- It is the second such series to run in these markets this year—BBS debuted in both markets in February.
- The series guarantees, schedule, and Main Events for both series are up significantly on last time.
- It raises further questions on whether its ties to the UFC remain.
Global online poker giant PokerStars has announced a progressive knockout tournament series, Bounty Builder Series (BBS), will run in its two regulated US markets this summer.
Both kick off on July 12 and run for 15 days, slotting in alongside the WSOP bracelet events and concurrent Championship Series running on WSOP.com in Nevada and New Jersey.
It is the second such series to run in these markets this year—BBS debuted in both PA and NJ in February. Both have seen significant growth since then, with bigger guarantees and broader schedules, reflecting increased online poker interest this summer due both to coronavirus and the WSOP playing out entirely online.
As first reported on pokerfuse earlier this week, The New Jersey edition has a series guarantee of $600,000, double the amount of the February series. There are 53 events, up from 32 in February, and the average event guarantee has risen from $9400 to $11,300 this time around.
The upgrades to the series in Pennsylvania is even more dramatic. $1.5 million is guaranteed in the series, three times the amount last February and the second largest ever tried in the market (only the recent PASCOOP was larger). The number of tournaments has more than doubled on last time, from 32 to 70, but the average event guarantee is still up markedly from $15,600 to $21,400 this time around.
