Michael Jozoff Wins 2022 World Series of Poker Circuit Bicycle Casino Main Event

The World Series of Poker Circuit just wrapped up their latest series, with the most recent stop taking place at a legendary Los Angeles-area poker hotspot: The Bicycle Casino. The WSOPC Bike series featured 13 gold ring events and was folded into the venue’s Winnin’ O’ the Green festival that is running from Feb. 28 – Apr. 17. The centerpiece of the whole affair was the $1,700 buy-in no-limit hold; ’em WSOPC main event. The tournament attracted a total of 550 entries, creating a prize pool of $833,250 that was paid out among the top 83 finishers. After four days of action, California resident Michael Jozoff came away with the title and the top payout of $161,500.

Jozoff told WSOP reporters that he grew up in New York but attended college at the University of Southern California, graduating with a degree in finance. He now lives in Southern California.

“I’m 22-years-old, so pretty young. This past year was my first year legally being able to play tournaments in the U.S. Before that, I was playing online,” Jozoff said.

This win was his first recorded live tournament victory, which saw him secure his first WSOPC gold ring. He was also awarded 840 Card Player Player of the Year points as the champion of this event. This was his first POY-qualified score of the year, but it alone was sufficient to see him climb into 77th place in the 2022 POY race, which is sponsored by Global Poker.

The final day of this event began with eight players remaining. It didn’t take too long for the first player to hit the rail. Lee Ci got all-in with A-4 suited and was at risk facing the A-Q of Iris Angeleri. Ci was unable to come from behind and was eliminated in eighth place ($19,105). Corey Brass followed about half an hour later when his A-2 lost a preflop showdown against the K-10 of Steve Hyung. Brass took home $24,385 as the seventh-place finisher.

Jozoff scored his first knockout of the day when his AK held against the J9 of Andrew Ostapchenko. A jack on the turn gave Ostapchenko the lead, but an ace on the river sent the pot to Jozoff. Ostapchenko went home with $31,530 as the field was narrowed to five contenders.

Jozoff then won a key preflop race to continue his surge, with pocket sixes besting the A-J of Marc Robinson (5th – $41,285).

Steve Hyung lost the majority of his stack with the money going in on the turn, with his top pair of aces up against a flopped set of deuces for Angeleri. Hyung was left quite short after that, and was soon all in with 10-5 suited facing the K-2 of Eugene Tito. Hyung failed to improve and was knocked out in fourth place ($54,740).

Angeleri’s stack dwindled during three-handed play. She ultimately got all-in with pocket sevens and was called by Tito, who held pocket kings. Both players flopped a set. The case seven did not materialize on the turn or river and Angeleri was eliminated in third place ($74,480).

With that Jozoff took roughly a 2:1 chip advantage into heads-up play with Tito. He extended that lead even further by the time the final hand of the tournament was dealt. Tito moved all-in from the button with A10 and received a quick call from Jozoff, who held KK. The board came down J10696x to lock up the pot and the title for Jozoff. Tito earned $99,840 as the runner-up.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

Winner photo provided by WSOP.

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