WSOP Increasing Online Presence With First WSOP Online Circuit Series
With four of the 78 bracelet events on its 2018 schedule held on the virtual felt, the World Series of Poker stepped up its online presence in a big way this summer. Now, the World Series of Poker Circuit is doing even more.
In fact, the WSOPC is hosting its first ever completely online circuit event series this month for players in Nevada and New Jersey, with 13 WSOPC gold rings up for grabs over 13 days. Plus, $700,000 in guaranteed prize pools.
WSOP.com Nevada held the first ever online WSOPC gold ring event in February of this year. The $365 buy-in tournament ran alongside the WSOPC series at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A WSOP.com legend
It drew 420 entries and generated a prize pool of $137,760. North Carolina’s Anthony Spinella, the WSOP.com legend who won the first ever online WSOP bracelet event in 2015, won the ring.
In March, alongside the WSOPC Harrah’s Atlantic City circuit stop in New Jersey, WSOP.com New Jersey held a second $365 buy-in WSOPC online ring event.
This one drew 181 entries, creating a $59,368 prize pool. Old Bridge, NJ’s Paul Scaturro took home the ring. However, online poker legends Olivier Busquet and Asher Conniff were among the 15 players that cashed.
Since then, WSOP.com sites in New Jersey and Nevada have started sharing player pools under a tri-state agreement with Delaware, signed by New Jersey in October 2017. In fact, the four online WSOP bracelet events held this summer had players from both New Jersey and Nevada competing.
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The first-ever WSOP.com Online Circuit stop
Players from both states are also being invited to play when the first-ever WSOP.com Online Circuit schedule kicks off on Sept. 18.
The series starts off with a $200 No Limit Hold’em KO event featuring a $12,500 prize pool guarantee. However, it really heats up with a $320 No Limit Hold’em Monster Stack event on Sept. 23, featuring a $100,000 prize pool guarantee.
Twelve of the events are No Limit Hold’em tournaments. However, a $215 Pot Limit Omaha 6-Max tournament with a $25,000 guarantee is running Sept. 28.
The series culminates with a $525 No Limit Hold’em Main Event featuring a $200,000 prize pool guarantee on Sept. 30.
This series counts towards points for the WSOPC’s season-ending Global Casino Championship. The full schedule of 13 ring events is available online.
15 years on the WSOP Circuit
WSOP.com marketing material says that for fifteen years, the WSOP Circuit has been characterized by big prize pools, prestigious circuit rings, and large player turnouts. Now, it says it is bringing the Circuit to the players, allowing them to play in a WSOP Circuit stop from anywhere in Nevada or New Jersey. They call it a must play series.
Despite some technical issues, all the 2018 WSOP’s online events were a success, setting entry and prize pool records:
- $365 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em – 2,972 entries, $974,816 prize pool
- $565 WSOP.com ONLINE Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed – 1,223 entries, $635,960 prize pool
- $1,000 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em Championship – 1,635 entries, $1,553,250 prize pool
- $3,200 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em High Roller – 480 entries, $1,459,200 prize pool
New Jersey player Matthew Mendez actually made history. He won the $565 WSOP.com ONLINE Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed event. That marked the first time a WSOP bracelet was won in New Jersey.
The success appears to give WSOP.com the incentive to move even more action online. In fact, this first ever completely online WSOPC stop seems to be the first step in that direction. The next step will likely be the announcement that the 2019 WSOP will feature more than four online bracelet events.
The Double Stack, Monster Stack, and Deep Turbo structures on the WSOP.com Online Circuit schedule are the most likely candidates to become online WSOP bracelet events next summer.
Considering the ease of access, can it really be long before even more of the WSOP goes online?