David “Andrew” Hines, a 24-year-old former poker dealer turned poker professional, triumphed as the winner of the 2016/17 WSOP Circuit IP Biloxi $365 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack or Event #8 on the schedule of the poker tour’s IP Biloxi stop. To be celebrated as the tournament’s victor, the young player collected a payout of $17,174 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.
Hines was the last man standing out of a field of 229 entries who paid the $365 buy-in so as to contend for the gold ring. The top 24 performers left the event with a payout.
The tournament was played over two days – September 14-15. Its final day kicked off with eleven survivors who were quickly brought down to an unofficial ten-handed final table and the official nine-handed one shortly after. Hines began nine-handed play as the chip leader with a considerable lead over the other hopefuls at the table. Although the player faced some seasoned WSOP Circuit regulars, it seemed as if it was not such a big challenge for him to emerge victorious. Hines maintained his chip advantage over the greater part of final table play.
Eventually, he faced Mark Fleddermann heads-up. Fleddermann is a two-time gold ring winner with WSOP Circuit cash history dating back to the tournament series’ 2005/06 season. However, he could not capture a third career ring last night as it was Hines who dominated the two-handed duel, despite the fact that he lacked in experience when compared to his opponent. Fleddermann had to settle for the consolation prize of $10,616 he received for his runner-up finish in the event.
William Brock took 3rd place in the tournament for a total of $7,726. Jim Luna finished 4th to scoop his first-ever WSOP Circuit cash of $5,714. Morton Davis received $4,292 for his 5th place. Billy Zibilich collected $3,274 for a sixth-place finish.
Gregory Besse took 7th place, good for $2,535. One-time gold ring winner Raymond Walton finished 8th for $1,992. Ming Zhu was the first to leave the final table, taking home $1,589.
Prior to his victory last night, Hines had already made a statement about his skills as a poker player. Late last year, he took 6th place in the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee $1,675 Main Event where he scooped a payout of $56,631. When asked about which of the two accomplishments he deemed dearer, the player chose without a moment of hesitation his sixth-place finish in the Harrah’s Cherokee tournament. He noted that the payout was much bigger, even though he did not won a gold ring last year.
