PokerStars Hoping to Parlay Strong Start into PACOOP Success
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Barely a month after the launch of PokerStars PA, the main course of online poker's year is being served, starting just as the last of the Thanksgiving turkey leftovers are devoured.
The Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker is set to begin Nov. 30 and run through Dec. 16, featuring $1 million in guarantees across 50 tournaments.
And while excitement for the event was undoubtedly always going to be high, given that it's the first big tournament series on a legal Pennsylvania online poker site, it's been ramped up even further by the strong start posted by PokerStars PA as it comes up on its first month in operation.
Early Returns at PokerStars PA
PokerStars launched in full Nov. 6 after two days of testing, during which it was open to players for around eight-hour windows. Early numbers were strong, as the site posted highs of nearly 800 players, and the excitement hasn't tapered off in the intervening weeks.
Currently, traffic monitor PokerScout ranks PokerStars PA 15th in the world with a seven-day average of 450 players. That puts it on par with well-known international operator Unibet, and ahead of notable rooms like partypoker Europe and Microgaming Poker Network.
And while it would be natural for curiosity to peak in the early days of launch and interest to wane somewhat thereafter, that hasn't been the case at all.
In fact, according to data from Poker Industry PRO ($), the situation has been just the opposite. After opening in the neighborhood of 375 to 400 players over the first few days, PokerStars PA has seen traffic slowly climb. The seven-day average hit 413 players on Nov. 20, two weeks after launch, and peaked at 449 on Nov. 26.
What's more, comparing PokerStars PA to the rest of the U.S. regulated market reveals that the stand-alone site — it isn't yet part of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement — has outperformed the rest of the market combined. According to PRO, the rest of the market has been supporting a player pool right around 300 players, so PokerStars PA is beating that traffic by 50%.
Furthermore, the rest-of-market traffic was at 350 in the days before the PokerStars PA launch, indicating some players may have jumped ship to get on the Pennsylvania bandwagon.
Rolling into PACOOP
That promising start in terms of cash game traffic means the operator is surely licking its chops to roll out its flagship online poker tournament series. The Championship series has been a staple of PokerStars since 2002 and has become must-play for any serious online poker players, including those based in the U.S., who often decamp to Canada or Mexico to play.
With PACOOP set to run for the first time, they can stay at home in the U.S., having their fill of tournament offerings at a variety of price points. Each tournament sports a guarantee, topped by the $300 Main Event at $100,000. That tournament will run for two days, starting Dec. 15.
Here's a look at the full schedule:
PokerStars PACOOP Schedule
| Date | Time | Event | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 30 | 6 p.m. | $100 NLHE Nightly Stars | $20,000 |
| 8 p.m. | $200 NLHE Turbo | $15,000 | |
| Dec. 1 | 1 p.m. | $200 NLHE Turbo | $15,000 |
| 2 p.m. | $100 NLHE Big Antes | $15,000 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | $150 NLHE Progressive KO | $25,000 | |
| 5 p.m. | $200 NLHE Sunday Special | $50,000 | |
| 7 p.m. | $100 PLO Six-Max | $10,000 | |
| 10 p.m. | $50 NLHE Sunday Supersonic Hyper-turbo | $10,000 | |
| Dec. 2 | 7 p.m. | $50 NLHE Battle Royale Progressive KO | $10,000 |
| 8 p.m. | $75 Rebuy PLO Hi-Lo Eight-Max | $10,000 | |
| Dec. 3 | 7 p.m. | $250 NLHE Super Tuesday | $40,000 |
| 7:30 p.m. | $30 NLHE Mini Super Tuesday | $10,000 | |
| 8 p.m | $150 NLHE Escalating Antes | $20,000 | |
| Dec. 4 | 7 p.m. | $100 NLHE Deepstack | $20,000 |
| 8 p.m. | $750 NLHE High Roller Six-Max | $40,000 | |
| 9 p.m. | $150 NLHE | $12,000 | |
| Dec. 5 | 7 p.m. | $200 NLHE Thursday Thrill | $25,000 |
| 8 p.m. | $50 Rebuy NLHE | $15,000 | |
| 9:30 p.m. | $100 NLHE BigStack Turbo | $12,000 | |
| Dec. 6 | 7:30 p.m. | $300 Eight-Game | $15,000 |
| 9:30 p.m. | $150 NLHE Turbo Six-Max | $12,000 | |
| Dec. 7 | 5 p.m. | $100 NLHE Deepstack Eight-Max | $12,000 |
| 8 p.m. | $150 NLHE Saturday Speedway | $12,000 | |
| Dec. 8 | 1 p.m. | $100 NLHE Marathon | $10,000 |
| 2 p.m. | $100 PLO Eight-Max | $10,000 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | $150 NLHE Six-Max, Big Antes | $20,000 | |
| 5 p.m. | $300 NLHE Sunday Special | $55,000 | |
| 7 p.m. | $200 NLHE Progressive KO | $30,000 | |
| 9 p.m. | $100 NLHE Sunday Supersonic Hyper-turbo | $10,000 | |
| Dec. 9 | 7 p.m. | $300 NLHE Four-Max | $20,000 |
| 8 p.m. | $500 PLO High Roller Six-Max | $20,000 | |
| Dec. 10 | 7 p.m. | $200 NLHE Super Tuesday | $40,000 |
| 8 p.m. | $100 NL Omaha Hi-Lo Eight-Max | $8,000 | |
| Dec. 11 | 7 p.m. | $30 Rebuy NLHE Six-Max | $10,000 |
| 8 p.m. | $200 NLHE | $20,000 | |
| 9 p.m. | $100 Stud Hi-Lo | $8,000 | |
| Dec. 12 | 7 p.m. | $250 NLHE Thursday Thrill | $30,000 |
| 9 p.m. | $150 NLHE Turbo | $15,000 | |
| Dec. 13 | 7 p.m. | $200 LHE Six-Max | $10,000 |
| 9 p.m. | $200 NLHE Deep, Hyper-turbo | $10,000 | |
| Dec. 14 | 6 p.m. | $300 NLHE Six-Max | $30,000 |
| 9 p.m. | $75 NLHE Zoom | $12,000 | |
| Dec. 15 | 2 p.m. | $100 NLHE Big Antes | $12,000 |
| 5 p.m. | $300 NLHE Main Event (Two days) | $100,000 | |
| 6 p.m. | $50 NLHE Mini Main Event | $20,000 | |
| 8 p.m. | $100 NLHE Progressive KO | $15,000 | |
| 9 p.m. | $100 PLO Six-Max | $10,000 | |
| 10 p.m. | $75 NLHE Sunday Supersonic Hyper-turbo | $10,000 | |
| Dec. 16 | 7 p.m | $150 NLHE Nightly Stars | $20,000 |
| 9 p.m. | $100 NLHE Deep, Hyper-turbo, Six-Max | $10,000 |
Added Value from PokerStars PA
To encourage players to fire into the PACOOP, PokerStars PA is pumping up the prize pools with some tickets added to the Main Event.
For one thing, players who deposit $50 or more using the promo code "PACOOP" before 1:59 p.m. on Dec. 15 get a ticket to a special freeroll giving away 25 PACOOP Main Event seats.
In addition, players eliminated outside the money of every PACOOP event will receive tickets to daily Second Chance Freerolls running Dec. 1-16. Each awards $1,250 in satellite seats and PACOOP entries.
