It’s hard to believe it has already been one whole year since PokerStars first launched in Pennsylvania. It’s also a little hard to believe PokerStars PA remains the only online poker site operating in the Keystone State. That situation should change soon, but probably not before 2021.
Meanwhile, PokerStars PA is celebrating the occasion with another tournament series, the aptly named PokerStars 1st Anniversary Series, featuring 35 events and just over $1 million in guaranteed prize pools.
PokerStars 1st Anniversary Series has 35 events, $1M in guarantees
The PokerStars 1st Anniversary Series lasts from Nov. 8-16. Buy-ins for the 35 tournaments start as low as $10 and go up to a $500 High Roller. Meanwhile, the guarantees total just over $1 million, including a $200K guarantee for the $100 buy-in, two-day Main Event on Sunday, Nov. 15.
As usual, most of the events feature a variety of no-limit hold’em formats, including short-handed tournaments, turbos and progressive knockouts (PKO).
There are a half-dozen non-NLHE tournaments on the schedule as well, including multiple pot-limit Omaha events, a no-limit Omaha hi-lo event, a limit hold’em one and an eight-game mixed event.
Series highlights include:
- Event #4 – $100 NLHE Sunday Special SE, $100K gtd. (Nov. 8)
- Event #10 – $500 NLHE 6-Max, High Roller, $50K gtd. (Nov. 9)
- Event #28 – $100 NLHE Main Event, $200K gtd. (Nov. 15)
- Event #29 – $20 NLHE Mini Main Event, $25K gtd. (Nov. 15)
- Event #34 – $50 NLHE 8-Max, Phase 2, $50K gtd. (Nov. 16)
The events are already in the PokerStars PA client, with satellites running as well. Most of the satellites feature $7.50 or $10 buy-ins, although PokerStars advertises some as low as $1.
As it has done with other series, PokerStars PA is rolling out some associated offers, including Second Chance Freerolls for players who bust tournaments shy of the cash. These seven freerolls will award $10,500 in tickets to 1st Anniversary Series events.
An eventful first year online in Pennsylvania for PokerStars
PokerStars PA dealt its first hands-on game on Nov. 4, 2019. PokerStars had earlier returned to the US after a five-year hiatus with its launch of PokerStars NJ in March 2016.
Since PokerStars PA has come online, the site has featured several regular tournament series, including two editions of the PACOOP, the PASCOOP, the Summer Series and a couple of Bounty Builder Series.
There have also been two special Pennsyl-MANIA events, the first of which, in May, featured the largest prize pool in PA online poker history of just over $515K.
The most recent series was the second running of the PACOOP in late Sept.-early Oct. That 50-event series drew over 21,000 total entries and awarded more than $2 million, besting the total guarantees of just over $1.5M.
