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After battling Doug Polk online for three months at WSOP.com, Daniel Negreanu is now heading back to the heads-up poker tables. He’ll be squaring off against a familiar name – 15-time World Series of Poker champion Phil Hellmuth.

On Tuesday, the two poker pros finalized a March 16 meeting on PokerGO’s High Stakes Duel. The showdown brings together two of the biggest names in poker.

Hellmuth and Negreanu officially announced the matchup on PokerGO’s No Gamble, No Future podcast.

War of words kicks off the duel

There should be plenty of fireworks when the two square off from the PokerGO Studio at Aria. The event has been in the works after some Twitter banter following the Negreanu-Polk matchup.

The High Stakes Duel format sees the two players battle heads-up for $50,000 each. The loser then has the option for a rematch at a $100,000 match.

Hellmuth has done well on the show so far. He’s battled Antonio Esfandiari three times and won every match. 

Negreanu has declared himself a 2 to 2.5 to 1 favorite and has already bet a “significant amount” on himself. However, he was complimentary of Hellmuth’s heads-up game.

“I think you’re great at heads-up poker,” he told Hellmuth. “A lot of the things you do against the players you’ve played against, specifically Antonio, actually destroys them.”

That included exploiting flawed strategy by Esfandiari, Negreanu noted. He considers Hellmuth one of the best exploitative players in the game, especially against GTO players.

His argument is that Hellmuth does well against more theory-based strategy players. That shouldn’t be a problem for Negreanu, or at least that’s what he’s hoping.

“For me, I feel like a bad matchup for you,” Negreanu noted. “A bad matchup because of what I’ll be willing to do.”

Poker Brat confident in his skills

Helmuth feels he’s played great in the heads-up format. He also has some major wins over players like Polk, Dan Cates, and Esfandiari.

“I get underestimated a lot,” Hellmuth told Negreanu. “All I do is keep winning. It’s really weird to me how you and other people keep underestimating me. It’s fine because I really think you guys honestly don’t understand what I do.”

If the podcast appearance was an indication, the heads-up matchup should be pretty fun. Negreanu and Hellmuth sparred quite a bit with plenty of trash talk.

Negreanu argues that Hellmuth would lose against heads-up poker specialists in a more drawn-out series like he played against Polk. Hellmuth doesn’t underestimate Negreanu and considers him “one of the great players in poker history.” He also said Negreanu has had some excellent coaches.

The recent heads-up series has given Negreanu some significant heads-up poker chops. However, Hellmuth feels good about his chances.

“Have I studied anything at all over the last two or three months?” he said on No Gamble, No Future. “No, I already know what I’m going to do. It’s worked for me …  against everybody I play. So I trust my instincts and I trust my reads.”

Those instincts should pay off, he believes. Hellmuth said if he can make two great folds and three great calls, he can win these types of matches. Here’s a look at the details of the High Stakes Duel:

• Game: Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em
• Location: PokerGO Studio at Aria, Las Vegas
• Stakes: $50,000 match
• Streaming: PokerGO
• Date and time. March 16, 8 pm (ET)
• Specifics: Played in a heads-up, sit and go style. The High Stakes Duel allows losing players to rematch for twice the original amount.

Tale of the tape

So how do these players stack up against each other? Both spoke briefly this week with USPoker about their chances going in. The event should attract plenty of interest among poker fans.

Phil Hellmuth

Discounting Hellmuth’s skills in heads-up poker might be a bad idea. Behind the bravado is a great player. With so many titles, Hellmuth has plenty of heads-up poker experience and regularly closes the show.

He describes himself as a counter puncher and feels his style works well in the heads-up game. That includes constantly adjusting and attacking when needed as well. 

The detractors certainly motivate Hellmuth and he said as much Tuesday on No Gamble, No Future. Esfandiari had also declared himself a favorite as well, however came out on the short end. Hellmuth remains firm in his skills, especially in a live setting.

“I have zero analysts and zero team,” he told USPoker. “I might watch some sessions of him live to see if I can spot any tells.”

Here’s a look at the Poker Brat’s statistics:

• Live tournament winnings: $24.6 million
• WSOP titles and winnings: 6 bracelets, $19.6 million
• WPT titles and winnings: 0 titles, 5 final tables, $1.6 million
• Intangibles: Hellmuth has excellent instincts and fares well in the live format. He seems to thrive when in the underdog role and has a record of success.

