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The Enigma Solves the Poker Puzzle
Indeed, Wilkes leaves little mystery about why he chose the odd moniker which he uses to confuse and intimidate opponents at the poker table.
“There are a lot of older guys who play poker,” Wilkes said in a post-tournament interview just moments after winning his first World Series of Poker Circuit title.
“When you play in these tournaments, the predominant species are the young, internet poker guys. They never know what to do with older guys. They are always a little bit mystified….all the criticism I get when I play when I beat one of them in a hand, they fully explain how badly I played, so I like to build on that image of being mysterious.”
Wilkes certainly mystified everyone in the most recent WSOP Circuit tournament, which was held at Harrah’s Rincon Casino and Resort. Wilkes won $10,090 in prize money along with his first-ever gold ring, the coveted award which is presented to all champions of WSOP Circuit tournaments held around the country. This was his fourth time to cash in a WSOP Circuit tournament.
Wilkes made three final table appearances at last year’s Rincon series, coming up just short of victory on each occasion. But he could take great pride in this long-awaited victory, which not only brought him a five-figure score, but the satisfaction of overcoming decisive odds against victory at several stages of play.
The $300 (+40) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament was played over two consecutive days during March 22-23, 2010. Final Table play began on a Tuesday afternoon. There were no prior WSOP Circuit gold ring event winners among the final nine players, which guaranteed a first-time champion.
Joseph Occhipinti arrived at the Final Table with a decisive chip advantage over the remaining players. Closest to Occhipinti in chips were David “Four Racks” Luttbeg, and eventual champion Wilkes, who were covered by the chip leader by about a 2 to 1 margin. The remaining players were down 3 to 1 or more.
| Seat | Player | Hometown | Chip Count |
| 1 | Jimmy Matthews | San Diego, CA | 23,000 |
| 2 | Alan Ho | San Diego, CA | 62,000 |
| 3 | David Hosfield | Solana Beach, CA | 65,500 |
| 4 | Brent “the Enigma” Wilkes | Coronado, CA | 148,500 |
| 5 | John Cline | San Jose, CA | 27,500 |
| 6 | Leo Gianulis | San Diego, CA | 89,500 |
| 7 | David “Four Racks” Luttbeg | San Diego, CA | 163,500 |
| 8 | Chuck Martinez | Suisun City, CA | 96,500 |
| 9 | Joseph Occhipinti | Temecula, CA | 281,000 |
Players were eliminated in the following order:
Ninth Place: Cline is Ninth
. Chip leader Joseph Occhipinti called and showed 
. Chine was dominated and failed to make a pair. The final board ran with 
which meant the ace-high played. So, Cline had to settle for $894 for his two minute stay in the finale. Eighth Place: Photographer Exposed
Jimmy Matthews, a 25-year-old photographer from San Diego, CA, went out a short time later when he moved all-in with the shortest stack holding 
. The pocket 9’s appeared to be a good double up spot after the turn, which showed 
. But Alan Ho held 
and still had one card to come. The 
fell on the river, giving Ho a straight. That meant Matthews was out with $1,058 in prize money.
Seventh Place: Hosfield Hosed
David Hosfield, a soon-to-be-father who lives in Solana Beach, CA, went out in seventh place when his 
failed to connect with a board that showed 
. Grim reaper Joseph Occhipinti was on the other side of 
which scooped the large pot. The chip leader managed to widen his advantage even further while knocking out Hosfield, who received $1,303 in prize money.
Sixth Place: Ho Goes Home
Alan Ho, a 44-year-old small business owner from San Diego, CA took a horrible beat on his final hand and went out in sixth place. Ho, who owns and runs a tea shop/restaurant, moved all-in with Kh Kc. He was called by the chip leader, who was on the roll of a lifetime by this point, showing 5s 5c. The board went from bad, to worse, to horrific for Ho as the cards came in succession: 9c 7s 6d 4h 8h Occhipinti ended up with a straight, leaving Ho with $1,956 and a bad beat story. This marked Ho’s third time to make a WSOP Circuit final table.
David “Four Racks” Luttbeg, a 34-year-old model from San Diego, CA, survived a rocky two hours at the final table before busting out with 
. He moved all-in and got a call from none other than Joseph Occhipiniti, who tabled 
. As if he could do nothing wrong, Occhipinti watched with delight as the board came 
, which meant another 150,000 in chips to his monumental stack. Meanwhile, Luttbeg collected $2,605 for his impressive tournament finish. He has previously won major tournaments held elsewhere and now has more than 30 final table appearances during his poker career.
Fourth Place: Chef Cooked
Leo Gianulis, a 36-year-old chef from San Diego, CA, lasted a few hours before busting out with 
on his final hand. He ran into the poker beast Joseph Occhipiniti (holding 
), who faded Gianulis’ all-in bet with an easy call. The flop was nothing but salt in the wound to Gianulis, who saw 
come, followed by and 
. Occhipinit’s full house scooped the pot and fried the chef’s chances of victory, leaving him with $3,258 in dough.
Chuck Martinez, a 58-year-old owner of a flooring company, was swept away in third place when he took a bad beat on his final hand. Martinez was dealt , which dominated Brent Wilkes’ . Things looked good for Martinez after the flop, which showed 
. But the on the turn gave Wilkes a pair of 9’s. That ended up taking down the pot, leaving Martinez with $4,561 in prize money. This was Martinez's best tournament finish ever in a major event.
Second Place: Occhipinti Finally Runs Bad
Once heads-up play began, the tournament took a 180-degree detour. Chip leader Joseph Occhipinti, a 33-year-old poker pro from Temecula, CA who had been so dominant during the first four hours of play that some players actually thought they were playing for second place, lost a few pots and then went on a slow but steady decline that reversed the chip lead in Brent Wilkes favor, and ultimately flip-flopped what many might have expected as far as an outcome.
The last hand came when Occhipinti moved all-win with 
. The raise was called by Wilkes, who showed . The final board of the tournament came: 
which meant Wilkes’ played as a better high card. The victory went to Wilkes while Occhipinti had to settle for runner-up status, which paid $6,837
Brent “The Enigma” Wilkes, from Coronado, CA won $10,090 and the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring in what was his fourth final table appearance at Harrah’s Rincon within just two years. He is a former executive consultant who is now retired and is spending much of his time writing and playing poker.
