Valentin Vornicu Wins Bike Casino Champion Crown on Final Day With Eighth Ring
Bell Gardens, CA (April 1, 2016) - Valentin Vornicu is a big fan of playing Circuit stops in the Southern California area.
The San Diego native won
his eighth career World Series of Poker Circuit ring in the last event
of the WSOP Circuit stop at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. Vornicu
topped a field of 115 players in the $580 no-limit hold’em turbo
re-entry event on Wednesday evening to take home yet another ring and
$17,255.
The win moves him into a
three-way tie with Ari Engel and Chris Reslock for second on the all-time
rings list. The trio of poker pros all sit one behind Alex Masek, who
has nine career rings.
“Obviously it feels good,” said Vornicu. “It’s really hard to get to that, you know?”
Vornicu wants more than nine, though.
“I want to be the guy with the most rings,” said Vornicu. “That’s my goal. It’s up there on my priority list.”
Aside from moving up the
leaderboard, the win also secures Vornicu the title of Casino Champion
for the stop. The winner of this title at each stop gets an automatic
entry into the Global Casino Championship later this year, but Vornicu
has already qualified for the Global Casino Championship by winning the
main event last December during the WSOP Circuit’s first of two stops at
the Bike.
Qualifying twice for the
Global Casino Championship puts Vornicu in a small, elite group of
players which includes current WSOP Main Event Champion Joe McKeehen and
Bracelet Winners Jonathan Taylor and Matthew Waxman. McKeehen was the
most recent to do it after winning the main event in Atlantic City and
the Casino Champion title at Harrah’s New Orleans in 2013.
“I mean it’s great,
obviously,” said Vornicu. “I was Casino Champion down in San Diego the
first time I qualified for the [former] National Championship. It’s like
my home turf down here. I get to sleep in my own bed every night.”
Vornicu won three of his
eight rings at the Bicycle Casino and another one at the now Harrah’s
Southern Califonrnia. Vornicu credits the comfort of his own home as a
major factor in winning half of his rings in Southern California.
“That’s why I was doing
the whole driving back-and-forth. I mean, I have a dog and I want to
sleep there and I want to be there with him at night and stuff, but it’s
just different when you get to sleep in your own bed. It’s just better.
“I’ve had a lot of
success at [Harrah’s] Rincon [now known as Harrah’s Southern California]
and had a lot of success here in L.A. and I think most of it is because
of that. I’ve played all around, but I think the west coast are my most
successful stops and mostly I think it’s because I sleep nights at
home.”
The title for Casino
Champion was up for grabs throughout the entire series. On the final day
of play, David Malka led the pack with just 55 points after a cash in
the main event and a win in the high roller the day before. Vornicu came
into the day with 35 points after finishing 17th in the $365 no-limit
hold'em re-entry event and a fifth place finish in the $365 no-limit
hold'em turbo.
Vornicu not only found a
sixth place finish, but found another piece of Circuit hardware to put
in the trophy case. He finishes the series with 85 points and $23,205 in
cashes.
Here's a look at all of Vornicu's cashes at the Bicycle Casino:
Event #1: $365 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry - 17th for $2,945
Event #5: $365 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo - 5th for $3,005
Event #12: $580 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo Re-Entry - 1st for $17,255