button in SafariAlexandra Loveless Bags Seven Figures After Day 1a of $600 Main Event
It was the opening flight of the 2026 RunGood Golden Expedition Houston $600 Main Event and it took until the wee hours of the morning for the final four players to bag chips on Day 1a. The starting flight attracted only 45 players and paid out five places, with just four players advancing to Day 2 on Sunday.
Despite admitting to making a couple of errors throughout the day, RGPS ambassador Alexandra Loveless dominated the day en route to bagging a massive stack of 1,035,000 chips. It was a key two-outer on the river that led to Loveless stacking the majority of the chips in play with just seven players remaining.
The other three players advancing to Day 2 include pro-poker player Hayden Fortini (820,000), the young 18-year-old Grant Matatall (620,000) who bagged chips for the first time ever, and Russell Koch (220,000) who was able to ride out the short stack for the majority of the night.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexandra Loveless | United States | 1,035,000 | 52 |
| 2 | Hayden Fortini | United States | 820,000 | 41 |
| 3 | Grant Matatall | United States | 620,000 | 31 |
| 4 | Russell Koch | United States | 220,000 | 11 |
Day 1a Action
The day got off to a slow start with just five players in their seats when the tournament clock was started. Eventually, a maximum of three tables were opened throughout the night which brought in a total of 45 entries. Many of those came from re-entries, including Loveless who was forced to hit up the registration desk for a second bullet.
Not everyone was as fortunate to run up a big stack. The most notable name in the field belonged to Gabriel Andrade who has over $8.2 million in career earnings. The three entries that he fired off tonight was not enough to earn him a deep run but there will still be plenty of opportunities in the coming days.
The action gets back underway for Day 1b in just a few short hours, with that starting flight taking place at 12 p.m. local time.
Main Event Schedule
| Date | Flight | Start Time | Coverage Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 15 | Day 1a | 6 p.m. | PokerNews live updates |
| October 16 | Day 1b | 12 p.m. | PokerNews live updates |
| - | Day 1c | 6 p.m. | RGPS App results |
| October 17 | Day 1d | 11 a.m. | PokerNews live updates |
| - | Day 1e | 6 p.m. | RGPS App results |
| October 18 | Day 1f (Turbo) | 9 a.m. | RGPS App results |
| - | Day 2 | 2 p.m. | PokerNews live updates |
The PokerNews live reporting team will be at Champions Club Texas throughout the weekend to bring you live updates from select starting flights along with championship Sunday.