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.
