Day 1 is in the books here at The $800 RGPS Main Event at Hollywood Casino in St. Louis, MO, and we've seen a total of 586 players across four flights of play compete for their share of the $200,000 guaranteed prize pool.
With only 71 players moving on to Day 2, Chris Audrain bagged the overall chip lead with 715,000, and Kenny Allen is not far behind at 654,000. Nick LaFata rounds out the top three stacks across all flights with 605,000.
Overall Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Hometown | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Audrain | St. Louis, MO | 715,000 |
| 2 | Kenny Allen | St. Charles, MO | 654,000 |
| 3 | Nick LaFata | Springfield, IL | 605,000 |
| 4 | Michael Chilton | Paduca, MS | 567,000 |
| 5 | Jackson Turrentine | Shawnee Mission, KS | 566,000 |
| 6 | Brian Jones | Louisville, KY | 550,000 |
| 7 | Mike Hurley | St. Louis, MO | 494,000 |
| 8 | Robert Warden | St. Louis, MO | 418,000 |
| 9 | Yushan Shi | Tulsa, OK | 385,000 |
| 10 | Tanner Pray | Lake St. Louis, MO | 380,000 |
Audrain made a late night run and ended Day 1d by scoring a double elimination when his A♥K♥ came out on top of the pocket jacks and king-ten of his two opponents. This would be a close repeat of last year's RGPS St. Louis Main Event, when Audrain's aces held at the end of the night to propel him into the top of the Day 1d chip counts, as well.
Others who found bags include Jason Mendoza (193,000), who was the unfortunate bubble in flight 1a, RGPS reg Iman Alsaden (169,000), and tournament veteran Brian Jones (550,000), who'll be looking to top his prior best RGPS finish of 31st at RGPS Bossier City.
Play ended with 20:05 minutes left in Day 1a in Level 16, with blinds at 5,000/10,000 and a 10,000 big blind ante. These 71 players will return on Sunday, May 5 at noon local time to play down to a winner.
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