Alen Habib Races Out Nick Rigby to Seize the Chip Lead on Day 1a of the RGPS Atlantic City Main Event
Nicholas Rigby came into Day 1a of the $800 RunGood Passport Season Atlantic City Main Event on a hot streak, winning three RunGood Poker Series rings in just two days before heading to the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa for this festival. He was cruising along and poised to make another deep run near the end of the day, but one hand changed all that.
Rigby and Alen Habib played a nearly 1,000,000 chip coin flip, with Habib’s queens holding up against Rigby’s ace-king as Habib seized the chip lead in the closing moments of the opening flight. Habib bagged up 1,097,000 as 24 players made it through to Day 2 out of 196 total entries.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alen Habib | United States | 1,097,000 | 110 |
| 2 | Michael Cohen | United States | 932,000 | 93 |
| 3 | Andrew Porter | United States | 854,000 | 85 |
| 4 | Jeff Gibson | United States | 787,000 | 79 |
| 5 | Federico Castro | Argentina | 660,000 | 66 |
| 6 | David Kilcoyne | United States | 581,000 | 58 |
| 7 | Ilya Ashmyan | 581,000 | 58 | |
| 8 | Kevin Grabel | United States | 446,000 | 45 |
| 9 | Steve Christopher | 423,000 | 42 | |
| 10 | Chris Basile | United States | 363,000 | 36 |
Habib is followed by Michael Cohen (932,000), Andrew Porter (854,000), Jeff Gibson (787,000), and Federico Castro (660,000). Gibson went on a flurry of late eliminations, first spiking a set of tens to crack two kings then coolering another opponent after both flopped trips, Gibson taking the pot with his king-kicker. “When you’re hot, you’re hot,” his vanquished opponent told him on his way to the rail.
Both Pahuja brothers survived the day, PokerNews PowerStack champion Mukul ending up with 237,000 while Vinny followed behind on 134,000. Others to secure their spots on Day 2 included Kevin Grabel (446,000), Chris Basile (363,000), Sundiata DeVore (344,000), and Alex Rocha (174,000).
Remo Lupo and his bananas were an unmistakable presence here today, but Lupo’s luck ran out when Andres Gallego made the nut flush on the turn to send Lupo to the rail. Michael Bohmerwald, Michael Marder, Chris Conrad, Russ Dunlevy, and Daniel Buzgon were also among those who will have to try again on a subsequent flight if they want to chase the inaugural RGPS Atlantic City championship ring.
Day 1a ended with 18 minutes remaining in Level 16 with blinds of 5,000/10,000 and a 10,000 big blind ante. Day 2 begins at noon local time on March 15 with action picking up on the earliest finishing time from one of the four starting flights. A player who bagged up on this flight can still enter subsequent flights, with their smaller stacks being taken out of play on Day 2 in exchange for a min-cash.
Day 1b is currently ongoing, so stay on PokerNews for all the action here from Borgata.