There are 25 players remaining in the first flight of the $500 Monumental event with a $10,000 guarantee.
The field includes Clint Houck, a family man who spoke to PokerNews earlier in the day about a tribute he give his kids in all his winners photos. We'll have content on that shortly.
Only 23 players will advance to Thurday's Day 2 and they will all be in the money.
Just 33 players remain in Day 1a of the $100,000 guaranteed $500 Monumental, and they just returned from dinner break.
The first of two starting flights drew 178 runners. That includes Michael McQuaid, who is still recovering from an injury he sustained after an encounter with an aggressive raccoon.
A total of 23 players will advance to Day 2, and all of them will be in the money. The prize pool won't be formed until the completion of Day 1b, so we will have payout information tomorrow night.
Late registration has closed for the $400 8 Game Mix event and the prize pool information is out.
The event drew 71 runners for a prize pool of $23,430, more than doubling the $10,000 guarantee. The event will play nine players with a minimum cash worth $820, while the winner will take home $8,201.
Get the full payouts below.
| Seat | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $8,201 |
| 2 | $4,686 |
| 3 | $2,870 |
| 4 | $2,050 |
| 5 | $1,582 |
| 6 | $1,230 |
| 7 | $1,054 |
| 8 | $937 |
| 9 | $820 |
Poker player Michael McQuaid was walking his dog last month when a "huge" and aggressive raccoon startled him, causing him to stumble and leading to a shoulder injury requiring surgery.
The Washington, D.C. native with $75,916 in live tournament earnings not only lived to tell the tale, he went on to win a poker tournament later that evening.
McQuaid told PokerNews the story of the not-so-friendly furry mammal, which may be the wildest lead-up to a tournament victory we've heard, at the 2026 Potomac Summer Poker Open at MGM National Harbor — the same place he won the tournament.
The registration has closed in the first flight of the $500 Monumental event, and it's a sizable field fighting for the $100,000 guaranteed prize pool.
The first flight drew 178 runners, and there's one more flight to play tomorrow before the event plays to a winner on Day 2 on Thursday.
The field is growing in the $400 8 Game Mix a few hours into the day.
There are currently 57 entrants in the $10,000 guaranteed event, and there's plenty of time for others to join them.
There is still the $400 Double Stack that will get underway later this evening.
There were no Tag Team events yesterday, but Linda Swears wasn't playing alone.
Swears lost her boyfriend, fellow poker player Jordan Fishman, last Fall. The retired professor from Massachusetts had $184,433 in poker tournament earnings, highlighted by a victory in the Eastern Poker Open High Roller for $45,000.
Swears, who herself has $223,825 in earnings, was on the rail for that victory, and Fishman credited her with helping him improve his game.
“She had a more conservative style, and I was more aggressive," he said after the April 2025 victory. "We meshed our games together. Without her, it wouldn’t be as much fun.”
"That was a moment for him," remembered Swears.
Fishman passed away last October after suffering an unexpected cardiac event. Less than a year later, Swears is playing in his honor at the Potomac Summer Poker Open. In yesterday's $500 Seniors event, she played with a coin card protector printed with an image of her late partner and the words "Always loved, forever with me."
Swears has already felt Fishman's presence. When PokerNews pulled her away from the table, she had just been dealt pocket queens.
"And he always called me his queen. So he's here. He's here with me all the time."
Swears is back and grinding in Day 1a of the $500 Monumental stack, and she still has her special card protector in front of her.
Take a close look at some of the Potomac Summer Poker Open trophies up for grabs —including the one that will be awarded in the $3,000 NLH Main Event — courtesy of PokerNews photographer Joe Garrett.
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