In poker, being aggressive is more advantageous than being passive.
It seems that the same is true for online poker rooms as well.
Last weekend, WSOP.com NV hosted the largest online poker satellite available to U.S. players in over three years. The event, aptly named the 25 Seat Scramble, awarded the top 25 players with a $10,000 entry to the most respected annual tournament poker event – the WSOP Main Event.
In the brief history of regulated online poker in the U.S., tournament guarantees of $200,000 or more have frequently not been met, often requiring hosts to cover substantial overlays.
Just a few weeks ago, the WSOPOC Main Event in New Jersey attracted fewer than half the entries required to meet its ambitious $200k guarantee. However, this didn’t deter its West Coast equivalent from raising the stakes. As we’ll soon discover, WSOP.com’s risk would this time result in a significant payoff.
25 Seat Scramble boasts record breaking turnout
Although it fell slightly short of its unofficial $250,000 guarantee, the 25 Seat Scramble drew in more participants than any other high buy-in tournament since the legalization of online poker in April 2013.
In total, 1,235 players were willing to pay $215 for a chance at Main Event victory. Although this was 15 participants short of the WSOP’s target, it was sufficient to guarantee a modest $15,525 profit for the network. Furthermore, it provided WSOP.com with additional opportunities to announce that the Main Event champion won their seat online – a fact that could significantly boost traffic numbers for the next year.
For comparison, the NJCOP $200,000 Guaranteed Main Event on PartyPoker NJ last April attracted a disappointing 895 players, resulting in an almost $35,000 overlay. Remember, New Jersey benefits from a larger population and is close to two major cities, Philadelphia and New York City.
At best, it would be a gross understatement to merely label the 25 WSOP Seat Scramble as a success.
Traffic levels experience another notable spike
Just as I was convinced that Nevada’s iPoker market couldn’t handle another spike in traffic, the 7-day cash-game averages on WSOP NV hit a new all-time high on Saturday.
What’s even more remarkable is that they saw an almost 6.3 percent increase in just one day (July 4 – July 5). Considering the 7-day averages are calculated on a continuous basis, it’s possible that cash-game averages saw a rise of roughly 30 – 40 percent from Friday to Saturday.
To elaborate, traffic levels usually decrease during holiday weekends. However, I assume the ongoing WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas has the potential to override even the traditional lull of our nation’s Independence Day weekend.
Let’s examine the figures as provided by PokerFuse Pro via PokerScout, with last week’s average numbers in brackets:
- WSOP: 152 (142)
- Ultimate Poker: 60 (65)
Nevada’s cash-game traffic increased by 2.4 percent overall, surpassing the global market by an additional 2.6 percent.
Ultimate Poker experienced a slight setback after bouncing back last week, but it continues to attract more players than before the WSOP. It’s worth noting that UP’s modest rise was likely more due to an important software patch rather than the surge of players based at the Rio.
WSOP crushing it on the tournament front
WSOP.com had an exceptional week, with all its major tournaments and special events exceeding their overlays.
Let’s take a look at the most noteworthy:
- Event #13 of Mini Fest – $11 entry fee, $2,000 guaranteed No Limit Hold’em Rebuy & Add-on: There were 115 participants, 161 rebuys, and 63 add-ons, accumulating a total prize pool of $3,390.
- Event #14 of Mini Fest is a No Limit Hold’em Rebuy and Add-on (R & A) tournament with a buy-in of $55 and a guaranteed prize pool of $4,500. The tournament had 95 entries, 84 rebuys, and 65 add-ons, bringing the total prize pool to $12,200.
- The 15th event of the Mini Fest, with a buy-in of $27.50, was a No-Limit Hold’em Rebuy and Add-on (NLHE R & A) game with a guaranteed prize pool of $5,500. The game attracted 108 participants and saw 88 rebuys and 72 add-ons, resulting in a total prize pool of $6,700.
- Sunday $15,000 Weekly: With 104 participants, the prize pool amounts to $20,800.
Enjoy it while it lasts
I anticipate that WSOP NV’s traffic will maintain its current levels for the next few days, decrease during the final days of the Main Event, and sharply drop early next week. Ultimate Poker can also expect to see some reduction, although I don’t believe it will be as severe.
In light of this, I think WSOP has carried out sufficient cross-promotional marketing to substantially increase awareness of online poker in Nevada, and potentially in other regions. Considering this, along with the natural increase in online poker traffic in August, I find it difficult to believe that traffic margins will return to their previous negligible levels before the live WSOP (mid-90s).
Instead, anticipate that traffic will remain steady around 110 – 115 throughout the summer, and could potentially increase during the fall depending on how WSOP manages its promotional schedule.
I anticipate that WSOP NV will perform even more impressively up until next June.
Now, proceed to enjoy the Main Event.
