VIDEO: Poker Pro Maurice Hawkins Assaulted During Thanksgiving Game
Posted on: November 29, 2025, 01:53h.
Last updated on: November 29, 2025, 01:54h.
As families clashed over politics at dinner tables across America this Thanksgiving, it was a Florida poker table that delivered the holiday’s most viral fight.
Maurice Hawkins, the most decorated player in the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC), was assaulted during a private game in Palm Beach County. Footage obtained by PokerNews, which broke the story, spread rapidly across social media platforms, sparking debate about what triggered the altercation.
The footage shows Hawkins absorbing multiple punches to the head while still seated, before attempting to grapple with his attacker. Other players quickly intervene to separate the two men.
Check it out yourself…
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Hawkins holds the all‑time WSOPC record with 21 tournament gold rings. He is also known for baiting his poker opponents with boasts about his prowess both on the felt and in the boxing ring. And, as one anonymous source told PokerNews, the other player simply “had enough” of him “running his mouth.”
Another player in the game, Tray Rock, explained that he and Hawkins had identified themselves as African American in nationality, a claim that was challenged by a player identified only as Eugene, who took issue with “African American” being a nationality.
Not usually one to back down, Hawkins, according to Rock, then quipped: “So what — you want to box about it?”
This triggered Eugene to rise from his chair and launch the assault.
Hawkins addressed the incident on X (formerly Twitter) , posting video and commentary seemingly in response to those who claimed he had been defeated.
“The narratives are hilarious,” he wrote. “A guy tried to sucker punch me and sneak attack me while I am in my seat. Then you post I got my ass whoop. Fucking hilarious.”
While physical confrontations in poker remain rare, they do occur. Earlier this year, a player was knocked unconscious during a fight in the Red Rock Poker Room in Las Vegas.
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