Walter Hunter opened to 800 from under the gun, and Terry Hawkins made the call in middle position. Susan Newcome came along in the small blind, with Robert Lemke defending his big blind.
Action checked around to Hawkins on the 8♣4♣4♦ flop, who fired a bet of 800. Lemke was the only called to see the K♦ turn, checking once more.
Hawkins sized up to 2,200, but was met with a check-raise from Lemke to 8,000. After taking a moment, Hawkins slid in the call.
Lemke led out for 7,000 on the 9♦ river, earning a call from Hawkins. Lemke tabled 6♦4♥ for trip fours, good enough to take down the pot as Hawkins mucked.
Mun Ko led out for 1,300 in middle position on the Q♦5♦9♥ flop, and David Garrison made the call on the button. The 2♠ turn produced another lead from Ko, this time for 2,500.
Garrison counted out a call, and the dealer revealed the A♠ river.
Ko tossed out a bet of 3,000, with Garrison making the quick call. Ko showed K♠Q♥ for a pair of queens, but Garrison tabled A♦9♦ for two pair to claim an early pot.
As the RunGood Poker Series rolls into 2026, be sure to download the Official RunGood Rewards App.
The app is your home for schedules, results, event photos, and an opportunity for players to stack rewards points for visiting RunGood stops and playing in events.
The 2026 RunGood Passport Season continues with two more flights of the $600 Main Event, as players look to join the 13 contenders who bagged up Day 1a on Friday night.
The first flight attracted 111 entries at Horseshoe Casino Tunica, and the iconic poker room will be even busier when action kicks off with Day 1b at 11:00 a.m. local time.
That will be followed by Day 1c at 6:00 p.m. with the guaranteed $200,000 prize pool in play. Players can take advantage of unlimited reentries in both flights, as action continues late into the night before the Day 2 field will be confirmed.
The Day 1a chip leader was Chad Taylor, who steadily gained ground before bagging up 510,000 chips.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Chad Taylor
United States
510,000
51
2
Michael Monaghan
United States
409,000
41
3
Brandon Owens
United States
374,000
37
4
Michael Cordell
United States
370,000
37
5
Dante Prado
United States
339,000
34
6
Sokchheka Pho
United States
278,000
28
7
Gerald Irvin
United States
230,000
23
8
Justin Goree
United States
219,000
22
9
Rafael Lopez-Reyes
United States
168,000
17
10
Tyler Burke
United States
163,000
16
Horseshoe Casino Tunica
Just like Friday’s opening flight, all levels on Day 1 will be 30 minutes long before expanding to 40 minutes on the final day. Blinds will begin at 100/200 and a 200 big blind ante, and players will take their seats with 30,000 chips in their stack.
Registration remains open for the first eight levels of action, and play will continue until just 12.5 percent of the field remains. Those players will join the 13 survivors from Day 1a in the money, with a shot at the RGPS ring on Sunday night.
Among the RGPS Ambassadors expected to take part are PokerNews PowerStack champion Cody Stanford, Jeff Copeland, Craig Welko, Preston McEwen, and Drew Gonzalez.
Drew Gonzalez
$600 Main Event Remaining Schedule
Date
Day
Time
Mar. 14
1b
11:00 a.m.
Mar. 14
1c
6:00 p.m.
Mar. 15
2
12:00 p.m.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews coverage of this Main Event, plus catch RunGood action from Atlantic City and the Bay Area all weekend long.
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