Maurice Hawkins

Early Life and Background

Maurice Hawkins (born February 2, 1980) is from St. Louis, Missouri. He played football from an early age and earned a scholarship to play at Alabama A&M University, where he lined up at defensive end, center, and later nickelback. During his time in college, he tore both hamstrings while chasing an armed robber away from his property. Hawkins, who held a third-degree brown belt, gave chase on foot and sustained the injuries in the process. The tears ended his football career. He subsequently transferred to Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he completed a degree in biology with a minor in chemistry. He has noted that medical school was a viable next step, but chose against it partly to avoid six additional years of school while raising a son.

Entry into Poker

While recovering from the hamstring injuries on crutches, Hawkins visited the Seminole Casino in South Florida and began playing Omaha sit-and-gos. The casino format at the time stopped play after 50 hands. He described the transition to no-limit hold'em as natural given his background: "I saw that Texas Hold'em was a game I could use aggression to win in. And from a football background, you know how aggression is what we feed off of."

He built his bankroll incrementally through cash games and sit-and-gos in South Florida, eventually reaching a buy-in level of $1,000. A third-place finish in a local tournament called The Big Slick earned him $21,000 and marked his first significant score. He also acknowledged that the geography shaped his development: "The difference between Vegas and South Florida is in South Florida you can sit back and pick your spots because you have time. Vegas is very aggressive and calculated." His first recorded live tournament cash came in 2005.

The WSOP Circuit: Ring Record

The World Series of Poker Circuit was launched in 2005 as a regional touring series awarding gold rings rather than bracelets. Hawkins won his first Circuit ring in 2008. Over the following 17 years, he accumulated more Circuit rings than any player in the history of the format.

The previous all-time record was held by Ari Engel at 19 rings. Hawkins tied that record with his 18th ring, at which point Engel added a 19th. Hawkins then won his 19th to re-tie, and on August 26, 2025, at a Circuit stop in New Orleans, he won his 20th ring to stand alone as the all-time record holder. Within days at the same stop, he won his 21st.

WSOP.com

Maurice Hawkins Stands Alone With All-Time WSOP Circuit Ring Record

Hawkins wins his 20th ring at New Orleans, breaking Ari Engel's previous record and becoming the most decorated Circuit player in history.

Read full story →

In January 2026, Hawkins won two rings at Horseshoe Tunica within a short span, extending the record to 22 and then 23. In early April 2026, he won his 24th ring at the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, Illinois, taking home $17,419. On May 15, 2026, at Harrah's Cherokee in North Carolina, he defeated a field of 631 entrants and beat WSOP bracelet winner and WPT champion James Calderaro heads-up in Event #9: $1,100 No-Limit Hold'em, earning $113,223. That result was his 25th Circuit ring and his fourth title of the 2026 calendar year.

Six of his 25 Circuit victories have come in main events. He has recorded more than 76 Circuit final table appearances. Following the 25th win, Hawkins stated: "I'm gonna play another 20 years," and cited a personal ring target of "probably 200, 250."

Playing Style and Approach

Hawkins has described his tournament approach as deliberately low-variance. In his own words: "It doesn't matter how you get to a million dollars. You can do it five dollars at a time, or win it all on one big flip." On the psychology of the game: "I approach this like it's a game. A lot of people out here approach it like it's their life. When you're at the table, everyone's in the game and it's not the same as when you're away from the table." He has also stated: "I don't think most poker players are that good."

A full career interview discussing his playing approach and philosophy is available at Chasing Poker Greatness.

WSOP Bracelet Events

As of May 2026, Hawkins has not won a WSOP bracelet. He has reached four final tables in bracelet events, the most recent of which came in 2021. His largest single live cash, $280,100, came from a 35th-place finish in the 2023 WSOP Main Event ($10,000 No-Limit Hold'em). His record of 76-plus Circuit final tables against 4 bracelet event final tables reflects a career spent almost entirely on the regional tour. His full results are tracked on The Hendon Mob and CardPlayer.

Staking Disputes: A Timeline

Hawkins has been involved in multiple publicized financial disputes with tournament backers across his entire career. The pattern begins in 2016 and extends through 2026.

2016: Hal Lewis

Attorney Hal Lewis, a partner at the Florida law firm Fonvielle Lewis Messer & McConnaughhay, staked Hawkins in a 50-50 deal beginning in early 2016 after the two met in Jacksonville. Lewis subsequently filed suit claiming he was owed $22,788. He posted an open letter on the 2+2 poker forum titled "I am suing scamming scumbag Maurice Hawkins over $22,000 he owes me", writing: "I am a partner in a Law Firm... and a poker aficionado. I wanted to let the poker community know how much of a scumbag Maurice Hawkins is."

The case was dropped a year later after both parties acknowledged the dispute had stemmed from a miscommunication over which tournaments were covered under the deal.