“Daniel says he is a big favorite,” Hellmuth said. “I have won roughly 18 out of 20 of my last heads-up matches. Antonio said he was a big favorite over me, but I beat him three times in a row.

“I also beat Doug Polk and Dan ‘jungleman’ Cates in live heads-up matches, who the kids said were the two best in the world at the time. What am I, chopped liver?”

Daniel Negreanu

Unlike the series with Polk, Negreanu doesn’t plan on as much preparation for a single event. He’ll ditch the coaching and plans on using a “basic fundamental strategy that I think is effective against Phil.”

Negreanu loves the High Stakes Duel format and thinks he’s perceptive enough to uncover Hellmuth’s weak spots. Against Polk, he employed solvers and a complete strategy team After studying so much over the last few months, Negreanu has been playing at an advanced level.

That’s a notion even Polk agreed with. He battled Negreanu for 25,000 hands and won $1.2 million. Polk believes Negreanu improved, learned a lot, and would beat most players heads-up. That includes beating Hellmuth in this match.

Some in the poker industry initially listed Negreanu as the favorite in the -150 to -160 range. Hellmuth has been in the +125 to +145 range. Here’s a complete look at Kid Poker’s statistics:

• Live tournament winnings: $42.1 million
• WSOP titles and winnings: 15 bracelet, $15.1 million
• WPT titles and winnings: 2 titles, 9 final tables, $6.4 million
• Intangibles: Negreanu has excellent reads and now has extensive knowledge at playing heads-up. Losing to Polk over 25,000 hands gave him even more insight into the game.

“Outside of maybe Fedor Holz, I don’t think there is a worse matchup in the world for him,” Negreanu told USPoker. “I’ve played with him for decades and my game matches up very well against him.”

* Lead image courtesy PokerGO

* Hellmuth and Negreanu photos courtesy World Poker Tour

The post Heads-Up Match Booked Between Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu for PokerGO’s ‘High Stakes Duel’ appeared first on .

The future of PA online poker seems bright, but when will Pennsylvania get more operators and join the shared liquidity market?

The post What Will US Online Poker Look Like When PA And MI Join Shared Player Pools appeared first on PA Online Casino.

The first day of spring is set for March 20 and Global Poker is getting in the spirit. Fresh off the Grizzly Games series, the sweepstakes poker site has another big event planned.

The site’s major weekly event comes with a boosted guarantee on Sunday. The Spring Break Edition of the Sunday Scrimmage on March 7 features a 75,000 Sweeps Coin (SC) guaranteed prize pool.

That’s an addition of SC25,000 to the SC50,000 guaranteed prize pool. The site has also added some extras and numerous satellites.

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How does Global Poker work?

Global Poker uses a unique sweepstakes poker model and is available to most players in the United States and Canada (excluding only Washington and Quebec). The site is similar to a social gaming site, where players can play for free with a play money currency called Gold Coins (GC).

A player wanting additional Gold Coins can purchase more and also receives free Sweeps Coins as a bonus. These  can be used as entry tokens in separate ring games, tournaments, and sit and go’s.

Sweeps Coins can be redeemed for cash prizes and gift cards. Players can receive free SC and GC each day by just logging into the site. Global Poker makes it simple to purchase Gold Coins and withdraw Sweeps Coins. 

Special Global Poker Spring Break Sunday Scrimmage

The Sunday Scrimmage offers players something to look forward to with the temperatures beginning to warm. The tournament action gets underway at 5 pm (ET).

Not only is Global boosting the guarantee, but players finishing in the top five spots add something extra as well. These players take home a $1,000 Airbnb voucher on top of the tournament winnings.

“We know that travel is hard right now for a lot of people so we’ve made sure these vouchers will never expire,” Global Poker notes in a news release. “You will have something to look forward to after all this is over.”

Plenty of satellites planned for Spring Break Scrimmage

Those looking to get in the Spring Break Sunday Scrimmage have numerous qualifying opportunities this week. SC2.20, SC3.30, SC4.40, and SC22 satellites are running daily. 

The weekends also bring some other satellites priced at SC22, SC 33, and SC55. There are also numerous other buy-ins and players will find plenty of opportunities to qualify for this big Sunday tournament.

The weekly event comes in a deepstack format and offers some major Sweeps Coin guarantees.

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Sunday majors attract big fields, top guarantees

Global Poker’s Sunday majors continue to attract big turnouts and some nice Sweeps Coin payouts for players. Last week’s event was part of the Grizzly Games After Party and also featured a boosted guarantee to SC75,000.

