The WSOP Circuit stop at the Bicycle Casino is inching towards a conclusion and the preliminary events are coming to a close. With the main event looming, Alex Masek made Circuit history while Erkut Yilmaz (pictured) and Steven Curran each took home their first WSOP Circuit ring.
Alex Masek Extends All-Time Ring Lead
Alex Masek made Circuit history on Thursday afternoon by becoming the first player to win nine circuit rings and extends his lead on the all-time ring list. He puts a little breathing room between himself and Ari and Engel and Chris Reslock, who are tied for second with seven rings each.
Masek topped a field of 143 players to take home $12,000 in a $365 No Limit Hold’em. A look at the complete results can be found here.
Erkut Yilmaz Wins $1,125 No Limit Hold’em
Erkut Yilmaz topped a field of 81 players to take home his first ring and $25,915. He defeated a stacked final table featuring accomplished online player Nick Grippo, British pro Toby Lewis and six-time ring winner Valentin Vornicu.
Yilmaz, a 39-year-old poker pro originally from Turkey, just moved to Los Angeles from Sacramento in large part because of the Southern California poker scene. He quickly defeated Lawrence Masi heads-up and ended the scheduled two-day tournament in one day.
The complete results can be found here.
Steven Curran Wins $365 Turbo No Limit Hold’em
Steven Curran defeated Massoud Eskandari heads-up to top a field of 120 players and win his first ring in the $365 Turbo No Limit Hold’em. He takes home $10,810 with along with his first significant title
Curran is a 46-year-old project manager originally from Indianapolis that now resides in the Southern California area. Before his win, his biggest poker accomplishment was cashing in the 2010 WSOP Main Event.
The complete results can be found here.
Wendy Freedman Keeps Lead in Casino Championship
Wendy Freedman took the lead in the Casino Championship race a couple days ago with her second runner-up finish of the series to give her 75 points and nobody has been able to really put a dent in her lead since. The ranking were fairly stagnant on Thursday with the only players jumping into the race were the three latest ring winners, who earned 50 points each.
Alan Myerson is still in second place with 60 points and there is a log jam for third with eight players each having 50 points, all coming from their respective wins.
With only three events remaining on the schedule, it is going to take a second deep run from somebody to displace her from the top spot and keep her out of the Global Casino Championship.
A look at the complete standings can be found here.
Looking Ahead
The last preliminary event gets underway on Friday afternoon. Event #10, a $365 Monster Stack No Limit Hold’em gets cards in the air at noon and carries a $75,000 guaranteed prizepool.
The $1,675 No Limit Hold’em main event and the $3,250 High Roller No Limit Hold’em are the only events left after the second monster stack.
A complete schedule of the ring events at the Bike can be found here.
Non-Ring Action
Mega Satellites will be running around the clock until the final non-ring event gets underway on Monday, a $150 Omaha 8 or Better with a 10,000 guaranteed prizepool.
You can find details for non-ring events on the Bike’s website.