F5 Poker. Everything Poker. Always Refreshing.

Matt Mullins reached the final table of the $400 PLO 8 event at the Potomac Summer Poker Open and was in position to chase a third straight mixed-game win in the series. The event had already hit the money bubble, paid 10 spots, and locked every player at the final table for at least $886. The first-place prize was set at $8,863.

Mullins chopped the $400 PLO Mix for $5,990 apiece. He also won the $400 8-Game Mix outright for $8,201. That 8-Game event drew 72 runners and generated a $23,430 prize pool. Seun Ohulnole finished second for $4,686, followed by Robert Paul in third for $2,870, Andrew Pham in fourth for $2,050, and Matthew Kelley in fifth for $1,582.

PokerNews described Mullins as having shown mixed-game prowess this series and having “earned him back-to-back victories.” That left him with a chance at extending the streak in the PLO 8 final table.

MGM Resorts’ newsroom said the Potomac Summer Poker Open returned to MGM National Harbor with 23 trophy events in partnership with BetMGM Poker. PokerNews added that the festival’s mixed-game slate included TORSE, Mixed PLO, 8-Game Mix, PLO 8 and Big O, with the $3,000 Main Event still to crown its champion on Aug. 17.

Kyle Lin of North Carolina won the $1,100 no-limit hold’em event at the 2026 Potomac Summer Poker Open for $31,559 after a heads-up deal with Nathan Bomey. Bomey took $26,540 in the agreement, while Lin kept the trophy that came with the title.

The event carried a $100,000 guarantee. After the win, Lin told PokerNews he was ready to play the $3,000 Main Event. His live earnings were listed at $421,582 at the time of the report.

That result came after an earlier update showed nine players left in the field and all of them already bagging chips for the next day. Andrew Huene had the lead at that stage with 2,265,000, and he was the only player above a million. The remaining players were set to return on Friday at 2 p.m. local time, with each guaranteed at least $3,558 and the winner expected to earn $35,548.

Casey Hatmaker also surfaced in the same event. He entered Day 1a after falling in ninth place for $3,558, and he had already qualified through an online $500 satellite on BetMGM Poker.

Tim Pool's run in the Potomac Summer Poker Open $3,000 Main Event ended on Day 1a after he arrived with only ten minutes left in late registration. He picked up queens, but the run ended when a king came on the river.

According to PokerNews, Pool had not even planned to play the flight. As covered in the earlier report on the event's launch, Day 1a opened at MGM National Harbor with 60,000-chip stacks, 45-minute levels, and 15 levels scheduled for the day.

One account of the hand said Pool flopped two pair against Nicholas Verderamo's kings before Verderamo spiked a king on the river to make a set and send him out. Another description of the same bustout said Pool four-bet jammed, got called by pocket kings, and was knocked out by the river king. Either way, the result was the same: his Main Event run was over.

The opening flight drew 100 entries and finished with 20 players remaining. David Van Noy ended Day 1a in the chip lead with 655,000, while Justin Liberto was right behind on 638,000.

After the bustout, Pool moved about 100 feet to a $2/$5 cash game table and sat down chasing his losses. PokerNews had spoken with him after the elimination and planned to follow up the next day with an interview about his poker background.

David Van Noy finished Day 1a of the Potomac Summer Poker Open $3,000 Main Event with 655,000 chips and took the lead over Justin Liberto, who bagged 638,000. Twenty players survived the opening flight from a field of 100 entries.

As covered yesterday, the event opened at MGM National Harbor with two starting flights and a 60,000-chip starting stack. According to PokerNews, Van Noy’s surge came after he faced Nicholas Verderamo in a big pot, called off his last 130,000 with aces and tens, won the hand on the river, and then kept building his stack through the rest of the night.

The top end of the leaderboard was crowded behind him. Ed Hill bagged 495,000, Casey Hatmaker finished with 351,000 after spiking a river set of jacks late in the last level, and Yebetse Wedeneh ended with 343,000. James Morris moved on with 340,000 while multi-tabling a blackjack tournament downstairs, and Samuel Rosen and Ari Katz each finished with 325,000.

A few other familiar names also made it through. Faraz Jaka bagged 186,000, Nicholas Verderamo finished on 247,000, and Christian Harder advanced with 151,000. Last year’s version of the $3,000 Main Event drew 377 players and was won by Robert Anderson for $211,915, while this year’s Day 1b starts tomorrow at 11 a.m., with Day 2 on Aug. 16 at noon and the final table set for Aug. 17 at 1 p.m.

The 2026 Potomac Summer Poker Open $3,000 Main Event opened at MGM National Harbor with Day 1a starting at 11 a.m. local time. The event carries a $750,000 guaranteed prize pool, and players begin with 60,000 chips.

Day 1 uses 45-minute levels, with a break after every three levels and a one-hour dinner break after Level 9. According to PokerNews, the opening day is set for 15 levels, with late registration open until the start of Level 13. Day 1b follows tomorrow at 11 a.m., and all surviving players return for Day 2 on Aug. 16 at noon. From there, levels extend to 60 minutes and the field plays down to a final table.

As reported in July, the series returned to MGM National Harbor from Aug. 5-17 with 23 trophy events and more than $1.5 million in guaranteed prize pools. The MGM schedule also lists the Main Event flights on Aug. 14 and 15, Day 2 on Aug. 16, and the final-table day on Aug. 17 at 1 p.m. The press release described the festival as a bi-annual series with mixed games and bounty events, run in collaboration with BetMGM Poker.

PokerNews called the Main Event the crown jewel of the series and said it would provide wall-to-wall live coverage through the end of the event. That coverage window runs through the final table, matching the two starting flights and the three-day path to a champion.

Last year’s $3,000 Main Event drew 377 entries and produced a $1,017,900 prize pool. Robert Anderson won it by defeating Lucas Vergara heads-up for $211,915.