€1,650 PokerStars Open Day 2 | 2025 PokerStars EPT Barcelona

08-22-2025 16:55 UTC+2

Sanz Finds a Miracle Chop on the River

David Salituro

Level 21 : Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

Borja Urrea raised to 35,000 under the gun and Guillermo Sanz three-bet to 115,000 in the cutoff. Urrea called and went to turn his cards over before being told Sanz still had 15,000 behind.

The flop came A♣A♠3♣ and they quickly got the rest of Sanz's stack in the middle.

Guillermo Sanz: A♦J♥ All in
Borja Urrea: A♥2♥

Both players had flopped trips, but Sanz was ahead with his jack-kicker until the 2♠ fell on the turn to give Urrea a full house. The river was the 2♣ and Sanz started to get up from his seat, but the rest of the table alerted him that he had earned a chop with that river deuce.

Player	Chips	Progress
Borja Urrea	1,100,000 300,000	300,000
Guillermo Sanz	150,000 50,000	50,000

Tags: Borja Urrea Guillermo Sanz

08-22-2025 16:50 UTC+2

Seelen Coolers Kyte in Five-Bet Pot

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Connor Richards

Level 21 : Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

Robert Seelen opened to 30,000 from under the gun and Jon Kyte three-bet to 90,000 in middle position. Seelen responded by four-betting to 280,000 and Kyte replied by five-betting all in as Seelen called off with a stack of 885,000.

Robert Seelen: A♣A♦ All in
Jon Kyte: KxKx

Seelen was on the right end of the ultimate cooler and the board ran out 5♠9♣2♠A♠4♥ to improve him to a set for a big double through the Norwegian.

Player	Chips	Progress
Robert Seelen	1,700,000 900,000	900,000
Jon Kyte	450,000 365,000	365,000

Tags: Robert Seelen Jon Kyte

08-22-2025 16:44 UTC+2

Mangroe Sweats With Benkovic

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David Salituro

Level 21 : Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

Action folded to Firoz Mangroe in the small blind who moved all in for 120,000. "Do you want to sweat with me?" big blind Lukas Benkovic asked him as they both peeled Benkovic's cards together. Benkovic then put in the chips to call.

Firoz Mangroe: A♦Q♦ All in
Lukas Benkovic: A♣5♦

"How about a seven?" Benkovic pleaded with the dealer after the flop came 7♥10♦9♣. The 3♥ turn was no help, while the river was the 7♦. "Too late," Benkovic added as he handed over most of his chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Firoz Mangroe	250,000 140,000	140,000
Lukas Benkovic	20,000 310,000	310,000

Tags: Firoz Mangroe Lukas Benkovic

08-22-2025 16:38 UTC+2

The SCOTUS Lawyer Who Won $50m Playing Poker—And Got Indicted

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Connor Richards

Level 21 : Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

For two decades, Tom Goldstein was at the top of the legal world. He argued more cases before the United States Supreme Court than almost any private attorney and founded SCOTUSblog, a legal blog that quickly became the go-to source for Supreme Court analysis. He lectured at Stanford University and Harvard University and regularly appeared on national news programs.

But Goldstein had another life. When he wasn’t arguing before Supreme Court justices, Goldstein was flying to Hollywood or Hong Kong and winning or losing millions in ultra-high-stakes poker matches. He played heads-up against California businessmen and foreign gamblers, at one point allegedly winning over $50 million in just a few sessions.

Goldstein’s luck turned in January 2025 when the US Department of Justice a federal grand jury initiated a 22-count indictment accusing the attorney of failing to report millions in poker winnings and diverting law firm funds to pay his personal poker debts.

In a new PokerNews video essay, we take a look at the life of Tom Goldstein and the high-stakes poker game that led to his federal indictment.

Watch the Video Essay Here!

Tags: Tom Goldstein

08-22-2025 16:38 UTC+2

Urrea Puts in a Big Shove After Some Confusion

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David Salituro

Level 21 : Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

Heads-up on a flop of 7♥K♣3♥, Borja Urrea bet 20,000 from the hijack and Giuliano Galliana raised to 60,000 in the big blind. Urrea then reraised to 120,000, and Galliana called.

The turn was the 4♣ and action paused at the table for a few minutes. The dealer eventually told Galliana it was his turn, but Galliana insisted he had already checked.

"He checked a while ago. It was subtle, but there was a tap," tablemate Stephen Song added. Action then went on Urrea who pushed the rest of his 550,000 in the middle, and Galliana quickly folded.

Urrea took the seat of the recently-departed Benny Glaser.

At another table, Fabrizio Fuchs and Anthony Smith exchanged raises until Fuchs was all in for 440,000 from early position as Smith had him at risk from middle position.

