Freddy Deeb Wins WSOP Circuit Event at the Bike

Freddy Deeb won the World Series of Poker Circuit event at the Bicycle Casino this week, adding yet another major accomplishment to the veteran pro's resume.

The WSOP Circuit tournament was the first ever held at the Bicycle Casino, one of the most important poker rooms in the United States. The three-day tournament attracted 549 players, each of whom put up $1,500 to play in the event.

Deeb actually started later than most of the field. He did not elect to play in either Day 1A or Day 1B. Instead, he registered at the last minute, as registration stayed open until the beginning of Day 2 on Wednesday.

Deeb's late entry came at a cost, as since the blinds had already risen substantially, he began the tournament with a stack of only around 20 big blinds. But Deeb quickly built up a large stack, and made his way into the final day of play near the top of the leaderboard.

In order to ultimately win the tournament, Deeb would have to defeat Alex Masek in heads up play. Deeb entered the confrontation with a 3-1 chip lead and dominated the match. In fact, Masek managed to double up twice late in the match, but by that point was so short stacked that it hardly mattered. On an attempt to win a 3rd straight all-in confrontation -- one that would have legitimately got him back into the match -- Masek's AK came up short against Deeb's pocket queens. Masek took home $106,185 for second place.

Deeb won $171,810 for first place, but the title may have been even more important than the money to him. Though Deeb has won two WSOP bracelets in his career as well as a World Poker Tour championship, he had yet to so much as cash in a WSOP Circuit event. In his career, Deeb has won over $7.8 million, good for 28th on the all-time money list. While Deeb has not made as many headlines in recent years as in years past, he did have a very solid 2011, cashing three times in the WSOP and three times in the WSOP Europe as part of $330,000 in winnings for the year.