Johnson Leads The Final 21 Players of Day 1b; Fouts, Barrientos, and Lafata Bag
The RunGood Poker series’ final stop of the season saw a total of 171 players come out to play the second flight of the $1,100 Main Event. This tops the number from last year’s flight as the $200,000 guarantee is now surpassed. A total of 21 players secured themselves a seat for Day 2, joining the other 19 from the earlier flight and each one guaranteed a minimum payout.
Leading the way is Kameron Johnson, who bagged up 740,000. Johnson has only three prior Hendon Mob cashes to his name, with one of them being a final table of last season’s $400 deepstack at this very casino. He finished in 7th for a career best $5,263 and he looks to tee himself up for another final table run with this massive stack. One key pot saw him eliminate Justin Dreiling with a set of aces against a pair of aces. This propelled him into the lead and he held it into the day.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chip Counts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kameron Johnson | 740,000 |
| 2 | Christopher Drake | 556,000 |
| 3 | Michael Fouts | 532,000 |
| 4 | Cory Smith | 429,000 |
| 5 | Michael Lucas | 425,000 |
| 6 | Jeffrey Brin | 407,000 |
| 7 | Phillip Tindell | 369,000 |
| 8 | Mark Barrientos | 261,000 |
| 9 | Philip Boyd | 216,000 |
| 10 | Casey Henry | 201,000 |
2018 RGPS Council Bluffs Main Event Champion Michael Fouts ended his day with a massive stack of 532,000. Since his win in 2018, Fouts has become a staple of the Council Bluffs/Omaha poker area, and has made the drive out to Kansas City in the hopes to capture a second title.
Others who bagged included Mark Barrientos (261,000), Casey Henry (201,000), Beau Wilshire (106,000), and Mark Lafata (84,000). Each guaranteed a piece of the pie, but all eyes set on their first RGPS Main Event title.
Defending champion William McCracken was unfortunate enough to hit the rail. He was joined by others like RGPS St. Louis Main Event champion Keith Heine, RGPS Kansas City Main Event Champion Andre Allen, Daniel “Donk” Hughes, and Ted Forshey. They will each have ample opportunity to fire tonight’s flight in the hopes of bagging a shot.
Play ended with 14:20 left in play on Level 14, with blinds at 3,000/6,000 and a 6,000 big blind ante. Play will return to this level on Sunday, May 19th unless play ends at an early level in the subsequent flight.
Reporting will go on a break. Check in later tonight for updates on the final flight.