DeAlmeida Finishes as Day 1c Chip Leader
Manuel DeAlmeida treaded water for the bulk of Day 1c, but he hit his stride late to become the Day 1c chip leader at the RunGood Poker Series Passport Reno at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa. DeAlmeida was one of 12 players who outlasted a total of 102 entries to earn their right to play on Day 2 of the main event and earn a piece of the $150,000 guarantee prize pool.
DeAlmeida was followed by Shawn Roberts (398,000) and Christopher Nichols (322,000) as the top three finishers of Day 1c.
DeAlmeida spoke to PokerNews about his thoughts on Day 1c. He explained that he moved to the final table he played at with 50,000, and his expectations went from staying afloat to peering at the RGPS main event title and ring as he will enter Day 2 with a big stack.
“I was just trying to get through; now I have something to play,” said DeAlmeida.
DeAlmeida shared that he is originally from New York, but now calls San Francisco home and has been playing poker for approximately 25 years. When he was younger, he said that he binked a deep run in a tournament, but over the years drifted away from tournaments and became more of a cash game player. However, a couple of years ago, he began to get the bug to play tournaments again and chase the prestige of titles and rings rather than profitable cash sessions.
“I felt like I binked and ran well,” DeAlmeida said about his deep run when he was younger.
“I felt like I could beat cash games more consistently,” DeAlmeida said. “Now I’m more about the trophies and not the money.”
DeAlmeida found success late when he won an uncontested pot against Bill Dehart, who was the chip leader at the time, to grow his stack to 150,000.
DeAlmeida struck again shortly after in another pivotal hand as his kings held to vault to 280,000. It was smooth sailing from there for the Day 1c chip leader as he continued to amass more chips and finish atop the flight leaderboard.
He will have an opportunity to accomplish just that as he will enter Day 2 with a chance to take down an RGPS title and ring.
Former WSOP Main Event Champion Greg Raymer broke through on Day 1c. Raymer got traction when he caught his opponent bluffing on the river to climb to 159,000. Raymer continued to maneuver through the field before he made his presence felt later in the flight when his ducks held against his opponent’s overcards to grow his stack to 238,000. Raymer would go on to bag 156,000.
Other notables to bag for Day 2 include RGPS Ambassador Daniel Hughes (270,000), Joshua Prager (255,000), and local player Gennadiy Fedunov (277,000).
Notables that took their shot and did not qualify were Denis Lee, Joseph Bergh, Andrew Greenawalt, and WPT champion Lee Markholt.
Attention will now shift to the completion of Day 1d as players are slated to return at 12 p.m. local time to begin Day 2 on Sunday, March 1.
Stay tuned here at PokerNews tomorrow for an update on Day 1d as well as full coverage of Day 2 of the RGPS Passport Reno $800 Main Event.