This past weekend, the final gold ring was awarded at the inaugural WSOP.com Online Circuit event, marking its 13th award. The tournament series exceeded its guarantees and reinvigorated the online tournament poker scene with a level of excitement that had not been experienced for a while.
Bill Rini, the Head of Online Poker for Caesars Interactive Entertainment, shared his thoughts on the tournament’s success with PlayNevada through an email.
We were genuinely taken aback by the success of the event. We knew that many players were interested in having such an event on the schedule, but the turnout truly exceeded our expectations.
Almost three months have passed since the world’s top poker players departed the Nevada desert to resume their everyday lives. WSOP.com last gave out gold trophies during the World Series of Poker, when it awarded four gold bracelets to online poker players from Nevada and New Jersey.
WSOP.com Online Circuit a smashing success
In an era where mobile sports betting is overshadowing online poker, it’s encouraging to see poker players participate in a major tournament series.
Players thronged the virtual felt for a fortnight, vying for one of the 13 coveted gold rings. The series had almost $700,000 in guarantees. Clearly, players longed to play under the WSOP banners again, as each event not only exceeded its guarantee but also shattered it.
“Although we believed our guarantees were reasonably balanced,” Rini said, “the fact that every event is doubling or tripling the guarantee indicates that we underestimated the demand.”
The online poker industry has been facing difficulties recently. There were expectations that the introduction of shared liquidity would provide a significant uplift. However, it failed to do so.
Being the sole operator in Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware, WSOP.com certainly harvested the scant rewards available. However, after ceasing operations, WSOP.com experienced a concerning decline in players and traffic.
Both the online poker room and the players must be immensely relieved to see a major event take center stage. The availability of some sought-after hardware and a few entries to the Global Casino Championship only made it better.
Two tickets to WSOP Global Casino Championship up for grabs
The tournament series was immensely popular largely due to the two seats it offered to the WSOP Global Casino Championship. One seat was given to the Main Event’s victor, while the other was reserved for the participant with the best performance throughout the series.
Shawn “SayGoodNight” Daniels emerged victorious in the $525 buy-in Main Event, securing the first ticket. He amassed all the chips and walked away with a hefty sum of $83,545. The tournament saw a turnout of 439 players, along with 243 rebuys. The prize pool soared to $341,000, nearly doubling the guaranteed amount.
Ryan “Adopt_aDogg0” Leng ended up with the second ticket. He performed impressively during the 13 events, making it to the final tables three times and accumulating six cash winnings. He secured his place in next year’s Championship by taking home a total of $113,199.
The tournament’s success signals a promising future for major WSOP online events. Rini shared his views on the probability of another online event:
“We’re examining the schedule to determine what’s suitable, but it definitely appears that there’s enough demand to annually add one or more to the calendar.”
Image courtesy of OpturaDesign via Shutterstock.com
Related Articles
Nevada Bill Would Create List Of Online Cheaters
Nevada Gambling, Tourism Numbers Grow Again In February
