Derrick Plumage Becomes First Back-to-Back RGPS Main Event Champ
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The RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) Council Bluffs $600 Main Event at Horseshoe Hotel and Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa attracted 576 entries and offered up a $299,520 prize pool. On Sunday, the returning 73 players were whittled down to a final winner.
It was only three months ago that Derrick Plumage won his first RunGood Main Event ring in the $420 Contender Weekend Main Event In Council Bluffs for $51,888. Now, after a relatively quick final table, Plumage dominated to go back-to-back winning $56,931 in the process.
He now stands alone as the first RGPS Main Event champion ever to win two titles back to back, earning himself over $100,000 over the course of the year.
��It still doesn��t feel real,�� the 40-year-old father and family man said after winning the event. ��Last time I was second in chips going into Day 2, made it to the final table, did not knock out many people until the last two. This time around I came in second in chips, made it to the final table, and knocked out seven of eight players.��
The chip leader of the first flight of the tournament possessed a dominating presence at the final table.
��Leaves me some room for improvement,�� he joked about only knocking out seven players of the final eight he could have.
Throughout the day, he was surrounded by a close group of friends on his rail that were with him the first time he won the main, and they stayed with him for a while.
��If I had to pick one person to highlight, it would be my buddy Dave,�� Plumage remarked. The long hours he spent at the casino during the week, his friends were with him every step of the way. ��My buddy Dave, I couldn��t do it without him.��
RGPS Council Bluffs Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derrick Plumage | $56,931 |
| 2 | Mark Homan | $39,896 |
| 3 | Keith Jeffrey | $25,669 |
| 4 | Loren Hackman | $18,271 |
| 5 | Mo Nuwwarah | $14,018 |
| 6 | Doug Hawley | $11,532 |
| 7 | Matthew Palmer(US) | $9,525 |
| 8 | Yoel Gonzalez | $7,588 |
| 9 | Daniel Hamm | $5,691 |
Day 2 Action
Day 2 kicked off to a quick start, with many players�� dreams of rings being dashed quickly out the gate. Players who fell short of the final table included Blair Hinkle (46th-$1,198), Nathan Steuer (34th-$1,557), Bernard Lee (20th-$2,666), and Grant Hinkle (18th-$3,145). The final table was reached when Mark Kastory��s king-six offsuit could not improve against Mark Homan��s ace-king. He ended his run in tenth place for $4,762.
Derrick Plumage Wins Weekend RGPS Contenders Horseshoe Council Bluffs
Final Table Action
First to go at the final table was Daniel Hamm, who took home $5,691 for his efforts. He moved in his short stack of 825,000 from first position with jack-ten against the pocket queens of Mo Nuwwarah. Although Hamm flopped a gutshot straight draw, he was unable to improve and his quest for a ring ended in ninth place.
Shortly after, Yoel Gonzalez got into a preflop raising war with Plumage. He eventually got in his 1,400,000 with king-queen of hearts, up against Plumage��s ace-ten offsuit. The board ran out as no favor to Gonzalez and he collected $7,588 for his eighth-place finish.
Matthew Palmer came to the final table with one of the shorter stacks and was unable to win a single pot at the final table. In his final hand, he found his king-jack failing to hold up against Plumage��s queen-ten and he ended in seventh place, collecting $9,525 for his efforts.
Doug Hawley came to the final table with the shortest chip stack, but a timely double and some patience rewarded him with a few ladders. When the time came, he called with ace-six against Plumage��s shove who had king-ten. All seemed peachy until the river where Plumage made a straight and Hawley shook everyone��s hands, wishing them luck, and ended his run in sixth place for $11,532.
Former PokerNews reporter Mo Nuwwarah seemed poised to take control of the tournament when he got involved in a 7,000,000 pot with ace-king offsuit against Plumage��s ace-queen suited. The flop gave Nuwwarah top pair top kicker, but the river completed Plumage��s flush, and Nuwwarah left the tournament area quickly, collecting $14,018 for his fifth-place finish.
Shortly after, Loren Hackman tried his luck at racing against Plumage when he got his short stack in with king-five offsuit and Plumage called him with ace-two offsuit. The board gave Hackman no favors and he left in fourth place, collecting $18,271, and leaving the other three to battle for their spot on the podium.
It was the start-of-final-table leader Keith Jeffrey who fell first when he moved all in with an ace-high flush draw, only to get called by Plumage��s two pair. The flush draw did not come home and Jeffrey collected $25,669 for his impressive third-place finish.
Heads up only last two hands, the second of which saw Plumage move all in from the button with ace-seven, only to get called in the big blind by Mark Homan with ace-queen. The flop and river each had a seven on it and Plumage��s three sevens won him the tournament.
Homan finished in second place for $39,896. Since Plumage already owned a seat for the Pro-Am, Homan won his seat for the Pro-Am coming this winter on top of his second-place finish.
The next RGPS will actually be on the high seas as the RGPS CardPlayer Cruise Royal Caribbean will take place October 29-November 6. From there, the tour will head to San Diego's Jamul Casino November 15-20 followed by a season-ending visit at Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Northern California from November 25-December 5. Click here for more information on all future stops.
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