Lucas Vergara Bags Commanding Lead in Day 1b of RGPS Atlantic City Main Event
Day 1b of the RunGood Passport Season Atlantic City Main Event here at the Borgata Hotel, Spa and Casino drew 107 entries, bringing the field to 303 total entries so far across the first two starting flights. By the end of the night, 13 players managed to advance to Day 2, joining the 24 survivors from Day 1a.
The Main Event is well on track to surpass the $300,000 guarantee, with the entries from the first two flights contributing $212,100 to the prize pool so far, and two more flights still to go.
Lucas Vergara got off to a rocky start today, busting earlier in Day 1a of the Main Event, and quickly losing another bullet in the early levels of Day 1b. Undeterred, Vergara fired once more, grinding a short stack for several more levels before finally catching some momentum late in the night. Vergara was one of two massive stacks on the bubble, alongside Richard Smith. The two chip leaders had opposite trajectories from there, with Smith losing a chunk of his stack, while Vargara ended with 1,454,000, good for not only the Day 1b chip lead, but also the overall chip lead going into Day 2. Vergara also has a ton of momentum on his side, after achieving two breakthrough six-figure scores earlier this year.
Day 1b Full Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucas Vergara | United States | 1,454,000 | 121 |
| 2 | Richard Smith (NJ) | United States | 701,000 | 58 |
| 3 | Travis Hartshorn | United States | 636,000 | 53 |
| 4 | Keith Becker | United States | 498,000 | 42 |
| 5 | Wodyang Lin | United States | 461,000 | 38 |
| 6 | Michael Klein | United States | 459,000 | 38 |
| 7 | Stephanie Rivkin | United States | 369,000 | 31 |
| 8 | Philip Saracino | United States | 225,000 | 19 |
| 9 | Joseph Rapp | United States | 175,000 | 15 |
| 10 | Marguerite Spagnuolo | United States | 146,000 | 12 |
| 11 | John Cipriano | United States | 94,000 | 8 |
| 12 | Michael Sweeney | United States | 51,000 | 4.5 |
| 13 | Frank Loffreno | United States | 33,000 | 3 |
Vargara has more than double the chips of any other player, with Smith being his closest rival, ending with 701,000. Smith enjoyed a dominant chip lead for most of the day after cracking pocket kings and pocket aces to knock out two opponents.
Rounding out the podium with 636,000 is Travis Hartshorn, who was all-in and at risk against Vergara just two eliminations away from the money. Hartshorn doubled that hand, and soon after doubled with aces against Smith’s pocket kings to finish the night with the third-largest stack.
Some notable players to play Day 1b but fall before the end of the night include Russ Dunlevy, Michael Marder, and Nicholas Rigby.
Day 1b ended with 29 minutes left on Level 19, while Day 1a has seen the earliest finish to a starting flight so far, ended with 18 minutes remaining on Level 16 (5,000/10,000 (10,000).
Two more starting flights remain, with Day 1c taking place tomorrow at 11:15 a.m. Day 1d, featuring a turbo structure with 20-minute levels, will take place the same day at 5:15 p.m., before the fields combine for Day 2 on Sunday at noon.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for our continuing coverage of the Main Event!