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Ivan Tomic won the $600 NLH Opener at the 2026 Potomac Summer Poker Open at MGM National Harbor in Maryland, earning $156,190 after beating Atharv Kumar heads-up.

According to PokerNews, the opener drew 1,508 runners and generated a $723,540 prize pool, smashing the half-million guarantee. Day 2 started with 153 players, and everyone had already made the money after seven separate bubbles in the Day 1 flights.

Justin Arnwine was viewed as the favorite and held the chip lead for most of Day 2. The report said he was the most accomplished player at the final table, with more than $2 million in live earnings, but he finished fourth after losing to Phillip Luy.

Luy briefly took the three-handed chip lead before running into Tomic’s aces and finishing third. Dominic Lake had gone out in 12th after his jacks ran into queens, and Tomic then rode that momentum into the final stretch.

Heads-up play lasted less than ten minutes. Kumar’s jack-ten could not improve against Tomic’s ace-high.

In a winner’s interview, Tomic called the six-figure score a career highlight and said he was an on-and-off semi-pro who had been playing recreationally for two decades. He said he found poker during the Poker Boom, watched Poker After Dark, and thanked MGM National Harbor for opening because he had grown tired of driving to Charlestown.

Joe McKeehen doubled through Artem Metalidi in the SHRPO Championship after his pocket jacks held in a big all-in pot. The hand came in the $5,300 no-limit hold’em event when 125 players were left from a field of 673.

The live update said the clash came on Level 14, with blinds of 3,000/5,000 and a 5,000 ante. McKeehen opened from UTG+1, Metalidi reraised from the big blind to 40,000, and McKeehen shoved for 166,000.

Metalidi called, but McKeehen’s jacks held on the runout and the pot pushed him to 338,000 chips, or 68 big blinds. Metalidi finished the hand with 242,000, or 48 big blinds.

The update put the average stack around 269,000, or 54 big blinds, with 85 players set to finish in the money and a $9,700 min-cash. The page also showed a prize pool of $3.26 million.

The tournament’s event sheet lists the SHRPO Championship as a $5,300 no-limit hold’em event. Players start with 50,000 chips, and registration plus one re-entry per day remain open until the start of Level 9.

Artsiom Lasouski took the overall lead in the $10,400 Premiere after Day 1c of the Onyx High Roller Series at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa. He bagged 2,180,000 chips, the only stack above the two-million mark, while Kadir Altinbasak finished on 1,630,000 and Andrey Pateychuk bagged 1,200,000.

PokerNews said Day 1c drew 137 entries and sent 21 players through to Day 2 with at least a min-cash locked up. After Day 1d Turbo late registration closed, the field had reached 507 entries, and a maximum of 77 players were set to return for Day 2 with a share of the $5,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.

Lasouski had already built one of the biggest stacks in the room before registration closed, then pulled farther ahead after sending Jamil Wakil to the rail. He also hit a set of deuces to bust Xiaosheng Zheng near the money, and the report described him as the man to catch for Day 2.

The bubble hand went to Danilo Velasevic, who called Michael Allen’s shove and won with Q♠ 5♣ against A♥ K♥ on a board of 5♦ 7♥ 8♦ 8♠ 3♥. Manig Loeser had already gone out in the soft-bubble spot after pocket jacks ran into Maksym Mamon’s kings, and the remaining players bagged with 34 minutes left in Level 15.

Day 2 begins at 1 p.m. Monday, with the survivors from the four opening flights combining under one roof for the first time. Blind levels increase to 60 minutes, and the plan is to play down to a final table.

The $600 NLH Opener at the Potomac Summer Poker Open moved into Day 2 with 153 players still alive from a field of 1,508, and everyone returning was already in the money. The top prize is $156,190, while the minimum cash is $1,157.

Matthew Mizel led the pack with more than 1 million chips. Valentin Lita sat next with 905,000, followed by Arash Asadabadi on 851,000, Isaac Bolden on 731,000, and Kyle Kishonsh on 633,000.

PokerNews said the opener used seven starting flights, and all of the Day 1 bubbles burst before play moved on. That left the full Day 2 field paid, with 153 spots in the money.

The coverage of the event began on Day 2, which was August 9. The field is now just over 100 eliminations from a winner being crowned, since the event will play down to a champion.

The broader series is running at MGM National Harbor from August 5-17. In a press release, MGM Resorts said the Potomac Summer Poker Open is back in collaboration with BetMGM Poker and features 23 trophy events, including a $500,000 guaranteed Opener and a $750,000 Main Event.

The MGM National Harbor schedule lists the opener’s Day 2 restart for August 9 at 11 a.m.

Horace Ingram bagged the Day 1c lead in the Gateway Poker Classic $800 Main Event, finishing with 767,000 chips after a 237-entry third starting flight at Hollywood Casino & Hotel.

He moved in for his last 200,000 with two queens and ran into Fouad Fahsi’s kings. A queen on the turn gave Ingram the win in the massive pot, and he celebrated, “I finally suck out the first time in my life!”

Only 29 players survived the flight. Shelby Burton finished second with 698,000, followed by Gene Janushanis with 643,000, Kyle Parrish with 597,000 and Jerry Knoche with 542,000. Matthew Blackwell bagged 430,000 after spiking the river on back-to-back hands, while Brady Schlueter ended with 393,000, Jason Simon 343,000, Mark Lafata 195,000 and Glen “the Cannon” Gruner 150,000.

According to PokerNews, the Day 1c turnout pushed the event to 521 entries through the first three opening flights. At the time of the update, 179 players were still in Day 1d and 64 had already secured Day 2 seats.

By the time all four starting flights were in the books, the field had grown to 705 entries and a $493,500 prize pool. Phil Boyd led the Day 2 counts with 1,082,000 chips, the only stack above a million, while Ingram sat among the top stacks behind him. Nick Lafata returned with 742,000, Shelby Burton with 698,000, Mike Bell with 693,000 and Steph Martines with 615,000. Bradley Young came back with 521,000, Keith Heine with 453,000, Jason Simon with 343,000, Jeffrey Copeland with 260,000 and David Nickel with 285,000 after being the only player to double-bag. A total of 86 players returned to Hollywood Casino & Hotel for Day 2.