On the heels of its successful inaugural Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker, PokerStars is ready to kick off its second major online poker tournament series in the Keystone State with the Winter Series.
Pennsylvania’s first-ever Winter Series takes place from Jan. 25-Feb. 1 and features 30 different football-themed multi-table tournaments with a healthy $675,000 in total guarantees.
PokerStars, which operates in conjunction with online sports betting arm FOX Bet in Pennsylvania, has timed the series to fill part of that two-week gap between the NFL’s Conference Championship games and the Super Bowl. The eight-day series will give those poker-playing football fans something to focus on right up until “The Big Game” with each of the 30 tournaments being given a football-themed name like “The Coin Toss,” “Play Action,” “The Juke,” “Half-Time,” and more.
But that’s where the football marketing stops and the poker takes over. The Winter Series schedule features buy-ins ranging from $30 all the way up to the $500 buy-in of the High Roller, with 28 of the 30 tournaments providing a guarantee of five-figures or more.
Spotlight events
There are plenty of bankroll-boosting opportunities for PA online poker players during the Winter Series.
Right out of the gate, on Jan. 26, the second day of the series, PokerStars has stacked its Sunday schedule. With over $160,000 in guarantees, the day is highlighted by the $50,000 GTD The Blitz – Sunday Special SE (Single Entry).
Then on Tuesday, Jan. 28, players can jump into The Sack – Super Tuesday SE with an increased $250 buy-in and $40,000 guarantee.
For those looking to play even higher, The Turnover – High Roller on Jan. 29 comes with a $500 price tag and has $35,000 guaranteed.
For those looking for a break from the dominant game of no-limit hold’em, there are a pair of pot-limit Omaha events on the schedule as well. The first takes place on Jan. 26 and has a $100 buy-in with a $12,000 guarantee and the second fires on Jan. 29 with a $50 buy-in and an $8,000 guarantee.
All of the prelim action leads up to “The Big Game,” a.k.a. The Main Event. Taking place on Saturday, Feb. 1, the Winter Series Main Event features a $300 buy-in and a $100,000 guarantee.
Regularly running satellites priced between $20-$50 with as many as three seats guaranteed are helping to funnel players into the tournament. Plus, on Feb. 1, right before the start of the Main Event, there will be a $50 buy-in mega-satellite that will give away at least 20 seats.
Plenty of promotions
In addition to the standard satellites to the Main Event, PokerStars PA is awarding new qualifying depositors an entry into the Winter Series Depositor Freeroll. PokerStars is putting $7,500 into the freeroll, which will be distributed as 25 entries into the Main Event.
PokerStars is also giving away $1,000 in free cash for Winter Series players every day. For players who register for a Winter Series tournament and fail to make the money, PokerStars is awarding them with an entry to a Second Chance All-In Shootout event. These contests take place between Jan. 26-31 and play out as a series of all-ins where those players lucky enough to make it to the end win their share of the $1,000. Since there’s no decision-making on the players’ part, they don’t even need to be present to participate.
The enticing guarantees of the Winter Series plus thousands of dollars in additional promotions point to the fact that online poker continues to thrive in the Keystone State.
Following its successful two-day soft launch back in November, PokerStars has continued to see support for online poker. In its first month of activity, PokerStars reported $1.965 mm in revenue. The site followed that up with $2.47 mm in revenue in December after a successful PACOOP where, after originally posting a slate of guarantees, the operator increased many of them to take into account how well the first weekend went.
Having some experience in Pennsylvania under its belt, it is unlikely that PokerStars will adjust the guarantees of the Winter Series — but one never knows. All eyes will be on the opening weekend, which gets underway this Saturday.
PokerStars PA Winter Series schedule
| DATE | TIME (ET) | EVENT | GAME | BUY-IN | GTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 25 | 17:00 | The Warm-Up – NLHE | NLHE | $50 | $20,000 |
| January 25 | 19:00 | The Anthem – Nightly Stars SE | NLHE | $100 | $30,000 |
| January 25 | 21:00 | The Coin Toss – Turbo PKO | NLHE | $200 | $15,000 |
| January 26 | 13:00 | Kick-Off – Deepstack | NLHE | $100 | $25,000 |
| January 26 | 14:00 | The Return – 6-Max | NLHE | $50 | $20,000 |
| January 26 | 15:30 | Play Action – PKO | NLHE | $150 | $30,000 |
| January 26 | 17:00 | The Blitz – Sunday Special SE | NLHE | $200 | $50,000 |
| January 26 | 18:00 | First Down – Mini Sunday Special | NLHE | $30 | $15,000 |
| January 26 | 19:00 | The Handoff – PL Omaha | PLO | $100 | $12,000 |
| January 26 | 22:00 | The Block – Supersonic SE | NLHE | $75 | $12,000 |
| January 27 | 19:00 | The Juke – 4-Max | NLHE | $100 | $15,000 |
| January 27 | 20:00 | The Spin – Battle Royale SE | NLHE | $50 | $20,000 |
| January 27 | 21:00 | The Tackle – Variable Levels | NLHE | $150 | $15,000 |
| January 28 | 19:00 | The Sack – Super Tuesday SE | NLHE | $250 | $40,000 |
| January 28 | 19:30 | The Punt – Mini Super Tuesday | NLHE | $30 | $15,000 |
| January 28 | 21:00 | Half-Time – Turbo PKO | NLHE | $100 | $15,000 |
| January 29 | 19:00 | The Turnover – High Roller | NLHE | $500 | $35,000 |
| January 29 | 20:00 | The Drive – PL Omaha, 6-Max | PLO | $50 | $8,000 |
| January 29 | 21:00 | The Redzone – Turbo | NLHE | $150 | $15,000 |
| January 30 | 19:00 | The Touchdown – Thursday Thrill SE | NLHE | $200 | $35,000 |
| January 30 | 19:30 | Extra Point – Mini Thrill | NLHE | $50 | $20,000 |
| January 30 | 21:00 | Deep Hyper-Turbo | NLHE | $100 | $15,000 |
| January 31 | 19:00 | The Onside Kick – Vanilla | NLHE | $100 | $10,000 |
| January 31 | 20:00 | The Snap – PKO, Big Antes | NLHE | $150 | $15,000 |
| January 31 | 21:00 | Hail Mary – Turbo | NLHE | $50 | $8,000 |
| January 31 | 22:00 | The Catch – Deep Hyper-Turbo | NLHE | $100 | $10,000 |
| February 1 | 15:00 | The Comeback – PKO, 8-Max | NLHE | $100 | $15,000 |
| February 1 | 17:00 | The Big Game – Main Event | NLHE | $300 | $100,000 |
| February 1 | 18:30 | Overtime – Mini-Main | NLHE | $50 | $25,000 |
| February 1 | 20:00 | Victory Parade – Turbo PKO | NLHE | $100 | $15,000 |
