PokerStars PACOOP Pays Out $2 Million and Continues to Thrive

The second incarnation of PokerStars’ Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker (PACOOP) has paid out more than $2 million.

PokerStars’ PACOOP has broken its guarantee and paid out more than $2 million to players across Pennsylvania. (Image: PokerStars)

The 50-event festival took place on PokerStars Pennsylvania between September 19 and October 5. During that time, 21,326 players took the felt for a mixture of MTTs ranging in price from $20 to $500.

When the betting was over and champions had been crowned, the $1.5 million guarantee had been beaten by more than $500,000. What’s more, the series as a whole offered another shot in the arm for Pennsylvania’s fledging online poker market.

Players Perform and Pick Up PACOOP Titles

There were a number of candidates for player of the series when the final trophies had been handed out. KennyTheRipper stood as one of two triple champions thanks to victories in Events #25, #38, and #41.

Those wins netted the online grinder a respectable $11,944. However, the other triple winner, AllinWithAJoff, banked $26,195 after outright wins in Events #16, #31, and #37.

Also climbing atop of the winners’ rostrum more than once during the recent PACOOP was TryptophanMan. Their performances in Events #7 and #30 not only netted them two PACOOP titles but $12,209.

Beating more than 1,000 players to scoop the biggest title of them all was sweet. However, LetMeWin3437’s victory was made even sweeter by the fact they qualified for $20.

Instead of paying the $500 entry fee, they found their way into the mix via a satellite. Then, much like Chris Moneymaker did in the 2003 WSOP Main Event, they went on to win. That performance netted LetMeWin3437 $46,319 and took their series earnings beyond the $50,000 mark.

PokerStars Showing How It’s Done in Pennsylvania

Individual performances aside, PokerStars PACOOP has exceeded expectations. By attracting more than 21,000 buy-ins, the prizepool was pushed to $2,039,133.

That figure is an improvement on the inaugural PACOOP. On that occasion in December 2019, guarantees were surpassed and the final prizepool hit $1.6 million. For an online market that was only a few weeks old at the time, that result was impressive.

Now, almost 12 months on, interest has continued to rise. Although PokerStars remains the only online poker operator in the state (at the time of writing), its laying down a blueprint for others.

COVID-19 lockdowns have helped keep activity levels high. The problem, however, is that this momentum won’t last forever. Combine this with a need for variety and Pennsylvania’s online poker scene needs to evolve.

The good news for locals is that change is coming. PACOOP has shown the market has potential and that PokerStars is capitalizing on it. The thing to watch for now is how others take advantage of this emerging market.

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