2025 Mediterranean Poker Party
Level: 11
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 12,000
In the 889th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Kyna England talk about the recent drama involving, you guessed it, Maurice Hawkins and Denise Pratt. The latter claims to be owed $11,200 after backing the former, and things boiled over when she confronted him at the payout desk at the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Tunica stop.
What's more, the crew reacts to an interview Hawkins gave on his own podcast, him agreeing to come on the PokerNews Podcast before not responding, and then goes one-on-one with Denise Pratt to hear her side of the story.
Mike then shares his experience as the last guest on the final episode of the Only Friends Podcast (they were kind enough to gift a piece of their set to the PokerNews Podcast set), Kyna joins Team Hotdog at the LIPS Spring Festival, and Chad headed up to the NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Oh, and Connor was busy at PokerGO Studio interviewing Jennifer Tilly, Mike Matusow, and comedian Ray Romano during the One Step Closer Foundation's "All in for CP" charity event.
Other stories include Pennsylvania online poker joining the MSIGA merged player pool, Mori Eskandani interviewing PA Governor Josh Shapiro, and Robbie Strazynski & others voicing concern over YouTube's algorithm crackdown on poker content. Check out all those stories and more on the latest episode of the PokerNews Podcast!
A new PokerNews Podcast will drop weekly every Thursday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!
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Yuhang Chen and Elie Farah just got all of their chips into the middle preflop with Farah being the one at risk.
Elie Farah: J♥J♦
Yuhang Chen: 10♥10♦
Chen only had a few more chips than Farah, so he would be left with just a few big blinds if he couldn't find a ten on the runout. The dealer put out a board of2♠A♥3♠K♠5♦ to keep Farah's pocket jacks ahead the entire way, and he doubled up.
Asaf Groofi had raised preflop before he called Anatoly Korochenskiy's three-bet to 81,000.
Groofi then checked the 10♠10♦2♥ flop to Korochenskiy, who promptly shoved in his stack of 301,000. Groofi spent some time in the tank before he tossed in a call with the covering stack.
Anatoly Korochenskiy: A♦Q♦
Asaf Groofi: 4♠4♥
Groofi had made the right call with his pocket pair, as Korochenskiy was on ace-high. Neither the 8♥ turn nor the 6♥ river improved Korochenskiy's hand, sending him to the rail.
Maksim Skripkin was all-in for his stack of 250,000 with the cutoff player calling to try and bust him.
Maksim Skripkin: Q♦Q♣
Cutoff Player: A♦K♠
It was a huge flip for over 500,000 chips. The flop fell K♥K♦6♥ to give Skripkin's opponent a commanding lead with trip kings. The 3♠ on the turn meant only a queen on the river could save Skripkin. However, the J♦ landed on the river and Skripkin was out.
A player under the gun moved all in for roughly 25,000 and Alfaia called from the hijack to put him at risk.
Under-The-Gun Player: J♥8♦
Antonio Alfaia: A♠10♥
The under-the-gun player needed a favorable runout from the dealer or he would be headed to the rail. The flop came down 9♥9♣5♣, which didn't change anything., The rest of the board ran out 5♥4♣ and Alfaia won the pot, sending his opponent home.
Level: 10
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 10,000
With the pot amounting to 90,000, Traian Stanciu sat in the big blind and check-called the cutoff's bet of 70,000 on a 8♥J♠Q♣4♠ turn.
The river fell the 2♦, on which Stanciu checked again. His opponent tossed in one time bank before following suit. Stanciu tabled Q♦2♣ for two pair, winning the pot when the cutoff sent his cards into the muck.