With Pennsylvania welcomed back into the world of online poker this month, the race is on to make sure that players from the state of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell sign up. Hoping they’ll make players ring the 30th November on their calendars are PokerStars.
With the WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) and SCOOP (Spring variant of the same) both very popular poker festivals, PokerStars hope that the PACOOP (Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker) will strike the same chord with local players that the brand do on an international scale with the former two championships.
Setting aside the obvious flaw that the correct acronym would be PCOOP, it’s a bold attempt to capture the first flush of interest from Pennsylvania by ‘Stars and comes with a million-dollar guarantee across 50 events.
With New Jersey the first state to come back online, the incentive is clear, take Pennsylvania and then the path across the country to tie up each returning state will be easier.
It’s like PokerStars is playing a game of the popular board game Risk and playing it well.
The action all kicks off at the end of this month, starting on November 30th with the PACOOP Warm-Up, a no limit hold’em event costing $100 and having a $20,000 guarantee. That sort of investment and prize-pool is continued throughout the schedule, with the jewel in the crown the $300-entry Main Event, which comes with a $100,000 guarantee and takes place on December 16th.
What a Christmas present winning that will be for a lucky Pennsylvanian.
Most of the events are NLHE, but there are mixed games on the list, too. Pot Limit Omaha is well represented, as well as turbo, hyper-turbo and PKO, seemingly everyone recreational player’s favourite events these days.
With PokerStars currently the only poker brand in operation in the state, the PACOOP represents a chance to lock up the locals, keeping them on ‘Stars for the future of the game online, with encouraging signs coming from at least one presidential hopeful who’ll push for election in 2020.
PokerStars clearly have a vision towards the future of the game and their place at the heart of it, something that they were accused of lacking in some quarters with last week’s revelations of yet more Team Pro departures.
There are bonuses, daily freerolls and even promotional events in place towards participation in the PACOOP Main Event for players who deposit $50 or more, with all the details online at www.pokerstars.com. Indeed, players who bust out from some events outside the money will get the chance to ‘win their way back in’ in satellite freerolls, each one of the 16 on offer giving away $1,250 in ticket form.
2019 Poker Masters Leaderboard after 9 events:
| Event | Event Name | Time | Date | Entry | Gte |
| 1 | PACOOP Warm-Up No Limit Hold’em | 6:00 PM | 30th Nov | $100 | $20,000 |
| 2 | Turbo PACOOP Warm-Up (NLHE) | 8:00 PM | 30th Nov | $200 | $15,000 |
| 3 | Deepstack 8-Max (NLHE) | 1:00 PM | 1st Dec | $100 | $15,000 |
| 4 | Big Antes (NLHE) | 2:00 PM | 1st Dec | $100 | $15,000 |
| 5 | Progressive Knockout (NLHE) | 3:30 PM | 1st Dec | $150 | $25,000 |
