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33 Return Heading into Final Day
The stage is set for the championship day as the remaining 33 players will return to Caesars New Orleans to decide once and for all who will be the champion of the RunGood Poker Series Golden Expedition New Orleans $800 Main Event. A total of 279 entries took their shot at a title and a piece of the $200,000 prize pool.
Day 1d was the final flight of the main event, hosting a total of 72 players. This allowed nine players to make the final cut for Day 2. Chris Baudean (385,000) finished as the Day 1d chip leader. Jaymie Virtusio (376,000) was not far behind, and Luke Martin (287,000) rounded out the top three finishers from the flight.
Hamid Izadi (552,000) will enter the room as the overall chip leader after a strong performance on Day 1c led him to the top of the counts. Izadi has over 30 cashes in various tournaments across the country in 2026, adding to his over three million in live career earnings, according to his The Hendon Mob page.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamid Izadi | United States | 552,000 |
| 2 | Kathryn Lindsay | United States | 471,000 |
| 3 | Preston McEwen | United States | 442,000 |
| 4 | Wess Durocher | United States | 409,000 |
| 5 | Starr Williams | United States | 399,000 |
| 6 | Chris Banden | United States | 385,000 |
| 7 | Jaymie Virtusio | United States | 376,000 |
| 8 | Michael Sepanik | United States | 343,000 |
| 9 | My Nguyen | United States | 340,000 |
| 10 | Luke Martin | United States | 287,000 |
Day 1a chip leader Kathryn Lindsay (471,000) had a successful opening flight that resulted in her entering Day 2 with the second-most chips. Lindsay boasts over one million in earnings per her The Hendon Mob page and already has one cash to her name during this stop when she finished third in the RGPS $400 Double Stack event. Lindsay is pursuing her first RGPS ring and main event title.
Day 1b chip leader Preston McEwen (442,000) has 11 RGPS rings to his name, and he will be looking to add more. McEwen is third on the all-time title wins list in RunGood history behind Daniel Lowery (14) and Scott Aulds (13).
Izadi and McEwen are both looking to join an exclusive club of players in RunGood history by becoming the eighth player to win multiple main event championships, along with Blair Hinkle (four), Daniel Lowery (two), Ian Steinman (two), Dakotah O’Dell (two), Derrick Plumage (two), Maksim Tatarintsev (two) and Nicholas Burris (two). Izadi carved his name into RunGood lore with a main event title at RGPS Passport Reno earlier this year. McEwen captured his first main event title at RGPS Tunica in 2024.
Notables Corey Harrison (242,000), Grant Hart (194,000), Drew “BetonDrew” Gonzalez (171,000), and “Boston” Rob Mariano (81,000) are still in the hunt as players return for the championship day of play.
Play is scheduled to begin at 12:15 p.m. local time. The action will continue until a champion is crowned.
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Stay tuned here at PokerNews for all your coverage needs of Day 2 of the RGPS Golden Expedition New Orleans $800 Main Event held at Caesars New Orleans.