Event #8: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack

Maurice Hawkins (Photo credit: IMPDI Worldwide / twitter: @impdiworld)

Maurice Hawkins has won a record-setting 13th career Circuit gold ring by taking down Event #8 at Circuit Horseshoe Tunica, $400 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack. Hawkins collects a $31,372 first-place payday after outdueling two-time ring winner Hamid Izadi for the title.

Hawkins, 39, from West Palm Beach, Florida, was among the chip leaders throughout all of Day 2 and had taken a narrow lead as the final table formed. Though slow-paced at first, the final eventually turned into a duel between he and Atlanta's Izadi.

Izadi held the heads-up lead early on, but Hawkins steadily ground away at his opponent's stack. With the blinds rising, the end came in a pre-flop, all-in hand. Hawkins opened for 325,000 and the aggressive Izadi then jammed for over five million. Hawkins called and indeed had the best of it:

Hawkins -   
Izadi -   

The board ran out      , bringing no help for Izadi and sealing Hawkins' record-setting win. Izadi earned a $19,381 cash, while Las Vegas pro Rex Clinkscales pocketed $14,162 for third.

It's been a great recent stretch for Hawkins, who won a $600 NLHE Circuit event less than three weeks ago in Cherokee, NC, to tie Valentin Vornicu atop the career wins list, then passed Vornicu with this title.

"I made a conscious effort to play better," said Hawkins, moments after his win. "To be more focused, and to really value the opportunities and blessings that I have. I have the ability to play poker for a living, so I've been focusing on being a better person, on and off the felt and it's translating all over.

Hawkins had compliments for Izadi, his final opponent. "That was fun. He kept switching up his styles. I had to adjust for that."

The again-Circuit career wins leader Hawkins will be on hand for the remainder of the Tunica series, and he'll play the upcoming stop in New Orleans before heading west for the summer's WSOP. "I feel like the Circuit chose me, so I might as well choose the Circuit."

24 levels of play have elapsed in the Monster Stack, bringing a close to Day 1 play. A 432-entry field has been trimmed to 20 survivors, led by Marshall Douglas, of Junction City, KY, with 1,611,000 in chips. Here are the day's 20 survivors:

Rank Name Chip Count - Table/Seat
1 Marshall Douglas 1,611,000 - 86/4
2 Maurice Hawkins 1,445,000 - 85/5
3 Rex Clinkscales 1,200,000 - 85/7
4 Harry Arutyunyan 1,153,000 - 84/5
5 David Taylor 1,060,000 - 86/2
6 Sley Sanchez 915,000 - 86/9
7 Chris Lane 844,000 - 86/5
8 Ken Brosnahan 749,000 - 85/2
9 Cody Rahn 533,000 - 84/2
10 Alan Perry 470,000 - 86/3
11 Larry White 413,000 - 84/7
12 Sohale Khalili 406,000 - 84/1
13 Wes Brockhoeft 384,000-  85/4
14 Jeremy Letson 335,000 - 84/4
15 John Richards 312,000 - 84/8
16 Aaron Lasater 311,000 - 85/3
17 Hamid Izadi 298,000 - 85/6
18 Chris Hanks 234,000 - 84/6
19 Nhut Nguyen 189,000 - 86/6
20 Chris Welch 89,000 - 85/8

Action in the Monster Stack resumes at 1 pm on Thursday.

Event #8 at Circuit Horseshoe Tunica, $400 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack, begins at 11 am. This event offers a $100,000 prizepool guarantee and includes the following features: 

• 30,000 in starting chips
• 30-minute levels through Level 22; 45-minute levels thereafter
• Late registration until the start of Level 13
• Re-entry event
• Day 2 restart at 1 pm on Thursday, May 2

Registration and payout numbers will be available by early evening.