Vincent Moscati has officially cemented his name in poker history after winning the $1,700 Main Event at the World Series of Poker Circuit at Horseshoe Tunica, his second ring of the series and 10th of his career.
Moscati battled through a field of 371 entries and topped a tough final six on Day 3 to earn the gold ring, the $111,454 first-place prize, and his tenth career WSOP Circuit title — becoming just the 20th player ever to hit double digits in rings.
Moscati, who had already won the $400 No-Limit Hold'em earlier in the series, continued an incredible run of momentum in Tunica. After bagging his Day 1 flight in the Main, he jumped into a side event on his day off — and won that too. He’s now the only player at the stop to win two rings and has climbed into the top spot on the series leaderboard.
Unless David Moses, still alive with two tables left in the last event, makes a final table run, Moscati will also lock up a fully comped seat to this summer’s $10,000 WSOP Main Event.
The baby run good
"It's gotta be the baby run good," Moscati said after the win. "I've been trying to win one of these Main Events for a while now, and it hasn't happened. So I gotta give all the credit to the baby." Moscati’s second child was born just two months ago — a crazy story in itself, as Moscati actually delivered the baby at home before medics could arrive. If poker ever stops being so profitable, Moscati might have a second career lined up as a midwife.
The road to victory wasn’t easy. After making it through 38 Day 2 survivors to reach the final table, Moscati had to battle some of the circuit’s best over three days of poker in the Bluesville Events Center at the Horsehoe Tunica.
Jason Mendoza came in as the short stack but managed to double early before falling in sixth place. Shortly after, Roger Foley saw his run end in fifth after his ace-king couldn’t outrun Moscati’s pocket sevens.
Casey Hatmaker, a five-time Circuit ring winner and bracelet holder, was next out in fourth. Hatmaker played the short stack brilliantly, laddering up the payouts without ever quite finding a big double. Michael Ledford brought fireworks to the table, mixing it up with big moves and gutsy bluffs. Ultimately, he ran a bluff with a missed flush draw into Moscati’s made straight and bowed out in third.
Two hours of heads-up play
That left Moscati heads-up against Michael Esquivel. The battle stretched over two hours, with both players trading small pots until Esquivel pulled ahead by winning the first major all-in of the duel. But Moscati stayed patient, regained the momentum, and finally sealed the deal when his pocket eights held against Esquivel’s pocket sixes.
"He was a tough opponent for sure," Moscati said. "He put a lot of pressure on me the whole tournament. You gotta play good and get lucky — that's what it takes to win these things, and that’s what happened."
Moscati’s win is made even sweeter by the journey to get here. After nearly missing their flight, arriving in Mississippi without any bags, and contemplating skipping the trip altogether, Moscati turned a chaotic travel story into one of the most memorable series runs of his career. He now has incredible momentum riding into the summer, as the series in Vegas is about a month away. Let's hope the baby run good continues.
WSOPC Tunica Main Event final table results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vincent Moscati | $111,454 |
| 2 | Michael Esquivel | $74,552 |
| 3 | Michael Ledford | $51,040 |
| 4 | Casey Hatmaker | $35,783 |
| 5 | Roger Foley | $25,705 |
| 6 | Jason Mendoza | $18,932 |
| 7 | Saeed Nia | $14,305 |
| 8 | Maurice Hawkins | $11,096 |
| 9 | Jason Grimes | $8,843 |
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