button in SafariMauricio Miranda Tops the First Flight of Maiden Golden Expedition Main Event
The first of eight opening flights has wrapped up at the 2026 RGPS Golden Expedition Dallas series, attracting 100 entries on Day 1a of the $600 Main Event.
Action lasted into Level 20 at Palace Poker, before the final hand was dealt and the last 12 survivors bagged up in the money for Day 2. Leading the way is Mauricio Miranda, who capped off his climb from short stack to chip leader by bursting the bubble and finishing with 992,000.
Miranda overtook Halit Ozaltun on the final hand of the night, who had been setting the pace for much of the last few levels of play. Ozaltun led the way at the other table as action concluded, bagging up 890,000 chips.
Nikola Mircetic clashed with Miranda during the latter stages of play, finishing with 766,000 chips to sit third overall. That was followed by Jackson Morisey, the only other player to bag more than ten starting stacks with 623,000.
Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mauricio Miranda | Mexico | 992,000 |
| 2 | Halit Ozaltun | United States | 890,000 |
| 3 | Nikola Mircetic | United States | 766,000 |
| 4 | Jackson Morisey | United States | 623,000 |
| 5 | Paul Taskalos | United States | 532,000 |
| 6 | Gionna Lee | United States | 480,000 |
| 7 | Tribikya Thapa | United States | 471,000 |
| 8 | Jarrett Nash | United States | 297,000 |
| 9 | James Coyle | United States | 263,000 |
| 10 | David Poblacion | United States | 239,000 |
| 11 | Matthew McGuigan | United States | 233,000 |
| 12 | Bryan Hicks | United States | 230,000 |
Rounding out the top five on the leaderboard is Paul Taskalos, who collected 532,000 chips. Taskalos was put to a decision for his tournament life a few levels earlier, making a big river call with top pair to earn a massive pot and vault up the standings.
Among the 100 entries were a pair of RGPS Ambassadors, though neither was able to secure a spot in the money to start the weekend. Alexandra Loveless got off to a quick start with pocket queens, but could not build any momentum after late registration came to a close.
Loveless was joined in the field by Bart Bogard, who also joined her on the rail as the field was steadily trimmed down.
Defending RGPS Dallas champion Daniel Lowery also took a couple of shots in the opening flight, running top pair into Michael McBarron’s set of sixes to lose most of his stack before falling shortly after.
Play slowed down considerably as the bubble neared, and hand-for-hand play lasted more than two full levels. David Poblacion (239,000) was able to survive on the stone bubble, finding an unlikely double against Bryan Hicks (230,000) before surviving the night.
Not long after, Dora Coyle was at risk against Miranda, running into Big Slick to bring out the bags. Coyle wished everyone good luck, while Miranda moved into the chip lead.
Action will resume on Friday, August 21 with Day 1c, where players will once again begin with 60,000 chips looking to navigate their way into the top 12.5% of the field.
The tournament features unlimited reentry, with six more flights still to be played this weekend. Late registration remains open until the start of Level 9, and all surviving players will combine on Day 2 to battle for the first Golden Expedition Main Event ring of the new season.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews, as our coverage of the $600 Main Event will continue all weekend long from Palace Poker.