Maurice Hawkins Wins 20th WSOP Circuit Ring

Maurice Hawkins plays poker.
Credit: Erik Fast

Maurice Hawkins won his 20th World Series of Poker Circuit gold ring in a $600 Pot-Limit Omaha event at Caesars New Orleans. He pulled ahead of rivals Ari Engel and Daniel Lowery.

The win tacked $14,548 onto Hawkins’ Card Player results, which surpassed $6.3 million.

‘This Is My Circuit’

“I mean no disrespect to anybody else that is in the race with me, but my name is supposed to be at the top,” Hawkins told tournament reporters. “Point blank, this is my circuit. I respect Ari, as a matter of fact, I have been respecting him his whole career. I used to look up to him a little, and Dan is a great player, but I am supposed to be at the top.”

Engel was tied at 19 rings with Hawkins, while Lowery holds 18.

The win marks his fourth WSOPC ring win of the year. He also added to his collection in Tunica, Pompano Beach, Baltimore. The latter, which came in the main event, involved considerable controversy.

He’s no stranger to such controversy. Earlier this year, he got in a very public feud with backer Denise Pratt.

In addition to his record-setting ring, Hawkins qualified for a $5,000 WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas in December. The package includes entry to a $2,500 bracelet event there.

Despite always favoring the Wynn’s December events in the past, Hawkins said he won’t let the package go to waste.

“Equity-wise I technically can’t not go to the Bahamas now,” Hawkins said. “I am now saving up because I want to buy into the two $25,000 and the $50,000. I will be playing those events, so I guess that means I am just going to be a little bit more broke ’cause I got to save up.”

WSOPC New Orleans $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Results

Find full final table results from Hawkins’ PLO win below:

PlacePlayerPrize
1Maurice Hawkins$14,548
2Thai Cao$9,431
3Daniel Pearlman$6,350
4Gregory Headriek$4,448
5James Calloway$3,246
6Hariharan Rangarajan$2,474
7Will Oertling$1,971
8Daniel Lowery$1,647
9David Cook$1,445
Editor

Paul Oresteen is a veteran poker writer. He's worked at nearly every cardroom from Connecticut to California, named Daniel Negreanu's dogs and Doyle Brunson called him an asshole once.