2019-2022: Randy Garcia

Garcia began staking Hawkins in March 2017 in a 50-50 arrangement. Hawkins initially performed well, including a third-place finish as chip leader at a WSOP Circuit event. The relationship soured and Garcia pursued legal action. A 2+2 thread titled "Maurice Hawkins owes me $103,000" documented Garcia's account publicly. The Circuit Court of the 15th Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County, Florida (Case No. 502019CA000052XXXXMB) ultimately ruled in Garcia's favor for $103,000 plus $12,377.34 in prejudgment statutory interest and $451.00 in court costs, totaling $115,828.34.

After the judgment, Hawkins agreed to pay $2,500 per month until $30,000 had been repaid. He stopped making payments after a small number of installments. Garcia estimated he had received approximately $10,000 in total across the four years following the judgment, while Hawkins cashed for well over a million dollars in that period.

2025: Denise Pratt

WSOP bracelet winner Denise Pratt alleged that Hawkins failed to repay funds she had provided for tournament entries and travel at the MSPT Columbus and at Horseshoe Tunica. Her records showed she spent $11,460 and was owed approximately $15,000 from Hawkins' resulting winnings. Pratt recorded a confrontation with Hawkins at a casino payout desk and released the footage. In the video, Hawkins calls Pratt a derogatory name and leaves without settling.

Pratt initiated mediation. After seven months, the mediator issued a ruling signed by both parties: "no conclusive fault determined" and "text evidence indicates ambiguity." The ruling concluded that Pratt had provided funds she understood to be for tournament entries, while Hawkins maintained, based on prior practice and no formal written agreement, that the funds could also cover travel and expenses. Following the settlement announcement, Pratt alleged Hawkins had violated a confidentiality agreement by discussing its terms publicly.

Additional former backers have made public statements via social media and recorded interviews characterizing Hawkins as having failed to repay backing debts. CardPlayer covered the broader pattern as the accusations coincided with his 19th Circuit ring win.

Assault at a Home Game: November 2025

On November 26, 2025, Hawkins was physically attacked during a private poker game in Palm Beach County, Florida. A player identified as Eugenio Castaneda walked from his seat to Hawkins' seat and began punching him while he was seated at the table. The incident was recorded on video.

Accounts of what triggered the altercation differ. One witness stated it was "a totally unprovoked attack," describing a dispute that began when Castaneda challenged a comment about nationality. Another source told PokerNews the fight stemmed from "Maurice running his mouth about how good of a boxer he is, poking and talking shit to another player who had enough." A warrant for Castaneda's arrest was issued by December 10, 2025.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing

On April 23, 2026, Hawkins filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida through his attorney, Michael A. Kaufman. The filing listed assets valued at between $500,000 and $1 million and liabilities of between $100,000 and $500,000. The filing explicitly named the Garcia judgment as a debt Hawkins sought to discharge.

The filing came three weeks after Hawkins won his 24th WSOP Circuit ring. He had recorded $217,254 in tournament cashes in 2026 up to that point. His tournament earnings for the two preceding calendar years were $853,068 (2025) and $741,937 (2024).

The immediate event preceding the filing was a garnishment. On April 22, 2026, Hawkins attempted to collect tournament winnings at a casino cage in Tunica, Mississippi. Garcia's attorney had already contacted the casino operator and secured a garnishment order, preventing Hawkins from withdrawing the funds. Hawkins retained bankruptcy counsel the same day and filed Chapter 7 the following morning.

Garcia's attorney, Rogen Chhabra, responded publicly: "We have evidence of his winnings and his statements on social media. We intend to prove in court that Maurice Hawkins is not truly insolvent but is abusing the system."

Hawkins responded on X the day after the filing:

Hawkins also drew a comparison on X between the media coverage of his situation and that of high-profile player David Peters, who faced debt accusations around the same period, implying the difference in intensity of coverage was race-related. Community response noted that Peters had faced a single accusation, while Hawkins had accumulated a documented history across multiple creditors spanning nearly a decade.

On May 15, 2026, twenty-two days after the bankruptcy filing, Hawkins won his 25th Circuit ring at Harrah's Cherokee for $113,223.

Response to Controversy

Following the bankruptcy filing, Hawkins appeared in an uncut interview on the PokerNews Podcast and fired back at the narrative around the filing. He disputed characterizations of the Garcia debt and the circumstances of the filing. He has not publicly acknowledged wrongdoing in any of the disputes.

Tournament Results Highlights

Career Summary

As of May 2026, Hawkins holds 25 WSOP Circuit rings, the most in the history of the format by a margin of more than five over the next closest player. He has zero WSOP bracelets. His recorded live tournament earnings stand at approximately $6.97 million across more than 700 cashes. He has six Circuit main event titles and more than 76 Circuit final table appearances. His ring record was set across 18 years of competition, from 2008 through 2026, at stops across the United States.

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Earnings and ring count current as of May 2026. Sources: PokerNews, CardPlayer, Hendon Mob, WSOP.com.