Frayser Flores outlasted a field of 420 entries across two starting flights to claim the trophy, the title, and $35,275 first prize in the $500 NLH Monumental Stack at the Potomac Poker Open (PPO) at MGM National Harbor. The day began with 53 players returning for Day 2, and after nearly ten hours of play, Flores emerged as the last man standing.
Flores, who moved to the United States from Peru just over two years ago, entered the day with plenty of momentum after taking third in the $600 Opener for $61K just a few days ago at the PPO. He likes this venue. Flores also won a Moneymaker Tour stop here at MGM National Harbor for $20K in April.
I started playing here in March,” he said. “Before that, I had about three years of experience online."
Lady luck shines on Flores
Flores was aggressive on the final table and put the other players to the test throughout, often for their tournament lives. He scored four knockouts on his way to the title, but also had to rely on Lady Luck, getting two fortunate doubles with A-J when he hit trips both times.
One of those came against eventual runner-up Zaid Alwan, who had him dominated with A-K and up against the ropes, but he ultimately settled for second place and $24,873 after Flores rode a wave of variance to victory.
“I think I got lucky,” Flores admitted with a smile.
For Flores, the victory marks his biggest outright tournament win so far. “I won the Moneymaker Tour event for $20K, but this is bigger," he said. "It feels good.” However, despite the big score, Flores said the celebration would be a quiet one. “I don’t have a lot of friends here because I speak Spanish, and I’m still new. I’ll just celebrate with my family — my sister and my brother.”
With the $3,000 PPO Main Event just days away, Flores says he’ll fire two bullets — and the rest of the field should be on notice. You can follow all the action live on PokerOrg Instant.
$500 NLH Monumental Stack results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frayser Flores | $35,275 |
| 2 | Zaid Alwan | $24,873 |
| 3 | Walter McMichael | $16,001 |
| 4 | Eliviston Jones | $10,719 |
| 5 | Ryan Kirkpatrick | $8,244 |
| 6 | Frank Byrne | $6,833 |
| 7 | Ron Klar | $5,734 |
| 8 | Keith Warren | $4,635 |
