Manjunath Mulinti Wins WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Main Event for $172,325

Manjunath Mulinti finished seventh in the World Series of Poker Circuit main event at Thunder Valley Casino Resort in January. In October he returned to the Sacramento-area venue and won it. According to CardPlayer, Mulinti outlasted 599 entries in the $1,700 buy-in main event to collect $172,325 and his first Circuit ring.

His January result was only the second recorded live tournament cash of his career, CardPlayer reports. The October title came in his 11th. Mulinti, who lives just outside San Jose, California, also went deep over the summer, including a 16th-place finish in the $1,700 WSOP Circuit Championship bracelet event. His career earnings, all of them recorded in 2026, now stand at $257,356.

J.C. Tran’s eighth-place exit at Thunder Valley

The event paid 90 players from a $907,485 prize pool. Among those cashing were bracelet winner Andrew Ostapchenko (85th), 2024 WPT Rolling Thunder winner Casey Sandretto (78th), WSOP broadcaster Jeff Platt (62nd), two-time bracelet winner Barry Shulman (17th) and 2025 WSOP main event final tablist Jarod Minghini (10th).

Mulinti started the final day with a narrow chip lead over Dawson Dvorak. Matthew Kramer went out first in ninth place for $12,970. Sacramento’s J.C. Tran, a two-time World Poker Tour champion and two-time bracelet winner, climbed briefly before sliding back to a short stack. He was eliminated holding A♦K♠ against Henry Acain’s Q♣Q♦. Tran paired his king on an all-club flop, but a fourth club on the turn gave Acain the pot. Tran took $16,730 for eighth, adding to more than $13.7 million in career earnings.

Bin Duan busted in seventh for $22,010. Andrew Nguyen followed in sixth ($29,510) after his final chips went in preflop with K♥Q♥ against two opponents. Mulinti held pocket jacks against Acain’s pocket nines and scooped the pot, adding a substantial number of chips to his stack. Acain went out next in fifth for $40,310 when his pocket sevens lost a race to Dvorak’s A♦Q♠.

Dvorak’s cooler against Jesse Stephens

That pot returned the chip lead to Dvorak, but it did not last. A player identified by CardPlayer only as Wang won a key double-up, and then came the largest pot of the tournament. On a 5♣4♦3♦Q♥3♠ board, Jesse Stephens moved all in for slightly more than a pot-sized bet. Dvorak used several time banks before calling with Q♣10♣. Stephens showed Q♠J♠, winning with the same pair and a better kicker. Mulinti then won a large pot from Stephens to retake the lead, and Wang eliminated Dvorak in fourth place for $56,090.

The final three started roughly even. Mulinti took over from there. His stack grew to 16 million, double the combined chips of Stephens and Wang. Wang went out in third for $79,490 when his Q♥10♥ flopped a pair against Mulinti’s pocket nines, only for the Q♣8♦7♠5♣6♣ runout to complete a straight for Mulinti. Stephens flopped a draw with 7♦3♦ on a 6♦4♦2♣ board in the final hand but finished as runner-up.

The victory carries a follow-up opportunity. As a Circuit ring winner, Mulinti qualifies for a $5,000 WSOP Paradise prize package that includes a seat in the $2,750 Circuit Championship mystery bounty event in December.