Bodog Beat

After battling through one of the toughest WSOP Circuit event fields in recent memory, Bodog poker pro Justin Bonomo captured the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring. (Bodog Beat Image)

The last WSOP Circuit event of the season is known for drawing a star-studded field as poker pros look to make the finishing touches to their poker game before the World Series of Poker gets underway, and this year was no different. After four days and a marathon final table, Bodog Poker Pro Justin Bonomo bested the tough field to walk away with the $237,692 first-place prize and coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring.

What started with 187 players, including well-known WSOP bracelet winners Erick Lindgren, Mark Seif, Kathy Liebert, David “the Dragon” Pham, Steve Billirakis and Thor Hansen, slowly narrowed to the nine players at the final table, with the level of competition still remaining world-class. Joining Bonomo at the final table were poker legend Men "The Master" Nguyen and Bonomo's eventual heads-up opponent Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi. The final table played out for a long eight hours, four of which involved the heads-up duel between Bonomo and Mizrachi, lasting for more than 100 hands.

"Playing heads-up was really exhausting," said Bonomo. "Every hand I played [against Mizrachi] put me in a tough decision. That made it even more difficult. So, to win this event makes it all the more meaningful to me to have earned it this way.”

While this is the first major live poker tournament victory for the 23-year-old Las Vegas resident, Bonomo has been no stranger to final tables. At the age of 19, he set the mark as the youngest player (19 years and five months old) ever to make a televised final table of an international poker tournament at the 2005 EPT French Open. He followed up that accomplishment with a runner-up performance in the 2008 World Series of Poker $5,000 Mixed Hold'em event, a final table appearance in the 2007 World Series of Poker $2,000 No Limit Hold'em event and at the 2006 World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic. In this particular WSOP Circuit event, Bonomo has reached the final table three consecutive years, finishing fifth in 2007 and fourth last year.

With almost $2 million in career tournament earnings in just under four years, Bonomo will be looking to add to his already impressive resume this summer in Las Vegas at the 2009 World Series of Poker*, and his $10,000 buy-in for the Main Event is already locked up as a result of winning the WSOP Circuit event. Bodog is giving online poker players the opportunity to join Bonomo as part of Team Bodog at the 2009 WSOP* through its WSOP* Main Event qualifiers at Bodog.com. $12,000 WSOP* prize packages are up for grabs every week and players can get started on their way toward winning one of those for as little as $1, or 100 PTS.

* World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah's License Company, LLC ("Harrah's"). Harrah's does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with, the products, services, promotions or tournaments presented on this website.