PokerStars Pennsylvania Sets Positive Precedent with $1 Million MTT Series

November 20th, 2019 | by Jason Reynolds

PokerStars Pennsylvania is setting a target it hopes none of its peers can match by launching a new $1 million online championship.

PokerStars Pennsylvania is upping the ante with a $1 million online championship. (Image: PokerStars)

Set to get underway on November 30, the Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker (PACOOP) will feature 50 MTTs at varying levels.

In addition to Hold’em, Omaha tournaments costing between $35 and $750 will run until December 16. Standing as the highlight of the series will be the $300 main event.

PokerStars Pennsylvania Building Momentum

Running between December 15 and 16, the marquee MTT will feature a $100,000 guarantee. To generate as much interest as possible, the tournament team has lined up a selection of satellites.

Alongside second chance freerolls, PokerStars Pennsylvania players can qualify from as little as $1.

News of the event comes after two successful weeks of activity in the Keystone State. As the first online poker site to go live in Pennsylvania, PokerStars currently has a monopoly and it’s taking full advantage.

Within its first week of action, players won more than $950,000 in tournament prize money. Since then, traffic appears to be holding at a fairly consistent level.

Although official stats aren’t available at present, the fact PokerStars is guaranteeing a $1 million prizepool suggests its confident. Indeed, with payouts typically kept at conservative levels in fledging markets, PokerStars Pennsylvania could have played it safe with a six-figure guarantee.

Setting Standards for Others to Follow

However, PACCOP is as much a reflection of the site’s current success as a statement of intent. After being frozen out of New Jersey for three years, the implied aim is that it wants to set a pace others can’t follow.

While it’s unclear which operator will win the race to be Pennsylvania’s second online poker site, PokerStars wants to be so far in front that it doesn’t matter.

PACOOP is the ideal opportunity to give local players access to a high-value online event for the first time since Black Friday.

This tactic has already proved profitable in other regions. When France, Spain and Portugal started sharing playerpools, PokerStars set records with its Southern European Championship of Online Poker (SECOOP).

While the population of France alone may be 5.5X higher than Pennsylvania, the same principles apply. By offering a wide variety of tournaments with sizeable guarantees, PokerStars has found a winning formula.

PACOOP follows this tried and tested format. That could lay down a marker other Pennsylvania online poker sites struggle to match.