The advent of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine has proven to be a success, but it comes with one interesting byproduct: the WSOP feels like it is going on year-round. Now that the poker community has finally decompressed from the end of the world’s largest poker festival last year, it is time to ramp it up again. The USA-friendly online poker room UB.com has already gotten started, awarding not just seats into the 2011 WSOP Main Event, but also cold, hard cash.
Like most online poker sites, UB.com will be running WSOP satellites in the months leading up to the Main Event. Each Sunday, at least one $12,000 WSOP prize package will be given away in a $500 + $30 Super Satellite, with additional packages awarded for every $12,000 in the prize pool. If you don’t make it out on Sunday, there will be qualifiers for the Super Satellite held throughout the week.
Players can also win seats into the Main Event via UB.com’s Steps tournaments, which have buy-ins that start as low as 10 cents. Additionally, special VIP tournaments will be held, but these are not open to just anybody – players will need to watch their e-mail inboxes for invitations.
And for those who can wait, there will be two big 25-seat guarantees in June. Both will be held at 4:00pm ET and feature a $500 + $30 buy-in, with the first running on Monday, June 6th and the second on Monday, June 20th.
The most interesting aspect of UB.com’s 2011 WSOP qualifiers is the special cash bonus that players will receive. Just for winning a seat through UB.com and playing in Main Event wearing the site’s gear, players will receive an extra $1,000. The deeper UB.com players go in the tournament, the more bonus cash they will win on top of whatever they actually receive from the Main Event.
Players who still have chips at the start of Day 2 will have their UB.com bonus doubled to $2,000. Then, as if cashing in the Main Event weren’t great enough, UB.com will give all of its players who accomplish this feat $12,000 total. Survive until Day 5 and the bonus increases to $13,000, with another grand coming for players who make it to Day 6. The bonus jumps to $16,000 for making Day 7, or the final 54 players, and then $20,000 for lasting all the way to Day 8, or the final 27.
Any UB.com November Nine member will receive at least $100,000. Now, they will need to last a while at the final table to see that total increase, but when it does, it’ll be worth it. A UB.com player who comes in fifth place will get a $150,000 bonus, fourth place will come with a $200,000 bonus, third place will merit $400,000, and a second place finish will garner a $700,000 bonus from UB.
If a UB.com-sponsored player wins the whole shebang, he or she will receive $1 million from UB.com in addition to the prize money from the tournament. This grand prize is also attached to a one-year endorsement contract with the CEREUS Network site.
Finally, if anyone wins a seat in the 2011 WSOP Main Event through UB.com, the Super Satellite fun isn’t necessarily over. Players can win more than one prize package, with any package after the first being awarded in cash. UB.com will keep track of how many prize packages everyone wins and, at the end of the WSOP promo season, the top five on the leaderboard will receive anywhere between $750 and $5,000 in Tournament Dollars.
UB.com’s 2011 WSOP Main Event prize package consists of $10,000 for the buy-in and $2,000 for travel and expenses. Sign up now.
