{"id":31472,"date":"2019-12-19T21:03:09","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T22:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/?p=31472"},"modified":"2019-12-20T16:42:39","modified_gmt":"2019-12-20T16:42:39","slug":"what-does-pacoops-success-tell-us-about-the-future-of-pa-online-poker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/what-does-pacoops-success-tell-us-about-the-future-of-pa-online-poker\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does PACOOP\u2019s Success Tell Us About The Future Of PA Online Poker?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When PokerStars<\/strong> launched the first online poker room in Pennsylvania<\/strong><\/a> last month, it wasted no time in scheduling its first big tournament series.<\/p>\n

The Pennsylvania Championship Of Online Poker<\/strong> (PACOOP) was, by all accounts, a success. Players showed up and guarantees were crushed.<\/p>\n

More importantly, though, online poker was infused with a level of excitement and enthusiasm it hasn\u2019t felt in a long time. It\u2019s remarkable that one online poker room had the power to do all that.<\/p>\n

What happens now that PACOOP is over, though?<\/p>\n

Will the excitement remain? Will more online poker rooms open?<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll attempt to answer those questions and more as we look at what\u2019s next for online poker in PA.<\/p>\n

But first, just how successful was PACOOP?<\/p>\n

PACOOP successfully launches PA online poker into the spotlight<\/span><\/h2>\n

PACOOP began on Nov. 30<\/a> with a $100 buy-in that exceeded its guarantee by $30,000. It concluded on Dec. 16 with two events plus the second day of the $300 Main Event.<\/p>\n

The PACOOP Main Event<\/strong> produced the largest prize pool ($179,200) of the series and surpassed its guarantee by the largest amount ($54,200) of all 50 events.<\/p>\n

In total, PACOOP events saw 9,032 players, 13,456 entries and awarded $1,559,767 in prize money. The total prize money was well above the $1,225,000 series\u2019 guarantee that was revised, not once, but two times<\/a>, from its original amount of $1 million.<\/p>\n

Only 10 events failed to reach their guarantees, most of them just barely missing the mark. Overall, PokerStars coughed up just over $17,000 in overlays.<\/p>\n

The one blemish, on an otherwise well-attended tournament series, was the Sunday grind on Dec. 8.<\/p>\n

Sundays are as important to online poker as they are to the NFL<\/strong>. Four of the ten tournaments that failed<\/strong> to make their guarantees happened on that Sunday.<\/p>\n

The Philadelphia Eagles<\/strong> playing at home that Sunday may have had an impact. One of the tournaments did have the second-largest guarantee of the series, but it didn\u2019t seem like it was out of reach and the others were in line with other guarantees.<\/p>\n

Honestly, it just seems like a weird anomaly.<\/p>\n

What happens now that PACCOP is over?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Now that PA has poker, no doubt players are waiting for more rooms to open and that seems likely to happen sometime in the first half of 2020.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board<\/strong> spokesman Douglas Harbach<\/strong> spoke to PlayPennsylvania<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>about the growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a half dozen other casinos besides Mount Airy with PokerStars which paid a fee to offer online poker, so it is anticipated that others will launch in 2020.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To date, there is no indication that any of them have taken the next steps to open up their rooms. The success of PACOOP might be the kick in the pants they need, however.<\/p>\n

Or maybe they are waiting for something more?<\/p>\n

When looking at New Jersey<\/strong><\/a>, many credit big tournament series in New Jersey as the reason online poker has survived. NJ online poker also began with a big tournament series similar to PACOOP. It also began with a lot of enthusiasm and exceeded its guarantees.<\/p>\n

A few years later, however, the online poker market in the Garden State<\/strong> is struggling. The biggest reason cited for the struggle is the limited player pool. The first month of online poker produced a promising $2 million in revenue<\/a>. But, then again, New Jersey got off to a hot start too.<\/p>\n

Just because PA has a higher population doesn\u2019t mean a limited player pool won\u2019t impact online poker when the excitement and enthusiasm wear off. The solution?<\/p>\n

The Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement<\/strong> (MSIGA).<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

What PA online poker really needs<\/span><\/h2>\n

The MSIGA currently combines player pools among three states:<\/p>\n