Pennsylvania online poker players could be looking at a record-setting series if PACOOP ever comes to fruition.

Just last week, PokerStars NJ announced their fourth annual NJ Championship of Online Poker schedule with $1 million guaranteed through 50 events over a 17-day period in October.

By all accounts, PokerStars is the front-runner to become the first online poker site to launch in a Pennsylvania with many speculating Keystone State grinders could be clicking buttons beginning in October. A Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker (PACOOP) – could very well be a key component of what is sure to be a much-hyped launch period.

With a population of 12.8 million, Pennsylvania is a larger potential poker market than the current inter-state group of New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware. Using the 2019 NJCOOP schedule as a template and keeping in mind that PokerStars is only available in New Jersey, online poker players in PA just might find themselves in the middle of a two-week-long festival with nearly $1.5 million in guaranteed prize money in the very near future.

Guaranteed Prize Pools

For the first time in the four-year history of NJCOOP, the total guaranteed amount across all events took a dive in 2019. The inaugural event in 2016 featured 43 different events and a total guarantee of $1.2 million. In 2017 and 2018, the schedule expanded to 46 events and the prize pool remained at $1.2 million. For 2019 however, the events increased again, this time to 50, but the total guaranteed amount dropped to just $1 million.

This shouldn’t be any reason for alarm for Pennsylvania online poker players, however. While the number of events on any potential PACOOP schedule is likely to be in the ballpark of 50, the total guaranteed prize pools will need to reflect the population gap between New Jersey and Pennsylvania and the excitement over the launch of online poker in a new state. Those two factors should push the total guaranteed amount of $1.5 million.

Individual event guarantees outside of the Main Event will most likely fall in the range of $12,500 for the smaller events and as high as $90,000 for the Sunday Special Special Edition events.

Conversely, given that PA operators have been able to launch their online poker verticals since July 15 and haven’t yet done so tells you that PokerStars may take a very cautious approach to the schedule.

The Main Event

A two-week-long festival with 50 events played on PokerStars is sure to get the adrenalin pumping, but the highlight of every COOP schedule around the world is always the Main Event. Again, a quick look across state lines into New Jersey gives us some perspective on just what to expect.

The 2019 NJCOOP Main Event has the lowest buy-in and guarantee in NJCOOP history. For the first three years, the buy-in was $500 with guarantees of $200,000 (2016 & 2017) and $150,000 (2018). For 2019, as part of the overall drop in guaranteed prize pools, the Main Event features a $100,000 guarantee and just a $300 buy-in. It’s important to note that in the first three years, the guarantee was never met but fell within a few players of hitting the promised amount.

The PACOOP Main Event should feature a $150,000 guarantee with a $300 buy-in. Players looking for bigger buy-in events will need to look to the High Roller events which usually include buy-ins of $500 and $1,000.

Game Selection

Mixed game players in PA are going to need to show a little bit of patience. A majority of the PACOOP schedule is likely going to be No Limit Hold’em with Pot Limit Omaha players having the second-best schedule to choose from. The PokerStars PA client will probably offer 6+ Hold’em (Short Deck), 7 Card Stud and Duece to Seven varieties, but outside of a single Eight Game event, mixed game players will be on the sidelines watching for now.