Josh Arieh Goes Close as Foxen Closes Out PGT PLO Event #7 for $315,000
The seventh event of the PokerGO Tour PLO Series saw PokerStake player Josh Arieh come close to victory after threatening a cage fight in Las Vegas… well, kind of. A thrilling seventh event of the PGT PLO Series saw Arieh fall just short of glory as Alex Foxen ended an 803-day hoodoo inside the PokerGO Studio at ARIA in Las Vegas.
Arieh Chases the Leaders
As 70 entrants competed for a $1.05 million prizepool, only 10 of them would be paid. On the opening day of battle in the $15,000-entry event, it was the British player Richard Gryko who was the last player to miss out on profit. Gryko lost his last to the previous ‘bubble boy’ Arthur Morris as the American prevailed this time, pocket kings eventually making top set across a board that missed Gryko’s draws.
Ben Tollerene cashed for $31,500 in 10th place when he lost to Alex Foxen, and Josh Arieh was next to wield the axe. Dispatching a player he regards highly, Nick Schulman, the PokerStake player put himself in a fantastic position to make the final table. Sure enough, after the exits of Bryce Yockey (8th for $42,000), Arthur Morris (7th for $42,000) and Nacho Barbero (pictured below, 6th for $57,750), the final five were confirmed and Arieh sat fourth in chips.
“Good luck to me and the 30 people on PokerStake that have a piece of me in Event #7 PLO – I made [the] five-handed final table on bullet 1.”
“Yes sir! Got my piece!” said Josh’s fellow PokerStake seller Jeremy Hamey, who we spoke to in November about his passion for the game and backing his own poker heroes.
Upon arrival on the final day, Josh was on his own as he sat down to play. It didn’t last for long, however, as chip leader Alex Foxen (2.56m) led Sean Rafael (1.99m), Jesse Lonis (1.69m) and Artem Maksimov (925,000) joined Josh in action, with the Atlanta, Georgia PokerStake player on 1.57m chips.
Rafael Busted After Levelling War
The opening exchanges of the final saw Josh straight into the action against the passionate PLO player Artem Maksimov. The latter doubled through Josh to leave the PokerStake player as the short stack before the favor was returned in the next all-in showdown. With the stacks levelling up behind Alex Foxen, Sean Rafael took a shot with pocket kings in his four-card hand, only to run into Jesse Lonis’ pocket aces. The rockets belonging to Lonis made top set on the river to send Rafael home with $78,750.
Josh then doubled through Maksimov before beating Alex Foxen with trip sixes on the turn proving good enough for him to snatch the lead with four players remaining. It was the unfortunate Maksimov who busted next, as his queens in the hole were no good against Lonis’ threes, which met with another three to ‘set’ up three-handed play as Maksimov was sent home with a cash of $105,000.
Holding the chip lead, Josh battled for supremacy against Lonis and Foxen for a long time, and eventually, a big double through his stack catapulted Alex Foxen back into contention as he took the lead, pocket kings holding to give Foxen the advantage. Josh had gone from chip leader to short stack and needed a lot of help to get back in the fight.
Foxen Outfoxes the Competition to End Drought
Josh made a move soon after and he had the best hand when he did so, but lady luck abandoned him at the pivotal moment. On a flop of 
, Arieh shoved with a queen in his hand. Lonis snapped it off with pocket tens and a flush draw, however, and a 
on the turn gave Lonis a set but made Broadway for Josh, keeping him ahead. Lonis has 17 outs to shoot for as he bid to eliminate Josh… and one of them came, as a five paired the board, giving Lonis a full house.
Cashing for $141,750 in third place, it was a massive profit of 11 times his buy-in for ‘one bullet Josh’, and all of his backers on PokerStake, too! Lonis still had a lot of work to do, however, going into the final battle with 2.1 million chips to Foxen’s 6.65m and soon, that summit proved too steep to conquer.
On a flop of 
, Foxen was all-in with 
and was called by Lonis with the superior 
. Foxen, however, had 14 outs to turn and river and immediately hit one of the turn, spiking the 
to hit the flush, and while Lonis had 10 redrawing outs, the 
wasn’t one of them.
After 803 days, Alex Foxen won his first trophy in over two years inside the PokerGO Studio, and celebrated accordingly, as he also took the lead in the overall PGT PLO Series Championship.
| PokerGO Tour PLO Series $15,100 Event #7 Final Table Results: | |||
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Alex Foxen | United States | $315,000 |
| 2nd | Jesse Lonis | United States | $204,750 |
| 3rd | Josh Arieh | United States | $141,750 |
| 4th | Artem Maksimov | United States | $105,000 |
| 5th | Sean Rafael | United States | $78,750 |
Photographs by PokerGO. Stay tuned to PokerGO and watch the thrilling conclusion of the 2025 PGT PLO Series.