Local Grinder Dominates Potomac Summer Poker Open With Four Final Tables

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Aug 21, 2026 4 min read

BetMGM Poker's 2026 Potomac Summer Poker Open took place in Maryland this month and produced nearly two dozen winners, including $3,000 Main Event champion Kyle Smith and $600 Opener winner Ivan Tomic, who respectively earned six-figure paydays of $136,054 and $156,190.

But no one had as strong a series as Virginian mixed game special Matt Mullins, who had two victories and two additional final table appearances that resulted in podium finishes.

PokerNews caught up with Mullins during the series to talk about his performance, running the "best $20/$40 game in the country," and how another local grinder taught him how to crush tournaments on the East Coast.

Learning From the Best

Mullins is a force to be reckoned with in Maryland. Even before the series started, the player from the small unincorporated town of Aldie had logged over 20 victories at MGM National Harbor alone, according to The Hendon Mob.

"I've been playing here since they opened," Mullins told PokerNews. "Started in the no-limit streets, transitioned to mixed games right around COVID, found a niche there that I was able to compete in. And I loved them, so I was hooked."

Mullins started as a cash game player and currently runs a mixed game two or three days a week — "we run, arguably in my opinion, the best $20/$40 game in the country" — but he got into tournaments thanks to another local crusher.

Justin Arnwine holds the unofficial record for Hendon Mob victories and himself has more than 80 wins at MGM National Harbor. And this is who Mullins modeled his tournament play after.

"I was actually fortunate enough to watch Justin Arwine's climb through the dailies and jumped in just to kind of see what he was doing and learned a lot," he said. "Justin is disciplined and fearless — two things that you don't want to battle at the poker table every day."

Crushing the Series

Mullins started off strong at the Potomac Summer Poker Open by chopping $400 Mixed PLO with another local mixed game crusher, Fred Hoban, with both players taking home $5,990.

Just days later, Mullins followed up the chop with an outright victory in $400 8-Game Mix for $8,201.

Mullins continued to crush the mixed game events and finished third in $400 PLO8. PokerNews spoke with Mullins as he eyed a deep run in a Hold'em event, the $400 40/40, where he eventually finished in third place for $9,127 after a five-way chop.

"(Hold'em is) not my strongest game ... but we're gonna see how it turns out," Mullins said.

And Mullins couldn't leave the interview without shouting out the locals from his $20/$40 game.

"We had six of our regulars out of the seven final tablists in the 8-Game Mix, so that was great."

Matt Mullins' Potomac Summer Poker Open Final Tables

Over $3 Million in Prize Money

The 2026 Potomac Summer Poker Open ran Aug. 5-17 and awarded over $3 million in prize money across nearly two dozen events.

The series kicked off with Ivan Tomic winning the $600 Opener, an event that drew 1,508 runners for a prize pool of $723,540.

Another series highlight was three-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Nathan gamble winning the aforementioned $400 PLO 8, continuing to make the case that he is the best PLO 8 player on the planet.

Later, Kyle Lin took down the $1,100 High Roller for $21,600 before immediately hopping into the Main Event.

Other winners throughout the series include John P. Hall ($500 NLH - $20,615), William Batts ($400 Big O - $9,258) and Kenya Jackson, who already had several Potomac victories under her belt before winning the $300 Womens event for $5,444.

And there were highlights away from the final tables, including political pundit Tim Pool being two-outed in back-to-back events and Michael McQuaid sharing the story of when he won a tournament after an injury from a wild raccoon chase.

A full list of winners at the 2026 Potomac Summer Poker Open is available in the table below.

2026 Potomac Summer Poker Open Winners

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Connor Richards is a Senior Editor U.S. for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for three Global Poker Awards for his writing.

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• Tags 2026 Potomac Summer Poker Open Alan Gendelman Andrew Chang Alex Snow Roy Kim Rick Aasen Matt Mullins Nathan Gamble Henry Acton Khoi Tran Kyle Lin MGM National Harbor MGM Fred Hoban Justin Arnwine