Preson Dean wins the Rought Rider Championship again

Preston Dean Wins Roughrider Poker Tour State Championship Once more After 10 Years

On the 2026 Roughrider Poker Tour On line casino State Championship, held on the Spirit Lake On line casino & Resort in St. Michael, North Dakota, one thing particular occurred. Out of a large subject of 1,655 entries within the $250 Predominant Occasion — the most important subject in North Dakota poker historical past — one title rose above all others: Preston Dean.

What makes this victory actually a really feel good story for the New Yr, is that pitted towards such a sizeable subject vying for the $49,300 first-place prize (plus a $10,700 WSOP Predominant Occasion bundle), it’s that the winner Preston Dean gained this exact same state title as soon as earlier than — a full decade earlier.

A Historic Repeat on this Native Match Collection

Again in January 2015, Preston Dean, a Minot, North Dakota native, topped the state’s flagship poker occasion — then the North Dakota state championship — and was topped the N.D. poker champion. His win made native headlines, and for years he held a spot in regional poker lore because the participant to beat in native tournaments and Roughrider occasions.

Quick ahead to early January 2026, and Dean has achieved it once more — this time on a a lot bigger stage, towards a subject that dwarfs most native occasions.

With simply 387 entrants in its inaugural occasion again in 2004, the rise of this native poker sequence goes to indicate how regional poker sequence just like the Tough Rider Poker Championship are thriving. And with wins like Preston Dean’s, it retains some native Moneymaker magic within the air. Let’s hope we see Dean on the WSOP 2026 function tables.

Chris Vaughan

Poker Journalist

Chris is a seasoned iGaming author and poker journalist who has lined the sport, its technique, and its legends since 2007. [more]