At the final table of Event #2 at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Circuit, all eyes were on three-time Circuit Ring winner Maurice Hawkins. Hawkins was going for his record-tying fourth ring against a line-up that included previous Circuit Ring winners Steven Kats and Steven Weixel.
Weixel was eliminated in fifth place and Circuit regular Richard McCrary was knocked out in fourth place. That left Hawkins, Kats and Sonny Punjabi to battle it out for the Ring. Chips were traded back and forth until Hawkins and Punjabi clashed in a huge pot.
With the board showing , Hawkins and Punjabi got into a raising battle until all the chips were in the middle with Punjabi having Hawkins covered. Hawkins turned up for top two pair but Punjabi flipped over for bottom set. Any hope Hawkins had of catching up was gone after the hit the turn, giving Punjabi quads and the monster pot.
After Hawkins was eliminated, Punjabi had nearly three-quarters of the chips in play and slowly started grinding away at Steven Kats. Finally, Kats got all in with against Punjabi’s . The board ran out and Punjabi’s pocket pair held to give him the pot and the victory.
Sonny Punjabi, a grocery store owner from Clarksville, Tennessee, took home $25,545 and the Circuit Ring. He is married with four children, all girls. After his win, he commented on the new format at the WSOP Circuit events, “I loved the structure. It takes quite a bit of the luck factor out of play.”
Mainly a home game player, Punjabi mentioned that he is definitely looking to play more Circuit events to try and solidify a spot in the new WSOPC National Championship event.
Payouts at the final table were as follows:
1. Sonny Punjabi $25,545
2. Steven Kats $15,788
3. Maurice Hawkins $11,491
4. Richard McCrary $8,498
5. Steven Weixel $6,383
6. Gary Hieronymus $4,868
7. Rebecca Makar $3,770
8. Neil Harding $2,963
9. Patrick Kelly $2,363
Play continues today at the Horseshoe with Day 2 of the $350 Six-Handed NLHE Event #3 as well as the starts of Event #4, the $350 NLHE Shootout, and Event #5, the $350 H.O.R.S.E.
For the full schedule of events at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Circuit, click here.
For more information about the WSOP Circuit National Championship, click here.