It was another quick day on the felt for the players in the $5,300 Main Event at the 2025 PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) being held at Resorts World Las Vegas. Just over three full levels were played on Day 4 before play was halted with just 16 players still vying for a spot at the final table. One of those players will be hoisting the trophy along with the top prize of $653,050 in a couple of days.
After another impressive showing in what little time was spent playing poker today, Thomas Boivin will head into the final stages of the tournament as the overall chip leader. Boivin entered the day near the top of the leaderboard but quickly emerged as the clear favorite after bagging up a stack of 3,365,000. With over $13 million in career earnings and multiple six and seven-figure scores, the Belgian poker pro has the most experience among the remaining participants.
Following in his footsteps is Richard Green, who has also burst onto the poker scene in recent years with endless results totalling over $1,000,000. A big run here in this event would mark Green's largest live poker win in terms of dollar value and prestige. Throughout the day, Green found himself involved in many significant pots en route to bagging up a stack of 2,800,000.
Rounding out the podium is Baurzhan Akimov with a stack of 2,595,000, also good for over 100 big blinds. Akimov accumulated the majority of his chips in an interesting spot against Jesse Lonis in the opening level of the day. Both players entered the day with big stacks, but a five-bet pot with queen-ten is what Akimov used to dispatch the ace-king of Lonis and boost his stack.
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 4 of the NAPT Main Event
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Boivin | Belgium | 3,365,000 | 168 |
| 2 | Richard Green | United States | 2,800,000 | 140 |
| 3 | Baurzhan Akimov | Kazakhstan | 2,595,000 | 130 |
| 4 | Ekrem Bozkurt | United States | 2,375,000 | 119 |
| 5 | Michael Berk | United States | 1,785,000 | 89 |
| 6 | Abdullah Akbarpoor | Turkey | 1,750,000 | 88 |
| 7 | Peter Mugar | United States | 1,625,000 | 81 |
| 8 | Gal Yifrach | United States | 900,000 | 45 |
| 9 | Katherine Porrello | United States | 845,000 | 42 |
| 10 | Jesse Yaginuma | United States | 820,000 | 41 |
There were just 40 players who returned to their seats for Day 4 with around 45 minutes remaining in level 19. There was no shortage of action in the early going as many players fell by the wayside and were forced to the payout desk earlier than they hoped. Joining Lonis in the payout line were Matthew Salsberg, Jeremy Ausmus, Shannon Shorr, and Mike Vanier all before the first break of the day. They were followed by the likes of Ryan Riess, Toby Lewis, and the elimination of Kai Nicholls brought an end to the day.
Albeit a short stack, PokerStars team pro and grandmaster chess player, Jen Shahade, is still fighting her way through the field with hopes of becoming a Main Event champion. Shahade had a quiet but up-and-down day at the felt, finishing with a stack of 555,000 chips. Other players to keep an eye as the action unfolds over the coming days include Michael Berk (1,785,000), Gal Yifrach (900,000), and Jesse Yaginuma (820,000), who have all had plenty of success in their poker careers.
The cards are scheduled to go back in the air at 12 p.m. local time tomorrow with around 31 minutes remaining in level 22. The players will return to blinds of 10,000/20,000 and a 20,000 big blind ante. The levels will remain at 90 minutes in length with a 15-minute break after each level. The tentative schedule for tomorrow is to play down to the final six players who will return to fight it out on the final day of this event.
Each of the remaining 16 players has already locked up at least $29,350 thus far but the remaining pay jumps start to become more impactful as the tournament goes on. The PokerNews live reporting team will be here throughout all of it to bring you all of the updates and storylines as the action unfolds.
