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Late Double Delivers Big Lead for Aakash Karki in $600 RGPS Dallas Main Event
The latest action-packed flight of the 2026 RGPS Golden Expedition Dallas $600 Main Event filled the room at Palace Poker, as 264 entries helped carry the prize pool over double the guarantee before a big chip leader emerged late in the night.
Only 33 players earned a bag on Day 1f, joining the 68 who had already qualified over the first five flights of the week. Another 22 were set to join them from the 183 entries on Day 1g, wrapping up tonight before the final turbo Day 1h. That left the prize pool in progress at more than $500,000, all to be awarded on Sunday, August 23.
The overwhelming chip lead belongs to Aakash Karki, who is firmly in line to chase the second five-figure of his career after collecting 2,138,000. Karki was among the leaders before a pivotal hand on the final level of the night, earning a massive double against big stack Sung Lee.
That left Karki with almost double the stack of anyone else in the room, while Lee finished with 342,000 for Day 2. Justin Adkins (1,270,000) was the only other player to bag a seven-figure stack on the day, while Joe Cho rounds out the top three with 989,000.
Day 1f Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aakash Karki | United States | 2,138,000 |
| 2 | Justin Adkins | United States | 1,270,000 |
| 3 | Joe Cho | United States | 989,000 |
| 4 | Jiancheng Han | United States | 792,000 |
| 5 | Steve Sparks | United States | 762,000 |
| 6 | Jason Miller | United States | 693,000 |
| 7 | Miles Walker | United States | 657,000 |
| 8 | Robert Higgins | United States | 633,000 |
| 9 | Jason Fitzpatrick | United States | 595,000 |
| 10 | Jay Chase | United States | 586,000 |
The day started off with a bang, as Monica Sexton took the early lead after winning a cooler against Hugo Oliva on the second level of action.
Sexton maintained the lead for several levels before doubling up Lee shortly before late registration came to a close. That saw Lee take the lead at the time, while Sexton was unable to rebuild from there and exited before the money.
The largest flight of the week saw a number of notable names chase the Main Event ring, including RGPS Ambassador Bart Bogard and defending Dallas champion Daniel Lowery. Both were in contention when registration closed, with Lowery losing his short stack before Bogart joined him on the rail.
Others to join the field and come up short included WSOP bracelet winners Will Givens and Craig Savage, along with Dusti Smith, Katie Lindsay and $300 PokerNews PowerStack Mystery Bounty champion Shannon Lee
Another pair of WSOP bracelet winners made the money, as Phovieng Keokham (59,000) survived as the short stack. William Leffingwell (482,000) bagged after doubling up both Yeong Joo Cho (283,000) and Justin Dreiling (333,000) as the bubble approached. Dreiling built his stack from 8,000 chips earlier in the day, while Cho followed with a double on her way to securing a spot in the money.
The last hand of the night saw Christopher Larkin lose a flip against Jewel Henderson (257,000), leaving the remaining 33 players to bag up for the final day.
All opening flight survivors will return to action at 10:00 a.m. local time, as the chase for a spot at the final table begins. Play will resume on the earliest level of the eight opening flights, to be confirmed after the final turbo flight tonight.
Levels will remain 30 minutes in length for the rest of the event, and action at the final table will be streamed on Palace Poker's YouTube feed. Final prize pool and payout information will be posted prior to the start of play on Sunday.
The battle for the first RGPS Golden Expedition Main Event title continues, so be sure to stay tuned as PokerNews delivers full coverage of the final day in Dallas.