Flight 1A – David “Moose” Hughes Bags the Chip Lead in the Almighty Stack

The opening flight of the $150,000 Guaranteed Almighty Stack is officially in the books at Daytona Beach Poker, and Flight 1A delivered a strong start to one of the summer’s premier poker events.

Eighty entries took to the felt on Wednesday, with the field playing down to the final 10 players (12.5%) advancing to Sunday’s Day 2. Those players have already locked up at least a minimum cash and will return to battle for their share of the $150,000 guaranteed prize pool.

Leading the way is David “Moose” Hughes, who finished the night with an impressive 2,065,000 chips, putting himself in an excellent position heading into Day 2.

Hughes is no stranger to success on the Florida tournament circuit. With more than $220,000 in recorded live tournament earnings, he has built an impressive résumé that includes:

• Runner-up in the 2025 Daytona Beach Almighty Stack for a career-best $31,367
• Champion of the 2023 GAPT Summer Big Stack at Daytona Beach
• Numerous final tables and deep runs throughout Florida and beyond

Flight 1A by the Numbers

• Entries: 80
• Players Advancing: 10
• Current Chip Leader: David “Moose” Hughes – 2,065,000
• Prize Pool Generated: $26,800 toward the $150,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Upcoming Flights

• Flight 1B: Thursday – 11:10 AM
• Flight 1C: Thursday – 5:10 PM
• Flight 1D: Friday – 11:10 AM
• Flight 1E: Friday – 5:10 PM
• Flight 1F: Saturday – 11:10 AM
• Flight 1G (Turbo): Saturday – 4:10 PM
• Day 2: Sunday – 11:10 AM

With a $400 buy-in, 100,000 starting chips, unlimited re-entry through Level 9 (Level 11 for Flight 1G), and a $150,000 guarantee, there’s still time to make your run.

We’ll continue providing chip counts, field updates, and tournament highlights throughout the week.