2026 Potomac Summer Poker Open

Our photographer Joe has been roaming the Tag Team event capturing all the action. If you spot him, give him a smile and a wave!

Late registration has closed in the Tag Team Event, with the prize pool reaching over $28,000. Partners will combine their stacks as the team portion of the tournament gets underway.

Jeffrey Mason has put himself in a strong position heading into Day 2 of the $600 Opener, bagging 685,000 chips and feeling confident about his chances.

“I’m excited about tomorrow,” Mason said. “This is like my biggest tournament thus far.”

With a big stack and a new experience ahead of him, Mason plans to stick to the fundamentals when play resumes.

“Just try to be focused, be disciplined and be patient, pick my spots, and pretty much just go with the flow,” he said.

Mason has been playing poker since 2006 and began taking the game more seriously in 2018. His first tournament victory came in 2020, and now he finds himself on the verge of his biggest tournament run yet.

With 685,000 chips in his bag, Mason will return for Day 2 with plenty of ammunition and a chance to add another milestone to his poker journey.

Dawn Lucarelli and Mellissa Miller have joined forces in the Tag Team event and are channeling their inner Wonder Woman as they look to take down the tournament and make their mark on the felt.

Here’s a quick look at how the Tag Team format works:

Each team consists of two members, and both members must register at the same time.

At the close of registration, the team members will combine their stacks. Once the stacks are combined, team members may switch out at any time when they are not actively involved in a hand.

Players start with 20,000 tournament chips, including the optional staff add-on. Levels increase every 15 minutes. Late registration and re-entries remain available until the start of Level 9, approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes after the tournament begins.

🚨PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT🚨

If you make Day 2 of the $600 Opener on Sunday, 9th August, please come back at 11:00 local time, NOT midday.

There seems to be some confusion among the players, and we'd hate to see those hard-fought stacks go to waste!

To reiterate, 11:00 am start. Many thanks all.

Dennis Buckhaus Hopes to Find a Bag in the Final Flight of the $600 Opener.

“You try to shoot as much in the last flight as you can, try to find the bag and you can spin it up,” Backhaus said. “If not, there’s always a tag team later.”

His return to the poker room came after a whirlwind few days. Fresh off watching the World Series of Poker final table in person, Backhaus barely had time to catch his breath before heading to a concert. He got home around midnight, then eventually made his way to MGM National Harbor.

“At that point I probably hadn’t slept in about 38 hours,” he said.

Despite the lack of sleep, Backhaus has plenty of motivation. After watching his friend Lucas Jumalon win the Main Event and spending time on the rail at the final table, he hopes to put some of the advice he heard from coaches Matt Bodie and Patrick Leonard to use in his own deep run.

“It’s still just like a dream,” he said of Lucas Jumalon’s victory. “It’s fantastic.”

With that experience fresh in his mind, Backhaus looks to build on that momentum and make a run at the top prize.

“I always say every tournament is basically a satellite for the Main Event,” he said. “I’m hoping to get my money right now here so I can play the Main Event next year and hopefully have a somewhat similar run as Luke has. Of course, that’s a big dream.”

The 63 remaining players in Flight F of the Opener are on a 15-minute break. Blinds will be 3,000/ 6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante when the players return from break.

Flight G of the $500,000 guaranteed Opener is on a short break, with 198 players already in the field. There's still time to join the action, as late registration remains open until the start of Level 11.

Keep an eye out for our photographer Joe; he has been roaming the room capturing the action. If you spot him, give him a smile and a wave!