Gambling in the USA

What’s at stake at the 2019 World Series of Poker main event?

Published

6 years ago

May 21, 2019

The 2019 WSOP main event takes place this summer in the spiritual home of gambling – Las Vegas.

The wait for the 2019 World Series of Poker is almost over with the event due to start in just a few weeks’ time. That hasn’t dampened the anticipation amongst poker fans or the thousands of players preparing to play in the WSOP tournaments.

This article gives you everything (almost) you need to know about the 2019 WSOP including estimated prize money, the best tournaments and a guide on how to enter the 2020 WSOP.

WSOP 2019

When is it?
The tournament starts on May 28th and last for just over a month and a half with the final table closing up on July 16th.

Where is it?
The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas is the venue for the 50th WSOP event. This has been the official venue of the WSOP since it moved from original venue Binion’s Horseshoe in the mid-noughties.

How many players have entered?
Official participation figures are yet to be released for the 2019 WSOP but the figure is expected to be an increase on last year’s record-breaking figure of 123, 865. Of that figure only 7,874 featured in the WSOP main event.

What’s the prize money?
The 123,865 participants involved last year contributed towards a staggering figure of $266,889,193 in prize money. With numbers expected to increase this time around that figure will be slightly higher although it will still be some way off the $300 million mark.

What events are on?
Undoubtedly the biggest draw of the WSOP is the main event which will see the world’s best players battle it out for supremacy. This final table of this event finishes the entire poker festival with the winner scooping a minimum $10 million in prize money.

Elsewhere players can enjoy Millionaire Maker, Seniors No-Limit, Monster Stack, Big 50 and Crazy Eight’s. The competition in these events will be less fierce but there will still be a of prize money available with the winner of the Big 50 getting their hands on a minimum $1 million.

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(In 2003 accountant and amateur poker player Chris Moneymaker took the world of poker by storm, winning the tournament with an epic bluff against Sammy Farha.)

How to enter the WSOP

Unfortunately the time to enter this year’s WSOP is almost over but you can always prepare to enter next year’s tournament. You can do that in two-ways by paying your way in or by qualifying through a number of licensed events.

The buy-in option

This is by far the easiest option if you just want to get involved and make sure you’re at the 2020 WSOP. Although at $10,000 the buy-in for the main event is slightly expensive. If money is no object to you then you may as well buy-in.
If like most of us ten thousand dollars sounds like a lot of money to spend on a poker tournament then fear not, there are other ways. Players sell stakes of their potential winnings to investors to raise the WSOP buy-in amount.

Alternatively if you’re part of a poker league you can persuade the rest of the league to front the cost of a buy-in for the league’s best player – you’ll of course have to ensure you’re the best player in the league.

Classic qualification
WSOP run a series of satellite events across the world in the run-up to their showpiece event where players can win entry to the WSOP main event. The vast majority of these tournaments tend to take place in the United States with a few taking place in Europe and Asia.

If you can’t make it to any of these tournaments keep your eyes on the 888 Poker website. The online gambling company are the only officially licensed online satellite for the WSOP and regularly run qualification events throughout the year.

Who will win the 2019 WSOP?
After 10 hours of gruelling back and forth play, John Cynn finally overcame Tony Miles in a heads-up to win the 2018 WSOP. You might expect then that Cynn will be the hot favourite to take the crown again this year.

However if history has told us one thing about the WSOP it’s that it is incredibly hard to retain your poker crown. Tony Miles will be among the front runners to go one better than last time with Joe Cada, Nicolas Manion and Michael Dyer all hoping to win the WSOP main event.

Where can I watch the 2019 WSOP?
Dedicated poker fans can get their card fix this summer on the WSOP live stream after subscribing. If you’d rather watch the action on your TV then the tournament will be shown live on ESPN in the United States.

Gambling in the USA

PA Online Casinos Generate Nearly $280M in July Revenue

Published

4 hours ago

August 21, 2025

Niji Narayan

Pennsylvania continues to lead the way in the US when it comes to online casino revenue. For July, PA online casinos produced $277.9 million in revenue, which tops the nation for the month.

The $277.9 million is the fifth-highest revenue month for the state in its iGaming history. It finished over $27 million ahead of Michigan ($250.5 million) and over $30 million ahead of New Jersey ($247.3 million) for July.

