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Sami Bechahed Wins World Series of Poker Circuit Choctaw Main Event

The French Poker Dealer Defeated A Field of 1,076 Entries To Earn $274,916 and His Second WSOPC Ring

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Sami Bechahed started playing poker over a decade ago online in France. Seven years ago he moved to America to be with his now wife, Nicole. He started dealing poker on Los Angeles live streams, starting at Live at the BIKE! before moving to Hustler Live. He has recently begun playing more live tournament poker, and has found great success off the bat. With just 23 cashes, he has accumulated more than $650,000 in total earnings, including two World Series of Poker Circuit rings.

His biggest victory yet came on Monday, Nov. 14. Bechahed defeated a field of 1,076 entries in the 2022 WSOP Circuit Choctaw $1,700 no-limit hold’em main event, earning that second ring and $274,916 for the win.

“I came [to the US] with just a few thousand dollars to my name, and it has honestly been the best decision of my life, I’m definitely living the American Dream,” Bechahed told WSOP reporters.

In addition to the title and the money, Bechahed also secured 960 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. With 1,000 total points, he now sits in 500th place in the 2022 POY race sponsored by Global Poker.

This event played out over the course of four total days, with two starting flights and then two more days to play down to a winner. The top 161 finishers made the money, including bracelet winner DJ Alexander (144th), World Poker Tour champion Frank Stepuchin (138th), Christina Gollins (49th), four-time ring winner Michael Marder (41st), Alex Phahurat (35th), poker vlogger Cedrric Trevino (11th), ten-time ring winner Daniel Lowery (9th), Angela Jordison (4th), and WSOPC Hard Rock Tulsa main event winner Arthur Morris (2nd).

Morris earned $169,906 as the runner-up. With 1,868 POY points, most of which came from his two big scores in WSOPC events, Morris now sits in 146th place in the POY ranks. Jordison was at her sixth final table of the year, with $434,019 in POY earnings accrued thus far. This deep run was enough to catapult her into 43rd place on the leaderboard with 3,100 total points.

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

Place Player Earnings POY Points
1 Sami Bechahed $274,916 960
2 Arthur Morris $169,906 800
3 Rami Jradeh $127,513 640
4 Angela Jordison $96,595 480
5 Chad Hicks $73,867 400
6 Nathanael Kogel $57,027 320
7 Jackson Holtgraves $44,451 240
8 William Wolf $34,986 160
9 Daniel Lowery $27,808 80

Photo provided by WSOP.