WSOP Pennsylvania Offering Main Event Seats for the 2021 World Series of Poker

The launch of WSOP PA in July was more than just the the third online poker network to launch in the state, it was a chance for the World Series of Poker (WSOP)-already in full swing in New Jersey and Nevada-to expand its online bracelet events to yet another state.

Now, every Sunday, Pennsylvania residents have a shot at cut-price entry to the fabled WSOP Main Event slated to run in November of this year.

When the newest poker room in the US opened in mid-July, WSOP PA was missing WSOP bracelet action. The main online domestic bracelet series was already well underway when WSOP PA went live with a player pool geolocked to the Pennsylvania market, and the new PA players had no access to the bracelet series underway on the partner network spanning NJ and NV.

Earlier in the year when pokerfuse was talking to WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart, he made it clear that new rooms in PA and MI would have access to the gold hardware. “For certain once we are live we will give WSOP.com players the exclusive opportunity to win bracelets online and qualify for the WSOP.”

One way WSOP is making good on that promise is through weekly satellites to the WSOP Main Event, slated to run live in Las Vegas this year starting November 4. Every Sunday, players on WSOP PA have a shot at a seat in the Big Show for just $215.

Another Bracelet from the Cheap Seats?

Way back in 2003, an aptly-named accountant from Nashville took a $86 satellite win all the way to the Main Event title and, in the process, launched a new era of poker. Since then, online satellites have been a key part of the path to the Main Event, and WSOP PA is offering people in Pennsylvania the chance to replicate Chris Moneymaker’s money-making feat, albeit for the slightly higher satellite cost of $215.

Every Sunday at 3 p.m. there is at least one Main Event seat up for grabs in the $10,000 WSOP 2021 Main Event Seat Satellite. The most recent running of the game saw a total of 42 entries with 20 rebuys for a total prize pool of $12,400, meaning the Main Event ticket was covered, and 2nd place got a consolation prize of $2400.

Players have two hours to get into the game, and rebuys are unlimited. The most recent game took just under four hours to complete, and not surprisingly for a Main Event satellite, there is no deal making allowed at the final table of this one.

The games run every Sunday on WSOP PA, and with fields of less than 50 players, they may be the best shot at a WSOP Main Event seat in the world.

Online Bracelets from Home

While WSOP PA is giving players the chance to play for the Main Event bracelet in Vegas later in the year, it is also giving them the chance to win an actual bracelet from the comfort of their own home. Shortly after launch, and in response to the lack of access to the NJ/NV series in the segregated PA market, WSOP PA launched the Pennsylvania Online Bracelet Series (POBS).

The series will offer an extra eight bracelets to PA residents, over and above the 169 already planned for the rest of the series. The series gets underway about a week after the conclusion of the main domestic bracelet series over in NJ and NV, which is in its final week of action now, with 30 of 33 bracelets already handed out.

WSOP PA Bracelet Series Schedule Details

The satellites and POBS, along with the comments from Stewart, point to a tantalizing possibility when WSOP makes its next expected move with a new room in Michigan. Stewart’s comments were not limited to the PA market, so it stands to reason we could see more bracelets and Main Event satellites on the schedule once WSOP MI goes live.

Assuming the Michigan Online Bracelet Series (MOBS) runs and is similar to POBS, that could add another eight bracelets to an already huge total, bringing the 2021 total to an unprecedented 185. Additionally, there could be a number of extra Main Event seats given out for low prices through a new Michigan room.

US residents may well have unprecedented chances to win gold bracelet hardware from the WSOP this year. Thirty players have already won bracelets in NJ and NV, with three more yet to come, and eight lucky and skilled players in PA will get some new jewelry through the segregated games there. Add with a possible MI series, the chances to win a bracelet for US players have never been higher.

The POBS kicks off action on August 6 with Day 1s for the first event, and Main Event satellites are already running every Sunday on WSOP PA, with seats already awarded. For US players that covet the WSOP Gold Bracelet hardware, 2021 may be their best chance ever.

WSOP 2021 at a Glance