$34,000 Championship
Day 2 Completed
2025 Eastern Poker Open
$34,000 Championship
Day: 2
Event Info
2025 Eastern Poker Open
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
Prize Pool
$34,000
Entries
365
Level
18
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
200,000
Entries
90
Players Left
1
Players Left 1 / 365
Filter
Level 18
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
On Sunday, Day 1 survivors joined monthly qualifiers, regional winners, and wild cards to battle for the 2025 Eastern Poker Open $34,000 Championship title. There were 291 hopefuls on Saturday’s opening flights, and only 16 of them advanced to the finale.
They were joined by dozens of others, and all told 90 players battled on Day 2. After 12 hours of play, it was 61-year-old Rick Ziegler out of Stoughton, Massachusetts claiming the title and $10,000 first-place prize.
Ziegler, who picked up the game during the “Poker Boom” after Chris Moneymaker’s win (Fun Fact: Ziegler was down in Aruba back in December for the Moneymaker Tour), is a regular in local charity events and in the Eastern Poker Tour bar league, which he started playing in 2007. He qualified for the Eastern Poker Tour by playing the latter and finishing in the top eight on a monthly leaderboard.
An investment systems analyst and father of two, Ziegler is slated to celebrate his granddaughter's graduation and to take her on a cruise this summer before she heads off to college. His new five-figure score will no doubt go a long way in making it even sweeter!
The $34,000 Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rick Ziegler | United States | $10,000 |
| 2 | John Rebollo | United States | $6,000 |
| 3 | Slade Edmonds | United States | $3,400 |
| 4 | Chris Alex | United States | $2,400 |
| 5 | Rick Stickles | United States | $1,800 |
| 6 | Linda Rodrigues | United States | $1,400 |
| 7 | John Germano | United States | $1,200 |
| 8 | Shaun White | United States | $1,000 |
| 9 | Dylan Major | United States | $800 |
Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Chris Nichol (10th - $500), Jim Gardner (11th - $300), Gerald McKinney (12th - $300), Glenda Ricci (13th - $300), Maria Swift (14th - $200), Tom Walsh (15th - $200), and Al Mercier (16th - $100) & John Foley (17th - $100), who busted at the same time on the bubble and split the first payout.
Final Table Action
The final table proved to be a quick affair, starting when Shaun White busted with ace-ten to the pocket tens of Ziegler. John Germano, who back in December bested a 396-player field to win the 2024 Bar Poker Open Florida World Championship for $30K, then lost a flip with pocket sixes to the ace-king of Slade Edmonds.
Minutes later, Linda Rodrigues, the last woman in the field, bowed out when her pocket jacks fell to John Rebollo’s rivered set of fours. The short-stacked Rick Stickles followed her out the door in fifth place, and then Chris Alex busted after flopping top pair but with an inferior kicker to Ziegler.
Three-handed play lasted a good bit with players taking turns doubling through each other, but eventually, Edmonds three-bet jammed with ace-deuce only to get snapped off by Ziegler’s pocket eights, which held.
After that, it was a short heads-up battle as Ziegler began with a more than 2:1 chip lead over Rebollo. In what would be the final hand of the tournament, Rebollo got his stack in after flopping bottom pair but couldn’t overcome Ziegler’s middle pair.
Congratulations, Rick Ziegler on becoming the 2025 Eastern Poker Open champion!
Many players from the Eastern Poker Open will no doubt head to Las Vegas this summer for the 2025 Bar Poker Open Vegas World Championship at the Golden Nugget from Sunday, June 8 through Friday, June 13, 2025. PokerNews will also be there to provide live updates.
Level 18
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Rick Ziegler called on the button and John Rebollo checked his big blind option to see the Q♦6♣3♠ flop.
Rebollo moved all in for his last 375,000 and Ziegler tossed in the call.
John Rebollo: 10♦3♦
Rick Ziegler: K♦6♦
Both players flopped a pair with Ziegler in the lead. The A♣ turn and A♥ river completed the board leaving Ziegler ahead, as Rebollo bowed out with a runner-up finish.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
11,875,000
2,525,000
|
2,525,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 18
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Rick Ziegler limped ion the button with 5♠3♠ and John Rebollo looked down at K♠Q♣ while checking his big blind option.
The dealer fanned out the 3♦4♣9♠ flop, where Rebollo checked. Ziegler bet 500,000 with his pair of threes, good enough to take down the pot and extend his chip lead.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
9,350,000
900,000
|
900,000 |
|
|
2,525,000
900,000
|
900,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
John Rebollo and Rick Ziegler have taken a short break before heads-up play begins.
Level 18
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Rick Ziegler raised to 800,000 in the small blind and quickly called after Slade Edmonds moved all in for 3,450,000 in the big blind.
Slade Edmonds: A♣2♦ 
Rick Ziegler: 8♣8♥
Edmonds found no help on the 6♦9♠5♠10♥Q♣ runout, seeing his tournament run come to an end in third place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,450,000
3,100,000
|
3,100,000 |
|
|
3,425,000
1,000,000
|
1,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 18
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Slade Edmonds opened to 1,000,000 on the button and made the quick call after Rick Ziegler moved his stack of 2,450,000 all in from the big blind.
Rick Ziegler: K♦Q♦
Slade Edmonds: A♥J♣
Edmonds stayed in front through the 10♣3♦J♥ flop, with Ziegler picking up a straight draw. The K♣ turn put Ziegler in front, while he improved further on the K♠ river to score the double-up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,350,000
2,600,000
|
2,600,000 |
|
|
4,050,000
850,000
|
850,000 |
|
|
2,425,000
1,750,000
|
1,750,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Rick Ziegler raised to 700,000 in the small blind with K♥6♠ and Slade Edmonds made the call holding 5♥3♥ in the big blind.
Ziegler checked the monotone 5♦8♦7♦ flop and quickly folded when Edmonds moved all in for 3,200,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,900,000
1,650,000
|
1,650,000 |
|
|
4,175,000
650,000
|
650,000 |
|
|
2,750,000
1,000,000
|
1,000,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,825,000
2,500,000
|
2,500,000 |
|
|
3,750,000
1,800,000
|
1,800,000 |
|
|
3,250,000
700,000
|
700,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Rick Ziegler moved all in for 2,625,000 on the button and John Rebollo made the call in the big blind.
Rick Ziegler: 9♠9♥
John Rebollo: 8♣8♦
After doubling up Rebollo a short time ago, Ziegler got it in ahead and improved to a set on the A♦J♥9♣ flop.
The 6♥ turn and 4♣ river changed nothing, leaving Ziegler on top of the chip counts while doubling back through Rebollo.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,550,000
2,825,000
|
2,825,000 |
|
|
3,950,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
|
|
2,325,000
2,325,000
|
2,325,000 |
