Maurice Hawkins, who is the all-time WSOP Circuit ring leader, extended his lead at the top by winning his 25th ring earlier this week. Hawkins won the $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em event at the WSOP Circuit stop in Cherokee, topping the 631-entry field to win $113,233.
Hawkins, who now has over $7 million in career live tournament earnings after the victory, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy just weeks ago after a portion of his winnings were garnished at a recent WSOP Circuit stop in Tunica. His winnings were garnished in order to pay back former backer and North Carolina restaurateur Randy Garcia.
Maurice Hawkins bankruptcy latest
Maurice Hawkins had previously only paid back $6,000 of a $115,828.34 court-ordered debt back to Garcia. The two parties publicly agreed to a deal where Hawkins would pay just $2,500 a month over 12 months, lowering the money owed to just 25 cents on the dollar.
However, after two successful payments, Hawkins failed to pay Garcia on the 30th of March, as agreed upon. He immediately filed for bankruptcy the day after seeing his winnings garnished in Tunica, Mississippi. Though the garnishments will pause until this plays out, it is widely expected to fail within the next three to six months, which will undoubtedly leave the WSOP Circuit king in further legal trouble.
Maurice Hawkins owes money to more than two dozen parties, though we aren’t able to look up every party. However, we know that his long list of creditors is mostly consumer debt, which includes multiple finance companies, the IRS, a pawn shop, Randy Garcia, and more.
It is known in the poker community that Hawkins spends a lot of time gambling in between tournaments at WSOP Circuit stops, which is widely believed to be the reason for the large discrepancy between money won and money paid back to creditors.
Winner’s reaction
After winning his 25th WSOP Circuit ring, which put him five rings clear of both Ari Engel and Daniel Lowery, Hawkins was his usual boastful self in his postgame interview on social media and with Poker.Org.
The self-proclaimed “first and only player” to do it at that level said, “I play probably more than all of them, and I win more than all of them in the Circuit. So, it’s not really a competition. I’m at the top of the hill until I retire.
“I’m gonna play another 20 years. The goalpost is probably 200, 250 [rings].”
Hawkins bested his fellow Florida native and good friend James Calderaro in heads-up play. Calderaro is a WSOP bracelet winner and a World Poker Tour Main Event winner, leaving him just a European Poker Tour title short of winning poker’s “Triple Crown”. Calderaro has yet to win a WSOP Circuit ring, notably coming second in the Cherokee Main Event in 2022 for over $123,000.
When asked about his strategy going into heads-up play, Hawkins said, “I was in the top three in the chips, and they put all the chip leaders at the same table. I just wanted to just stay within myself and not really get out of line too much.
“I know he wanted to get comfortable, and I knew being quiet was going to be uncomfortable.”
Calderaro bounced back to make another final table the very next day in the $2,200 High Roller, finishing sixth for $12,623 in the 153-entry field.
Event #9: $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em final table results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maurice Hawkins | $113,223 |
| 2 | James Calderaro | $75,460 |
| 3 | Brandon Newsome | $51,920 |
| 4 | Corey Biddle | $36,418 |
| 5 | Toby Boas | $26,050 |
| 6 | Dave Alfa | $21,247 |
| 7 | Derrick Perry | $14,160 |
| 8 | Jarod Minghini | $10,770 |
| 9 | Jason Gladden | $8,367 |
