Bin Weng is the winner of the inaugural World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event held in the newly-branded Horseshoe Casino Las Vegas. It’s his first WSOP ring.
Yesterday’s $227,344 cash pushed Weng’s tournament winnings up and over the $3 million mark. The player from eastern Pennsylvania is on quite the roll. He bagged his first million dollar cash at the $5,300 Borgata: The Return championship in January.
“This tournament meant a lot to me.” Weng said. “I have won four or five titles, but never a WSOP tournament. Getting a ring means a lot to me, I’m kind of speechless right now because I’m just so excited.”
The $1.2 million prize pool was generated by 833 entries. The top 125 players cashed a minimum of $2,559. Notable players who made the money include Steve Zolotow, Adam Hendrix, Dyan Linde, Brian Yoon, and Desmond Hayes — all WSOP bracelet winners.
A dozen rings at final table
Heads-up, Weng faced two-time Player of the Year Alex Foxen. He didn’t let his respect for Foxen’s game get in the way of completing the tourney in first place.
“Alex Foxen is one of my poker idols,” Weng said. “We are originally from the same area, Long Island. I just feel so thankful to take this down and get the chance to play with Foxen. He is one of the best players right now.”
Day 3 of the tournament started with 14 players, and included plenty of very good ones like Chino Rheem (14th) and Ryan Laplante, who missed the final table by one spot.
It wasn’t all smooth-sailing for Weng, who has been cashing events since 2015.
“This was a roller coaster tournament for me,” Weng told the WSOP. “I did not have a good start, I lost half of my stack early and had to get it back. Day two was definitely a roller coaster. My chip count was good at the beginning but at one point I lost A-J versus kings and was down to twenty big blinds.”
The top nine:
- Bin Weng, $227,344
- Alex Foxen, $140,512
- Evan Sandberg, $104,505
- Ken Mapoy, $78,532
- Anthony Huntsman, $59,634
- Alexander Condon, $45,764
- Nick Pupillo $35,497
- Jared Jaffee, $27,832
- Aaron Massey, $22,061
The players at the final table accounted for a dozen WSOP Circuit rings: Massy, Jaffee, and Pupillo own three each, Huntsman has two, and Foxen, one.
Bracelet winners at the final table were Jaffee, Sandberg, and Foxen, all who have one each.
There’s no break for the players who travel the WSOP Circuit. Overlapping with the Vegas series is the Circuit at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina. The $1,700 Main Event begins today.
Also starting today is the WSOP Circuit at Horseshoe Hammond, which is just outside Chicago. The 14 event series runs until March 6.
After that, it hits the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles (March 4-15), Hard Rock Tulsa (March 8-20), Turning Stone Resort in upstate New York (March 16-27), Grand Victoria Casino in Chicago (April 6-17), Horseshoe Tunica (April 20 to May 1), back to Harrah’s Cherokee (May 4-15), before finishing the 2022-23 season at Caesars South Indiana (May 11-22).
And then it’s back to Las Vegas for the 54th iteration of the WSOP.
