888poker's Aaron Barone Has the Last Laugh After Deep Main Event Run

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Jul 11, 2025 2 min read

888poker ambassador Aaron Barone has spent much of his career grinding online, but this summer he stepped away from the virtual felt and made a splash at the 2025 World Series of Poker.

Barone was all smiles throughout his Main Event run, ultimately finishing in 326th place on Day 5 for $45,000, by far his largest live score to date. That brings his total live earnings to $59,065 according to The Hendon Mob and means it might be time for a wardrobe update.

Barone's Hendon Mob Statement Piece

Coming into the summer, Barone had just $8,162 in recorded live earnings, a figure that became the subject of ridicule from none other than Allen Kessler. Rather than shy away from the joke, Barone leaned into it, sporting a custom t-shirt throughout the series with Hendon Mob tally boldly printed across the chest.

"I was proud to wear the shirt even before I cashed this thing," Barone said during a PokerNews interview before his elimination. "I'm really anti-Hendon Mob shaming... The last thing we want to do is push out recreational players or those who don’t have high win rates. Ridiculing them publicly seems like the exact opposite of what we should be doing."

“I can actually pay for the bread at restaurants now, unlike other people,” he joked.

Time for a New Shirt?

Barone was clearly savoring every moment of his first serious WSOP grind. “It’s been amazing,” he said. “Having chips in the Main is such a cool feeling, waking up each day and still being in. Yesterday was high pressure because I had a big stack on the bubble, but today was really carefree.”

Even after entering Day 5 as one of the shorter stacks, Barone wasn’t stressing. “I'm just grateful to be here. I already got a pay jump, so now I can afford to rebook my flight.”

Barone picked up a few smaller cashes before the Main, bringing his summer total to just over $50K. With $59,065 in lifetime earnings now officially on the board, it might be time for a new t-shirt. Maybe next year’s version will come with commas, and a little more glitter.

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

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