$1,700 Main Event Day 1b | 2025 RGPS Grand Prix Maryland

10-31-2025 16:45 UTC-4

"I'm the Best"; Al-Keliddar Survives a Three-Way Flip

David Salituro

Level 8 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Yaser Al-Keliddar moved all in for 13,600 in the hijack and Hamid Izadi called in the small blind. Christopher Caruso then reshoved in the big blind, and Izadi called for 50,000.

Yaser Al-Keliddar: A♣K♠ All in
Hamid Izadi: Q♠Q♦ All in
Christopher Caruso: J♣J♥

"Can you write down that I hope I win?" Al-Keliddar said as they headed to the flop, which came K♥4♦8♦ to give him the lead with top pair. The rest of the board ran out 6♦10♠ and Al-Keliddar tripled up, while Izadi took the side pot off Caruso.

"Yes! I'm the best. It's the only way I can beat these guys," Al-Keliddar yelled out.

"Mention that I used to be a stand-up comedian. Opened for Screech," Al-Keliddar added.

Player	Chips	Progress
Hamid Izadi	90,000 90,000	90,000

Christopher Caruso	80,000 20,000	20,000
Yaser Al-Keliddar	45,000 45,000	45,000

Tags: Christopher Caruso Hamid Izadi Yaser Al-Keliddar

10-31-2025 16:38 UTC-4

Furey Leaves Guyy on Fumes

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David Salituro

Level 8 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Heads-up on a flop of 4♥8♥4♣, Charles Furey bet 12,300 from the small blind and Thies Guyy called on the button.

Furey bet another 15,200 on the 10♣ turn and Guyy again called. The river was the J♣ and Furey bet 15,000.

Guyy only had one 5,000 chip behind and quickly folded his hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Charles Furey	180,000 30,000	30,000
Thies Guyy	5,000 65,000	65,000

Tags: Charles Furey Thies Guyy

10-31-2025 16:31 UTC-4

Purohit Holds On to Double Off Lanning

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David Salituro

Level 8 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Dinesh Purohit raised to 12,000 under the gun and Joel Lanning called in the cutoff, turning over K♠Q♣ before Purohit pointed out he still had 1,000 behind. Purohit then put in his last chip on the J♣10♠7♦ flop and Lanning called.

Dinesh Purohit: A♠5♣ All in
Joel Lanning: K♠Q♣

Lanning had a straight draw as he looked to send Purohit to the rail, but Purohit's ace held on through the 8♣ turn and 7♠ river to earn him a double up.

"Make sure you note down that he cheated during the hand," the dealer joked after the hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Joel Lanning	100,000 10,000	10,000
Dinesh Purohit	30,000 10,000	10,000

Tags: Dinesh Purohit Joel Lanning

Level: 8

Blinds: 600/1,200

Ante: 1,200

10-31-2025 16:24 UTC-4

Furey Comes From Behind For a Knockout

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David Salituro

Level 7 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

A player in middle position moved all in for 8,800 and Charles Furey reraised to 20,000 in the hijack, chasing away the rest of the table.

All-in player: A♣K♠ All in
Charles Furey: A♥J♣

"You're ahead," Furey said to his opponent even before turning over his cards. The flop came Q♥3♦6♠, but Furey caught the J♥ on the turn to take the lead. The river was the 5♣ and Furey scored the knockout.

Player	Chips	Progress
Charles Furey	150,000 20,000	20,000

Tags: Charles Furey

10-31-2025 16:10 UTC-4

Caruso Calls With Fourth Pair

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David Salituro

Level 7 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Heads-up on a flop of 9♦2♥5♠, the cutoff bet 3,000 and Christopher Caruso called under the gun.

Both players checked the 4♣ turn before the cutoff bet another 6,000 on the A♦ river. Caruso called and his opponent showed K♣J♥ for just king-high, while Caruso had 6♥4♦ for a pair of fours to win the pot.

Dinesh Purohit busted after taking the big hit against Zach Kates but quickly reentered.

Player	Chips	Progress
Christopher Caruso	100,000 35,000	35,000
Dinesh Purohit	40,000 60,000	60,000

Tags: Christopher Caruso

10-31-2025 16:04 UTC-4

Putinas Shoves on Richer

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David Salituro

Level 7 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Michael Richer raised to 4,500 on the button and Gintautas Putinas called in the big blind.

The flop came 6♣10♥A♥ and Richer bet 3,000. Putinas then raised to 8,500, and Richer called.

The turn was the 3♣ and Putinas moved all in, having Richer's remaining 55,000 covered. Richer tanked for a few minutes but eventually gave up his hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Gintautas Putinas	85,000 35,000	35,000
Michael Richer	55,000

Tags: Gintautas Putinas Michael Richer

10-31-2025 15:57 UTC-4

Castaldo Left Frustrated by Miravi's Turn Shove

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David Salituro

Level 7 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Mark Castaldo raised to 2,200 in the hijack and Michael Miravi put in 3,200 in the cutoff. The floor had to be called over, and it was ruled that Miravi did not put in enough for a legal raise and he had to just call Castaldo's bet. The button and Thies Guyy in the small blind also came along.

Castaldo bet 5,000 on the 4♠5♦2♦ flop and Miravi and the button called. The turn was the K♦ and Castaldo checked to Miravi who moved all in.

The button quickly folded, and Castaldo threw his cards across the table in frustration. "The four-bet was incoming," he said, questioning the ruling over Miravi's preflop action.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Miravi	70,000
Mark Castaldo	30,000 15,000	15,000

Tags: Mark Castaldo Michael Miravi

10-31-2025 15:50 UTC-4

Updated Chip Counts

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David Salituro

Level 7 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Robert Fikac	140,000
Charles Furey	130,000
Joel Lanning	110,000 10,000	10,000
Thies Guyy	70,000 15,000	15,000
Christopher Caruso	65,000 5,000	5,000
Michael Richer	55,000 5,000	5,000
Gintautas Putinas	50,000 5,000	5,000
Mark Castaldo	45,000 10,000	10,000
Russ Dunlevy	40,000 40,000	40,000
Alvin Anton	35,000 35,000	35,000
Stephani Czap	25,000 5,000	5,000

10-31-2025 15:46 UTC-4

Charles Furey Aiming to Go Back-to-Back at the RGPS Grand Prix Maryland Main Event

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David Salituro

Level 7 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Charles Furey has poker cashes going back more than two decades, but he crossed off one important item on his career checklist just a few days ago.

Furey won the PokerStars Open Maryland Main Event earlier this week, earning a career-best score of $111,976 for conquering the 599-entry field. He’s back in action here at the MGM National Harbor chasing his second big title.

“It was exciting. My first six-figure cash, so it was good,” Furey said. “It’s sunk it. It’s definitely sunk in. I’m hoping to win this one. Back to back would be nice.”

Furey’s journey to a RunGood Poker Series ring hit a slight obstacle when Dinesh Purohit picked off his big bluff, forcing Furey to fire a second bullet. But since then, Furey has gone on a tear through his table and has built up a stack of around 130,000 at the second break.

“This is my second bullet so far, so I’m not happy about that. I won with only one bullet in Maryland, so I didn’t have to rebuy, but I had to today. I bluffed off all my chips earlier, but it’s okay. I have a lot of chips, so I’m ready to go,” he said.

Tags: Charles Furey