Jesse Medina opened to 800 from under the gun, but Ryan Nishizaki wanted to play for more and chose to three-bet to 2,400 on the button. Medina made the call.
Both players knuckled the 6♣2♣3♣ flop to usher in the 10♦ turn. Medina took the betting lead with a wager of 1,500 on the turn, and Nishizaki made the call.
The Q♥ river led to a check from Medina before Nishizaki put out a bet of 3,000. Medina thought better of it and made the fold to award the pot to Nishizaki on the river.
The board read 10♦J♣2♣ with approximately 3,000 in the pot when this hand was picked up.
Christopher Picquette checked from the big blind. Vahid Sahebalzamani from middle position and Imre Makranyi from the hijack also checked before Darren Bortmas fired 3,000 on the flop.
Picquette called, while both Sahebalzamani and Makranyi folded.
Both remaining players checked the 9♦ turn to bring the 2♣ river. Picquette checked again on the river, but Bortmas opted to bet 3,000 in response. Picquette made the call to go to a showdown.
Bortmas showed A♥J♥ for a pair of jacks to claim the pot as Picquette mucked his hand in response.
The action was recounted to PokerNews by players at the table.
Frederic Soria opened from the hijack before Adam Duong three-bet from the cutoff. Ramin Malekian put in the four-bet on the button before Soria five-bet shoved for approximately 35,000. Duong folded, but Malekian made the call to put Soria at risk.
Frederic Soria: A♠A♣
Ramin Malekian: 10♦10♠
Soria was well ahead with his aces, and the flop did not bring any disappointment for Soria when it came 2♦7♠J♣ to keep his aces in front.
The turn was disastrous for Soria as the 10♥ peeled to give Malekian a set of tens.
Soria was unable to regain the lead when the 9♦ river hit to show Soria the exit early on Day 1b.
Kim Jardin got the action started with an open to 500 from early position. Jay Kasler joined from the cutoff before Ahmad Rashid came along with a call on the button.
Frank Solorio wanted to play for more and chose to three-bet to 2,300 in response. Jardin folded, but Kasler and Rashid both made the call.
The 6♦10♠7♣ flop led to a continuation bet of 6,000 from Solorio. Both Kasler and Rashid ejected their hands as Solorio took down the pot on the flop without any further action.
Neng Lee opened to 500 from the cutoff before Sok Chean made the call on the button. Scott Stewart defended his big blind to create a three-handed pot preflop.
The Q♦6♣10♣ flop led to a check from Stewart. Lee continued for 1,000 and was called by Chean. Stewart made the fold to trim the hand down to two players.
Lee slowed down with a check on the J♣ turn. Chean followed with a wager of 2,000. Lee called.
The 3♠ river led to another check from Lee, and Chean put out a bet of 5,000 on fifth street. Lee gave it some consideration before he put in the call to go to a showdown.
Chean showed 5♣4♣ for a turned flush. Lee mucked his hand as Chean took in the healthy pot.
Day 1a of the RunGood Poker Series Passport Season Finale $1,200 Million Dollar Main Event was dealt an unexpected fate as a power outage caused Thunder Valley Casino Resort to cancel the first flight of the tournament.
Thunder Valley Poker Room released a statement addressing the opening flight and new changes to the schedule.
"Yesterday's power outage temporarily interrupted tournament play. With power restored, the RunGood Million Dollar Main Event will continue as scheduled," said Thunder Valley Poker Room in a statement. "To provide every possible opportunity following the cancellation of flight 1A, two additional $1,200 Turbo Flights have been added to this weekend's schedule. We appreciate everyone's patience and understanding and look forward to welcoming players back for an exciting weekend of tournament action. We'll see you at the tables."
Tournament officials have announced that two turbo flights will be held on Saturday, Aug. 1 and Sunday, Aug. 2 at 8 p.m. local time to give players more options to qualify for Day 2 and earn the title of RGPS champion.
Main Event Schedule
Flight
Date
Time
Day 1b
Fri. July 31
12 p.m.
Day 1c
Sat. Aug. 1
12 p.m.
Turbo
Sat. Aug. 1
8 p.m.
Day 1d
Sun. Aug. 2
12 p.m.
Turbo
Sun. Aug. 2
8 p.m.
Day 2
Mon. Aug. 3
12 p.m.
*All times are local
Players are given a starting stack of 40,000, with players being allowed two-re-entries per flight. Registration is set to close at the end of Level 9. Players who have not used their re-entries may forfeit their stack and re-enter for $1,200 at the end of Level 9.
Blind levels are scheduled for 40 minutes. The top 12.5% of each starting flight will be in the money, with the top 10% being permitted to advance to Day 2. Players who make the top 12.5% of a starting flight but do not make the top 10% to advance to Day 2 will earn $2,200 for their finish. Should a player qualify for Day 2 more than once, they will advance with their highest stack going forward and forfeit their lowest stack(s) and receive the lowest Day 2 payout.
A shot clock will be implemented on Day 2. Players will receive a total of five time banks at the start of Day 2, with five more being issued at the final table. Day 2 will also mark the beginning of a shift to eight-handed play.
Stay closer than ever to the action with MyPlayers. This brand new, free feature on PokerNews puts your favorite poker players front and center. Whether you're keeping tabs on poker's biggest stars or following a friend grinding their way through a Day 2, MyPlayers delivers real-time updates tailored just for you.
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Stay tuned here at PokerNews for complete coverage of Day 1a and beyond as the RGPS Season Finale Main Event heats up at Thunder Valley Casino Resort.
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