WSOP Circuit Event Ends with Epic Winner-Take-All Gamble

The Deerfoot Inn & Casino in Calgary has seen some action over the years. A popular place to play and stay, the Canadian city is closest to Montana on the map. There is still a world of difference between the two states, however, and this week saw a unique winner at the Casino, as Mehmet Siginc took home CA$40,545 (around $29,000) for winning a $600 NLH/PLO WSOP-Circuit event thanks to a unique heads-up deal.

Expanded WSOP Circuit Reaches North

Over the last few years, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) have expanded their Circuit event tour to include many more cities and provincial towns in their reach. The net has been cast as far north as the Deerfoot Inn & Casino in Calgary for some time, and this week saw one player from the casino win bigger than he should have done.

With a $106,101 prizepool and 31 paid money places, the No Limit hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha mixed event was won by Mehmet Siginc. The Calgary native, who had won an impressive $337,631 prior to taking part in the tournament, survived to the latter stages of the event. Once in the money places, play advanced to the final table and soon to the podium places, whereupon Amir Khan – not the boxer – busted in third place for as score of CA$10,692 (around $7,000).

With just two players left, talk turned to a deal… but not the usual kind. Both Signinc and his friend Nicholas Lee, another Calgary local, spoke about what to play for. At this stage, it’s worth understanding that both Canadians were already WSOP Circuit ring winners and had each won eight ranking titles according to The Hendon Mob. In fact, Lee’s total of

$623,204 in lifetime earnings was almost double that of Siginc.

That was about to change.

The Deal of the Century

With first-place money originally worth CA$24,580, everything changed when the two men agreed to play for both second place and top prize combined. All or nothing, winner-take-all, however you want to call it, everything was on the line. The “gentleman’s agreement” as Siginc would later describe it started with both men having roughly equal chip stacks. Siginc initially took a huge lead, bullying his way up to what looked like an irreversible 15:1 chip advantage, as the crowd swelled around them.

Many of the players who had left the tournament stuck around to watch the last two players battle it out for the WSOP Circuit Ring and the only prize left to be won. Lee fought back, not just to double back into contention, but first to level the stacks then to take an improbable lead.

When Lee got all his chips into the middle with ace-seven, he must have hoped he was a high hand away from the title, but instead he was dominated. Siginc turned over ace-ten and that dominating hand held through flop, turn and river to shift momentum back the other way one more time.

Poker can be a cruel game and soon, Siginc had all the chips and the WSOP ring on his finger. Lee shoved with king-ten and Siginc made a quick call with ace-nine. The better hand stayed ahead through the board and two men shook hands. Siginc posed with the gold and took home $29,000. Lee, consoled by his friend and countryman, returned home with nothing, not even a min-cash.

Siginc Explains the Situation

As the two men drifted apart and prepared to leave the casino, the truth of their clash emerged. They knew each other well and had played together for years, so decided to risk it all.

“He is my friend. It was a gentleman’s agreement,” Signinc told reporters after the victory. “Everyone who was eliminated was watching the heads-up match. It was very exciting.”

Siginc went on to compliment his opponent, saying that Lee is an “amazing player” and said that they both loved to gamble as well as play the best poker they can.

When play had reached eight players, Siginc had offered Lee the heads-up deal if they made it that far. Lee agreed and stuck to his word when the duo actually did end up battling for the title.

When Daniel Negreanu talks about declaring intentions and they come true, you know it has some merit when this sort of situation plays out. It was also not the first time Siginc had offered the dela to an opponent.

“I was asking to do this for years and he was the only one to accept it,” Siginc revealed. “I would do it again!”

Now a two-time WSOP Circuit winner, Siginc is bound to run deep again. After all, he has won 20% of the tournaments he’s ever cashed in. Nicholas Lee knew that and still took the risk against him.

Would you?