| 6 | Sunday Special (NLHE) | 5:00 PM | 1st Dec | $200 | $50,000 |
| 7 | Pot Limit Omaha 6-Max | 7:00 PM | 1st Dec | $100 | $10,000 |
| 8 | Hyper-Turbo Sunday SuperSonic (NLHE) | 10:00 PM | 1st Dec | $50 | $10,000 |
| 9 | Battle Royale Progressive Knockout (NLHE) | 7:00 PM | 2nd Dec | $50 | $10,000 |
| 10 | Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8-Max | 8:00 PM | 2nd Dec | $75 | $10,000 |
| 11 | Super Tuesday (NLHE) | 7:00 PM | 3rd Dec | $250 | $40,000 |
| 12 | Mini Super Tuesday (NLHE) | 7:30 PM | 3rd Dec | $30 | $10,000 |
| 13 | Escalating Antes (NLHE) | 8:00 PM | 3rd Dec | $150 | $20,000 |
| 14 | DeepStack (NLHE) | 7:00 PM | 4th Dec | $100 | $20,000 |
| 15 | High-Roller 6-Max (NLHE) | 8:00 PM | 4th Dec | $750 | $40,000 |
| 16 | Regular NLHE | 9:00 PM | 4th Dec | $150 | $12,000 |
| 17 | Thursday Thrill (NLHE) | 7:00 PM | 5th Dec | $200 | $25,000 |
| 18 | Rebuy (NLHE) | 8:00 PM | 5th Dec | $50 | $15,000 |
| 19 | Big Stack Turbo (NLHE) | 9:30 PM | 5th Dec | $100 | $12,000 |
| 20 | Eight-Game 6-Max | 7:30 PM | 6th Dec | $300 | $15,000 |
| 21 | Turbo 6-Max | 9:30 PM | 6th Dec | $150 | $12,000 |
| 22 | Deepstack 8-Max | 5:00 PM | 7th Dec | $100 | $12,000 |
| 23 | Saturday Speedway (NLHE) | 8:00 PM | 7th Dec | $150 | $12,000 |
| 24 | Marathon (NLHE) | 1:00 PM | 8th Dec | $100 | $10,000 |
| 25 | 8-Max (PLO) | 2:00 PM | 8th Dec | $100 | $10,000 |
| 26 | Big Ante 6-Max | 3:30 PM | 8th Dec | $150 | $20,000 |
| 27 | Sunday Special (NLHE) | 5:00 PM | 8th Dec | $300 | $55,000 |
| 28 | Progressive Knockout (NLHE) | 7:00 PM | 8th Dec | $200 | $30,000 |
| 29 | Hyper-Turbo Sunday SuperSonic (NLHE) | 9:00 PM | 8th Dec | $100 | $10,000 |
| 30 | 4-Max (NLHE) | 7:00 PM | 9th Dec | $300 | $30,000 |
| 31 | High-Roller 6-Max (NLHE) | 8:00 PM | 9th Dec | $500 | $20,000 |
| 32 | $200 NL Hold’em [Super Tuesday SE] | 7:00 PM | 10th Dec | $200 | $40,000 |
| 33 | $100 No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo [8-Max] | 8:00 PM | 10th Dec | $100 | $8,000 |
| 34 | $30+R NL Holdem [6-Max] | 7:00 PM | 11th Dec | $30 | $10,000 |
| 35 | $200 NL Hold’em | 8:00 PM | 11th Dec | $200 | $20,000 |
| 36 | $100 Stud Hi/Lo | 9:00 PM | 11th Dec | $100 | $8,000 |
| 37 | Thursday Thrill (NLHE) | 7:00 PM | 12th Dec | $250 | $30,000 |
| 38 | Turbo (NLHE) | 9:00 PM | 12th Dec | $150 | $15,000 |
| 39 | Fixed Limit Hold’em 6-Max | 7:00 PM | 13th Dec | $200 | $10,000 |
| 40 | Hyper-Turb Deep (NLHE) | 9:00 PM | 13th Dec | $200 | $10,000 |
| 41 | 6-Max (NLHE) | 6:00 PM | 14th Dec | $300 | $30,000 |
| 42 | Zoom (NLHE) | 9:00 PM | 14th Dec | $75 | $12,000 |
| 43 | Big Antes (NLHE) | 2:00 PM | 15th Dec | $100 | $12,000 |
| 44 | Main Event (NLHE) | 5:00 PM | 15th Dec | $300 | $100,000 |
| 45 | $50 Main Event Structure Event (NLHE) | 6:00 PM | 15th Dec | $50 | $20,000 |
| 46 | Progressive Knockout (NLHE) | 8:00 PM | 15th Dec | $100 | $15,000 |
| 47 | 6-Max (PLO) | 9:00 PM | 15th Dec | $100 | $10,000 |
| 48 | Hyper-Turbo Sunday SuperSonic (NLHE) | 10:00 PM | 15th Dec | $75 | $10,000 |
| 49 | PACOOP Wrap-Up (NLHE) | 7:00 PM | 16th Dec | $100 | $20,000 |
| 50 | Hyper-Turbo Deep 6-Max (NLHE) | 9:00 PM | 16th Dec | $150 | $10,000 |
