It is hard to imagine that two weeks ago, players were taking their seats at the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at Harrah’s Atlantic City.
The coronavirus outbreak forced the WSOP to postpone the event mid-tournament on March 13. And, a few days later, all nine Atlantic City casinos would close.
Within 24 hours of canceling the circuit event, the company launched the WSOP Online Super Circuit on WSOP.com and 888 poker.
The pivot for a company that is very measured in its scheduling and responses to events is pretty remarkable.
What is even more remarkable? The prize pools the impromptu online poker tournament series are generating.
If you’ve been waiting to get in on the action, the time is now. There are only five events left.
WSOP Online Super Circuit: The final five events
All five of the remaining WSOP Online Super Circuit are no-limit hold’em events. The last event is on Tuesday, March 31, but the Main Event runs on Sunday and boasts a guarantee of $200,000.
If the performance of the events to date is any indication, expect the prize pools for the remaining five events to be much higher than their posted guarantees.
The first 13 events had a total of $810,000 in guarantees. The prize pools of those events ended up at over $2.5 million. That is huge for NJ online poker.
Every tournament at least doubled its guarantee. In fact, many of the events produced a prize pool of three times the posted guarantee.
Here is a list of the remaining events (All times are Eastern Standard Time.):
- 4 p.m. March 27: Event 14 $250 NLH Turbo $50,000 Guaranteed
- 4 p.m. March 28: Event 15 $320 NLH $75,000 Guaranteed
- 2 p.m. March 29: Event 16 $525 NLH Main Event $200,000 Guaranteed
- 4 p.m. March 30: Event 17 $300 NLH Knockout $30,000 Guaranteed
- 4 p.m. March 31: Event 18 $1,000 NLH Grand Finale HR $75,000 Guaranteed
WSOP offering a reload bonus
For players ready to win a gold ring, WSOP is offering a reload bonus. Simply make a deposit and WSOP will match it, up to $1,000. The bonus money will be released into a player’s account in increments of $10 based on the amount a player plays.
Click here and use code SUPER20 to claim your bonus.
If you plan on spending the upcoming weekend playing on @WSOPcom, be sure to take advantage of the reload bonus to get some cash back. Use code 'SUPER20' when making a deposit to get 100% on up to $1,000.
Details: https://t.co/SHVNxOTIC2 pic.twitter.com/fM9eizcJ7D
— WSOP (@WSOP) March 27, 2020
What is behind the success of the NJ online poker tournament?
Many factors have come together to make this series a huge success.
First of all, there is no denying the value of earning the WSOP gold, whether it be a bracelet or a ring. It is the ultimate prize for any poker player.
Second, with the sporting world basically closed, it seems likely some of the NJ sports betting crowd is finding their way to the virtual felt.
And finally, a 4 p.m. start time with late registration lasting until 5:30 p.m. is ideal for NJ players. It starts late enough so that many players can make it following their workday. And yet, it still ends at a reasonable time. For instance, Event #13 ended at 11:15 p.m.
Regardless of why the tournament is attracting such large numbers, it is. This weekend will likely be as big, if not bigger, than the events that have played out so far.
WSOP Online Super Circuit results
| Date | Time PST | Event | Buy-in | Guarantee | Total Entries | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar. 14 | 4:00 PM | 1 - NLH Double Stack | $320 | $50,000 | 570 | $171,000 |
| Mar. 15 | 2:00 PM | 2 - NLH Monster Stack | $215 | $50,000 | 941 | $188,200 |
| Mar. 16 | 4:00 PM | 3 - NLH Deep Turbo | $215 | $50,000 | 669 | $133,800 |
| Mar. 17 | 4:00 PM | 4 - NLH High Roller (6-Max) | $1,000 | $75,000 | 290 | $276,950 |
| Mar. 18 | 4:00 PM | 5 - NLH | $215 | $50,000 | 859 | $171,800 |
| Mar. 19 | 4:00 PM | 6 - NLH | $320 | $50,000 | 720 | $217,800 |
| Mar. 20 | 4:00 PM | 7 - PLO 6-Max | $215 | $30,000 | 454 | $90,800 |
| Mar. 21 | 4:00 PM | 8 - NLH Double Stack | $320 | $75,000 | 826 | $247,800 |
| Mar. 22 | 5:00 PM | 9 - NLH Monster Stack | $525 | $150,000 | 636 | $318,000 |
| Mar. 23 | 4:00 PM | 10 - NLH Freezeout | $250 | $30,000 | 473 | $110,209 |
| Mar. 24 | 4:00 PM | 11 - NLH BIG $500 | $500 | $75,000 | 314 | $247,977 |
| Mar. 25 | 4:00 PM | 12 - NLH | $215 | $50,000 | 541 | $168,800 |
| Mar. 26 | 4:00 PM | 13 - NLH 6-Max | $320 | $75,000 | 402 | $201,900 |
| Mar. 27 | 4:00 PM | 14 - NLH Turbo | $250 | $50,000 | 422 | $149,460 |
| Mar. 28 | 4:00 PM | 15 - NLH | $320 | $75,000 | 473 | $219,300 |
| Mar. 29 | 5:00 PM | 16 - NLH Main Event | $525 | $200,000 | ||
| Mar. 30 | 4:00 PM | 17 - NLH Knockout | $300 | $30,000 | ||
| Mar. 31 | 4:00 PM | 18 - NLH Grand Finale HR | $1,000 | $75,000 |
