Action was heads up to the 6♥A♥8♦ flop with around 5,000 already in the middle. Ryan Brown checked from the small blind, and Pejman Niyati bet 2,000 in the hijack.
Brown called, and both players checked through the 6♣ turn. One last check from Brown followed the 5♣ river, where Niyati slid out a bet of 15,000.
Brown took a few minutes before letting his hand go, and the pot was sent to Niyati.
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Level: 6
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 800
Tony Love raised to 2,500 in the hijack, finding calls from Surya Sigdel in the small blind and Casey Powell in the big blind.
Sigdel checked the K♦8♣6♠ flop, and Powell fired 3,500 into the middle. Love called, as did Sigdel. Another check from Sigdel followed the 9♠ turn, where Powell sized up to 15,600.
Love took some time before raising to 55,800, and Sigdel quickly folded. Powell called all in for less, and the hands were revealed.
Casey Powell: A♠K♥ 
Tony Love: 9♥6♥
Love's two pair remained in front after the J♠ river, sending Powell to the rail.
Among the notable names on the opening day of the Golden Expedition Dallas Main Event was Rob Gardner, coming off a third-place finish in the 2025-26 RGPS Player of the Year standings.
Garder recapped his exceptional run over the past year on the RunGood Poker Series to PokerNews here at Palace Poker.
“It was an amazing dream, that came crashing to a halt. I started in July with a dream of playing the whole RunGood tour. Had an amazing fall, was living the dream, going to all these different stops, and then we had an opportunity to buy the house we've been renting for years. It was kind of the house my wife dreamed of having, so we went ahead and bought it and completely wiped out my bankroll, but so happy to have a house.”
“Coming into this year, I've been grinding online and just trying to rebuild, to give another shot at it. But I will never forget that year, it was literally like everything that people think the poker dream is.”
Gardner has been playing throughout the series in Dallas, and already knows he’ll return for the next stop while happily promoting the RunGood tour.
“I will be back here every time. I have friends in the Dallas area, so coming here is really easy for me, I've got about six different couches to stay on, you know, friends will fight over me. Beautiful atmosphere, it's nice in here. The poker is really, really good.”
“[RunGood] is what I feel like poker was always supposed to be, and I'm so grateful that Tana and the team have built this.”
Gardner bagged up a healthy 579,000 chips on Day 1b, and will be in the mix to battle for the RGPS ring on Sunday.
Level: 5
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 600
The first four levels of the day have been completed, and players have reached a 15-minute break in the action.
Vamsi Dodda checked the 9♠K♣3♦ flop from middle position, and Ayse Esmen tossed out a bet of 2,500 on the button. Dodda called, checking again on the 8♦ turn.
Esmen announced a bet of 4,000, earning a quick fold from Dodda to take down the pot.
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