WSOP PA’s Fall Online Championships (FOC) is heading into the final five days of the series, but unofficial data show the series has been enormously valuable for online poker players in Pennsylvania, with overlays so far totaling nearly $200,000.
As of Thursday, 48 of the 67 events in the series have been completed. Of those, only 11 made their guarantee and five events fell short of money promised by the operator by more than 50%.
Unofficial data compiled by Pennsylvania Gaming Review show the guarantee for the 48 completed events totaled $661,944. But the total collected from those events has only been $461,968, leaving a collective overlay of $199,976. Players on WSOP PA have surely enjoyed the windfall.
The 19 events remaining in the series have $373,222 guaranteed. About 40% of that, $150,000, is guaranteed for the series’ Main Event on Sunday, October 24, which has a $320 buy-in.
The next nearest event, in terms of guaranteed prize money, is a 6-max scheduled for the same day. It has $35,000 guaranteed with a $215 buy-in. Excluding that event, only seven of the 17 events remaining have five-digit guaranteed prize pools.
Overlays on pace to exceed $300,000
At the rate the FOC is going, the total overlay for the series could reach more than $300,000 when it ends on Tuesday, October 26.
Five events missed the guaranteed mark by more than 50%, the worst of which was a Warmup event that took place on October 17. It had a guaranteed prize pool of $22,222 with an $11 buy-in, but only $7,620 was collected, according to the unofficial data. That equates to the event being about 66% off from the guarantee.
A Super Turbo event on October 20 with a $50 buy-in had $15,000 guaranteed by WSOP PA but only $6,052 was collected, leaving a shortfall of about 60%. Another Warmup on October 10, the first event of the series, was off about 58% from the $22,222 guaranteed after only $9,410 was collected. It also had an $11 buy-in.
The second event in the series, a Sunday Special on October 10, had a $100 buy-in and $75,000 guaranteed but collected only $36,582, equating to a shortfall of 51%. A Super Turbo event on October 13 had $15,000 in guaranteed prize money up for grabs with a $50 buy-in, but just $7,417 was collected from players, leaving WSOP PA to make up the rest, about 51%.
Some events did exceed the guarantee
Still, there were 11 events that did make their guarantee, and two collected more than 30% of the prize pool from players.
A Warmup on October 11 with a $10 buy-in had $3,000 in guaranteed prize money. WSOP PA was expecting 330 players but 442 ultimately signed up, leading to a total prize pool of $4,022, a mark 34% above the guarantee.
Eight days later, a progressive knockout (PKO) event on October 19 with a $40 buy-in had $5,000 guaranteed by the operator, who was expecting 139 players. The prize pool grew more than 30% above that, to $6,516, after 181 players signed up.
WSOP PA Fall Online Championships: Remaining Schedule
| Date | Game | Buy-In | Guarantee | Entries Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 22 | Deepstack & Super Addon | $30 | $15,000 | 549 |
| October 22 | PKO | $30 | $7,500 | 275 |
| October 22 | ShowME | $20 | $3,000 | 165 |
| October 22 | Turbo | $50 | $7,500 | 165 |
| October 23 | Deepstack | $33 | $10,000 | 333 |
| October 23 | PLO | $33 | $5,000 | 167 |
| October 23 | Freezeout | $50 | $7,500 | 165 |
| October 23 | High Roller | $525 | $25,000 | 50 |
| October 24 | Warmup | $11 | $22,222 | 2,222 |
| October 24 | Main Event | $320 | $150,000 | 500 |
| October 24 | 6-Max | $100 | $20,000 | 220 |
| October 24 | 6-Max | $215 | $35,000 | 175 |
| October 25 | Warmup | $10 | $3,000 | 330 |
| October 25 | NLH | $15 | $3,500 | 259 |
| October 25 | 6-Max | $33 | $7,500 | 250 |
| October 25 | Turbo PKO | $25 | $3,500 | 149 |
| October 26 | Warmup | $10 | $3,000 | 330 |
| October 26 | Special Tuesday | $100 | $20,000 | 220 |
| October 26 | High Roller | $525 | $25,000 | 50 |
