button in Safari
$1,200 Main Event
Day 1c Completed
2026 RGPS Golden Expedition Jacksonville
$1,200 Main Event
Day: 1c
Players Left 50 / 394
Filter
Top
Chip Counts
Chip Counts
1
550,000
4
362,000
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Players had an extra incentive to finish as chip leader of Day 1c of the RunGood Poker Series Golden Expedition Jacksonville $1,200 Main Event: a glass skull of vodka.
The player who claimed that memento was Grant Palmer, a local Jacksonville pro who went on a late tear of eliminations to end up with 550,000 and atop the leaderboard as 18 players survived the event’s final starting flight. For Palmer, who says he only started playing tournaments a few months ago, this would be a fitting start to his career.
“It would be great, actually. I started playing poker as my job like, two years ago, and started playing tournaments about six months ago. So it would be a great start to my tournament career,” he said. “This would be my biggest win. I mean, I’ve had some big cash wins, but tournament-wise, this would definitely be the biggest if I won.”
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grant Palmer | United States | 550,000 | 138 |
| 2 | Johnny Landreth | United States | 415,000 | 104 |
| 3 | Corey Major | United States | 384,000 | 96 |
| 4 | Sokol Curri | United States | 362,000 | 91 |
| 5 | Ryan Sullivan | United States | 305,000 | 76 |
| 6 | Daniel Kusnerak | United States | 305,000 | 76 |
| 7 | Caleb Powell | United States | 297,000 | 74 |
| 8 | Katerina Lukina | Czechia | 281,000 | 70 |
| 9 | Stephen Strout | United States | 249,000 | 62 |
| 10 | Wissam Shaya | United States | 210,000 | 53 |
Palmer made the final table of the Tag Team event earlier this week, but he’s nearly surpassed his previous career total earnings of around $3,700 with just securing a min-cash. He began his ascent up the leaderboard when he hit a set of queens on the flop to bust Micah Cunningham in a big pot. He then won a flip with ace-king against Mark Wiser’s jacks, and picked up queens yet again to bust Charles Johnson. The day that started slowly picked up significantly at the end.
“It was tough at the beginning, but ended up running pretty good towards the end there and getting a pretty big bag. I think I’m like, third or fourth overall. So can’t complain, that’s for sure. And I got a new bottle of vodka,” he said.
Palmer will head into Day 2 among the top stacks, and despite his paucity of prior results, his confidence going into tomorrow is high. “Gotta get some good sleep tonight and come back early tomorrow. I’m gonna take this win home,” he said.
Johnny Landreth was the beneficiary of his own lucky flop to earn a bustout. He spiked a full house to crack Charlie Townsend’s aces as Landreth ended up in second place with 415,000. Corey Major, who made the final table of this event in 2024, sits in third place with 384,000, while Sokol Curri (362,000) and Daniel Kusnerak (305,000) round out the top five. Others through to Day 2 include Caleb Powell (297,000) and Kelley Slay (115,000), while Katerina Lukina will join husband Chris Conrad on Day 2 as she ended up with 281,000. Dimas Martinez, though, who won this event two years ago, was an early casualty today.
A total of 142 players spent Halloween inside bestbet Jacksonville competing for the championship, bringing the total field up to 394 entries over the three starting flights. The remaining 50 players have already locked up $2,067 out of the $409,760 prize pool, while the champion will take home $82,624. The action on Day 2 will pick up with 13 minutes remaining in Level 14 with blinds of 2,000/4,000 and a 4,000 big blind ante. Each subsequent level will be 40 minutes long. The final table will be live-streamed on the bestbet official YouTube channel.
PokerNews will be following along and providing live updates, so be sure to tune in tomorrow for the crowning of a new RunGood champion.
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Dan Allen moved all in for 50,000 in the cutoff and Wissam Shaya called in the small blind.
Dan Allen: J♦J♥ 
Wissam Shaya: Q♣Q♥
Allen found himself crushed by Shaya's queens, andn the 10♦4♠10♣4♥5♠ board offered no help as he was sent to the rail on the money bubble.
The remaining 18 players are bagging up their chips for the night.
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Wissam Shaya bet 25,000 from the big blind on a flop of 6♦10♥3♥ and Stephen Strout called in the cutoff.
Shaya then moved all in for 36,000 on the J♦ turn, and Strout called. Shaya showed A♦6♠, while Strout had 9♠8♠. "I have more outs than I thought," Strout said, but he missed the A♣ river as Shaya made two pair to double up.
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
A player in the hijack moved all in for 65,000 and Katerina Lukina reshoved on the button. Gourg Khanchat was in the small blind and tanked for a minute as he looked around to see what was happening on the other tables, but he eventually folded.
All-In Player: A♣K♥
Katerina Lukina: J♠J♣
It was a race situation, and Lukina's jacks stayed in the lead through the 8♦9♠5♣9♣3♦ board to send her opponent to the rail.
With 19 players remaining, action is going hand-for-hand until there is one more elimination.
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Sergey Glagolev moved all in for 82,000 from the button on a flop of 3♣10♦8♣ and Sean Conklin folded in the small blind, but Stephen Strout called in the big blind to put him at risk.
Sergey Glagolev: Q♥10♠
Stephen Strout: 10♣7♠
Both players had flopped top pair, but Glagolev was ahead with his queen-kicker and poised for the double up. The turn, though, came the 7♥ to give Strout two pair. The river was the 5♦, and Glagolev was sent to the rail.
"So f**king gross. Unreal," Glagolev muttered on his way to the exit.
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Charles Johnson moved all in for 40,000 from the big blind and Grant Palmer called in early position.
Charles Johnson: K♥Q♥
Grant Palmer: Q♣Q♠
Johnson was looking for a king to overcome Palmer's two queens, but he couldn't connect with the 7♦2♥8♠5♣A♦ board as Palmer scored the knockout to climb up to 600,000.
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Katerina Lukina bet 6,000 from under the gun on a flop of Q♣5♣2♦ and Greg Robinson raised to 16,000 in the big blind. Lukina called, and the 3♠ fell on the turn.
Robinson then moved all in for 60,000, and Lukina quickly called. Robinson showed Q♥10♣ for top pair, but Lukina had K♦K♥. The river was the 4♦, and Robinson was sent to the rail.
At the same time on another table, Jack Shea was faced with a bet of 68,000 from Stephen Strout in the small blind with the board showing 6♠3♥9♥9♠K♣. Shea tanked for several minutes before calling in the hijack, and Strout showed him A♦K♦ for two pair to win the pot and leave Shea on a short stack.
Level: 14
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 4,000