Derek Childress took a break from the tables at the MGM National Harbor to chat with PokerNews as the remaining field in Flight A of the $600 NLH Opener closed in on the money with just 40 players remaining.
Asked how it felt to be that close on Day 1, Childress kept it simple, saying, "Feels pretty good, coming in on the very first flight and being able to have a chance to bag up and just come back on Sunday. I'd say it's not too bad."
Childress isn't a stranger to grinding up and down the East Coast. He was recently up at the Borgata for their 2026 Summer Poker Open, but when it comes to home turf, he's sticking close by. "I don't fly too much, so I like playing either here or just up I-95 in Atlantic City."
Best of luck to Derek and the rest of the remaining field!
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Sporting his signature Hello Kitty sweater, Justin Arnwine caught up with PokerNews shortly after busting Flight A of the $600 NLH Opener.
The legendary low-to-midstakes grinder said of his bustout, "I had just lost an all-in, so I was down to like... I mean, who are we kidding? I was gonna shove no matter what. It did help to see one ace, though. I was gonna shove before — I was in the big blind — but seeing that ace made me feel better."
"He called with king-queen, so we finally, after the fourth attempt, got it in good. That was my mistake, and that was all pre-flop. We finally got it in good, and that was the one that did us in."
Justin Arnwine
On his enjoyment of the event, Arnwine added, "It was fun. I had a good table. Not everyone, but half the table was chatty and didn't act like they couldn't speak, so we enjoyed ourselves while donating to the prize pool."
"I'll be back for Flight B tomorrow. I would have paid $600 for this level of entertainment."
We're through Level 12 on Flight A of the $600 NLH Opener and total entrants are confirmed at an impressive 220 entries.
With 63 players remaining, a total of 28 will lock up a payout, while the top 22 will bag and return for Day 2 on Sunday, August 9. All Day 1 payouts are fixed at $1,000.
The average count has just topped the 100,000 chip mark from a starting stack of 30,000, with plenty of notables in the field taking their shot at the $500,000 GUARANTEED event.
Only one woman played this year's $50,000 Poker Players Championship at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP), longtime American pro Esther Taylor. Taylor, who recently signed on as BetMGM Poker ambassador, is on a mission to change that by getting more women into mixed games.
Taylor has launched Her Edge Academy, a poker training program aimed specifically at helping women break through in poker. Taylor, who has $3.3 million in live tournament earnings and last year became the second woman ever to final table the PPC, told PokerNews she has always been passionate about coaching and mentoring women and girls, whether it's coaching her daughter's softball team or helping one of her old teams from high school.
The Main Event will naturally grab most of the headlines, but there's a lot to like before we get there. The $600 Opener should set the tone for the series, and I'm always a fan of schedules that make room for mixed games alongside the big hold'em events.
There really is something for every type of tournament player over these two weeks.
Calum Grant, Senior Editor & Live Events Executive
There are two open events and one invite-only event for players to get stuck into on Day 1 of the festival.
Whether you're chasing a seat into a future event or looking to start your run at a trophy, here's what's happening on Wednesday:
Time
Event
Buy-In
Guarantee
12:00PM
Pride of the Lions Freeroll
Invite Only
3 Main Event / 3 Event 14 / 3 Event 1 Seats
2:00PM
$600 NLH Opener Flight A
$600
$500,000
8:00PM
Event #1 Milestone Satellite
$150
—
The biggest attraction on today's schedule is Flight A of the $600 NLH Opener, the first chance for players to take a shot at the opening event's $500,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Follow along with PokerNews throughout the festival for daily highlights and updates from MGM National Harbor.
The Potomac Summer Poker Open gets underway today at MGM National Harbor, kicking off 13 days of tournament action with more than $1.5 million in guaranteed prize pools across a 23-event schedule.
Powered by BetMGM Poker, the festival has become one of the Mid-Atlantic's marquee summer stops, bringing together No-Limit Hold'em grinders, mixed-game regulars and bounty hunters, all chasing trophies over the next two weeks.
The cards are in the air this afternoon with Flight A of the $600 NLH Opener, a seven-flight tournament featuring a $500,000 guarantee. There is also the invite-only Pride of the Lions Freeroll to kick things off, while players looking to build momentum can jump into the evening Milestone Satellite.
Of course, PokerNews will be along for the ride.
We'll be on the floor from Day 2 of the $600 NLH Opener on August 9, before bringing you live coverage of the $500 Monumental Stack and then every big pot, bustout and bad beat from the $3,000 Main Event, which runs from August 14-17. We'll also have a daily highlights blog throughout the festival to keep you up to speed with everything happening around the room.
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