New Orleans, LA – The most recent winner on the World Series of Poker Circuit was Steven Hustoft, from Lacey, WA. He is a 41-year-old retiree, who previously served in the U.S. military. Hustoft collected first place prize money totaling $8,225. He was also presented with his first gold ring, the ultimate prize awarded for winning a WSOP Circuit event.
Hustoft served proudly in the U.S. Navy during the Gulf War. He now lives near Olympia, WA where he enjoys playing poker part-time. This marked Hustoft’s first time in the winner’s circle of a major poker tournament. In fact, it was his first time to ever cash in a WSOP-related tournament. This was the fifth WSOP Circuit event overall which Hustoft had entered, which turned out to be a memorable victory.
This was the fourth gold ring event (out of 19) on this year’s WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah’s New Orleans. The $500 (+50) buy-in Mixed Pot-Limit Omaha/Pot-Limit Hold’em tournament began at 5 pm on May 9th. Play concluded late at on May 10th at about 4 am. The tournament attracted 53 entries. The top nine finishers divided a prize pool totaling $25,705.
Hustoft arrived at the Final Table ranked second in chips behind Quy “JJ” Hoang, a local player from New Orleans. Hustoft slowly accumulated chips through the four-hour finale en route to victory.