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$800 Main Event
Day 1ab Completed
2026 RGPS Golden Expedition St. Louis
$800 Main Event
Day: 1ab
Players Left 95 / 297
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Chip Counts
Chip Counts
2
596,000
9
349,000
Level 15
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Action continues in this RGPS Golden Expedition event, with full chip counts and information for the late flight to be posted in the morning.
Chip counts can also be found at the conclusion of play on the RunGood Rewards App.
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Level 15
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
In a sea full of hoodies and golf shirts, Andros Ioakimides is usually going to be the best-dressed man in any poker room.
Ioakimides ensemble today on Day 1a of the RunGood Poker Series Golden Expedition St. Louis $800 Main Event included a brown suede jacket and a black diamond-encrusted dress shirt. "Andros, we almost wore the same thing today," Keith Heine joked with him. For how flashy his attire was, however, his play on the felt was even more so.
Ioakimides finished as the overwhelming chip leader among the eight players to survive the event’s first starting flight, ending up with 682,000 after busting Kim Parrish on the money bubble. He is nearly 200,000 ahead of his closest challenger. Ioakimides has more than $800,000 in live career earnings, including finishing 16th in this event in March and a runner-up in a WSOP Circuit Main Event in nearby St. Charles in 2019.
Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andros Ioakimides | United States | 682,000 | 85 |
| 2 | William McCracken | United States | 484,000 | 61 |
| 3 | Darroll Sayles | United States | 420,000 | 53 |
| 4 | Korey Barron | United States | 322,000 | 40 |
| 5 | Keith Heine | United States | 247,000 | 31 |
| 6 | Mike Hurley | United States | 215,000 | 27 |
| 7 | Craig Welko | United States | 196,000 | 25 |
| 8 | Mitchell Semple | United States | 107,000 | 13 |
William McCracken is no stranger to success in RunGood events, and is poised for yet another deep run after bagging up 484,000 on Day 1a. McCracken won a big pot off Heine after rivering a set of queens, then spiked another set of jacks to bust Andrew Bakota. He’s already made six RGPS Main Event final tables, including a championship ring in Kansas City in 2023.
Darroll Sayles (420,000) and Korey Barron (322,000) are also big stacks, while Heine rounds out the top five with 247,000. Heine won this event in 2023, and also finished in fifth place in the Gateway Poker Classic here at the Hollywood Casino in August. RunGood ambassador and reigning Player of the Year Craig Welko needed a lucky ace on the river to survive earlier in the day on his way to a stack of 196,000.
A total of 67 players entered on Day 1a. Among those to fall short of a bag were RunGood ambassadors Angela Jordison, Jaman Burton, and Jeff Copeland, who was the victim of a brutal runner-runner bad beat that cracked his aces. Gateway Poker Classic champion Brett Hagopian and Tyler Breeding were also among the casualties today.
The action at the Hollywood Casino continues this evening with Day 1b. Late registration for that flight remains open for around another 30 minutes, with 92 players currently registered. There are two more starting flights to come tomorrow, Day 1c at 11 a.m. and Day 1d at 5 p.m. All surviving players then return for Day 2 at noon on October 11. The action on Day 2 picks up at the earliest finishing time from one of the starting flights. Day 1a ended with 35 minutes remaining in Level 15 with blinds of 4,000/8,000 and an 8,000 big blind ante.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow to follow all the action from Day 1c, so stay tuned for more updates.
Level 15
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Day 1b attracted 98 entries, with 12 players advancing to Day 2.
Level 15
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Level 15
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Andros Ioakimides raised to 20,000 in the hijack before Kim Parrish moved all in for 48,000 on the button. "I'm going to double you up. I hope I double you up," Ioakimides said as he called.
Kim Parrish: A♦7♣ 
Andros Ioakimides: Q♦10♠
Ioakimides hit top pair on the Q♣3♦8♠ flop to take the lead, and Parrish couldn't catch up on the 5♦ turn or 8♥ river as she was eliminated on the money bubble.
The remaining eight players are bagging up their chips for the night.
Level: 15
Blinds: 4,000/8,000
Ante: 8,000
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
The first few hands of bubble action were all taken down with little resistance, and the remaining nine players are going on a 15-minute break before resuming play.
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Darroll Sayles bet 12,000 from under the gun on a flop of J♣7♥10♠ and Kim Parrish called on the button, as did Robert Unterreiner in the small blind.
All three players checked the 6♦ turn. Unterreiner then moved all in for 35,000 on the 6♣ river and Sayles called, while Parrish got out of the way.
Unterreiner showed A♣10♦ for two pair, but Sayles had K♠K♣ to win the pot and send Unterreiner to the rail.
The remaining nine players are combining into one table for the money bubble.
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Andros Ioakimides, Darroll Sayles, and Mitchell Semple checked to the turn on a board of J♦K♦3♠A♣ when Semple bet 18,000 from under the gun. Only Ioakimides called in the small blind.
Semple then bet 30,000 on the J♣ river, and Ioakimides again called. "You got it," Semple said as he instantly mucked, and Ioakimides took the pot without a showdown.
"You have nothing again?" he asked Semple.
"Almost," Semple replied.
