The brand new World Series of Poker Pennsylvania site is now fully live through its partnership with Harrah’s Casino Philadelphia.
On July 15, WSOP.com announced it had concluded its soft launch of WSOP PA, having now shifted into 24-hour operation. The trial ended a day early, in fact, with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board granting its final approval for the site to move forward.
The announcement also describes various freerolls, satellites, and promotions for players. Chief among these is an eight-event WSOP Online Bracelet series coming August 8-15. The site is also offering ways for players to win their way into the WSOP Main Event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino later this year.
Online Bracelet series enables PA players to battle for WSOP gold
The early conclusion to the soft launch was not entirely unexpected. The WSOP had already indicated it could go fully live today rather than Friday. However, the announcement that WSOP PA players will get to play for WSOP bracelets this summer might come as a pleasant surprise to Pennsylvania players.
The eight-event series arrives as a supplement to the ongoing WSOP Online Bracelet series. That “domestic” portion of the series is running July 1-August 1 on WSOP Nevada and WSOP New Jersey. It features 33 events, but only players in Nevada and New Jersey are able to compete.
The Pennsylvania WSOP Online Bracelet series features buy-ins ranging from $400 to $3,200. All eight tournaments are no-limit hold’em, with two progressive knockout bounty events included. Tournaments will take place once per day, each starting at 5:30 p.m. ET.
WSOP.com PA Online Bracelet Series schedule
| No. | Date | Time (ET) | Event | Buy-in | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug. 8 (Su) | 5:30 p.m. | No-Limit Hold’em Keystone Kick Off | $500 | ||
| 2 | Aug. 9 (M) | 5:30 p.m. | No-Limit Hold’em PKO | $500 | ||
| 3 | Aug. 10 (Tu) | 5:30 p.m. | No-Limit Hold’em High Roller | $3,200 | ||
| 4 | Aug. 11 (W) | 5:30 p.m. | No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max | $400 | ||
| 5 | Aug. 12 (Th) | 5:30 p.m. | No-Limit Hold’em Lucky 7’s | $777 | ||
| 6 | Aug. 13 (F) | 5:30 p.m. | No-Limit Hold’em PKO | $400 | ||
| 7 | Aug. 14 (Sa) | 5:30 p.m. | No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack | $600 | ||
| 8 | Aug. 15 (Su) | 5:30 p.m. | No-Limit Hold’em PA Championship | $1,000 | ||
The WSOP has already planned the “international” half of its online bracelet series on GGPoker (not available to US players). That will be another 33-event series running from August 1-September 12.
Together with the 88-event live tournament series in Las Vegas running later this year from September 30-November 22 and the new eight-event series at WSOP PA, that totals 162 gold bracelets awarded across each of the series.
Today’s announcement did not mention a WSOP Online Circuit virtual “stop” at WSOP PA. That said, there have been earlier indications a 12- or 18-event series may come to WSOP PA. If it does, PA players will have a chance to win WSOP rings as well.
Other promotions include WSOP Main Event satellites
During the soft launch, WSOP PA had already announced various welcome offers to encourage new sign-ups. These include:
- $50 Free Play — players receive a free $50 with which to play upon making a first deposit
- $1,000 Deposit Match Bonus — WSOP will match that first deposit up to $1,000 (bonus includes a playthrough requirement)
- Welcome Week Freerolls — for the first seven days after making a deposit, players can participate in $100 daily freerolls
Additionally, new players who deposit for the first time by August 15 will receive a ticket to play a $50,000 Depositors Freeroll on Sunday, August 22. Prizes include three seats into the $10,000 WSOP Main Event in November. Two of those seats will go to the two finishers in the tournament. Meanwhile the third will go to a randomly selected player.
The site is also running additional WSOP Satellites awarding entries into the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas, with some costing as little as $1 to play.
The WSOP is also highlighting the jackpot sit-n-go BLAST Poker game on WSOP.com PA in which players have a chance to win up to $300,000. Additionally, this weekend the first Sunday $75,000 Guarantee will take place at 4 p.m., with the $215 buy-in tournament earmarked as a weekly marquee event for the site.
WSOP PA making an early splash among Pennsylvania players
Early reviews of the new site by Pennsylvania players have been positive, with many impressed by the slick Poker 8 platform. The client makes its US debut in PA after its earlier introduction in other countries on 888 poker.
“We are thrilled to be opening up WSOP.com to the state of Pennsylvania,” said Ty Stewart, Senior Vice President of the WSOP at Caesars Entertainment. “Our team is laser-focused on providing the most value to poker players in the state and are confident in the potential of our online poker product.”
Unlike WSOP/888 sites in New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware that share player pools, WSOP PA is a ring-fenced site meaning players can only compete against others in-state.
Lead image credit: AP Photo/John Locher
