Shaun Deeb Wins World Series Of Poker Circuit Main Event Back Home At Turning Stone

Accomplished tournament professional Shaun Deeb won the World Series of Poker Circuit main event on Mar. 27 at the Turning Stone Casino and Resort in Verona, New York. Deeb is originally from Troy in upstate New York, and the current Las Vegas, Nevada resident took home the top prize worth $275,916 along with his first gold ring to pair with his five gold bracelets.

Deeb has many accolades on his resume over the course of his poker career, and this was his 41st tournament victory. His career earnings now stand at $12,653,007. This was the third six-figure score for Deeb of 2023 after he won the PokerGo Tour $10,300 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event for $208,800 back in February, and the fourth-place cash he scored for $121,500 at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25,000 buy-in pot-limit Omaha event in January. He is now in 41st place in the current Card Player Player of the Year standings with 1,650 points.

“I would hope I was the best player in the field. My ego says I’m the best, but it was actually tougher competition than I was expecting deep. People put me in some tough spots, I was three-betting a ton at this final table, way more than I thought I should have, but I think some of them caged me a little bit,” said Deeb to the WSOP Circuit reporters after the win. He continued, “I think I have as much momentum and as much image as possible. I’ve definitely been on my game, my reads have been really good, and thankfully I win the all-ins that matter.”

“Being my original first casino, Turning Stone … I just love the nostalgia. Going to play cash, some of the same staff are here from when I was coming here 20 years ago with my Gram, they were always great to my family … I had a lot of fun and I love playing with these people,” said Deeb when he was asked about winning on his original home court.

The $1,700 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament had a prize pool worth $1,621,050 thanks to three starting flights that attracted a total of 1,070 entries. The top 155 players all cashed for at least $2,542 in prize money. There were 112 players that returned for Day 2, and the tournament played down to the final table of nine just around 1 a.m. local time.

Deeb was second in chips when the final table began on Monday, and he soon knocked out one of his main competitors at the final table when Deeb busted Matthew Wantman in eighth place early in the day. By the time play got down to five-handed action Deeb was firmly in control with a chip lead of 12.2 million with no other challenger holding more than 6 million. He held the lead the rest of the way, and at the start of heads-up play he held an insurmountable stack of 24 million.

The final match lasted just about 10 minutes with Giyeon Han moving all in for 6.5 million after Deeb opened with a bet of 750,000 on the final hand. Deeb called to cover with A3 in the hole, and Han held AK. The final board was dealt 96243, and Deeb spiked a three on the river to score the win. Han took a tough beat to exit in second place, but he was awarded $170,528 in prize money to take his career earnings up to $227,180.

A few other notables that cashed in the event included James Campbell (12th), Adam Foster (16th), Andrew Brongo (17th), Matt Matros (43rd), Anthony Potis (48th), Joseph Rice (52nd), Jesse Lonis (56th), Timothy Kelliher (73rd), Ryan Eriquezzo (98th), Eric Siegel (111th), Greg Ostrander (112th), Roland Israelashvili (122nd), and Tony Sinishtaj (137th).

Here is a look at the payouts awarded at the final table:

The next WSOP Circuit event will run from Apr. 6-17 at the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, Illinois. The $1,700 buy-in main event begins on Thursday, Apr. 13. You can see the full schedule for the tournament series right here.