California’s “Lou Sid” took the top spot for SC16,739. The event attracted 444 entries with a prize pool of SC88,800.

In the SC110 Sunday Teaser, Nevada’s “Omniscient” finished first for SC5,953. The event features a SC25,000 guarantee and attracted 311 entries for a SC31,100 prize pool.

Sunday’s action also included the Grizzly Games Tournament of Champions. “Eichkoht” took down the event – earning a $5,000 live event package. That means this player from Arizona will represent Global Poker at a major live poker tournament.

Plenty more action and tournament series await players outside traditional regulated states looking for some online poker.

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The post Global Poker Celebrates Spring Break on March 7 With Boosted Sunday Scrimmage appeared first on .

The third WSOP.com Online Circuit event of 2021 is set for March 19-30 with more than $1.3 million guaranteed. The Silver Legacy Online awards 12 WSOP gold rings, with one event planned each day of the series.

The $525 Main Event highlights the schedule on March 28 with $300,000 guaranteed. Along with big payouts and championship rings, the Silver Legacy series once again features a $10,000 leaderboard and much more.

WSOP.com legal, regulated online poker is available in New Jersey and Nevada.

WSOP.com March Online Circuit highlights

Beyond the main event, players have plenty more action to look forward to. The series features buy-ins ranging from $215 to $1,000.

To get things started, the $500 Kick-Off features a $75,000 guarantee. The $1,000 High Roller should attract plenty of players with big bankrolls. The tournament comes with a $150,000 guarantee and closes out the series on March 30.

Players with smaller bankrolls should check out the $215 Deepstack Turbo on March 22. That comes with a $50,000 guarantee.

Players will find mostly No Limit Hold’em throughout the series, but there is one Omaha event as well. The $500 Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max is set for March 26 with $50,000 guaranteed. Here’s a look at the complete schedule:

WSOP.com series leaderboards planned, freerolls awarding big money

This Silver Legacy series offers plenty of extras for players. The series will once again pay out $10,000 in tournament tickets to the top 10 players.

The player in the top spot earns a seat into the $250,000 year-end championship. That event awards a coveted WSOP gold bracelet. Players can qualify for this by winning:

• a ring event during 2021
• a $10,000 Player of the Month leaderboard
• a Second Chance Freeroll

Those finishing among the top 50 players on the Cumulative Circuit Leaderboard also earn a seat. WSOP.com will also host a $25,000 Freeroll on April 1. This event is open to all ring event winners as well as the top 10 finishers on the series leaderboard.

Beyond that, a “Grinders Only Second Chance Freeroll” on April 1 also awards a seat into the $250,000 championship. Those playing in at least three series championship events are eligible to participate.

‘Big Freezeout’ gets action started earlier

Those who can’t wait for the series have a massive event to check out on Sunday. The $5,300 Big Freezeout runs March 7 and features a $250,000 guarantee.

That’s the biggest event so far this year in the US online poker market. Qualifiers are already running daily for those looking to get in this huge event at a bargain price. That schedule includes:

• $320 satellite – one seat guaranteed, running daily except Sunday and Tuesday
• $525 satellite – one seat guaranteed, running Sunday and Tuesday
• $320 10-seat scramble – 10 seats guaranteed, running March 6
• All-in Satellites – 64- and 128-player fields begin March 1

Players looking for an even bigger bargain can jump in a Wednesday freeroll. These award a spot in the10-seat scramble.

March Mayhem features added tournaments, free cash

WSOP.com is bringing players even more tournament action in March. The new $55 March Mayhem tournaments run every Sunday and Tuesday in March with $55,555 guaranteed.

The site is also adding $555 in prizes, which are awarded randomly during each tournament. With a low buy-ins and big guarantee, March Mayhem events promise some nice value for players.

Sin City sweepstakes awards Main Event entry, complete Las Vegas travel package 

Even players outside New Jersey and Nevada have a shot at a big Las Vegas poker experience at WSOP.com. The site is offering players a chance to enter the Ultimate Poker Champion Experience Sweepstakes through April 30.

The winner earns a $10,000 seat into the 2021 World Series of Poker Main Event. The all-inclusive trip to Las Vegas also includes:

• roundtrip airfare for two to Las Vegas
• three-night stay in a suite at Caesars Palace
• Dinner at a celebrity chef’s restaurant
• Whiskey and cigar pairing at Montecristo Cigar Bar
• $1,000 in spending money

The winner will be selected on May 6.

