Summary: The WSOP has announced their online poker schedule for the upcoming series, with nine events offering bracelets via online game play.
This year, the World Series of Poker will be in full swing yet again by May, with the company offering even more by way of online events. This will be the fifth year running that the WSOP has decided to provide gold bracelet events via online tournaments. This year, the number of online events featuring gold bracelets has been increased to a total of nine tournaments.
Nine Online Events
Players will find the nine online events offering something different with seven of the tournaments featuring triple re-entry. Each tournament will begin on a Sunday at 3:30 PM PDT, running for seven consecutive Sundays.
The scheduling was made to make it easy for players to be able to compete online as well as during the land-based portion of the WSOP. The brand had to configure a way that would not interfere with regular scheduled events.
Online Tournament Schedule:
| DATE | EVENT | BUY-IN |
|---|---|---|
| June 2nd | No Limit Hold’em | $400 |
| June 9th | 6-Handed Pot Limit Omaha | $600 |
| June 16th | Knockout Bounty No Limit Hold’em | $600 |
| June 19th | Turbo No Limit Hold’em Deepstack | $500 |
| June 23rd | Double Stack No Limit Hold’em | $1,000 |
| June 30th | No Limit Hold’em Championship | $1,000 |
| July 3rd | High Roller No Limit Hold’em | $3,200 |
| July 7th | 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em | $800 |
| July 14th | Summer Saver No Limit Hold’em | $500 |
Increased Online Offering
When it comes to online WSOP events, this year is the most the brand has ever offered. The online events first began in 2015 and for the first two years, only one bracelet event was offered each year. By 2017, the schedule was increased to three bracelet events. In 2018, four events were added to the schedule.
Last year, New Jersey players were given the opportunity to take part in online WSOP events thanks to a interstate poker agreement with Nevada. However, that could change this year thanks to the recent Department of Justice decision to change the opinion of the Wire Act of 1961.
The Wire Act was changed a few months ago to cover all interstate online gambling. Instead of banning interstate sports betting, the Wire Act now includes all online gambling across state lines. Depending on how the DOJ plans to enforce this change, players located in New Jersey may not have the opportunity to take part in the online gaming events during the 2019 WSOP.
Last year, the addition of New Jersey players helped to boost the overall numbers of online poker events for the WSOP. This year, with nine events on the schedule, even more players could take part in bracelet events. However, it is most likely that the World Series of Poker will announce in the coming weeks that New Jersey players are not allowed. However, we will continue to cross our fingers and hope that does not happen.
The Department of Justice did recently extend the window in which operators must comply. The date change is now June 14th. However, this would fall into the first portion of the online schedule. So, will the WSOP choose to hedge their bets and allow players from New Jersey to take part until this date? Or will they forgo allowing the players to take part at all?
It seems that more information should be released in the coming days or weeks as operators learn more about what the DOJ plans to do regarding the new Wire Act changes. Hopefully, the DOJ will decide to make changes to their opinion so that online gaming can continue as normal.
