News

Las Vegas, Nevada (September 1, 2025) - The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit series wrapping up today at Caesars New Orleans has been one for the record books.

While six players still remain in the $1,700 WSOP Circuit Main Event and a number of rings are still to be awarded, history has already been made in The Big Easy, as WSOP Circuit legend Maurice Hawkins has pulled away from Ari Engel for the all-time WSOP Circuit ring record.

Winning the $600 Pot-Limit Omaha and $400 No-Limit Hold'em tournaments at the Caesars New Orleans WSOP Circuit series, Hawkins decidedly broke his 19-ring tie with Engel, becoming the first poker player in history to reach twenty rings and furthering his record with 21 rings total.

Battling it out at the poker table, most notably with Daniel Lowery, who currently has 18 WSOP Circuit rings to his name, Hawkins showed off the poker skills that have made him the most decorated player in WSOP Circuit history.

Receiving $14,548 for his win in the $600 Pot-Limit Omaha event and $12,996 for his victory in the $400 No-Limit Hold’em tournament, Hawkins’ lifetime live poker tournament earnings now stand at over $6.4 million (statistic courtesy of The Hendon Mob).

Maurice Hawkins showing off WSOP Circuit ring #20 (Photo courtesy of Poker.Org).

With one day left of action at Caesars New Orleans, Hawkins is still in contention to win his third Circuit ring of the series and reach 22 total, as he currently chip leads the $400 No-Limit Hold’em Grand Master 40/40/40 event with twelve players remaining.

Whether or not Hawkin’s takes down the 40/40/40 event, he has already established himself as the “Grand Master” of the WSOP Circuit, owning a list of accolades that includes 21 WSOP Circuit rings and 76 WSOP Circuit final tables.

In a seemingly never-ending race with Engel for the all-time WSOP Circuit ring lead, we will see if either Hawkins or Engel will be the first player to reach 25 career WSOP Circuit rings.

Stay tuned for our recap of the WSOP Circuit series at Caesars New Orleans, and see who all became WSOP Circuit ring winners, including the eventual Caesars New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event champion.

Each WSOP Circuit ring winner at Caesars New Orleans receives free entry to the $2,750 buy-in WSOP Circuit Championship Mystery Bounty ($5M guaranteed prize pool) taking place at WSOP Paradise 2025 December 4-6, 2025. Along with free entry to the WSOP Circuit Championship, ring winners also receive a $5,000 hotel package to fund their stay at the host property: Atlantis Bahamas.

With only six players remaining entering the final day of play, Destin, Florida’s Andrew Dykeman sits as the chip leader at a final table including Yousef Saleh, the only WSOP Circuit ring leader left in the Circuit Main Event.

Competing for the $149,268 top prize, we will see which of the final six players will be forever enshrined as a WSOP Circuit Main Event champion.

Chip Counts for Final Six in Caesars New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event:

1. Andrew Dykeman - 4,885,000
2. Samuel Rosen - 4,290,000
3. Yousef Saleh - 3,830,000
4. Kane Keller - 3,700,000
5. Alexander Jones - 2,480,000
6. Andrew Yurchak - 1,225,000