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The post WSOP.com Launches Massive March With Silver Legacy Online, Big Freezeout, $55 March Mayhem, Vegas Sweepstakes appeared first on .

PokerStars’ new Michigan online poker site might be currently drawing extra attention thanks to the running of its first Michigan Championship of Online Poker. But over in Pennsylvania, the PokerStars and FOX Bet Bounty Builder Series has been drawing considerable notice as well from PokerStars PA players.

With 43 of the 75 tournaments completed, players have won just over $1.16 million so far in the PokerStars PA Bounty Builder Series.

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Most guarantees met with a few small overlays

The 43 events have drawn more than 21,700 total entries thus far (counting re-entries), or more than 500 total entries per event.

The biggest buy-in tournament thus far, the $1,000 Super High Roller (Event #19), drew 88 total entries. That created a $83,600 prize pool, besting the $75,000 guarantee.

As usually is the case during tournament series on PokerStars PA, scheduled guarantees have been met in nearly all events.

Just four of the 43 events have had overlays, in each case relatively small ones.

Both of the events with $100,000 guaranteed prize pools scheduled so far came just shy of reaching the guarantee. One had an overlay of a little over $6,100 (Event #7) and the other a smaller one of just under $2,900 (Event #38).

PokerStars PA and MI series nearly even, NJ lags behind

Interestingly, PokerStars is running concurrent tournament series on both of its other US sites over the same dates as the PokerStars PA Bounty Builder Series (Feb. 20-Mar. 8).

As noted, the MICOOP on PokerStars MI is currently ongoing. Over the same nine-day period, that series has awarded almost the same amount as PokerStars PA has in its series. Through 35 events, MICOOP players have won almost $1.15 million.

Meanwhile PokerStars is also running a Bounty Builder Series in New Jersey featuring tournaments played in the progressive knockout format.

So far PokerStars NJ has completed 34 of 58 scheduled events in its series. Players have won about $380,000 in those events.

More highlights left in PokerStars PA Bounty Builder Series

Among the remaining highlights on the PokerStars PA Bounty Builder Series schedule are a couple of $50,000 guaranteed events, a special Super Tuesday tomorrow (Event #48) and a special Thursday Thrill (Event #57) later in the week. Both of those tournaments feature $200 buy-ins.

The series-climaxing two-day Main Event also costs $200 to play, and features a $150,000 guaranteed prize pool. That tournament begins Sunday, March 7.

Click here for a look at the entire PokerStars PA Bounty Builder Series schedule.

Here are all the turnouts and prize pools so far in the series.

PokerStars PA Bounty Builder Series by the numbers (Through Event #43)

*Events with overlays: Event No. 7 – $6,180.40; Event No. 22 – $1,454.00; Event No. 38 – $2,875.60; Event No. 39 – $1,613.00.

Lead image via Dreamstime

The post Over $1.16M Won in PokerStars PA Bounty Builder Series With Main Event To Come appeared first on Play Pennsylvania.

Playing heads-up cash games online for hundreds of thousands of dollars isn’t something most poker players will ever experience. However, poker fans recently got a taste of this action with Daniel Negreanu squaring off against Doug Polk at WSOP.com.

Beyond the play on the felt and results, there was plenty of action behind the scenes as well. The two men spent hours in preparation and studying each day’s hands behind the scenes. That involved reviewing hand histories, solver analysis, coaching, and more.

For the uninitiated, the behind-the-scenes work might be surprising. USPoker took a look at what kind of efforts went into the match and how each got ready to hit the tables.

Team Polk

Preparing for an online poker duel

In NASCAR, a driver earns major accolades for crossing the finish line in the top spot. But a big team in the background helps make that possible. The pit crew, team engineers, crew chief, and spotter all make efforts to get that driver to the checkered flag.

These two online poker warriors took a similar approach to the High Stakes Feud. Simply rolling out of bed and firing up the computer to play wouldn’t have been a good plan.

There’s no doubt Polk is an amazingly talented player. The founder of Upswing Poker didn’t go it alone in the challenge however.

After the final match in the series, Polk discussed his team on the final Upswing stream of the series. He offered a look at what into his efforts.

“I’m very happy that I spent so much time preparing and I felt that it ended up helping me tremendously and I got to execute at such a long period of time,” Polk said.

