€500 Main Event | 2025 Winamax Poker Open Aix-les-Bains

09-21-2025 15:07 UTC+1

Eric Viel Eliminated in 11th Place (€10,200)

Richard Hayes

Level 43 : 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante

Amadou Gassama opened to 1,100,000 under the gun, before Eric Viel three-bet jammed to 5,000,000 from the cutoff.

Nassim Rais was in the small blind, and he took quite a bit of time, before reaching for chips and four-betting to 13,250,000, forcing Gassama to get out of the way.

Eric Viel: A♥K♥ All in
Nassim Rais: K♠K♣

Viel had run Big Slick into cowboys in a cooler, and there was no unlikely reversal of fortunes on the 7♣6♣2♥4♠4♣ runout.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nassim Rais	20,350,000 6,300,000	6,300,000
Amadou Gassama	15,100,000 3,100,000	3,100,000
Eric Viel	Busted

Tags: Amadou Gassama Eric Viel Nassim Rais

Level: 43

Blinds: 200,000/400,000

Ante: 400,000

09-21-2025 14:52 UTC+1

Is this the End of Poker in America? Here's Why the Future Looks Bleak | PokerNews Podcast #917

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Richard Hayes

Level 42 : Blinds 150,000/350,000, 350,000 ante

In the 917th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway and Mike Holtz are joined by Ben Ludlow to talk about the latest stories from the poker world, including a discussion on the future of poker following the failure of a provision that would've mitigated the concerning gambling tax implications of the Big Beautiful Bill. Is there still time to turn things around?

The trio then discusses some of Monarch's recent seven-figure heads-up matches, Phil Hellmuth issuing a $1,000,000 challenge, and recent tournament winners from the 888poker LIVE London, including Gang Wang, Aaron Barone, and Vivian Saliba.

Chad then sits down with the winner of PokerNews' World Tournament of Slots (WTOS) giveaway. Find out who will be headed to the Bahamas in October, where they'll have a shot at a million bucks and the opportunity to meet reigning World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi.

Finally, Chad reveals the latest code word for this year's NAPT Gold Pass giveaway valued at $10,000! There are not many up for grabs this year, so you won't want to miss out on this limited opportunity to win one just by listening to the PokerNews Podcast and MSPT Podcast Presented By PokerNews.

A new PokerNews Podcast drops every Thursday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!

Click here to listen to the new PN Podcast!

09-21-2025 14:47 UTC+1

Updated Counts From Feature Table

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Richard Hayes

Level 42 : Blinds 150,000/350,000, 350,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Mirand Murseli	23,025,000 4,525,000	4,525,000
Julien Gadanho	14,975,000 1,025,000	1,025,000
Gus Hansen	14,050,000 3,025,000	3,025,000

Jeremy Cauchard	7,900,000 2,100,000	2,100,000
Tristan Vernay	6,150,000 1,650,000	1,650,000

Alexis Tremblay	5,275,000 75,000	75,000

09-21-2025 14:44 UTC+1

Start Using PokerNews Emojis Today! 😍

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Richard Hayes

Level 42 : Blinds 150,000/350,000, 350,000 ante

PokerNews has been bringing you live reporting from the biggest poker tournaments for almost 20 years, and it's time for our latest addition to the live update product with the launch of PokerNews emojis.

Exciting New Emojis

Ever been scrolling through the PokerNews live updates and thought to yourself "Wow, what a punt!" 🏉

Or been following your favorite player only for them to bust? 💔

Or had to deal with an egregiously long Christoph Vogelsang tank? 🐢

Well, now you can show exactly how you're feeling with the launch of 24 bespoke reaction emojis which are available to be used on every single post in our live reporting.

These allow readers to react to individual hands, conveying emotions, reactions and expressions that were previously confined to Twitter threads, text messages or WhatsApp groups.

From classic Thumbs Up and Heart to poker-specific Fish and Money Bag emojis, we've worked hard to find the ideal selection for you to use while enjoying our updates.

Find More Information Here

09-21-2025 14:38 UTC+1

Break Time

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Richard Hayes

Level 42 : Blinds 150,000/350,000, 350,000 ante

The players have been sent on a 15-minute break.

09-21-2025 14:37 UTC+1

Gassama Spikes River to Secure Huge Double-Up

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Richard Hayes

Level 42 : Blinds 150,000/350,000, 350,000 ante

Nassim Rais opened to 700,000, and received a call from Nino Bellenger in the small blind, before Amadou Gassama three-bet jammed for 8,475,000 from the big blind.

Rais quickly folded, but Bellenger asked for a count, and made the call.

Amadou Gassama: A♥K♦ All in
Nino Bellenger: Q♠Q♣

Bellenger had laid the trap by flatting queens in the small blind, and it was a flip in the classic race.

A huge pot looked to be heading to Bellenger after the J♥8♥6♦ flop and 9♥ turn, but the 2♥ hit on the river to give Gassama the one-card nut flush, and a huge double, doing severe damage to Bellenger in the process.

Player	Chips	Progress
Amadou Gassama	18,200,000 11,000,000	11,000,000
Nassim Rais	14,050,000 1,200,000	1,200,000
Nino Bellenger	2,950,000 8,750,000	8,750,000

Tags: Amadou Gassama Nino Bellenger Nassim Rais

09-21-2025 14:27 UTC+1

Gassama Good at Showdown

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Richard Hayes

Level 42 : Blinds 150,000/350,000, 350,000 ante

Nino Bellenger opened to 700,000 from the button and Amadou Gassama defended the big blind.

Gassama check-called versus a bet of 500,000 from Bellenger on the A♦7♣5♣ flop.

That was the end of action in the hand, as the 7♠8♠ turn and river were checked through, Gassama taking the pot with J♣5♠ for two pair, sevens and fives.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nino Bellenger	11,700,000 400,000	400,000
Amadou Gassama	7,200,000 6,810,000	6,810,000

Tags: Amadou Gassama Nino Bellenger

09-21-2025 14:05 UTC+1

Become a Bigger Part of the Action With MyStack by PokerNews

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Richard Hayes

Level 42 : Blinds 150,000/350,000, 350,000 ante

Have you heard about MyStack by PokerNews? It is a free-to-use tool built into the PokerNews website that puts you in control of your chip counts on our live reporting pages. MyStack directly connects you to PokerNews' live reporting pages, making you an even bigger part of the action in the events you play.

MyStack is a free poker tool and PokerNews activates MyStack for every event it is live reporting from, regardless of that tournament's buy-in. Once you have created a free PokerNews account, you can use MyStack to update your chip counts in real time; hopefully, your stack will continue increasing throughout the event!

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09-21-2025 13:59 UTC+1

Full Counts at Two Table Redraw (full)

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Richard Hayes

Level 42 : Blinds 150,000/350,000, 350,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Mirand Murseli	18,500,000 5,250,000	5,250,000
Adrien Burgniard	17,875,000 175,000	175,000
Julien Gadanho	16,000,000 1,100,000	1,100,000
Nassim Rais	14,825,000 425,000	425,000
Eric Viel	12,225,000 3,850,000	3,850,000
Nino Bellenger	12,100,000 3,900,000	3,900,000
Gus Hansen	11,025,000 4,825,000	4,825,000

Jeremy Cauchard	10,000,000 4,000,000	4,000,000
Tristan Vernay	7,800,000 6,400,000	6,400,000

Alexis Tremblay	5,200,000 600,000	600,000
Amadou Gassama	390,000 5,560,000	5,560,000