From Under the Radar to Top of the Stack: Thrush Leads Final 8
The final table is set at the $1,000 Pro-Am No-Limit Hold'em, now in its second year being hosted at The Golden Nugget from 2023. A crowd of 125 entries turned out for this unique event, which attracted poker players from far and wide for a chance to compete with poker professionals and personalities that caps off the 2025 Vegas World Championship series. The prize pool of $111,250 will be shared among the final eight players, with the winner taking home $32,264.
Joey Ingram, Ashley Frank, Abby Merk, Kyna England, and Garry Gates all made appearances and played their hearts out. Unfortunately, none of these featured players cashed in the event. The “last longer” title among them went to England, who was ultimately eliminated by final tablist Carlos Sáez in a dramatic three-way all-in, which resulted in a double knockout for Sáez.
Leading the pack at the final table is Nathan Thrush with 1,200,000 chips. Thrush flew under the radar for most of the day but began surging in the final 20 players. In a rare and dramatic fashion, he single-handedly burst both the money bubble and the final table bubble, spiking winners on the river in both hands. Thrush is a poker player from Post Falls, Idaho, with over $289,000 in total live tournament earnings. His largest recorded cash is $48,961, which came from a win in 2023. He has recorded two career wins and 39 total cashes.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cosme Gomez | Spain | 155,000 | 16 |
| 2 | Samy Boujmala | France | 416,000 | 42 |
| 3 | Zachary Lipeles | United States | 401,000 | 40 |
| 4 | Carlos Sáez | Spain | 445,000 | 45 |
| 5 | Conor O'Rourke | Ireland | 313,000 | 31 |
| 6 | Kaiwen Wei | United States | 133,000 | 13 |
| 7 | John Paoloca | United States | 143,000 | 14 |
| 8 | Nathan Thrush | United States | 1,200,000 | 120 |
Trailing Thrush is Carlos Sáez with 445,000 chips. Sáez is a Spanish poker player with total recorded live tournament earnings of $3,302, according to The Hendon Mob. His largest single cash, also $3,302, was earned in 2024.
Samy Boujmala sits just behind Sáez with 416,000 chips. Boujmala is a French poker player with over $209,000 in recorded live tournament earnings. He has accumulated nearly 90 cashes across various international events. In 2025, Boujmala achieved a strong result at the World Series of Poker, finishing 9th in the $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em for $38,369.
Final Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $32,624 |
| 2 | $20,025 |
| 3 | $11,959 |
| 4 | $7,509 |
| 5 | $5,563 |
| 6 | $4,784 |
| 7 | $4,144 |
| 8 | $3,671 |
The final eight players will reconvene at 2 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas. There are approximately 3:57 remaining in Level 15 with blinds at 5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante.
The Bar Poker Open finale will be featured on the BPO live stream. Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team for live updates from the floor of the Day 2 finale of the Bar Poker Pro-Am during the Grand Poker Series at Golden Nugget Las Vegas.