The Potomac Winter Poker Open (PWPO) is returning to MGM National Harbor in Maryland next month and will consist of more than a dozen No-Limit Hold’em and mixed game events with over $1 million in guarantees as it runs Jan. 25-Feb. 6.
The PPO festival will feature plenty of big guarantees, including a $400 buy-in opening Mystery Bounty with a $500,000 guarantee and the later $2,700 buy-in Main Event that will also have at least $500,000 up for grabs.
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Plenty of Mixed Games
The opening event will feature six starting flights and will be sure to attract a massive field given the low buy-in and huge guarantee. After four days of starting flights, Day 2 of the Mystery Bounty event will play out Jan. 29.
Also on Jan. 29, a single-day $400 buy-in event with a $50,000 guarantee will play out alongside a $300 Seniors event and a $400 Pot-Limit 5 Card Omaha High event. That’s not the only non-No-Limit Hold’em attraction as the series will also feature a $1,200 5-Card PLO Championship and a $400 NLHE/4-Card PLO Mix event.
Championship Poker returning to @MGMNH_Poker @MGMNatlHarbor Jan 25-Feb 6, 2023 https://t.co/22m6pPkV2U
Other interesting events to look out for include the $400 Super Turbo Black Chip Bounty event, the $300 Cakes Classic Bounty and the $200 Rookies Event.
The primary draw of the PWPO festival, the $500,000 guaranteed Main Event, will get underway on Feb. 3 and will feature two starting flights as players begin with a stack of 50,000 chips. Day 2 of the Main Event will play out on Feb. 5 and the final table will play to a winner on Feb. 6.
History of the PPO
Back in 2017, the PPO Event #1: $580 NLH saw Louie Pak navigate a 966-entry field to win the title for $90,750. In the $2,700 Main Event, David Israelite topped a 234-entry field to win a $175,500 top prize. Others to claim titles that year were James Gilbert, Jane Hitchcock, and Sergio Roque, who claimed two side event titles that year.
The next year, Mitchell Engle topped a 1,418-entry field to win the PPO Event #1: $365 NLH for $73,984, while Carlos Chadha Villamarin bested a 264-entry field to win the $2,700 Main Event for $163,350. Other winners from the 2018 PPO included John Letos, Kyle Carter, and Andrew Kim.
More recently, Matthew Sesso took down the 2020 Potomac Winter Poker Open $3,000 Main Event for $189,965 after defeating WSOP Main Event champion Joe McKeehen (who recently finished third in theBorgata $5,300 The Return for $440,327).
2020 Potomac Winter Poker Open $3,000 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Sesso | United States | $189,965 |
| 2 | Joe McKeehen | United States | $115,698 |
| 3 | Ulises Roman | United States | $84,038 |
| 4 | Glenn Chernigoff | United States | $64,885 |
| 5 | Alison Leslie | United States | $46,905 |
| 6 | Jeromy Bittan | United States | $35,179 |
| 7 | David Olshan | United States | $27,361 |
| 8 | Jeff Esterling | United States | $21,498 |
| 9 | Galen Hall | United States | $15,635 |
In addition to the more than a dozen tournaments running throughout the PWPO, the festival will also feature satellites to give players a shot at getting in the Main Event for $200 or $600.
The full schedule for the upcoming 2023 Potomac Winter Poker Open is available in the table below.
2023 Potomac Poker Open Schedule
| DATE | START TIME | EVENT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 25 | 5:00 PM | Event #1: $400 Mystery Bounty Day 1a | |
| Jan. 26 | 5:00 PM | Event #1: $400 Mystery Bounty Day 1b | |
| Jan. 27 | 11:00 AM | Event #1: $400 Mystery Bounty Day 1c | |
| Jan. 27 | 5:00 PM | Event #1: $400 Mystery Bounty Day 1d | |
| Jan. 28 | 11:00 AM | Event #1: $400 Mystery Bounty Day 1e | |
| Jan. 28 | 5:00 PM | Event #1: $400 Mystery Bounty Day 1f | |
| Jan. 29 | 12:00 PM | Event #1: $400 Mystery Bounty Day 2 | |
| Jan. 29 | 9:00 AM | Event #2: $300 Seniors 50+ | |
| Jan. 29 | 1:00 PM | Event #3: $400 NLHE | |
| Jan. 29 | 4:00 PM | Event #4: $500 5-Card PLO Hi Day 1 | |
| Jan. 30 | 12:00 PM | Event #5: $300 Cakes Classic Bounty | |
| Jan. 30 | 3:00 PM | Event #4: $500 5-Card PLO Hi Day 2 | |
| Jan. 31 | 11:00 AM | Event #6: $400 Monster Triple Stack Day 1 | |
| Feb. 1 | 11:00 AM | Event #7: $400 NLHE | |
| Feb. 1 | 12:00 PM | Event #6: $400 Monster Triple Stack Day 2 | |
| Feb. 1 | 4:00 PM | Event #8: $400 Super Turbo Black Chip Bounty | |
| Feb. 2 | 11:00 AM | Event #9: $1,200 NLHE Freezeout Day 1 | |
| Feb. 2 | 4:00 PM | Event #10: $400 NLHE/4-Card PLO Mix | |
| Feb. 3 | 11:00 AM | Event #11: $2,700 Main Event Day 1a | |
| Feb. 3 | 2:00 PM | Event #9: $1,200 NLHE Freezeout Day 2 | |
| Feb. 4 | 9:00 AM | Event #12: $300 Seniors 50+ | |
| Feb. 4 | 11:00 AM | Event #11: $2,700 Main Event Day 1b | |
| Feb. 4 | 7:00 PM | Event #13: $200 Rookie’s Event | |
| Feb. 5 | 12:00 PM | Event #11: $2,700 Main Event Day 2 | |
| Feb. 5 | 1:00 PM | Event #14: $400 NLHE | |
| Feb. 5 | 5:00 PM | Event #15: $1,200 5-Card PLO Championship | |
| Feb. 6 | 1:00 PM | Event #11: $2,700 Main Event Day 3 | |
| Feb. 6 | 1:00 PM | Event #16: $400 Double Stack | |
| Feb. 6 | 2:00 PM | Event #15: $1,200 5-Card PLO Championship Day 2 |