$34,000 Championship Day 1 | 2025 Eastern Poker Open

04-05-2025 15:02 UTC-5

Player	Chips	Progress
Lisa Bowman	274,000
Paul Giroux	214,000 6,000	6,000
Ron Brodeur	208,000
John Foley	198,000
John Silvestre	192,000
Elijah Sampson	187,000
Michael Bilodeau	168,000
Nick Pacheco	156,000
Tyler Logan	156,000
Peter Croteau	142,000
Basil Congro	118,000
Rick Stickles	111,000

Break Time

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Josh Noy

Players have been sent on a 15-minute break.

04-05-2025 14:31 UTC-5

Catch the $1,650 High Roller Final Table 🏆

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Josh Noy

The $1,650 High Roller final table is underway, with the Eastern Poker Tour stream on a 30-minute delay.

04-05-2025 14:25 UTC-5

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul Giroux	208,000 32,000	32,000

Dimeo Takes Blind Battle

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Josh Noy

Action folded around to Dom Dimeo in the small blind, who raised to 8,500. The big blind called and the dealer fanned out the 8♦7♥9♠ flop.

Both players declined to bet and the 6♠ turn hit the table. Dimeo took a moment before leading out for 10,000. That was enough for the Rhode Island qualifier to earn the pot as the big blind slid his cards into the muck.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dom Dimeo	83,000 83,000	83,000

Tags: Dom Dimeo

04-05-2025 14:03 UTC-5

Harrold Scores Knockout

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Josh Noy

Heads up to the 5♠K♥7♥ flop, Kelly O'Hare moved all in and was called by Larry Harrold on her immediate right.

Kelly O'Hare: 10♠9♠ All in
Larry Harrold: Q♣Q♥

O'Hair was smiling as she saw Harrold's pocket queens, but picked up a straight draw on the J♥ turn. The 6♠ river was a blank, and O'Hair wished the table good luck as Harrold raked in the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Larry Harrold	182,000 156,000	156,000
Kelly O'Hare	Busted

Tags: Kelly O'Hare Larry Harrold

04-05-2025 13:57 UTC-5

Life Outside Poker: How Chess Streamer Alexandra Botez Won Half a Million Playing Poker

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Josh Noy

Life Outside Poker is a podcast for PokerNews hosted by Connor Richards that seeks to pull back the curtain on poker players and allow viewers and listeners to get to know them on a personal level.

In the 26th episode, Connor speaks with chess streamer and GGPoker ambassador Alexandra Botez about learning chess and poker from her dad, getting into streaming at Stanford, dealing with online trolls, creating content with her sister Andrea Botez and the similarities between chess and poker.

Botez also talked about winning $456,900 in a legendary 2022 Hustler Casino Live stream that included Phil Hellmuth, Mr. Beast and Ninja, as well as signing on as a GGPoker ambassador and securing two career-high cashes at World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise (she finished 60th in the $10,000 GGMillion$ Championship for $22,190 before finishing 187th in the $25,000 Super Main Event for $67,300).

The Life Outside Poker podcast is available on major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud and iHeartRadio. You can also watch the interview with Alexandra Botez by heading to the PokerNews YouTube channel.

Be sure to follow Alexandra Botez and Connor Richards on X.

Learn More About Life Outside Poker!

04-05-2025 13:50 UTC-5

Big Stack for Giroux

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Josh Noy

Shortly after doubling his stack, Paul Giroux followed a pair of checks by betting 12,000 on the button with 7♥9♣Q♠ showing on the board.

One opponent came along to the 6♦ turn, where both players checked. The 3♠ river saw another pair of checks.

Giroux tabled 10♠10♦ for a pair of tens, good enough to add more chips to his stack as his opponent mucked.

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul Giroux	176,000

Tags: Paul Giroux

04-05-2025 13:30 UTC-5

Louissaint Chipping Up

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Josh Noy

Three-way action to the 9♠6♥Q♠ flop brought a check from the big blind before Madsen Louissaint slid out a bet of 4,000 from under the gun. That was called by an opponent to his left, along with the big blind.

All three players checked the 8♦ turn and the dealer completed the board with the 3♥ river.

Action checked to Louissaint, who bet 4,500. That produced a pair of folds, as Louissaint raked in the chips.