Back in December, PokerNews talked to 27-year-old Alexandru Masek after he won his fifth World Series of Poker Circuit ring at the Harrah’s Rincon stop. That tied him with Mark “Pegasus” Smith and Kyle Cartwright as the all-time leaders. Little did we know that a month later he’d capture No. 6 to become the all-time ring winner in the WSOP Circuit’s nine-year history.
Masek’s most recent win came on Friday night at the 2012/2013 World Series of Poker Circuit presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof Bicycle Casino Event #9 $365 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo where he defeated a field of 212 to win $15,905.
[TWITTER="https://twitter.com/PujolsOfPokr/status/290063011585089536"]
img=http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/2365275940/3q81bvvcxqikv2fqt7yy_normal.jpeg
nick=PujolsOfPokr
name=Alex Masek
date=Sat Jan 12 11:49:45 +0000 2013
text=took down a 6th WSOP Circuit ring in the turbo event at the Bike today.. whole tourney played out in 13 hours, feels pretty surreal
id=290063011585089536
[/TWITTER]
Shortly after the win, the congratulations poured in from the poker community:
[TWITTER="https://twitter.com/pegasusmss/status/290098799941136387"]
img=http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/2717506139/a3d756c2bb02a960d8248d85cbdf6596_normal.jpeg
nick=pegasusmss
name=Mark S Smith
date=Sat Jan 12 14:11:58 +0000 2013
text=Congratations to Alex on winning his Sixth Ring……. JOB WELL DONE!!!!!!!!
id=290098799941136387
[/TWITTER]
[TWITTER="https://twitter.com/WhoIsDavidClark/status/290126313161883648"]
img=http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/2704572042/d8c2852217896ac6289b24615cf65e8a_normal.jpeg
nick=WhoIsDavidClark
name=David Clark
date=Sat Jan 12 16:01:18 +0000 2013
text=Congrats to sicko @PujolsOfPokr on winning his sixth ring. #RingLeader #PimpHandPlusOne #WorkingOnToeRingsSoon
id=290126313161883648
[/TWITTER]
[TWITTER="https://twitter.com/ikecrosoft/status/290022950311178240"]
img=http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1542812686/324152_10100398855068050_901385_55585758_1761830_o_normal.jpg
nick=ikecrosoft
name=ike champion
date=Sat Jan 12 09:10:34 +0000 2013
text=HISTORY IS MADE! @PujolsOfPokr wins his 6th @WSOP Circuit Ring, setting a new record as the first player to need two hands for his rings!
id=290022950311178240
[/TWITTER]
Masek’s other WSOP Circuit wins are 2008/2009 Harrah’s Rincon Event #12 $230 No-Limit Hold’em for $9,654; 2009/2010 Caesars Atlantic City Event #5 $340 No-Limit Hold’em for $39,372; 2010/2011 Harrah’s Rincon Event #2 $345 No-Limit Hold’em for $22,794; 2011/2012 Harveys Lake Tahoe Event #8 $345 No-Limit Hold’em for $15,236, and 2012/2013 Harrah’s Rincon Event #1 No-Limit Hold’em for $15,989. All told, he has six wins, 26 cashes, 11 final-table appearances, and $281,350 in prize money on his WSOP Circuit résumé.
Masek, who did an in-depth interview with PokerNews earlier this year, is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, but now a resident of San Diego, California. "In 2008 I moved to San Diego for law school, and after graduating, I moved to Los Angeles late last year," Masek told PokerNews in a past interview. "Though I liked both St. Louis and San Diego, neither city has great year-round poker tournament action. I knew that if I wanted to really concentrate on tournament poker I’d have to live in a city like L.A., where there seems to be a good series going on basically every week.
“During January and February, I’m going to play the Circuit at the Bicycle Casino, then the LAPC at Commerce Casino,” Masek told PokerNews after winning his fifth ring back in December. “Between those two, I’ll end up playing over 40 live tournaments in the first two months of the year. Afterward, I’m not sure exactly what I’ll end up doing regarding poker. I definitely intend on qualifying for the WSOP National Championship so I’m going to travel to several Circuit stops, and otherwise will mainly play all the good live tournaments in LA. I’ll likely play Bay 101 after LAPC since I had a good experience there this year, then just take it from there.”
WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino Ring Event #9 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$65 | 212 | $63,600 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Masek | San Diego, CA | $15,905 |
| 2 | William Fagerbakke | Topanga, CA | $9,825 |
| 3 | Jason Tulloss | Arlington Heights, IL | $7,150 |
| 4 | Keith Rogers | Los Angeles, CA | $5,290 |
| 5 | Brian Gorman | Los Angeles, CA | $3,975 |
| 6 | Jose Franco | Santa Ana, CA | $3,030 |
| 7 | Jim Hoff | Los Angeles, CA | $2,345 |
| 8 | William Leffingwell | Tyler, TX | $1,845 |
| 9 | Anselmo Villarreal | Greenfield, WI | $1,470 |
Photo courtesy of WSOP.com.
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