PASCOOP Smashes Guarantees With $3.2M Paid Out At PokerStars PA

Written By Martin Harris on April 21, 2020
PASCOOP 2020

The first ever Pennsylvania Spring Championship of Online Poker (PASCOOP) wrapped up on Monday at PokerStars PA.

The consistently high turnouts and oversized prize pools suggest PASCOOP was a huge hit among poker players in the Keystone State.

$3.2 million in prize pools easily tops $2M in guarantees

The series featured 50 distinct events, each with a “High” and “Low” tier to make 100 total tournaments, with the guaranteed prize pools adding up to $2 million.

Guarantees were easily met in nearly all of the events, with the prize pools ultimately totaling a remarkable $3,232,460.95.

All told, there were 79,892 total entries in PASCOOP events, including 56,737 players and 23,155 re-entries.

Out of 100 tournaments, only four had overlays adding up to just $4,741.50. All four came in “Low” tier events and occurred in tournaments featuring the series’ lowest $5 and $7.50 buy-ins.

PokerStars PA ambassador wins PASCOOP event on Twitch

Among the many highlights was PokerStars PA Ambassador Jennifer Shahade who while playing on Twitch was victorious in Event No. 28-H, the $200 buy-in Sunday Special.

Playing as “JenShahadePA,” Shahade topped a 422-entry field to win $11,527 following a three-way final table chop.

Read our PlayPennsylvania interview with Shahade describing the event and more: “Jennifer Shahade Tries Twitch, Wins PASCOOP Event at PokerStars PA.”

Main Events crush guarantees

The series culminated with the Main Event (High) that sported a $200K guarantee. That threshold was easily exceeded when 1,315 total entries created a $368,200 prize pool.

After two days’ worth of poker, “LiveMonster179” outlasted that huge field to earn the first PASCOOP Main Event (High) title and a prize of $57,394.54.

The Main Event (Low) was also a two-day affair, with 2,073 total entries and another guarantee-busting $94,321.50 prize pool, well over the $50K guarantee. “Tobes37” was the champion in that one, earning $11,645.24 following a heads-up deal.

More poker players staying at home, playing online

The big PASCOOP numbers weren’t exactly a surprise given the historically-high traffic on PokerStars PA over the last several weeks.

Since the shutdown of Pennsylvania casinos due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, more players have been showing up at the PokerStars PA virtual tables since the site first launched at the start of November 2019.

The site has consistently shown 4,000-5,000 players logged on during the evenings over recent weeks, more than double the numbers earlier this year. Peak days of PASCOOP saw more than 6,000 online at times.

Over at PokerStars NJ the annual running of NJSCOOP began a week after PASCOOP. There, the story has been largely similar. With 56 of 100 tournaments completed, only three have had overlays with prize pools frequently exceeding the guarantees by large margins.

