$600 Main Event
Day 1ab Completed
$600 Main Event
Day 1ab Completed
Action continues in this RGPS Golden Expedition event, with full chip counts and information for the late flight to be posted in the morning.
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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.
| 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.
The final 12 players have bagged up for the night, and action has concluded for the night.
Stay tuned for full chip counts and a recap of the day.
Jackson Morisey opened to 50,000 in early position, and Dora Coyle moved all in as next to act for 332,000. Mauricio Miranda announced a call in the cutoff, and Morisey let his hand go.
Dora Coyle: A♠J♥
Mauricio Miranda: A♦K♦
Miranda improved on the 8♠9♣K♣7♠4♦ runout, sending Coyle out on the bubble to end the opening flight.
David Poblacion moved his last 87,000 into the middle from the hijack, and Bryan Hicks made the call in the cutoff. The rest of the table folded, and the cards were turned up.
David Poblacion: K♣2♠
Bryan Hicks: A♣8♣
Hicks hit the only pair on the 8♦9♦10♦ flop, while Poblacion took the lead on the K♥ turn. The 2♦ river left Poblacion with two pair, earning the double-up on the stone bubble.
Level: 20
Blinds: 15,000/30,000
Ante: 30,000
Bryan Hicks checked the 8♠3♠9♠ flop from the small blind, and Gionna Lee slid out a bet of 54,000 from the big blind.
Hicks then announced all in, taking down the pot as Lee opted to fold. Hicks showed the A♠ as he took down the pot on the bubble.
Matthew McGuigan opened to 45,000 in early position, finding a call from Jackson Morisey on his immediate left. McGuigan continued for 27,000 on the 4♦6♥8♠ flop, and Morisey called to see the 3♣ turn.
McGuigan fired again for 39,000, and Morisey made the call. McGuigan then checked the J♠ river, and Morisey slid out a bet of 90,000.
That produced a quick call from McGuigan, and Morisey tabled K♠K♣. McGuigan mucked his cards, and Morisey raked in the pot.