That execution came with lots of fine tuning and adjustment. And the Polk war room included a team helping make that happen. A couple of players served as coaches to help build a framework for play and also run simulations on a poker solver.

A solver is a software program identifying the optimal play in a given situation. Players, or in this case Polk’s team, enter each situation and the software indicates the best choice. The routine involved hours of work each day.

For more in-depth coverage on poker solvers, click here.

Another few players helped create hand ranges based on all of Negreanu’s bet sizes. A team of Upswing poker members also recorded statistics for all the hands throughout the series. That meant every continuation bet, raise, and any other move.

“They created a spreadsheet for me and were just straight-out grinding out stats,” Polk said.

Battling in the background

The match may have lasted three months, but Polk spent several months preparing beforehand. He hadn’t played in over a year before that and said he got “wrecked” initially playing at smaller stakes.

After finding his team of coaches, however, Polk’s game began to improve. His team constantly ran simulations – cross-testing bet sizes and hand ranges.

In reviewing the series, Polk believes Negreanu played well and could top most players who aren’t heads-up high-stakes specialists.

“I really think Daniel played exceptionally well for what I would have expected,” he said in a recent video analyzing Negreanu’s play throughout the series. “It’s a completely different beast heads-up. You have to play the vast majority of your hands.”

That involves continually making tough calls, sharp bluffs, and fighting for every pot, Polk noted. The effort may not have been NASA landing a rover on Mars, but there was a deep, high-tech team strategy underway.

Polk described his team as “some of the brightest minds in poker.” Sometimes that included reminding him to fold more and stick to the game plan. His tech team looked for a counter to every Negreanu change or adjustment.

That paid off to the tune of a $1.2 million win playing two tables at $200/$400 No Limit Hold’em.

“That full team of people helped me in different ways,” said Polk, who’s now heading to play in PokerGO’s High Stakes Poker. “I’m obviously thankful that I got to work with such great guys to get me to the level at where I am today. I just couldn’t have done it without them.”

Team Negreanu

Assembling a team for the challenge

Despite losing in the matchup, even Polk conceded that his opponent made considerable progress. He labeled Negreanu as a really good heads-up player who could do well against most challengers.

The problem is that Polk isn’t like most challengers. Extremely talented and possessing an innate gift for aggression at the right moments, he gives an opponent fits in extremely tough spots.

Negreanu knew he’d be the underdog going into the match and put together a team to help. After weeks of studying and preparing, Kid Poker hit the tables on Nov. 4.

The Team Negreanu crew consisted of two people coaching him as the series went along. That came to as many as six hours a day. A third person was also involved learning along with Negreanu throughout the process to help fine tune the strategy.

This “poker pit crew” used a GTO (game theory optimization) practice driller. GTO is the concept of using analytical tools to make optimal choices regarding certain decisions.

That involved making use of the PioSolver and running simulations on hands Negreanu played. The team could use that analysis to create and work on new concepts.

A growing complexity to high stakes online poker

What does all this high-tech analysis say about where online poker is now? It means playing at some of the highest stakes continues to require massive amounts of training and analysis.

“The game is more complex at the highest levels and the skill set to become a great poker player has changed,” Negreanu told USPoker. “It’s less about talent and more about work ethic and study when it comes to online poker. I think live poker is mostly safe from being totally overtaken.”

This one is not good for my all in EV stats @CoreySteel_ pic.twitter.com/HIJpg9kkmz

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) February 4, 2021

Looking back, Negreanu was forthcoming about the matchup and everything that went into it. He even recently discussed heading back to the tables heads-up against Phil Hellmuth.

“I learned a lot rapidly throughout the process,” he said, “but definitely needed more time to prepare for the match and be ready for hand one.”

That says a lot about what it takes to win in such an environment. The two treated the poker world to quite a show and there were plenty of hours of prep time to make that happen.

The post Go Behind the Scenes With Daniel Negreanu, Doug Polk Tech and Strategy Teams appeared first on .

PokerStars announced a new television deal with FOX Sports on Friday. The agreement brings the record-breaking PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) tournament to FS1 beginning Friday, Feb. 26, at 11 pm (ET)

Never before seen in the United States, the 2019 tournament was part of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas. The new deal now gives poker fans even more live poker to check out on television.

“There’s no better partner than FOX, who shares our enthusiasm for high-stakes action,” FOX Bet CMO Andrew Schneider said in a news release. “The PSPC tournament is ready made for TV and exemplifies everything we love about poker and showcases the type of opportunities and events we’re passionate about offering the PokerStars community.”