PASCOOP by the numbers

Buy-in / NameBuy-InGuaranteeEntriesRe-EntriesPrize Pool
Event 1-H: NLHE, Nightly Stars, PASCOOP Warm-Up$100$50,000730387$102,540.60
Event 1-L: NLHE, PASCOOP Warm-Up$10$10,0001,7941,173$26,999.70
Event 2-H: NLHE$50$35,000849340$54,099.50
Event 2-L: NLHE$5$6,0001,284506$8,144.50
Event 3-H: NLHE, 6-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO$200$25,00019470$49,104.00
Event 3-L: NLHE, 6-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO$20$10,000934422$24,679.20
Event 4-H: NLHE, 8-Max, DeepStack$100$40,000469208$62,148.60
Event 4-L: NLHE, 8-Max, DeepStack$10$8,0001,095548$14,951.30
Event 5-H: NLHE, 6-Max$50$30,000428247$30,712.50
Event 5-L: NLHE, 6-Max*$5$6,000787453$6,000.00
Event 6-H: NLHE, Progressive KO$150$35,00025990$48,057.30
Event 6-L: NLHE, Progressive KO$15$8,000625226$11,616.15
Event 7-H: NLHE, Sunday Special SE$100$70,000733343$98,776.80
Event 7-L: NLHE, Mini Special$10$10,0001,107538$14,969.50
Event 8-H: PLO, 6-Max$100$15,00017592$24,510.60
Event 8-L: PLO, 6-Max$10$5,000537277$7,407.40
Event 9-H: NLHE, Hyper-Turbo, Sunday SuperSonic SE$50$15,00026272$15,698.00
Event 9-L: NLHE, Hyper-Turbo, Mini SuperSonic*$5$3,000448155$3,000.00
Event 10-H: NLHE, 6-Max, Progressive KO, Battle Royale SE$50$30,000640343$44,726.50
Event 10-L: NLHE, 6-Max, Progressive KO$5$3,5001,125605$7,871.50
Event 11-H: NLO8, 6-Max$150$15,00010542$20,241.90
Event 11-L: NLO8, 6-Max$15$3,500354109$6,319.95
Event 12-H: NLHE, Super Tuesday SE$250$50,00023999$78,754.00
Event 12-L: NLHE, Mini Super Tuesday$25$20,0001,077557$37,173.50
Event 13-H: NLHE, Escalating Antes$150$20,00015267$30,156.30
Event 13-L: NLHE, Escalating Antes$15$6,000506228$10,019.10
Event 14-H: NLHE, 6-Max, Progressive KO$75$17,500283127$27,982.50
Event 14-L: NLHE, 6-Max, Progressive KO$7.50$5,000612274$5,927.34
Event 15-H:NLHE, 6-Max, High Roller$500$50,00011760$83,190.00
Event 15-L: NLHE, 6-Max, High Roller$50$25,000560354$41,587.00
Event 16-H: NLHE, Progressive KO$100$30,000334118$41,493.60
Event 16-L: NLHE, Progressive KO$10$7,5001,112600$15,579.20
Event 17-H: NLHE, Progressive KO, Thursday Thrill SE$250$50,00020382$66,405.00
Event 17-L: NLHE, Progressive KO, Mini Thrill$25$20,0001,048510$35,44.50
Event 18-H: PLO, 8-Max$150$15,00010060$22,032.00
Event 18-L: PLO, 8-Max$15$4,000367197$7,698.60
Event 19-H: NLHE, Turbo$75$15,00023793$22,522.50
Event 19-L: NLHE, Turbo$7.50$3,500602238$5,619.60
Event 20-H: 8-Game$200$17,5009228$22,320.00
Event 20-L: 8-Game$20$4,000344105$8,171.80
Event 21-H: NLHE, Turbo, Progressive KO$150$22,00023580$43,375.50
Event 21-L: NLHE, Turbo, Progressive KO$15$7,500750317$14,564.55
Event 22-H: NLHE$100$25,000391196$53,886.60
Event 22-L: NLHE$10$5,000987495$13,486.20
Event 23-H: NLHE, 4-Max$200$30,00014973$41,292.00
Event 23-L: NLHE, 4-Max$20$12,000651309$17,472.00
Event 24-H: NLHE, Progressive KO, BigStack Turbo$150$25,00020342$33,736.50
Event 24-L: NLHE, Progressive KO, BigStack Turbo$15$10,000733226$13,090.35
Event 25-H: NLHE, 8-Max, Turbo$50$12,00030883$17,790.50
Event 25-L: NLHE, 8-Max, Turbo$15$3,000633195$3,767.40
Event 26-H: NLHE, Marathon$150$35,00021896$43,237.80
Event 26-L: NLHE, Marathon$15$8,000515242$10,333.05
Event 27-H: NLHE, 6-Max, Progressive KO$50$22,000418178$27,118.00
Event 27-L: NLHE, 6-Max, Progressive KO$5$3,000599213$3,694.60
Event 28-H: NLHE, Sunday Special SE$200$50,000295127$78,492.00
Event 28-L: NLHE, Mini Special$20$15,000715347$19,328.40
