$5,300 High Roller | 2025 Merit Poker Western Series

1 hour 31 minutes ago

Hellmuth’s New Sponsorship & Ausmus Dominates PGT | PokerNews Podcast #874

Chad Holloway

In the 874th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Kyna England, and Mike Holtz talk about Phil Hellmuth's new poker sponsorship with Bet Rivers. That means he joins a team that includes another Phil in Phil Galfond.

They then look at some in the poker world impacted by the fires in Los Angeles, an 11-way chop in a massive event at Minnesota's Canterbury Park, and how "Crazy" Carl Carodenuto got the best of it. Other stories covered include Jeremy Ausmus winning both the 2024 PokerGO Tour Player of the Year and the $1,000,000 PGT Championship, Shannon Shorr and Martin Zamani claiming PGT Last Chance titles, and Vanessa Rousso making a rare appearance in the poker world.

Chad then sits down for a one-on-one talk with Joris Dekker, the creator of a new, high-end luxury coffee-table book — The Las Vegas Book — that has captured the history and elegance of Sin City. Find out how it came to be, what it took to bring it to life, and some fun stories along the way.

Finally, it's your final opportunity to win your way to Las Vegas as part of the "Vegas Vacation Sweepstakes" being held by the WSOP Free-to-Play App.

The podcast is sponsored by the #1 free-to-play WSOP app. Remember to use bonus code "POKERNEWS" if you download and play for an extra 1,000,000 in chips!

A new PokerNews Podcast will drop weekly every Friday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to so you do not miss an episode!

Listen to the New PokerNews Podcast Here!

4 hours 12 minutes ago

Poker Players Saddle Up for the $5,300 High Roller Kicking Off at 8 p.m.

Tim Baker

The 2025 Merit Poker Western Series has ridden back into town at the luxurious Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, bringing with it one of its marquee events, the $5,300 High Roller. Set to kick off at 8:00 p.m. local time, this high-stakes showdown boasts a guaranteed prizepool of $500,000 and promises to deliver thrills worthy of the Wild West.

This year’s High Roller follows a similar structure to the 2024 edition, where Maksim Shornikau emerged as the last cowboy standing. The Belarusian bested a field of 153 players, pocketing $177,500 after a heads-up duel with Shuang Luo of China. With a posse of breakout stars and seasoned sharpshooters expected to saddle up this year, this looks to be another unforgettable event.

2024 Western Series $5,300 High Roller Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Maksim Shornikau	Belarus	$177,500
2	Shuang Luo	China	$125,100
3	Aleksandar Tot	Montenegro	$81,500
4	Aleksandr Kirichenko	Russia	$58,500
5	Anatoly Nikitin	Russia	$43,800
6	Bogdan Munteanu	Romania	$35,100
7	Tarmo Tammel	Estonia	$29,200
8	Guoliang Wei	China	$23,400
9	Maher Achour	Tunisia	$17,500

Players kicking off Day 1 of this four-day rodeo will start with a stack of 100,000 chips and play through eight 40-minute blind levels. The blinds will begin at 200/400 with a big blind ante of 400. Late registration and unlimited reentries will remain open until the end of Level 12 on Day 2.

With many of the region's top poker gunslingers already spotted in the Warm Up field and a treasure chest of $500,000 up for grabs, this High Roller promises to be a showdown for the ages.