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What to expect from PokerStars on FOX

The PSPC attracted plenty of attention in 2019, with the site giving away numerous Platinum Passes in the buildup to the event. A pass awarded players a $25,000 buy-in and a free trip to the Atlantis.

The tournament generated a record-breaking prize pool and culminated with $5.1 million top prize. FS1 will air nine one-hour episodes of the tournament and more is planned on the network.

A PokerStars new release described the coverage as “a prelude to a deepening initiative between PokerStars and the 24-hour sports network that promises to deliver an array of entertaining poker content from PokerStars events all over the world.”

Viewers will see several recognizable names among the PSPC field including:

• NBA star Paul Pierce
• pro skateboarder Tony Hawk
• comedian, actor, and writer Norm Macdonald
• golf pro Sergio Garcia

The tournament brought in 1,039 players, generating a $26.4 million prize pool. That’s the largest ever for a $25,000 buy-in. The massive field mixed top professionals with poker novices.

Viewers can follow the journey as many Platinum Pass winners from all over the world turned a free pass into a well-earned payday. The top six players also all scored more than $1 million.

PokerStars tournament already airing in Michigan after site launches in state

In addition to airing nationally on FS1, the tournament began airing on FOX-2 in Detroit earlier in February. The programming launched shortly after FOX Bet, PokerStars, and Stars Casino launched in Michigan in January. 

Now operating in Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the deal also brings regular PokerStars content to local FOX stations.

“We are excited to deepen our partnership with FOX Bet by offering viewers this riveting slate of never-before-seen content from PokerStars,” FOX Sports Executive Vice President of Programming Bill Wanger said.

Here’s a look at the complete 2021 FS1 PokerStars schedule (all times Eastern).

• Friday, Feb. 26  – 11 pm
• Saturday, Feb. 27 – midnight
• Friday, March 5 – 11 pm
• Saturday, March 6 – midnight
• Friday, March 12 – 11:30 pm
• Saturday, March 13 – 12:30 am
• Friday, March 19 – 10 pm and 11 pm
• Friday, March 26 – 11 pm

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The post PokerStars Reaches Television Deal with FOX Sports, Programming Begins This Weekend on FS1  appeared first on .

The 2020 World Series of Poker Main Event returns to ESPN this weekend. The series announced on Wednesday that four hours of coverage will be broadcast on Sunday, Feb. 28, at 8 pm (ET) on ESPN2.

This year’s $10,000 buy-in event brought a unique setup due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The series featured an international tournament played on GGPoker. A separate version was staged at WSOP.com for US-based players.

Both events played to a live final table and the winner of each met for a $1 million winner-take-all heads-up battle. That was held  in January with the winner earning the title of world champion.

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What to expect from the WSOP Main Event on ESPN

TheESPN coverage will capture all the action from both final tables as well as the heads-up duel. This is the 19th straight year the network has broadcast the event, with some COVID-era changes this year.

Viewers will certainly see some differences in this year’s Main Event telecast. Viewers won’t find a crowded room filled with fans and supporters.

Online poker  also played a major part in the Main Event for the first time.

In the broadcast booth, legendary announcer Lon McEachern returns to the microphone. He’s joined by poker pro and co-host Jamie Kerstetter, offering insight and analysis.

The event comes to viewers from the series’ longtime home at the Rio in Las Vegas. And of course the winner takes home some bling – the championship diamond-encrusted, gold bracelet.

The tournament results may already be known, but the broadcast at least offers some WSOP action for poker fans.

Argentina’s Damian Salas added a million bucks to his poker winnings and viewers can follow his road to victory.

 “We could not be more excited to deliver poker fans new primetime content on ESPN,” WSOP executive director Ty Stewart said in a news release. “With compelling storylines and unpredictable action, these episodes remind us all why there was a poker boom in the first place.”

A single day of Main Event coverage, no Norman Chad

Rather than offering live coverage via PokerGO, this year fans can soak in the entire event in one day. The series should make for some binge watching poker fun.

One notable change this year is the absence of longtime WSOP commentator Norman Chad. He’s been a part of the broadcast since Chris Moneymaker’s historic 2003 Main Event win.

The WSOP didn’t offer a reason for Chad’s absence this year and if he’d return for 2021.

The 2020 version of the Main Event made millionaires of first and second place winners on the US side. Both players on the international side also scored at least $1 million.

