Kenny Dang Bags Overall Day 1 Chip Lead of RGPS Contenders Tunica $575 Main Event
Two full starting flights played to their conclusion Saturday inside the Horseshoe Casino Tunica for the 2022 RunGood Poker Series Contenders Tour Tunica $575 Main Event. Noon's Day 1b drew 245 entries and 7 p.m.'s Day 1c added another 173 to that tally, bringing the grand total to 602 entries for the tournament.
Coming into the day, Nashville's Donnie Phan (213,000) was the one to catch, and at least a handful of players did so with Richard Bolden (291,500) bagging the Day 1b chip lead to begin that trend. However, Day 1c chip leader Kenny Dang eclipsed that number, finishing play with 352,500 after a late-night surge saw multiple players' stacks end up becoming part of his.
In total, 61 players advanced from the first flight and another 43 made it through later in the evening. Barry Schultz (280,000), Thomas Canter (246,000), and ClubGG qualifier Hao Zhu (225,500) also finished with stacks above that of Day 1a chip leader Phan.
A perfect 25% of all three flights made it through their respective days, meaning 150 players from the 602 total entries will return for Sunday's Day 2 at noon local time to play down to a winner. Other notables on that list include RunGood Ambassador Julie Cornelius (187,500), BJ McBrayer (145,500), Mark Kehrees (126,500), former RGPS Tunica Main Event Champion Tiffany Keathley (117,500), and Event #5 ($200 Double Green Chip Bounty) Winner Chad Marsh (82,000).
Of the 150 to advance, 63 will make it into the money, with a first-level payout good for $1,023. Meanwhile, the eventual champion will earn $66,849, the RunGood Trophy, and a seat to the 2022 RunGood Pro-Am set to be played later this year at the PokerGo Studio in Las Vegas. Complete payout information has been provided below.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $66,849 |
| 2 | $42,592 |
| 3 | $25,886 |
| 4 | $21,070 |
| 5 | $17,308 |
| 6 | $13,696 |
| 7 | $10,686 |
| 8 | $8,428 |
| 9 | $6,171 |
| 10-12 | $3,913 |
| 13-15 | $3,161 |
| 16-18 | $2,408 |
| 19-27 | $1,806 |
| 28-36 | $1,505 |
| 37-45 | $1,204 |
| 46-54 | $1,114 |
| 55-63 | $1,023 |
PokerNews will be back at it again Sunday to take you through to the finish line, so be sure to come back then.