Fabrizio Fuchs: K♥K♦ All in
Anthony Smith: A♦K♠

Fuchs showed down a pair of kings and needed to avoid an ace to stay alive, and he successfully navigated the Q♠4♣9♣Q♣10♠ board to earn the double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Fabrizio Fuchs	900,000 812,000	812,000
Borja Urrea	800,000 144,000	144,000
Giuliano Galliana	700,000 491,000	491,000
Anthony Smith	225,000 77,000	77,000
Benny Glaser	Busted

Tags: Anthony Smith Borja Urrea Fabrizio Fuchs Giuliano Galliana

08-22-2025 16:30 UTC+2

Trip Aces for Neves

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Connor Richards

Level 21 : Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

Terrance Reid opened to 30,000 in middle position and was called by the small blind and Bernardo Neves in the big blind.

Action checked to Reid on the flop of A♠5♠A♥ and he bet 35,000. Only Neves called. Neves checked again on the 9♠ turn and Reid sized up to 125,000. Neves again called.

Neves checked once more on the 3♥ river and Reid checked back, only to muck as Neves showed A♦10♠ to win the pot with trip aces.

Player	Chips	Progress
Terrance Reid	1,500,000 460,000	460,000
Bernardo Neves	900,000

Tags: Bernardo Neves Terrance Reid

08-22-2025 16:23 UTC+2

Subirada Robbed of a Triple Up on the River

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David Salituro

Level 21 : Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

Francesc Subirada moved all in for 230,000 from the big blind, Oeystein Guneriussen stuck in his last 350,000 from the button, while Jinlong Hu put both players at risk in the small blind.

Francesc Subirada: Q♠Q♦ All in
Oeystein Guneriussen: A♠9♥ All in
Jinlong Hu: A♦9♣

Subirada was ahead with his queens and poised for a triple up as the flop came 6♣10♣7♦. The turn was the 2♦, but the 8♥ fell on the river to give both opponents a straight. Guneriussen and Hu chopped the pot, while Subirada was sent to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jinlong Hu	950,000 50,000	50,000
Oeystein Guneriussen	500,000 267,000	267,000
Francesc Subirada	Busted

Tags: Francesc Subirada Jinlong Hu Oeystein Guneriussen

08-22-2025 16:17 UTC+2

Defending Champ Berthelot Among Recent Bustouts

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David Salituro

Level 21 : Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Maurizio Marazzi	Busted
Daniel Koloszar	Busted
Nikolai Valchev	Busted
Xin Jin	Busted
Adam Wagner	Busted
Terence Jordon	Busted
Marius Zidonis	Busted
Gianluca Cammarata	Busted
Benoit Albiges	Busted
Carl Strahl	Busted
Eric Karlsson	Busted
Esteban Bullon	Busted
Patrice Chamarre	Busted
Maroun Sily	Busted
Jules Rohr	Busted
Eero Abbey	Busted
Georges Ghossan	Busted
Lukas Henze	Busted
Punnat Punsri	Busted
Lucas Diedrichs	Busted
Adam Geyer	Busted
Ilija Savevski	Busted

Elias Suhonen	Busted
Alessandro Siena	Busted
Sabry Ferhaoui	Busted

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08-22-2025 16:16 UTC+2

Check-Jam Goes Awry for Talebi

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Connor Richards

Level 21 : Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

Chin Wei Lim opened to 30,000 on the button and Matin Talebi three-bet to 90,000 in the big blind. Lim called.

Talebi bet 100,000 on the flop of 4♦5♣7♦ and Lim called. Talebi then checked on the A♥ turn and Lim bet 120,000. Talebi responded by check-raising all in and Lim called with the bigger stack.

Matin Talebi: K♠K♥ All in
Chin Wei Lim: 7♣7♠

Talebi had been out-flopped and couldn't improve against Lim's set as the 4♣ bricked off on the river to improve Lim to a full house.

Player	Chips	Progress
Chin Wei Lim	1,200,000 565,000	565,000
Matin Talebi	Busted

Tags: Chin Wei Lim Matin Talebi

08-22-2025 16:13 UTC+2

Gadeikis Finds Not One, But Two Aces to Survive

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David Salituro

Level 21 : Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

Darius Gadeikis moved all in for 100,000 from early position and Paul Jurcuta called on the button.

Darius Gadeikis: A♦3♦ All in
Paul Jurcuta: J♠J♥

Gadeikis was looking for an ace to stay alive against Jurcuta's jacks, and he found two of them on the A♣A♥5♥ flop as he made trips. The rest of the board ran out K♣6♥ and Gadeikis doubled up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul Jurcuta	450,000 171,000	171,000
Darius Gadeikis	230,000 47,000	47,000

Tags: Darius Gadeikis Paul Jurcuta