Le Tieu Leads 25 Players From Day 1b of the RGPS Jacksonville Main Event
Day 1b of the $1,200 Destination RunGood: Jacksonville Main Event has come to an end and Le Tieu is the chip leader after 14 levels of play. The surviving 25 players will return on Sunday to bestbet Jacksonville to join the other two flights and play down to a winner.
The second of three flights drew 185 entries and contributed $192,400 towards the $300,000 guarantee. The grand total after two flights is now at 244 entries with 59 of them turning out for Thursday’s opener.
Tieu bagged just over a half-million chips and he’s followed by Ron Slucker, who held the chip lead in the later levels until he ceded it to Tieu. Slucker, a native of Chicago who lives in Ponte Vedra, nearly bagged the lead after a late charge that included the elimination of Caitlin Comeskey in the final level of the evening.
Tieu and Slucker are followed by Jared Reinstein in third and Jason Isbell in fourth, while TK Miles rounded out the top five.
RGPS Jacksonville Main Event Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Hometown | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Tieu | Jacksonville, FL | 501,000 |
| 2 | Ron Slucker | Ponte Vedra, FL | 464,000 |
| 3 | Jared Reinstein | Tallahasse, FL | 392,000 |
| 4 | Jason Isbell | Peachtree City, GA | 357,000 |
| 5 | TK Miles | Miami Beach, FL | 347,000 |
| 6 | Deborah Miller | Jacksonville, FL | 327,000 |
| 7 | Ray Henson | Houston, TX | 312,000 |
| 8 | Joey Burns | Brooklyn, NY | 308,000 |
| 9 | Mark McGarity | Holden Beach, NC | 305,000 |
| 10 | Joseph Jordan | Greenville, SC | 252,000 |
Day 1b Highlights
The day kicked off with 45 players in their seats and it swelled quickly throughout the afternoon. Among the early favorites was Elanit Hasas, who entered the day with over $564,000 in earnings, according to the Hendon Mob. Hasas stayed in it throughout the day, but ultimately fell short of Day 2 after Isbell sent her to the rail with Big Slick in Level 13.
Isbell, one of the players who joined the tournament at the start of the day, bagged a top-five stack of 357,000 for Day 2. He’s joined by Deborah Miller, one of the other earlier risers in the flight. Miller built up a steady stack all day but suffered a setback when Mark McGarity got it all in with pocket aces after a flop that gave her two pair. The river paired the board and McGarity scored a big double that helped to propel him to the top ten.
Miller bounced back quickly and put 327,000 in the bag for Sunday’s finale. Also bagging for Day 2 was Judith Bielan, who rode the short stack in the final level before she doubled with queens to secure her spot. Nancy Birnbaum joins them as the third woman from the flight to find a bag.
Other Day 2 qualifiers include Ray Henson, Kris Burchfield, Chris Conrad, Edward Mroczkowski, and Thad McNulty, who lived to see another day thanks to a rivered straight flush that beat quad sevens.
The third and final flight goes off on Saturday at 12 p.m. The surviving players will return to bestbet on Sunday at 12 p.m. to play down to a winner.
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team all weekend long for live updates from the floor of the RGPS Main Event at bestbet Jacksonville.