The return of PokerStars-branded live festivals in North America continued with the first-ever PokerStars Open Maryland festival. The weeklong event culminated in an $1,100 main event, and after five days of poker, Charles Furey emerged as the inaugural champion.
Across five starting flights, 599 entrants filed into Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland for the PokerStars Open Maryland main event. On Sunday, Furey, who hails from Bridgewater, New Jersey, captured a first-place prize of $111,976. It’s a career-best result, and Furey’s first six-figure live cash. His previous top score came back at the 2009 World Series of Poker, where he placed fifth in a $1,500 six-max no-limit hold’em event.
Along with his first-place payout, Furey also earned 840 Card Player Player of the Year points for his victory. Fifth-place finisher Frankie Zeta, who won a $2,200 Mid-Atlantic Poker Open for $145,706 back in February, eclipsed 1,400 POY points in the yearlong race presented by CoinPoker with his result.
Furey’s Path To Victory
Furey started the final table in second chip position, but was bunched up with several other players. As Melanie Hennigan surged into the chip lead, Furey bided his time and picked his spots. Furey dragged up a key pot in eliminating Zeta, winning a coin flip with A♦Q♦ against Zeta’s pocket tens.
That was the only elimination Furey had at the final table prior to heads-up play. Hennigan held a chip lead of more than 2:1 as their match for the title began. But after Furey chipped his way back up a bit, he managed to win the most crucial pot. Hennigan limped the button and then shoved over Furey’s raise with K♦9♦. Furey called with A♣Q♣ to put almost all of the chips in play on the line. The board ran out clean, Furey won the pot, and the tournament was over after one more hand.
This was the second PokerStars Open event in North America in 2025, following an April festival in Philadelphia. The online operator’s next live offering will be the NAPT Las Vegas, which runs from Nov. 3-12 at Resorts World Las Vegas.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Charles Furey | $111,976 | 840 |
| 2 | Melanie Hennigan | $70,014 | 700 |
| 3 | Arthur Zabronsky | $50,032 | 560 |
| 4 | Paul Lilly | $38,505 | 420 |
| 5 | Frankie Zeta | $29,638 | 350 |
| 6 | Torsten Boker | $22,817 | 280 |
| 7 | Samuel Press | $17,564 | 210 |
| 8 | Andy Bartalone | $13,526 | 140 |
| 9 | Daniel Lim | $10,418 | 70 |
Photo credit: Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd. / Rachel Kay Winter
