One side effect of moving the final table of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event from the summer to November is that it naturally makes one WSOP end so much closer to the start of the next one. Not that that’s a bad thing, by any means. It just feels strange, at least to me, that the 2014 WSOP is just three and a half months away.
You know what that means, though…time for World Series of Poker satellites. And with the legalization and regulation of online poker in three states, this is the first year that seats can be won over the internet directly from the WSOP. The World Series’ online poker room, WSOP.com, is available to people located in both Nevada and New Jersey and has recently launched its satellite promotions.
The highlight qualifier is the 25 Seat Main Event Scramble, exclusive to WSOP.com Nevada players. On Saturday, July 5th, the day the first Day 1 flight of the Main Event kicks off, WSOP.com will host a $215 buy-in tournament in which the top 25 finishers will win a $10,000 seat into the Main Event at the Rio. Sub-qualifiers are available starting at $1.10 for those who don’t want to pony up the $215. Chances are this will be very large tournament as far as Nevada intrastate online poker events go, especially because it does not require a player to win the whole thing to claim the prize.
Both the Nevada and New Jersey versions of WSOP.com will host “WSOP Wednesdays,” which feature two satellites every, well, Wednesday. The first will begin at 7:00pm local time and will be a $27.50 re-buy and add-on tournament with one seat into the WSOP Main Event guaranteed. The second is an $11 re-buy and add-on tournament with at least one seat guaranteed to any $1,500 event at the 2014 WSOP. It will begin at 9:00pm local time.
“Satellite Saturdays” are also for both Nevada and New Jersey players; the headliner those days is a $215 satellite, starting at 7:00pm, that guarantees at least one seat into the WSOP Main Event, or one seat for every 50 entries. WSOP.com is also hosting $11 qualifiers into the $215 satellite at 6:30pm and 8:30pm. Players who earn 1,500 Action Player Points can also enter the $215 satellite.
As mentioned, there are a number of qualifiers running around the clock for much smaller buy-ins to allow players to win seats into the pricier satellites. WSOP.com is also running Sit-and-Go qualifiers.
One of the nice things about all of these satellites is that they are the only ways players can win direct buy-ins into the World Series of Poker Main Event (or $1,500 events, depending on the sat). Of course, other online poker rooms are awarding seats as well, but those prizes are typically awarded in cash which can then be picked up at the Rio and be used to buy-in to the event. Seats won via WSOP.com cut out all those extra steps.
