Paul Wasicka Wins 2010 Harrah’s Tunica WSOP Circuit Championship

Paul Wasicka finally won his first open tournament last night.

The latest WSOP Circuit championship event is in the history books, and Paul Wasicka is its champion.

Best known for his runner-up finish to Jamie Gold in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, Wasicka entered the final table at Harrah’s Tunica with the chip lead but had to overcome some talented opposition en route to the championship. Luckily for him the three most dangerous players at the table – Carter Phillips, Dwyte Pilgrim, and Matt Stout – went out in fifth through seventh places, opening up a clear path to the championship. Helping him to stay focused throughout the day were his parents and sister, who drove 17 hours from Colorado to cheer him on.

Heads-up play began with Wasicka holding a small lead over Larry Gurney, but he got to work right away and built a 5-to-1 lead before flopping two pair against Gurney’s pocket fours on the last hand. For his first in-the-money finish at a WSOP Circuit event the champ earned $139,422, a gold WSOP Circuit ring, and a seat in the 2010 WSOP Main Event.

Though he has enjoyed significant success since making a name for himself in 2006, the win in Tunica was the first open-field tournament victory of Wasicka’s career. His only previous win came in the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, an invitational tournament. He now has nearly $7.8 million in career tournament earnings. “This is something that I’ve been searching for, for a very long time,” he said afterward. “This is just awesome, it was always about the money but now it was about just taking one down.”