On Sunday, Day 1 survivors joined month-to-month qualifiers, regional winners, and wild playing cards to battle for the 2025 Jap Poker Open $34,000 Championship title. There have been 291 hopefuls on Saturday’s opening flights, and solely 16 of them superior to the finale.
They had been joined by dozens of others, and all advised 90 gamers battled on Day 2. After 12 hours of play, it was 61-year-old Rick Ziegler out of Stoughton, Massachusetts claiming the title and $10,000 first-place prize.
Ziegler, who picked up the sport throughout the “Poker Increase” after Chris Moneymaker’s win (Enjoyable Truth: Ziegler was down in Aruba again in December for the Moneymaker Tour), is an everyday in native charity occasions and within the Jap Poker Tour bar league, which he began taking part in in 2007. He certified for the Jap Poker Tour by taking part in the latter and ending within the prime eight on a month-to-month leaderboard.
An funding techniques analyst and father of two, Ziegler is slated to rejoice his granddaughter’s commencement and to take her on a cruise this summer season earlier than she heads off to varsity. His new five-figure rating will little doubt go a good distance in making it even sweeter!
The $34,000 Championship Closing Desk Outcomes
Amongst these to money however fall in need of the ultimate desk had been Chris Nichol (tenth – $500), Jim Gardner (eleventh – $300), Gerald McKinney (twelfth – $300), Glenda Ricci (thirteenth – $300), Maria Swift (14th – $200), Tom Walsh (fifteenth – $200), and Al Mercier (sixteenth – $100) & John Foley (seventeenth – $100), who busted on the similar time on the bubble and break up the primary payout.
Closing Desk Motion
The ultimate desk proved to be a fast affair, beginning when Shaun White busted with ace-ten to the pocket tens of Ziegler. John Germano, who again in December bested a 396-player subject to win the 2024 Bar Poker Open Florida World Championship for $30K, then misplaced a flip with pocket sixes to the ace-king of Slade Edmonds.
Minutes later, Linda Rodrigues, the final girl within the subject, bowed out when her pocket jacks fell to John Rebollo’s rivered set of fours. The short-stacked Rick Stickles adopted her out the door in fifth place, after which Chris Alex busted after flopping prime pair however with an inferior kicker to Ziegler.
Three-handed play lasted a great bit with gamers taking turns doubling via one another, however finally, Edmonds three-bet jammed with ace-deuce solely to get snapped off by Ziegler’s pocket eights, which held.
After that, it was a brief heads-up battle as Ziegler started with a greater than 2:1 chip lead over Rebollo. In what can be the ultimate hand of the event, Rebollo obtained his stack in after flopping backside pair however couldn’t overcome Ziegler’s center pair.
Congratulations, Rick Ziegler on turning into the 2025 Jap Poker Open champion!
Many gamers from the Jap Poker Open will little doubt head to Las Vegas this summer season for the 2025 Bar Poker Open Vegas World Championship on the Golden Nugget from Sunday, June 8 via Friday, June 13, 2025. PokerNews can even be there to offer stay updates.
Chad Holloway
PR & Media Supervisor
