If you’re an avid poker fan, you will know that the WSOP (World Series of Poker) is synonymous with the hugely popular card game. If you have ever watched the main event on television over the years, you will know all about legends, including Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Stu Unger, Johnny Chan, Erik Seidel, Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey and Daniel Negranu.

Unfortunately, although the card game boomed in the early 2000s, federal and state gambling laws soon brought a temporary end to online poker in the US. However, in recent years, this has changed for the better, as laws have relaxed in several states, including Pennsylvania.

Since last July, the WSOP has been available online to players in the state. The online poker site of the WSOP was given approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Board, which allowed it to operate in the Keystone State.

Online gambling via sports betting sites, online casinos, and poker rooms has been legal in PA since late 2017. However, only sites licensed by the PGC can legally operate within the state. Many new platforms have entered the market since 2017, but arguably, the biggest name is certainly the WSOP.

The online gaming market is now thriving in Pennsylvania, especially because of the influx of high-quality online casinos. You can find many of the best PA online casinos rated here.

How has the WSOP Celebrated Throughout 2021?

To celebrate the occasion, the WSOP created many sign-up promotions, gave PA residents access to bracelet events, weekly tournaments, and satellites to gain entry to the world’s biggest poker tournament. As you know, the WSOP Main Event takes place every fall and creates winners who take home life-changing sums of money.

Players in Pennsylvania, obviously delighted to have access to the platform, rushed to sign up and take advantage of what WSOP online offered. The bonuses and promotions were well-designed and lucrative, while tournaments offered a wide variety of buy-ins, formats, and utilized a variety of poker variations.

The WSOP Announced a New Pennsylvania Bracelet Series

One of the most exciting developments since the WSOP gained a Pennsylvania license was its creation of a brand new bracelet series in the state. It allowed players to take part in online tournaments with the winners walking away with the top prize and a prestigious WSOP Gold Bracelet.

The tournament events were scheduled to run throughout October, with 8 bracelet events in total. All were Texas Hold’em events of varying formats and buy-ins, with each attracting very healthy turnouts. The buy-ins for these events ranged from $500 to $3,200, but players also had the opportunity to qualify via many lower buy-in satellite events.

That WSOP bracelet series will run once again in 2022, but it is unknown whether the WSOP will create extra events and bracelets. There have been calls to include other poker variants such as Omaha Hi-Lo and Stud poker rather than just Hold’em.

How Players Could Get Involved

Before players could take part in those bracelet events, tournaments, or enjoy cash games at WSOP, they first had to sign up. Of course, only players within the state of Pennsylvania could create an account. The platform uses IP detection software and requires players to verify their identity before they can play. This is required as part of the state licensing that the WSOP now has.

Once the players had an account, they could then use a variety of payment methods, such as credit/debit cards and eWallets, to fund it. Players with active accounts could also then take advantage of special promotions, link their accounts to their Caesars Rewards account, and take part in the poker action the site provides.

Players Can Also Play for Free

While most Pennsylvania residents prefer to enjoy playing for actual cash, the WSOP site also offers opportunities for those that don’t. For a start, there are freeroll tournaments that players can play in for a chance of winning smaller sums of cash. The site also offers free play tables that utilize play chips rather than those of any actual value. This allows players to hone their skills before contemplating playing for cash.

Any successful business offers value to its customer base, and that is exactly what the WSOP has provided for players in Pennsylvania. The site offers many promotions that provide a ton of value. Players can look forward to 100% match deposit bonuses, free tickets into tournaments, and a whole host more when making deposits.

WSOP Created Special Tournaments Just for Pennsylvania Residents

To help celebrate the introduction of WSOP into the state of Pennsylvania, the site quickly created some special tournaments for residents. This included:

  • BLAST Poker Tournaments: In July last year, the WSOP debuted BLAST tournaments in Pennsylvania. These short and fast tournaments involved 3 players only and could earn players 10,000x their buy-in within a matter of minutes. These tournaments follow a Sit & Go format with quickly increasing blinds.
  • WSOP Satellites: To give everybody the chance of making the full WSOP tournaments, the site offered satellite tournaments starting with buy-ins as low as $1. Players could progress through tournaments until they had qualified for the actual event.
  • Weekly Sunday $75k Guarantee: Each Sunday, the WSOP hosted a $215 buy-in tournament that carried a guaranteed $75k prize pool. It has gone down a storm and regularly attracts thousands of players each week.

Conclusion

Having the biggest brand of poker back in Pennsylvania has to be among the highlights of the state in 2021. Following Nevada and New Jersey, Pennsylvania is the third state that now offers an online poker room operated by the World Series of Poker. Over the coming years, it is expected that many other states will follow, something that is fantastic for poker fans and the game of poker in equal measure.

As we enter 2022, it will be interesting to see what the WSOP has planned for another year of high-quality online poker action.