Here’s a look at the complete 35-event PokerStars 1st Anniversary Series schedule:
| No. | Date | Time (EST) | Event (Gtd.) | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nov. 8 (Su) | 1:00 p.m. | NLHE (8-Max, Series Kick-Off), $25K Gtd. | $100 |
| 2 | Nov. 8 (Su) | 2:00 p.m. | NLHE (8-Max, Progressive KO), $15K Gtd. | $20 |
| 3 | Nov. 8 (Su) | 3:30 p.m. | NLHE (6-Max), $20K Gtd. | $150 |
| 4 | Nov. 8 (Su) | 5:00 p.m. | NLHE (Sunday Special SE), $100K Gtd. | $100 |
| 5 | Nov. 8 (Su) | 5:30 p.m. | NLHE (Mini Special), $10K Gtd. | $15 |
| 6 | Nov. 8 (Su) | 7:00 p.m. | NLHE (8-Max, Progressive KO), $30K Gtd. | $200 |
| 7 | Nov. 8 (Su) | 9:00 p.m. | NLHE (Sunday Supersonic SE), $10K Gtd. | $50 |
| 8 | Nov. 9 (M) | 7:00 p.m. | NLHE (4-Max), $30K Gtd. | $200 |
| 9 | Nov. 9 (M) | 7:30 p.m. | NLHE (Progressive KO), $7.5K Gtd. | $10 |
| 10 | Nov. 9 (M) | 8:00 p.m. | NLHE (6-Max, High Roller), $50K Gtd. | $500 |
| 11 | Nov. 9 (M) | 9:00 p.m. | PLO (6-Max, Turbo), $10K Gtd. | $100 |
| 12 | Nov. 10 (Tu) | 7:00 p.m. | NLHE (Super Tuesday SE), $50K Gtd. | $200 |
| 13 | Nov. 10 (Tu) | 7:30 p.m. | NLHE (Mini Super Tuesday), $15K Gtd. | $20 |
| 14 | Nov. 10 (Tu) | 8:00 p.m. | NLO8 (8-Max), $10K Gtd. | $100 |
| 15 | Nov. 11 (W) | 7:00 p.m. | NLHE (6-Max), $15K Gtd. | $30 |
| 16 | Nov. 11 (W) | 7:30 p.m. | 8-Game, $7.5K Gtd. | $50 |
| 17 | Nov. 11 (W) | 8:30 p.m. | NLHE, $25K Gtd. | $200 |
| 18 | Nov. 12 (Th) | 7:00 p.m. | NLHE (8-Max, Progressive KO, Thursday Thrill SE), $40K Gtd. | $200 |
| 19 | Nov. 12 (Th) | 7:30 p.m. | NLHE (8-Max, Progressive KO, Mini Thrill), $17.5K Gtd. | $20 |
| 20 | Nov. 12 (Th) | 9:00 p.m. | NLHE (Turbo), $20K Gtd. | $150 |
| 21 | Nov. 13 (F) | 7:00 p.m. | FLHE (6-Max, Turbo), $10K Gtd. | $200 |
| 22 | Nov. 13 (F) | 8:00 p.m. | PLO (6-Max, Progressive KO), $10K Gtd. | $100 |
| 23 | Nov. 13 (F) | 9:00 p.m. | NLHE (Hyper-Turbo), $15K Gtd. | $200 |
| 24 | Nov. 14 (Sa) | 6:00 p.m. | NLHE (6-Max), $40K Gtd. | $300 |
| 25 | Nov. 14 (Sa) | 7:30 p.m. | NLHE (Progressive KO), $10K Gtd. | $50 |
| 26 | Nov. 14 (Sa) | 9:00 p.m. | NLHE (6-Max), $20K Gtd. | $75 |
| 27 | Nov. 15 (Su) | 2:00 p.m. | NLHE (Turbo, Progressive KO, Deepstack), $25K Gtd. | $100 |
| 28 | Nov. 15 (Su) | 5:00 p.m. | NLHE (Main Event), $200K Gtd. | $100 |
| 29 | Nov. 15 (Su) | 6:00 p.m. | NLHE (Mini Main Event), $25K Gtd. | $20 |
| 30 | Nov. 15 (Su) | 8:00 p.m. | NLHE (Progressive KO), $25K Gtd. | $100 |
| 31 | Nov. 15 (Su) | 9:00 p.m. | PLO (6-Max, Turbo), $10K Gtd. | $100 |
| 32 | Nov. 15 (Su) | 10:00 p.m. | NLHE (Sunday Supersonic SE), $12.5K Gtd. | $75 |
| 33 | Nov. 16 (M) | 8:00 p.m. | NLHE (8-Max, Phase 2), $30K Gtd. | $10 |
| 34 | Nov. 16 (M) | 8:00 p.m. | NLHE (8-Max, Phase 2), $50K Gtd. | $50 |
| 35 | Nov. 16 (M) | 9:00 p.m. | NLHE (6-Max, Hyper-Turbo, Series Wrap-Up), $15K Gtd. | $100 |
