MOHAMMAD MOEINI VICTORIOUS IN IP BILOXI MAIN EVENT
Gulfport, Miss. local earns $106K and National Championship berth on his home turf.

Biloxi, Miss. (September 15, 2014) — Mohammad Moeini was the last man standing following a three-hour heads-up battle with Brandon Newsome Monday night in the IP Biloxi Main Event. The victory came at the hands of a 301-entry field and earned Moeini $106,101, his first gold ring and a berth in the season-ending National Championship.

The 44-year-old Gulfport, Miss. resident is an avid participant of the IP’s series and lays claim to five Circuit cashes including three final tables at the property. Moeini says his Main Event victory goes down as his crowning achievement thus far, but he hopes for many future successes in his hometown.

“The last two years I’ve been getting lucky,” Moeini said referencing his good fortune.

Moeini lays claim to three other tournament victories but his largest previous score of $55,103 pales in comparison to the six-figure haul he nabbed Monday night. He came to the final table with the chip lead but hit some bumps in the road before catching a hot streak and laying claim to the title.

Those who had a front-row seat for his championship performance included Corrie Wunstel (ninth) and Timothy Miles (third). Miles was unquestionably the most decorated player at the finale with one gold ring and more than $400,000 in earnings at the WSOP. He began the final table second in chips and in great position for another trophy, but succumbed to the tournament’s eventual runner up, Newsome.

Notables joining Miles in the money included Daniel Lowery (33rd), the 2011 IP Biloxi Main Event champion Jerry Monroe (32nd), Christopher Conrad (31st), Blake Barousse (23rd) and Tim Burt (18th).

Moeini is Iranian-born and immigrated to the United States 20 years ago. He currently resides in Gulfport, Miss. with his wife and two children where he works as a hotel owner and investor. The Main Event victory marks his first Circuit title and brings his career earnings at the WSOP to just under $120,000.

The series-ending Main Event came on the heels of an incredibly successful IP Circuit that enjoyed attendance increases in many preliminary tournaments. Most notably, a $365 re-entry event kicked off opening weekend and set a record for the property as 631 entries competed for their share of the impressive prize pool. Florida’s John Holley went on to win that tournament, his third ring and the $38,813 first prize that came along with it.

Joining Moeini at the season-ending National Championship will be the property’s Casino Champion – Anthony Gray. Gray went an impressive two-for-two at the IP earning his first two career cashes in the form of gold ring victories. He started hot, winning the series’ second tournament, then finished even hotter breaking through again in Event 11 and besting Mark Fink atop the Casino Championship leaderboard.

The Main Event was the last of 12 gold ring events on the WSOP Circuit schedule at IP Biloxi. The $1,675 no-limit hold’em event attracted 301 players. The total prize pool came to $451,500 and the top 33 players were paid.

Main Event final table results:

1st: Mohammad Moeini - $106,101
2nd: Brandon Newsome - $65,603
3rd: Timothy Miles - $47,647
4th: Anthony Smith - $35,194
5th: Lance Jones - $26,422
6th: Thomas Doussan - $20,150
7th: Larry Hirons - $15,608
8th: Corrie Wunstel - $12,272
9th: Roger Morris - $9,793

Full results available on WSOP.com.

Circuit action resumes Thursday, October 2 when the first of 12 gold ring events kicks off at Horseshoe Casino in Southern Indiana. You can follow the action all year long on the Circuit Blog at blog.wsop.com.