button in SafariNicholas Burnett Takes Overall Lead in RGPS Summer Series Main Event
The inaugural RunGood Summer Series had its busiest day yet at The Lodge Card Club, as the largest flight of the week helped surpass the guarantee in the $600 Main Event.
The fourth of five opening flights had already amassed the biggest field of the week by the first break of the day, finishing with 162 entries before late registration came to a close. That total, along with early registration numbers for the final flight, helped push the overall prize pool beyond the guaranteed number of $250,000.
After a full day of action in Day 1d, just 20 players remained to earn spot in the money. They will now join the first 34 survivors of the week in Austin, returning to battle for the RGPS trophy on Day 2.
Leading the field when play halted on Level 16 was Nicholas Burnett, who bagged up 844,000 chips to take the overall lead through the first four flights with more than 21 starting stack. The Florida native posted a 14th-place finish in the $360 PokerNews PowerStack event at RGPS Passport Dallas in March, and will be looking to run deeper when action resumes on Sunday, June 21.
Burnett score a key elimination in the final levels, hitting the river to avoid a chop and collect a notable pot. He went on to post a massive lead over the rest of the field, as Kiran Suresh sat in second spot with 457,000. Benjamin Anderson (454,000), Bracher Vaughan (446,000) and John Huffman (445,000) all finished close behind to round out the top five stacks of the day.
Day 1d Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicholas Burnett | United States | 844,000 |
| 2 | Kiran Suresh | United States | 457,000 |
| 3 | Benjamin Anderson | United States | 454,000 |
| 4 | Bracher Vaughan | United States | 446,000 |
| 5 | John Huffman | United States | 445,000 |
| 6 | Nathanael Kogel | United States | 398,000 |
| 7 | Cameron Daniel | United States | 382,000 |
| 8 | Paul Figliomeni | United States | 370,000 |
| 9 | Steven Wampler | United States | 352,000 |
| 10 | Adam Sneed | United States | 346,000 |
One of the happiest players at the end of the night was John Jacob, who went deep into the tank to avoid elimination before the bubble when he folded top pair against a set. Jacob bagged up 161,000 chips after claiming a pair of pots before hand-for-hand play.
Another player glad to see the night finish was Patrick Merriman, who held less than a single big blind in his hand during the final few hands before tossing it in his bag. Merriman will return with 8,000 chips and a dream, easily the shortest stack among players to reach the money this week.
The day also saw three RunGood Ambassadors take their shot in the Main Event, with Pamela Maldonado the first to enter before coming up empty on two bullets.
Fellow RGPS team members Ashley Frank and Torey Byrne joined later in the day, both hitting the rail before jumping into the final opening flight.
The night came to an abrupt end on the direct money bubble, as Gabriel Simmons moved all in with pocket queens only to see Quang Nguyen table aces. The superior pair held to send Simmons out just shy of the money, and Nguyen finished the day with 178,000 chips.
Saturday's late Day 1e was in progress as the penultimate flight concluded, and full results will be posted on the RunGood Rewards app. Those surviving the final flight will join the rest of the field at 12:15 p.m. local time on Saturday, where the field will be trimmed to a final table before crowning a champion.
Full seat draw and payouts will be posted prior to the start of play on Day 2, and action will resume at the earlier level of the five flights. Play will continue with 40-minute levels through the remainder of the event, with scheduled breaks after every three levels.
The final table will be streamed on The Lodge YouTube channel, with an added bonus awaiting the last nine players who reach the final table. They'll each earn a chance to win a $2,000 RunGood in Aruba travel package, taking place September 17–23.
Just one day remains at the RunGood Summer Series, and you can follow all of the exciting action as PokerNews continues to provide full coverage until the trophy is awarded in Austin.