Will This World Series of Poker Make Online Poker History?
The 2013 World Series of Poker is now underway. The first event - a no limit hold'em event reserved for dealers and other casino employees with a $500 buy in - kicked off yesterday and will conclude later today.
The first bracelet of the WSOP won't actually be awarded for a few days. But once the bracelets start flying, it will be quite some time before they stop. This year's World Series of Poker is set to award a record 62 individual championship bracelets.
Online WSOP satellites from Caesars coming in 2013
While the bracelet count for the 2013 World Series of Poker is poised to make history, there's another aspect of this year's WSOP that will also go down in the annals of poker lore.
This year is expected to be the first year that the WSOP will run satellites online that award seats to the Main Event of the World Series of Poker.
Specifics for WSOP online satellites remain unclear
While the official plan at this point is for Caesars to offer online satellites to the World Series of Poker Main Event, the when and the how of the satellites remains largely a mystery.
Obviously the satellites will take place on WSOP.com after the site launches for real-money play in Nevada. In terms of who will be eligible, anyone within the state of Nevada is able to play at Nevada's online poker sites regardless of where they're actually from.
To put it another way - it doesn't matter if you're from Maine, Washington State or any point in between. As long as you're in the state of Nevada at the time of the tournament, you're eligible to take part in the online satellites to the 2013 World Series of Poker - along with all of the other games available from Nevada's regulated online poker operators.
Other sites continue to offer WSOP satellites
While Caesars would be the first regulated online poker site in the U.S. to offer WSOP satellites, they're hardly the only online poker room offering players a chance to win their way into a World Series of Poker event.
In fact, WSOP satellites have become something of a staple promotion at online poker sites. But for the last few years, these satellites have really been more like quasi-satellites, as a change in WSOP policy prevented online poker sites from buying players directly into events.
That means when you win a WSOP satellite on an online poker room other than Caesars, what you'll actually be winning is a cash package that you're probably free to do whatever you like with - including buying into the World Series of Poker.
By contrast, the seats Caesars will offer in their online satellites to the World Series of Poker will likely lack this flexibility, as no rule will prevent Caesars from directly registering players.
Caesars second to launch in Nevada
While Caesars will likely make history via their online satellites to the 2013 World Series of Poker, they're a bit late to claim the title of first regulated online poker site to launch in Nevada. That distinction went to the Station Casino-backed Ultimate Poker, who opened their virtual doors to players within Nevada's borders in late April of 2013.
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