Abbas Pasha may not have had a long career in poker tournaments, but something about the Horseshoe Council Bluffs seems to bring out the best in him.
403 hopefuls made their way to the 2024 RGPS Rungood Resort Council Bluffs $800 Main Event with their eyes on the ring. After three long days of play, it is Pasha who is walking away with the $58,735 first place prize.
Pasha lives in Ames, Iowa, just over two hours away from Council Bluffs. He has prior success here, claiming a WSOP circuit ring for almost $29,000 in 2023.
Final Table Results
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Winner's Reaction
Abbas Pasha
Pasha was able to breathe a sign of relief after finally winning the title, as he had his heads-up opponent Julie Cornelius on the ropes several times.
"As soon as the tournament was over I just let out a big breath. I just want to lay down and sleep."
Pasha will need some sleep after his performance the last two days. He was dominant from start to finish on his way to the title.
"It feels really good and I'm super excited. I really wanted to win one of those huge Rungood rings because they are so cool."
Pasha is no stranger to the world of poker, but the idea of live tournaments is relatively new for him.
"I started playing casually in my early twenties and gradually played more over the years but primarily in cash games."
"During COVID, I started playing tournaments online and got the tournament bug, and I feel like I got pretty good at them."
"Good" is an understatement after watching Pasha's play over the last couple days, highlighted by a superb hero call for all of the chips during heads-up play. The pressure of the situation did not seem to affect him.
Pasha says that he does some IT work but also stays busy playing poker often. He also has a wife and baby at home that he will be sure to celebrate with.
"I'd like to give a shoutout to my wife. She's at home with my son and it's awesome that she's able to stay at home and let me get out here to try and make some money."
Pasha and his wife are expecting a second child in January, so his $58,735 score should be more than enough to cover some new baby clothes.
The Day's Action
48 players returned for Day 2 action, all of which being in the money and guaranteed a minimum cash of $1,368.
The eliminations came quick to start the day as many short stacks returned for Day 2. However, the pace of play eventually slowed down as the money became more and more serious.
Many notable players cashed the event but were unable to make it to the final table. Some of these include WSOP bracelet winners Blair Hinkle, Mo Nuwwarah, and Bob Slezak. Others include Rungood regulars Daniel Lowery and Brent Gregory, as well as three-time MSPT champion Nick Barksdale.
Series leaderboard winner Brent Gregory
Final Table Action
With the double elimination of David Caron and Andre Allen on the final table bubble, the final nine players combined.
Play would continue for almost an hour with no eliminations until the final nine went on dinner break.
Shortly after dinner, Jared Ward would be the first to fall in ninth place. He got short-stacked after doubling another player and eventually got his stack in with king-queen against ace-jack and he failed to improve as he hit the rail in ninth.
The next casualty in eighth place was Siphonh Tran. He was short for the majority of the day and jammed with king-jack only to run into ace-jack as he laddered his way to an impressive finish.
In seventh place was Ben McCoy. The start-of-day chip leader would jam 16 big blinds from the small blind with pocket eights and was called by the ace-five suited of Cornelius in the big blind, who would pair her ace on the river to eliminate McCoy in brutal fashion.
Ben McCoy
The next to fall in sixth was Logan Cate. The youngest player to make Day 2 fought his way to final table and called off his stack with ace-queen against a small blind jam with pocket eights. Cate failed to pair as he hit the rail in sixth for a career-best score.
In fifth place was Cash Carpenter. After a stretch of bad cards he got the rest of short stack in the middle with king-eight suited only to run into the king-queen of Hendricks, who flopped a queen and Carpenter ended his day in fifth.
Four-handed play would continue for some time until busted in fourth. He against a small blind jam only but he was dominated against the ace-ten of Cornelius who held as Girouard made another final table in Council Bluffs.
The next casualty in third was. He would from the button but he ran into the pocket aces of Pasha who held to set up a head-up battle with.
Pasha began heads-up play with a large lead but Cornelius continued to fight back. Eventually, the two were even when the. Pasha called a three-bet with eight-seven. He would flop a gutshot and call a continuation bet. On the turn, Pasha picked up a pair to go along with his draw but faced a jam for his tournament life. He eventually put in the call and was up against two overcards and a flush draw. Pasha held and would go on to win two hands later to claim the title.
In the series leaderboard, Brent Gregory finished first, with Mo Nuwwarah in second and Duane Gerleman in third.
That does it for PokerNews' coverage of the 2024 RGPS Rungood Resort Council Bluffs $800 Main Event. Stay tuned as we continue to cover poker tournaments around the world.