“We are ecstatic that even in an unprecedented year, we can give our audience another fantastic World Series of Poker event to look forward to,” ESPN Senior Vice President of Programming Tim Bunnell said. “The format may be different, but the action remains captivating.”

* Photos courtesy WSOP/Melissa Haereiti

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There continues to be some movement among US states regarding online poker and iGaming in general. The latest comes in Illinois where two state representatives introduced an Internet gaming bill this week.

The legislation would legalize all forms of online gaming including poker. Rep. Robert Rita (D) and Rep. Jonathan Carroll (D) co-sponsored the bill.

Carroll spoke this week with USPoker about the bill and what it could mean for the state.

What’s in the bill and what does it mean for online poker players?

The Illinois bill is officially known as the Internet Gaming Act (IGA) and would legalize real money online casino gaming, slots, and poker. The Illinois Gaming Board would be charged with regulating the industry.

After legalizing online sports betting last summer, online gaming appears next up. At least Carroll and Rita are hoping so.

The IGA would allow for the state’s casinos and racetracks to offer up to three gaming skins. Those properties could partner with other online gaming companies as seen in other states.

Online gaming would be taxed at 12% of gross gaming revenue with $10 million set aside to treat problem gambling. If approved, Illinois would become the sixth state to legalize online poker.

“It’s been discussed over the past few years,” Carroll said of the bill and legalizing online gaming. “But with the success with online sports wagering it seemed like an appropriate time to further explore this idea.”

Carroll has received some positive reviews from colleagues and believes the bill has a chance at passage. Gov. JB Pritzker (D) hasn’t commented, but Carroll believes he’d sign the bill if approved by the state house and senate.

“I haven’t had a conversation with him about it, but I don’t see why he’d oppose this considering how supportive he was of sports wagering,” he said. “I’ve had constituents reach out and want to see this done yesterday. It’s been very positive.

“I’m a very bad poker player, but I believe this will be huge for us and people will enjoy the experience.”

What would an Illinois online poker market look like?

Regulated online poker in Illinois would be a considerable addition to the list of legalized US states. That includes

• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• Michigan
• Nevada
• West Virginia

Online poker in Michigan officially launched in January when PokerStars went live. West Virginia has yet to see a poker site enter the market.

A federal appeals court recently struck down a Department of Justice opinion on the Wire Act. The court ruled that the act applied to sports betting and not other forms of iGaming.

That’s cleared the way for possible expansion of interstate compacts for legal online poker sites. That would lead to larger player and prize pools. The Illinois bill gives the gaming board the authority to enter into these compacts.

Illinois has a population of about 12.7 million. That’s about 100,000 fewer than Pennsylvania, the largest state with legalized online poker.

The state brings a nice number to add to interstate compacts for shared liquidity. All five current legalized states combined with Illinois equal a total population of about 49 million.

With several legalized casinos, Illinois has a nice poker scene around the state. Regulation in the Prairie State would further add to online poker’s success in the US.

Passage in Illinois may bring online gaming quickly

While the wheels of government may move slowly, Carroll and Rita’s legislation makes an effort to launch iGaming fairly quickly. The IGA may be unique by attempting to fast-track efforts to get the industry off the ground.

Once approved, the legislation gives the gaming board 90 days to adopt emergency rules for the industry. The bill also requires the board to issue temporary licenses to companies already holding equivalent sports betting licenses.

Companies with online gaming licenses in other states could also receive temporary licenses. These measures could help ramp up the industry at a faster pace than seen in some states.

“I’d like to see this get done quickly and efficiently,” Carroll said. “We did that with sports wagering and the feedback has been great. If all goes well I believe this can be a reality by 2022.”

Additional details on the legislation

The bill also outlines some other interesting caveats, as reported by Online Poker Report earlier this week including:

• Allowing gaming company servers and computer systems to be located outside the state. Players only must wager within the state.
• Players could link their Illinois wagering account to those they may have set up in other states.

One negative for the industry may be a requirement for players to register in person at a casino or racetrack. Some sports betting markets have created these stipulations, suppressing participation.

Fortunately that measure would only be in place for the first six months.

As real money online poker continues to explode around the world, US players continue to have some reason for optimism. States like Kentucky, Indiana, North Dakota, and Connecticut have seen efforts underway recently for regulated iGaming.

Many jurisdictions are grappling with revenue shortages due to COVID-19. Internet gaming and poker offer added funds to state coffers. It seems likely more will get on board.

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