Scott Aulds Tops San Diego Poker Classic Day 1a
The Jamul Casino Resort event drew 91 entries in the opening flight, then Pablo Costorda moved ahead overall through two completed flights.
Scott Aulds jumped out to the Day 1a lead in the 2026 San Diego Poker Classic $600 Main Event at Jamul Casino Resort, bagging 592,000 chips after a flight that drew 91 entries and sent 11 players on to Day 2.
Kyler Somer finished second with 500,000, and Robert Fortuno was third with 426,000. In the Day 1a recap, Somer was also the one who sent Robin Brown out on the bubble, while Fortuno used a late run to climb the counts.
PokerNews noted that Jamul Casino Resort has been kind to Aulds, whose The Hendon Mob page is loaded with first-place finishes. The report said he has won five RunGood Poker Series rings and four San Diego Poker Classic trophies at the venue, and Aulds said he is still trying to keep his success rolling on home turf.
“Last year I was chasing the trophies to prove a point to myself,” he said. “This year I’m chasing the money.”
The Day 1a report also showed Day 1b already underway with 76 entries. A later update put the second flight at 105 entries and 13 more players advancing, with Pablo Costorda taking over the overall lead through two flights at 699,000.
Matthew Gawel was next in that flight with 219,000, and Ricky Barraza bagged 151,000. Gawel has three titles at Jamul Casino Resort but has not yet won a San Diego Poker Classic trophy, while Barraza is still looking for his first Jamul title and has nearly $85,000 in live earnings, according to his The Hendon Mob page.
The tournament is being played with a $100,000 guarantee, a 30,000-chip starting stack, and unlimited re-entries, and players can enter all Day 1 flights. The top 12.5% of each field, rounded down, advance to Day 2, which starts at the lowest blind level used on Day 1.
The structure calls for 30-minute levels on Day 1, 40-minute levels on Day 2, and breaks every four levels on Day 1, plus a 10-minute break after Level 14. The schedule also called for Day 1c at 11 a.m. and Day 1d at 6 p.m. on Aug. 8.
Last year’s SDPC Main Event drew 375 entries and ended with Sebastian Acevedo winning $33,216 after an ICM chop with James Kozono and David Fernandez Sanchez, and the report noted that he could become the first two-time main event champion in SDPC history. Through two flights this year, Costorda’s 699,000 stood as the biggest stack in the room.
