Jen Shahade punched her ticket to Day 5 of the NAPT Las Vegas Main Event on Monday, joining a field led by Thomas Boivin in a battle for the top prize of $653,050.
It was another quick day at Resorts World in Las Vegas, where the final 40 returned and played down to two tables in just over three 90-minute levels. They'll come back on Tuesday to work it to the final six players for Wednesday's finale.
Boivin on a heater
Boivin leads the final 16 players after Day 3 chip leader Kai Nicholls bit the dust in 17th place to end the evening. Nicholls was the last in a long line of Day 4 hopefuls who hit the bricks, most notably Jesse Lonis in 38th place. Lonis bagged one of the bigger stacks on Day 3 but early trouble led to a premature exit in the opening stages of the day. He's joined in the payout line by Matthew Salsburg, Jeremy Ausmus, Shannon Shorr, Ryan Riess, Toby Lewis, and recent WSOPC Lake Tahoe champ Evan Sandberg.
A wide-eyed Thomas Boivin has won a lot of money this week. What is left is a Sweet Sixteen field with 12 Americans and three WSOP bracelet winners. Among them is Jesse Yaginuma, who may never be allowed to win one again. He bagged a top ten stack with 820K chips returning to the 10K/20K/20K blind level on Day 5.
Career-best in reach for Shahade
Boivin, who already has a runner-up finish at this year's NAPT for $334K, is followed by Richard Green, Baurzhan Akimov, and Ekrem Bozkirt at the top. Gal Yifrach and Katherine Porrello also find themselves ahead of Yaginuma, who rounds out the top ten.
Meanwhile, PokerStars Ambassador and PokerOrg Player Advisory Board member Shahade returns with 550K chips, good for 27.5 big blinds. She's 13 of 16, but the deep field will have room to maneuver during Tuesday's penultimate session. Shahade's previous best finish was a $122K prize for first place in an Open Face Chinese Pineapple tournament in Prague in 2014. Her previous best PokerStars finish was a run to 31st in the 2014 PCA Main Event in The Bahamas. She has one PokerStars Spade, a win in the Main Event at the Womens Summer Festival this past summer.
2025 NAPT Las Vegas Main Event remaining payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $653,050 |
| 2 | $408,550 |
| 3 | $291,800 |
| 4 | $224,450 |
| 5 | $172,650 |
| 6 | $132,850 |
| 7 | $102,200 |
| 8 | $78,600 |
| 9 | $60,450 |
Returning players are back at 12pm local time on Tuesday and they are all guaranteed at least $29,350. The next pay jump to $33,750 lurks after one elimination. Shahade will need the sixth-place prize of $132,850 to post a new high score.
Images courtesy of Rachel Kay Miller/Rational Intellectual Holdings, Ltd.
