas Lee (287,000), and Jose Goncalves (268,000).
Jose Duzanson (128,000) and Asi Elias (49,000) will have their work cut out for them on Day 2 after bagging the short stacks, but still securing themselves a minimum cash.
Play concluded with 16:16 remaining in Level 14 with blinds of 4,000/8,000.
Some notables to miss out on the money include Ray Henson, Heather Alcorn, La Sengphet, and David Helpard.
However, there are still three more chances to find a bag, with two flights on Friday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., with a final shot on Saturday at 11 a.m. Each flight follows the same structure as today, with eight levels of late registration, and ten percent (rounded up) of the field advancing to Day 2.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates from the floor as we assemble a Day 2 field in RunGood's Aruba debut, with live coverage in Day 1b beginning at 11 a.m.
Level 14
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Level 14
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Carlos Gonzalez raised under the gun before Evgenii Tsatskin jammed from the big blind as the covering stack, and Gonzalez called off his roughly 125,000 stack.
Carlos Gonzalez: A♣K♠ 
Evgenii Tsatskin: A♠A♥
It was a brutal cooler as Tsatskin had Gonzalez in terrible shape. The 10♦9♠3♥2♠7♠ runout offered no help to Gonzalez, and he was eliminated on the stone bubble.
Level 14
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
With nine players remaining, the stone bubble has been reached. After one more elimination, the final eight players will bag up their chips.
Level: 14
Blinds: 4,000/8,000
Ante: 8,000
Level 13
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
A player jammed for 98,000 from under the gun and Vanja Ovuka flatted two seats over.
Under the Gun: 10♥10♣
Vanja Ovuka: K♠K♦
Ovuka was in good shape with the dominating pair on the J♦8♦2♥ flop. The K♣ turn sealed it, giving him top set before the 4♦ completed the board.
Level 13
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
There was three-way action all in preflop between the hijack, Ernest Bush from the cutoff, and Asi Elias from the big blind as the covering stack. The hijack held the short stack, while Bush had an additional 93,000 in the side pot.
Hijack: K♠10♣
Ernest Bush: A♦Q♠
Asi Elias: A♥K♦
Elias was in good shape to score the double knockout dominating both hands. The 7♦3♥3♦ flop kept him in the lead.
However, the 6♦ turn gave Bush the nut flush draw, but it was the Q♣ that landed on the river to give him the winner after pairing his queen. Bush more than doubled his stack while the hijack was eliminated, and Elias took a substantial hit to his stack.
The field now sits as 11 players left, three spots from the money.
Level 13
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Level 13
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Marcello Iacovella jammed for his final 78,000 from the cutoff and was looked up by an opponent on the button.
Marcello Iacovella: 7♠7♥
Ernest Bush: K♣Q♣
It was a coinflip scenario until the Q♠5♦3♣ runout vaulted Bush into the lead. Nothing changed on the 5♥4♣ runout, ending Iacovella's run not far from the money.
