Dennis Buckhaus Hopes to Find a Bag in the Final Flight of the $600 Opener.

“You try to shoot as much in the last flight as you can, try to find the bag and you can spin it up,” Backhaus said. “If not, there’s always a tag team later.”

His return to the poker room came after a whirlwind few days. Fresh off watching the World Series of Poker final table in person, Backhaus barely had time to catch his breath before heading to a concert. He got home around midnight, then eventually made his way to MGM National Harbor.

“At that point I probably hadn’t slept in about 38 hours,” he said.

Despite the lack of sleep, Backhaus has plenty of motivation. After watching his friend Lucas Jumalon win the Main Event and spending time on the rail at the final table, he hopes to put some of the advice he heard from coaches Matt Bodie and Patrick Leonard to use in his own deep run.

“It’s still just like a dream,” he said of Lucas Jumalon’s victory. “It’s fantastic.”

With that experience fresh in his mind, Backhaus looks to build on that momentum and make a run at the top prize.

“I always say every tournament is basically a satellite for the Main Event,” he said. “I’m hoping to get my money right now here so I can play the Main Event next year and hopefully have a somewhat similar run as Luke has. Of course, that’s a big dream.”