Hassan Nashar Cracks Aces to Earn Chip Lead After Day 1 of $5,300 High Roller | 2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series
Day 1 of the $5,300 High Roller, featuring a $750,000 guaranteed prize pool, played out today at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino as part of the 2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series. So far, the event has attracted 209 entries, making it the second-largest High Roller ever held at Merit Poker.
After eight 40-minute levels, 121 players managed to bag up chips for Day 2. Leading the way is Hassan Nashar, who closed the night with 680,000 chips. He vaulted up the leaderboard after dragging a big pot with king-high in the penultimate level, then capped off the day with one of his most memorable hands so far.
On the final hand of the night, Nashar got it all in preflop with four-deuce against the aces of Kemal Aslan. Though nearly drawing dead on the flop, Nashar hit runner-runner to make a straight and bust his opponent. Nashar let out a loud “Yes! Yes!” and exchanged a high-five with Boris Smuskevicius as he pulled in the pot and secured his spot at the top of the chip counts.
Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hassan Nashar | Guinea-Bissau | 680,000 | 453 |
| 2 | Ghassan Abou Khalil | Lebanon | 555,500 | 370 |
| 3 | Yusuf Tekin | Turkey | 540,000 | 360 |
| 4 | Amir Hassan | Tunisia | 494,000 | 329 |
| 5 | Jingxuan Zhu | China | 458,500 | 306 |
| 6 | Basel Khabbazeh | United Arab Emirates | 440,000 | 293 |
| 7 | Antoine Hasbani | Lebanon | 425,000 | 283 |
| 8 | Mekan Yusupov | Turkey | 376,500 | 251 |
| 9 | Jose Roman | Spain | 348,500 | 232 |
| 10 | Alexander Sokolovsky | Serbia | 344,500 | 230 |
Lebanon’s Ghassan Abou Khalil ended Day 1 as the closest challenger to Nashar with a stack of 555,500, while Yusuf Tekin of Turkey rounds out the podium positions after bagging 540,000 at the end of the night.
Some other players who amassed big stacks for Day 2 include Basel Khabbazeh (440,000), Antoine Hasbani (425,500), Mekan Yusupov (376,500), Alexander Sokolovsky (344,500), and Joseph Sabe (336,000), who picked up aces and queens in quick succession and eliminated players with both hands. A few more returning to the baize tomorrow include Vedat Yilmaz (307,000) and Merit Poker regular Dmitry Gromov (244,000).
Day 2 resumes at 6 p.m. local time on Friday, August 1, with blinds at 1,000/1,500 and a 1,500 big blind ante. Players may reenter an unlimited number of times until the end of Level 12, giving them more chances to join the growing field. The schedule for Day 2 will be confirmed shortly after play begins.
Remaining $5,300 High Roller Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 1 | Day 2 | 6 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| August 2 | Day 3 | 1 p.m. | 40 minutes |
Be sure to follow PokerNews as Day 2 gets underway to see who continues their run toward one of the biggest prizes of the series.