This past month’s revenue was a 22.2% jump from a year ago, when the state generated $227.4 million in July 2024.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board releases its monthly data and highlights adjusted gaming revenue, which takes promotional dollars out of the gross gaming revenue. The adjusted revenue for the month was $228.3 million.

PGCB reports also list revenue by licensee. When iGaming launched in 2019, 10 different retail casinos in the state were granted licenses to operate online casinos, while two operators (Bally, Golden Nugget) earned untethered licenses. Some licensees have multiple online casinos operating under their umbrella. However, revenue is reported collectively.

Penn National continues to lead the way in revenue. They feature online casino operators like DraftKings Casino, BetMGM Casino, Hollywood Casino, and Fanatics Casino.

Valley Forge finished second, they feature two operators in FanDuel Casino and Stardust Casino.

Some other notable date points from the July report include:

• A total of $67.4 million in state tax revenue was generated from online casinos in July. An additional $36.5 million was generated in local taxes and county grants.

• Slots made up the vast majority of revenue with $226.8 million coming from the online slot games. Table games brought in $48.5 million, while poker generated $2.5 million in revenue.

• Poker revenue was up 9.7% year over year, as it was at $2.3 million in July 2024.

Gambling in the USA

Delaware Casinos Generate Revenue of $34.8M in July, Down 4.5% YoY

Published

4 hours ago

August 21, 2025

Niji Narayan

Delaware casinos generated $34.8 million in revenue last month, down from $36.4 million the previous year, a 4.5% year-over-year decline.

In a report published by the Delaware Lottery, Harrington Casino saw the most significant year-over-year loss, with revenues decreasing from $7.8 million to $7.2 million, a drop of 7.2%. Slots and table games experienced year-over-year losses, with slots revenue declining by 5.9% and table games seeing a loss of more than 25%.

Delaware Park also experienced a decline of 4.3% but generated the highest revenue, at $15.1 million. Slots at the casino saw a loss of 5.9%, with its revenue decreasing from $13.8 million to just less than $13 million. Table games revenue increased by 5.1% year-over-year from just more than $2 million to $2.1 million.

Bally’s Dover also reported a revenue decline last month, but not as much as the others. Revenue dropped from $12.9 million to $12.5 million, showing a 3% decline. Table games saw increased revenue for the casino, with profits rising from $1.1 million to $1.3 million, a 16.6% increase. Slots declined 4.8% from $11.7 million to $11.2 million year-over-year.

Gambling in the USA

BetMGM Brings Exclusive Rakin’ Bacon! Titles to NJ Online Casino, Borgata Hotel Casino

Published

4 hours ago

August 21, 2025

Niji Narayan

An exclusive new slot game is making its way to BetMGM Casino NJ and one of the state’s retail locations.

This week, BetMGM announced, in partnership with AGS, a pair of new Rakin’ Bacon! titles will be hitting New Jersey online casinos.

Currently, Rakin’ Bacon! Jackpots Bonus Wheel is available to play, while Rakin’ Bacon! Jackpots Bonus Board will be released in mid-September.

On top of the iCasino release, these new slot titles will also be made available at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.

The Rakin’ Bacon! series will be the first third-party game at BetMGM with an online and on-property exclusivity period.

Oliver Bartlett, VP of Gaming at BetMGM, said: “We want to set the standard for creating the most seamless experiences for players to enjoy the games they love. The period of exclusivity reinforces our priority to be the top online casino destination where players can find the largest variety of games they can’t find anywhere else. Rakin’ Bacon! is a fun franchise that brings big brand recognition and we are proud to collaborate with AGS to add these titles to our stellar roster of games.”

BetMGM has shown a commitment to working with a diverse group of gaming suppliers to provide players with unique content. That continues to be the case in this pairing with AGS. This partnership will allow BetMGM customers to enjoy the slot title from home or at the Borgata.

“At AGS, we’re focused on bringing the energy of land-based favorites into the digital world in ways that feel meaningful for players. Rakin’ Bacon! is a proven brand with broad appeal; this launch is another step forward in our player-first strategy and our commitment to bridging physical and digital play in ways that drive real engagement,” AGS Vice President of Interactive Zoe Ebling said.