The lull between NFL Conference Championship games and the Super Bowl can feel like a long one to avid bettors. Luckily for those in Pennsylvania, there will be plenty of online poker action to hold them over.
Following a successful PACOOP series, PokerStars PA is introducing the first-ever Winter Series in Pennsylvania.
The football-themed series will span eight days from Jan. 25 to Feb. 1, with 30 tournaments on offer. A total of $675,000 is guaranteed to be paid out, with buy-ins ranging from $30 to $500.
Players who do well in the series will have an opportunity to parlay some of those winnings on Super Bowl bets the day after the series.
Winter Series highlights
Poker players in PA will have a big slate of tournaments to choose from, beginning with The Warm-Up. That will be a $50 buy-in starting at 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, and comes with a $20k guarantee.
The Blitz – Sunday Special will be a $200 buy-in with $50k GTD beginning at 7 p.m. Jan. 26.
Right after that at 8 p.m., The First Down – Mini Sunday Special offers good value with $15k GTD for a $30 buy-in.
The Main Events on Saturday, Feb. 1, should be the most popular. The Big Game is a $300 buy-in with a $100k guarantee, starting at 5 p.m. The Overtime – Mini-Main at 6:30 p.m. costs $50 to enter and comes with a $25k guarantee.
Most of the events are no-limit hold’em, though there will also be two pot-limit Omaha (PLO) tournaments.
Winter Series events leading into Super Bowl Sunday
The timing leading up to the Super Bowl is understandable, as PA sports bettors can dabble in poker while they wait for the big game. With the PokerStars Mount Airy app setup housing poker, online casino and Fox Bet together, there is an opportunity here for cross-selling across verticals as well.
Neighboring New Jersey will have its own PokerStars NJ Winter Series, which will start Saturday and end Jan. 26. As many players will take advantage of the proximity of the states and play in both series, the two-day overlap is interesting.
On the second day of PA’s series Jan. 26, the NJ Main Event starts at 5 p.m.
Those who sit it out will have a chance to play a progressive knockout (PKO) event ($130 buy-in, $30k GTD) and the $200 Sunday Special ($300 buy-in, $50k GTD) over in Pennsylvania. Those start at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
While the one-weekend overlap could potentially lower overall volume for the PokerStars’ series, it shouldn’t have a disastrous effect. The PA online poker market has already proven ripe for action; there’s no reason to expect the series to fall short of its posted guarantee if PACOOP is any indication.
PokerStars PA exceeding expectations, so far
PokerStars PA is off to a hot start, despite hitting the market in the cold winter months. After launching on Nov. 4, the site took in nearly $2 million in rake and tournament fees in the first month. It followed that up with nearly $2.5 million in revenue in December, thanks in part to its first tournament series.
PACOOP exceeded expectations. The response was so great, PokerStars upped the guarantee twice to assure at least $1,225,000 would be paid out.
Despite being just over two months in, PA poker numbers have surpassed their counterparts in NJ. This is reflected in some key differences in their upcoming Winter Series.
- PA Main Event is a $100k guarantee ($300 buy-in); NJ Main Event is a $60k guarantee ($400 buy-in)
- PA Winter Series guarantees $650,000 over 30 events and eight days
- NJ Winter Series guarantees $300,000 over 21 events and nine days
Below, you’ll find the complete schedule for PokerStarsPA’s second-ever tournament series.
PokerStars PA Winter Series Schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Name | Buy-in | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Jan. 25 | 5 p.m. | The Warm-Up - NLHE | $50 | $20,000 |
| Saturday, Jan. 25 | 9 p.m. | The Anthem - Nightly Stars SE | $100 | $30,000 |
| Saturday, Jan. 25 | 11 p.m. | The Coin Toss - Turbo PKO | $200 | $15,000 |
| Sunday, Jan. 26 | 1 p.m. | Kick-Off - Deepstack | $100 | $25,000 |
| Sunday, Jan. 26 | 4 p.m. | The Return - 6-Max | $50 | $20,000 |
| Sunday, Jan. 26 | 5:30 p.m. | Play Action - PKO | $150 | $30,000 |
| Sunday, Jan. 26 | 7 p.m. | The Blitz - Sunday Special SE | $200 | $50,000 |
| Sunday, Jan. 26 | 8 p.m. | First Down - Mini Sunday Special | $30 | $15,000 |
| Sunday, Jan. 26 | 9 p.m. | The Handoff - PLO* | $100 | $12,000 |
| Sunday, Jan. 26 | 10 p.m. | The Block - Supersonic SE | $75 | $12,000 |
| Monday, Jan. 27 | 9 p.m. | The Juke - 4-Max | $100 | $15,000 |
| Monday, Jan. 27 | 10 p.m. | The Spin - Battle Royale SE | $50 | $20,000 |
| Monday, Jan. 27 | 11 p.m. | The Tackle - Variable Levels | $150 | $15,000 |
| Tuesday, Jan. 28 | 9 p.m. | The Sack - Super Tuesday SE | $250 | $40,000 |
| Tuesday, Jan. 28 | 9:30 p.m. | The Punt - Mini Super Tuesday | $30 | $15,000 |
| Tuesday, Jan. 28 | 11 p.m. | Half-Time - Turbo PKO | $100 | $15,000 |
| Wednesday, Jan. 29 | 7 p.m. | The Turnover - High Roller | $500 | $35,000 |
| Wednesday, Jan. 29 | 10 p.m. | The Drive - PLO, 6-Max* | $50 | $8,000 |
| Wednesday, Jan. 29 | 11 p.m. | The Redzone - Turbo | $150 | $15,000 |
| Thursday, Jan. 30 | 7 p.m. | The Touchdown - Thursday Thrill SE | $200 | $35,000 |
| Thursday, Jan. 30 | 7:30 p.m. | Extra Point - Mini Thrill | $50 | $20,000 |
| Thursday, Jan. 30 | 11 p.m. | Deep Hyper-Turbo | $100 | $15,000 |
| Friday, Jan. 31 | 7 p.m. | The Onside Kick - Vanilla | $100 | $10,000 |
| Friday, Jan. 31 | 10 p.m. | The Snap - PKO, Big Antes | $150 | $15,000 |
| Friday, Jan. 31 | 11 p.m. | Hail Mary - Turbo | $50 | $8,000 |
| Friday, Jan. 31 | 10 p.m. | The Catch - Deep Hyper-Turbo | $100 | $10,000 |
| Saturday, Feb. 1 | 3 p.m. | The Comeback - PKO, 8-Max | $100 | $15,000 |
| Saturday, Feb. 1 | 5 p.m. | The Big Game - Main Event | $300 | $100,000 |
| Saturday, Feb. 1 | 6:30 p.m. | Overtime - Mini-Main | $50 | $25,000 |
| Saturday, Feb. 1 | 8 p.m. | Victory Parade - Turbo PKO | $100 | $15,000 |
*Denotes pot-limit Omaha (PLO) event
