$800 Main Event Day 1a | 2026 RGPS Passport Atlantic City

03-13-2026 16:21 UTC-4

Player	Chips	Progress
Allison Stoloff	150,000 20,000	20,000
Daniel Buzgon	150,000 30,000	30,000
Changfeng Fan	100,000 20,000	20,000
Matthew Cerbone	100,000 53,000	53,000
Richard Cardona	95,000 5,000	5,000
Remo Lupo	90,000 30,000	30,000
Constantin Andronache	90,000 50,000	50,000
Brian Keane	80,000 40,000	40,000
Russ Dunlevy	70,000 15,000	15,000
Mukul Pahuja	70,000
Marc Cohen	65,000
Sergio Loureiro	60,000 20,000	20,000
Michael Marder	40,000
Michael Bohmerwald	20,000 110,000	110,000

Easy Game For Zimmerman

David Salituro

Level 9 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

Mike Rollins moved all in for his last 35,000 from early position on a flop of 6♠J♦8♥ and Aaron Zimmerman called in middle position.

Mike Rollins: K♠Q♣ All in
Aaron Zimmerman: J♥J♣

Zimmerman had flopped top set to leave Rollins drawing thin. The A♥ turn gave Rollins some hope with a straight draw, but he missed the 7♥ river and was sent to the rail.

"I think I'm just going to flop top set the rest of the day. The game gets easier then," Zimmerman joked.

Player	Chips	Progress
Aaron Zimmerman	110,000
Mike Rollins	Busted

Tags: Aaron Zimmerman Mike Rollins

03-13-2026 16:07 UTC-4

Dezendorf Hits the Turn For a Massive Knockout

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David Salituro

Level 9 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

With around 25,000 in the pot on a flop of 6♣Q♣J♠, James Dezendorf moved all in from the small blind. Michael McGuinness stood up from his seat and tanked for a minute before sliding in his last 80,000 from the cutoff.

Michael McGuinness: J♣7♣ All in
James Dezendorf: A♠K♠

Nearly 200,000 was at stake as McGuinness was ahead with a pair and flush draw. The turn, though, was the A♥ to give Dezendorf top pair. The river was the 6♥ and Dezendofrf took the massive pot to send McGuinness to the rail.

"I don't get it," McGuinness lamented after the hand.

"I don't either," Dezendorf replied.

Player	Chips	Progress
James Dezendorf	200,000 60,000	60,000
Michael McGuinness	Busted

Tags: Michael McGuinness James Dezendorf

03-13-2026 16:02 UTC-4

Romer Picks Up Queens For a Bustout

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David Salituro

Level 9 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

Keith Romer three-bet to 7,500 in the big blind, an opponent under the gun moved all in for 48,000, and Romer called.

All-in Player: A♥Q♠ All in
Keith Romer: Q♣Q♦

The at-risk player was looking for an ace to overcome Romer's queens, but Romer stayed in the lead through the 10♦5♠2♠6♦5♥ board to win the pot and send his opponent to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Keith Romer	130,000

Tags: Keith Romer

03-13-2026 15:56 UTC-4

Remo Lupo Building a Big Stack of "Bananas"

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David Salituro

Level 9 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

Remo Lupo has built up a sizeable chip stack so far on Day 1a, but it is dwarved by the big plush banana toy he has in front him.

With his lucky number “13” written in black ink on it, Lupo doesn’t bet chips. He bets “bananas.” The story of the bananas, he says, goes back to a cash game he played a few years ago.

“I was playing a cash game in Hollywood Casino in Maryland. I called the chips ’31 bananas.’ I had pocket queens. The guy had $99 left and he went all in. I was about to call him, and he said don’t do it. Don’t do it. He’s a senior citizen, he comes in there all the day. He said, don’t do it. I got your hand beat. I said I had pocket queens, what’s another $68? He said I got it beat. he had pocket nines,” Lupo said.

“So what happened was, everybody got mad. Nobody wants to play with him. Everybody called him a scumbag. He wrote to the poker magazine and he told them about the whole situation that happened. The poker magazine office told him, you know what, I’m glad nobody talks to you anymore. You should never do that to somebody you play with. So what he did was the following week he brought in 13 bananas for me. I told him, you know what you could do with those bananas. So that's how the 13 bananas got started.”

Most of Lupo’s career scores have come here at Borgata. He finished 19th in the Borgata Winter Poker Open in January 2025 for $20,800, the largest score of his career that includes around $68,000 in live earnings. “The only casino I come to is Borgata the last three years. Before that, I took care of my parents for 11 years. So what I do is play for enjoyment a little bit,” he said.

Lupo’s day included taking out an opponent with top pair, then flopping a straight to bust WSOP bracelet winner Michael Bohmerwald. He currently sits with around 110,000 and constantly keeps his table talking and enjoying the experience.

“I always have fun. A lot of players, they’re here for whatever they got to do. Pay a mortgage. You got to work for a living. I worked all my life in a pizza restaurant, 18 hours a day. So now I enjoy playing a little bit of poker,” Lupo said.

Player	Chips	Progress
Remo Lupo	120,000

Tags: Remo Lupo

Level: 9

Blinds: 1,000/1,500

Ante: 1,500

03-13-2026 15:33 UTC-4

Break Time

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David Salituro

Level 8 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Players are going on another 15-minute break.

The field has grown to 166 entries so far, with around 117 players remaining.

03-13-2026 15:20 UTC-4

Gibson Survives a Classic Flip; Buzgon Coolers an Opponent

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David Salituro

Level 8 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

A player on the button three-bet to 8,000, Jeff Gibson moved all in for 46,100 in early position, and his opponent called.

Jeff Gibson: Q♣Q♠ All in
Opponent: A♠K♥

It was a classic flip, and Gibson's queens stayed in the lead through the 9♦5♦4♦2♥6♣ board to earn him the knockout.

At the same time at another table, Daniel Buzgon had picked up A♥A♦ against an opponent's K♥K♣ and improved to top set on the 8♠7♦A♠3♠2♣ board to earn the knockout.

Player	Chips	Progress
Daniel Buzgon	180,000 50,000	50,000
Jeff Gibson	95,000

Tags: Daniel Buzgon Jeff Gibson

03-13-2026 15:14 UTC-4

"She's Here. You're Not Here"; Stoloff Hits the Turn For a Bustout

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David Salituro

Level 8 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

A player in the big blind led out for 5,000 on a flop of J♥10♠6♠ and Allison Stoloff called on the button.

The turn was the 5♣ and the big blind committed most of his stack with a bet of 23,000. Stoloff then moved all in, and her opponent called off his last few chips.

He showed A♠J♣ for top pair, but Stoloff had turned two pair with 6♥5♠. The river was the 8♠ and Stoloff earned the knockout.

"Good call on the flop. That's how you tell people you're here," the big blind said to Stoloff on his way out.

"She's here. You're not here," another tablemate added after he had left the table.