Entrepreneur Steven Spunt Wins WSOP Circuit Bike Main Event for $174,055
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The World Series of Poker Circuit wrapped up its latest stop on Wednesday night with the completion of the WSOPC Bicycle Casino $1,700 Main Event. That tournament drew 547 runners and saw 58-year-old Southern California entrepreneur Steven Spunt prevail to win $174,055, his first gold ring, and a seat into the 2019 Global Casino Championship.
"I really enjoy the game. Part of my retirement plan is to play more just because I like it."
��I play these for fun and I realized that most of the time, I��m just not going to be happy. Except now. Now, I��m very happy,�� said Spunt, who also has a closed-event ring from a 2016 Seniors win at Bally��s. ��I had a real good run to start. I had a bad beat, but then I had a real big run. I chipped up really well. I had limited experience heads-up. He��s a tough player, so I needed some luck and I got some luck.��
He continued: ��I play for fun. I really enjoy the game. Part of my retirement plan is to play more just because I like it. It��s something to do. Hopefully, I��ll semi-retire and play a lot more tournaments.��
WSOPC Bicycle Casino Main Event Final Table Results
| Position | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Spunt | Trabuco Canyon, CA | $174,055 |
| 2 | David Lambard | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | $107,640 |
| 3 | Steven Forman | Del Mar, CA | $78,710 |
| 4 | Jason Bral | Carefree, AZ | $58,405 |
| 5 | Marcos Exterkotter | Pora Alegre, Brazil | $43,495 |
| 6 | Craig Varnell | Fort Collins, CO | $33,520 |
| 7 | Vincent Moscati | Verplanck, NY | $25,920 |
| 8 | Ian Steinman | Mountain View | CA |
| 9 | Jorge Leiva | Chino Hills, CA | $16,145 |
WSOPC Bicycle Casino Main Event Final Table Action
Others to cash in the Main event were MSPT champ Angelina Rich (14th - $10,590), Phil Laak (25th - $5,305), Ankush Mandavia (29th - $4,600), Michael Pearson (47th - $2,940), and Brian Snell (61st - $2,710).
According to updates from the event, Spunt didn��t notch his first final table knockout until down to four players. That is when he called Jason Bral��s three-bet jam. Spunt had eight-seven and was flipping against pocket fours. An eight on the river spelled doom for Bral, who earned $58,405 for his fourth-place finish.
David Lambard then finished off Steven Forman in third place to set up the heads-up match. Not long into it, Spunt doubled big into the chip lead after getting it in with middle pair and a gutshot against top pair. Spunt hit the straight and pulled out to a commanding lead.
In what would be the final hand of the tournament, Lambard shoved holding the K?K? and Spunt called with the A?9?. The 7?6?9? flop gave Spunt a flush draw, and he hit it when the dealer burned and turned the J?. The meaningless 10? was run out on the river and Lambard had to settle for second place and $107,640 in prize money.
Other WSOPC Bike Winners
The other player to win a seat into the 2019 Global Casino Championship was Peter Hengsakul, who failed to win a ring but had an outstanding series nonetheless thanks to a pair of scores. First, he finished runner-up in Event #10: $600 NLH for $22,525, and followed that up with another second-place finish in Event #13: $250 NLH One-Day for $9,955.
In the stop��s opening event, 36-year-old poker pro Chris DeMaci topped a field of 539 entries to win a $38,215 top prize and his first gold ring.
��It feels great. You accomplish the goal. There��s nothing left to do."
��I��ve won a few online, but the live wins kind of eluded me,�� DeMaci said. ��It feels great. You accomplish the goal. There��s nothing left to do. You won the prize and that��s a great feeling. Even when you cash for a lot of money, you kind of still feel like you fell short.��
Another big winner was Sean Yu, who won Event #6: $400 HORSE for $9,600 and his fifth Circuit ring. Not only that, it marked his first non-hold��em victory.
��This is my first title at the Bike,�� said Yu, who was last year��s Global Casino Champion. ��I��ve had a lot of second and third-place finishes, but never could close it out. It��s kind of special because it��s a HORSE ring too.��
He continued: ��When I started playing poker in high school, back then in the ��90s, it was all five-card draw. In the early ��90s, no-limit wasn��t even around. Amongst friends we would just play five-card draw. Then I started playing HORSE tournaments four or five years ago and I used to play stud back in the days when it was popular.��
WSOPC Bike Ring Winners
| event | Winner | entries | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack | Chris DeMaci | 539 | $38,215 |
| Event #2: $250 No-Limit Hold'em Single-Day | Jonathan Sherfy | 458 | $19,675 |
| Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo | Shane Martin | 117 | $11,585 |
| Event #4: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack | Robert Natividad | 1,050 | $84,445 |
| Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold'em | Brian Snell | 91 | $9,010 |
| Event #6: $400 HORSE | Sean Yu | 97 | $9,600 |
| Event #7: $400 No-Limit Hold'em | Sohale Khalili | 113 | $11,180 |
| Event #8: $400 Omaha Hi-Lo | Frankie O'Dell | 90 | $9,505 |
| Event #9: $1,125 No-Limit Hold'em | Nancy Matson | 159 | $42,940 |
| Event #10: $600 No-Limit Hold'em | Harry Arutyunyan | 301 | $36,420 |
| Event #11: $1,700 Main Event | Steven Spunt | 547 | $174,055 |
| Event #12: $2,200 High Roller | Aaron Messmer | 90 | $57,600 |
| Event #13: $250 No-Limit Hold'em Single-Day | Leslie Scearcy | 350 | $16,090 |
The next WSOPC stop is already underway at Mississippi��s IP Biloxi. PokerNews will bring you a recap of the stop��s $1,700 Main Event upon its completion.
Photos courtesy of WSOP Circuit.
