Noon Restart for Day 2 of the PokerNews PowerStack at Borgata Casino Resort During RGPS Atlantic City
The RunGood Poker Series, the three-time GPI Best Mid-Major Poker Tour, is at the Borgata Casino Resort for the first time in its 13-year history this week through March 15. Kicking off the series is the $400 PokerNews PowerStack multi-day event sporting a $250,000 guarantee.
A total of 981 players joined the fray over five Day 1 flights, generating a prize pool of $323,730. Day 2 begins at noon local time today with 118 players returning to compete for the top prize of $55,165.
Leading the way is Hongli Ding with 1,143,000 chips, a virtually unknown player from Macau. Close on his heels is Michael Hermoza Laverde (984,000), a local grinder with a long list of cashes in area tournaments, including a third-place finish in the $560 Mega Rush in Philadelphia in 2022 for $46,196.
Filling out the podium is the most experienced player of the three, Arnaldo Gordon, with 903,000 chips. Gordon has garnered over half a million in tournament winnings in the past five years, including $95,534 in the last twelve months alone.
Players returning for Day 2 are guaranteed a minimum prize of $875, the full payouts can be seen in the payouts tab.
In addition to the prize money, the players are automatically entered into the PokerNews PowerStack Leaderboard competition. The PokerNews PowerStack Leaderboard will run across the entire 2026 RGPS Passport Season, with a dedicated PokerNews PowerStack event taking place at every RGPS stop. When the Passport Season wraps up, the top ten players on the PokerNews PowerStack Leaderboard will each earn a $1,100 seat to the RGPS Passport Thunder Valley Main Event, along with two nights of accommodation, running July 16 to August 2 at Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, CA.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hongli Ding | Macau | 1,143,000 |
| 2 | Michael Laverde | United States | 984,000 |
| 3 | Arnaldo Gordon | United States | 903,000 |
| 4 | Eder De Sousa | United States | 807,000 |
| 5 | Denise Remick | United States | 774,000 |
| 6 | Elijah Garcia | United States | 762,000 |
| 7 | Mikhail Patish | United States | 749,000 |
| 8 | Frank Nelson | United States | 738,000 |
| 9 | Meshesha Truesaw | United States | 694,000 |
| 10 | John McGuinness | United States | 644,000 |
Day 2 will resume with six minutes and 22 seconds remaining in Level 15, with blinds of 4,000/8,000 and an 8,000 big blind ante. Levels are scheduled to last 30 minutes until a champion is crowned. Action will resume at 12 p.m. local time.
PokerNews will be providing limited coverage of this event including chip count updates, photos, and player interviews throughout the day.