Event 29-H: NLHE, 8-Max, Progressive KO, Big Antes$150$25,00023384$43,650.90
Event 29-L: NLHE, 8-Max, Progressive KO, Big Antes$15$6,000704302$13,731.90
Event 30-H: NLHE, Hyper-Turbo, Sunday SuperSonic SE$75$12,50018547$16,356.00
Event 30-L: NLHE, Hyper-Turbo, Mini SuperSonic*$7.50$5,000360113$5,000.00
Event 31-H: NLHE, 6-Max, Progressive KO$200$20,00010454$29,388.00
Event 31-L: NLHE, 6-Max, Progressive KO$20$5,000421174$10,829.00
Event 32-H: PLO, 6-Max, Hyper-Turbo$150$20,00015942$28,642.50
Event 32-L: PLO, 6-Max, Hyper-Turbo$15$5,000396101$7,007.70
Event 33-H: NLHE, Super Tuesday SE$200$45,000279140$77,934.00
Event 33-L: NLHE, Mini Super Tuesday$20$17,500879450$24,515.40
Event 34-H: NLHE, 8-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO$75$17,50027582$24,365.25
Event 34-L: NLHE, 8-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO$7.50$5,000576209$5,251.65
Event 35-H: NLHE$100$20,000408186$54,529.20
Event 35-L: NLHE$10$5,000720322$9,482.20
Event 36-H: NLHE, Heads-Up, Progressive Total KO, Zoom$200$25,00015641$36,642.00
Event 36-L: NLHE, Heads-Up, Progressive Total KO, Zoom$20$7,500645271$16,671.20
Event 37-H: NLHE, Progressive KO, Thursday Thrill SE$200$35,000257109$68,076.00
Event 37-L: NLHE, Progressive KO, Mini Thrill$20$15,000977492$26,735.80
Event 38-H: NLHE, 8-Max$100$12,00012737$15,055.20
Event 38-L: NLHE, 8-Max$10$2,000303103$3,694.60
Event 39-H: Stud Hi/Lo, 6-Max, Turbo, Fast Friday SE$50$10,000398139$24,433.50
Event 39-L: Stud Hi/Lo, 6-Max, Turbo$5$2,500656266$4,195.10
Event 40-H: NLHE, 8-Max, Hyper-Turbo, Progressive KO$100$15,00023252$26,980.00
Event 40-L: NLHE, 8-Max, Hyper-Turbo, Progressive KO$10$3,500549117$6,260.40
Event 41-H: NLHE, 6-Max, Deepstack$100$40,000497226$66,371.40
Event 41-L: NLHE, 6-Max, Deepstack$10$8,0001,202690$17,217.20
Event 42-H: NLHE, 8-Max, Progressive KO$150$30,00027195$50,398.20
Event 42-L: NLHE, 8-Max, Progressive KO$15$7,500868372$16,926.00
Event 43-H: NLHE, Turbo, Zoom$75$25,000280136$28,392.00
Event 43-L: NLHE, Turbo, Zoom$7.50$6,000595319$6,114.66
Event 44-H: NLHE, Progressive KO, DeepStack$100$30,000328155$44,339.40
Event 44-L: NLHE, Progressive KO, DeepStack$10$6,000793408$10,929.10
Event 45-H: NLHE, Main Event (High)$300$200,000845470$368,200.00
Event 45-L: NLHE, Main Event (Low)$50$50,0001,276797$94,321.50
Event 46-H: NLHE$100$25,000320119$40,300.20
Event 46-L: NLHE$10$6,000737334$9,746.10
Event 47-H: NLHE, Hyper-Turbo$75$15,00017939$15,369.00
Event 47-L: NLHE, Hyper-Turbo*$7.50$5,00028871$5,000.00
Event 48-H: NLHE$100$40,000434217$59,761.80
Event 48-L: NLHE$10$8,000830392$11,120.20
Event 49-H: NLHE, Phase Day 2$100$50,000959N/A$88,036.20
Event 49-L: NLHE, Phase Day 2$10$10,0004,811N/A$43,780.10
Event 50-H: NLHE, 6-Max, Hyper-Turbo, PASCOOP Wrap-Up$150$20,00014839$26,647.50
Event 50-L: NLHE, 6-Max, Hyper-Turbo, PASCOOP Wrap-Up$15$5,00035881$6,189.90
TOTALS$2,000,00056,73723,155$3,232,460.95

*Indicates event posted an overlay. Events with overlays: 5-L ($358), 9-L ($165.90), 30-L ($1,712.65), 47-L ($2,504.95)

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Martin Harris

Martin Harris is a writer and teacher who has reported on poker, online gambling, and sports betting since the mid-2000s. Once a full-time academic (Ph.D., English), he currently teaches part-time in the American Studies program at UNC Charlotte. In 2019, his book Poker & Pop Culture was published by D&B Books.

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