Even though tomorrow seems to never quite come, there’s still no arguing that the real growth in online poker — in the United States a well as the rest of the world — continues to be in the online sphere. And, with that surely in mind, the 2019 World Series of Poker will include a record-setting nine bracelet events.
Not only is that well up from last year’s four such events, it equals the total of all online bracelet tourneys offered over the course of the last four annual WSOP series. When added to the live events at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas announced in earlier weeks, the 2019 WSOP slate will serve up a total of 90 bracelet events, another record.
This year’s online bracelet events will be available mostly as Sunday specials, with at least one such tournament getting underway at 3:30 pm (Pacific Time) each Sunday. (The complete schedule is offered below, courtesy WSOP.com.) Two of the nine events will be offered on Tuesdays (June 19th, July 3rd), with the July 3rd offering being this subset’s high-roller offering, a $3,200 buy-in event.
“Just like the land-based WSOP, the annual summer series is also the best time for online poker players in the U.S. to chase big prize pools and WSOP gold bracelets,” said WSOP.com’s head of online poker, Bill Rini. “WSOP.com is offering a consistent gold bracelet schedule this year, plus non-stop satellites to both the online and live events, giving players the best opportunity to participate in the 50th Annual WSOP.”
However, the phrase “online poker players in the US” leads to this story’s most intriguing point. There is one element of the 2019 WSOP online-event offerings that remains uncertain, however, and that’s exactly who’s going to be allowed to play. In 2018, for the first time, WSOP.com players from New Jersey were allowed to join in the fun, playing alongside the Nevada-based players who’ve been there since 2015. Yet the Wire Act reversal opinion issued in January threatens the participation of the New Jersey players this time around, as it bars “interstate” communications connected to gambling and would almost certain block the participation of New Jersey-based players.
Even as that reversal opinion is under challenge by a lawsuit filed by the State of New Hampshire, with New Jersey also having threatened to file suit, plans continue regardless. It’s entirely possible that the January Wire Act reversal opinion could be overturned by January, and the Department of Justice has already announced an extra 60-day non-prosecution window amid the legal turbulence. That means the earliest compliance date is now June 14, 2019, raising a worst-case possibility that New Jersey players on WSOP.com could play in the first two online events, yet be blocked from the following seven. That would be a strange development indeed.
2019 World Series of Poker Online Bracelet Event Schedule
| DATE | EVENT | BUY-IN | CHIPS | LEVELS | RE-ENTRY | BB | TIME | LATE REG |
| 2-Jun | No-Limit Hold’em | $400 | 15,000 | 15 minutes | 3x | 300 | 3:30 pm PT | 7:15 pm |
| 9-Jun | 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha | $600 | 15,000 | 20 minutes | Unlimited | 150 | 3:30 pm PT | 7:15 pm |
| 16-Jun | Knock-Out Bounty No-Limit Hold’em | $600 | 20,000 | 15 minutes | None | 200 | 3:30 pm PT | 7:15 pm |
| 19-Jun | Turbo No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack | $500 | 40,000 | 8 minutes | 3x | 400 | 3:30 pm PT | 6:30 pm |
| 23-Jun | Double Stack No-Limit Hold’em | $1,000 | 30,000 | 15 minutes | 3x | 600 | 3:30 pm PT | 7:30 pm |
| 30-Jun | No-Limit Hold’em Championship | $1,000 | 15,000 | 20 minutes | 3x | 300 | 3:30 pm PT | 7:30 pm |
| 3-Jul | High Roller No-Limit Hold’em | $3,200 | 25,000 | 20 minutes | 3x | 500 | 3:30 pm PT | 7:30 pm |
| 7-Jul | 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em | $800 | 15,000 | 15 minutes | 3x | 300 | 3:30 pm PT | 7:30 pm |
| 14-Jul | Summer Saver No-Limit Hold’em | $500 | 20,000 | 15 minutes | 3x | 200 | 3:30 pm PT | 7:15 pm |
