WSOP 2024 Players Guide: The Road to Vegas

This is part six of PokerWired’s WSOP 2024 Players’ Guide, in which we take a deep look at different aspects of the schedule. 

In this 6th and final part of the series, we take a closer look at the online qualifying path known as The Road to Vegas, on GG Poker. 

Last year GG Poker sent 774 players to the WSOP Main Event and this year they have pledged to send at least 1,000 players to the $10,000 Championship event at the 55th annual running of the series.

So what does the Road to (Las) Vegas entail? How long a journey is it for a weary traveler and what riches await for those who successfully negotiate an online satellite qualifier? 

Once again the Road to Vegas offers players the chance to win a WSOP Main Event package valued at $12,000. These packages consist of:

There are also additional benefits for players who win (or purchase) a seat to the WSOP on GG Poker. These perks include:

Package winner will receive a promo code from GG Poker after qualifying, which entitles them to discounts at Caesar’s properties (which is pretty much half of the hotels on the Strip in the vicinity of the Horseshoe-Paris, where the 55th WSOP takes place).

The bonus code for GGPoker is wired. This code can be used by new players when registering to claim the poker room's best available welcome bonus.

We’re pretty sure the real value here is the players’ lounge, as having somewhere to quietly sit down, have some refreshments and prepare for the next session of play is what most players really need. 

After logging into the GG Poker client, you will see a tab called The Road to Vegas. It’s usually the second one from the right hand side of the page. Click on that and it will take you to the lobby with all the available tournaments scheduled over the next few days.

The tournaments listed with a Road to Vegas logo on them are the direct package satellites, from which winners receive a $12,000 Road to Vegas package. The other satellites in the lobby are feeders or sub feeder that lead into the direct package satellites.

There are currently three differently priced satellites that qualify directly to the main event of the WSOP.

All award $12,000 packages, the key difference being that while 1 in 10 entrants in the $1,200 buy-in satellites secure their seats in the WSOP Main Event, only one in every 48 entrants do so in the qualifiers priced at $250. 

One in 24 entrants will be successful in the satellites priced at $525. Sure, its still possible to qualify with a 1 in 48 ratio, but we prefer less of a pie-in-the sky opportunity to win a seat and therefore favour the more expensive satellites, which also have cheaper ways to gain entry into to them. 

For want of a better description, these are essentially lower priced satellites that will gain you entry into one of the higher priced direct satellites detailed in the previous section. :

Feeders to the $1,200 satellites - the $1,200 direct satellutes have $150 feeder satellites into them, which take place hourly at half past the hour, most with 1 seat into the $1,200 guaranteed, except on Sundays, when there is a mega satellite that has 25 seats gtd!

Feeders to the $525 satellites - the mid-priced daily package satellites have $60 feeders into them, running in the hour or two before the satellite begins.

Feeders to the $250 satellites - there are $20 feeders that qualify players into the daily $250 WSOP package satellites.

Yes, we’re scraping the bottom of the tank now, but these are an important subset of the qualifying process that can help you get access to the feeder satellites, that in turn enable you to enter a direct satellite. 

It is a step system, whereby you start on a lower priced rung and gradually work your way up the ladder, until you have reached the holy grail of the WSOP Main Event itself. These sub-feeder satellites can be found in the client. 

$20 sub-feeders into $150 feeders

$2.50 sub-feeders into $20 feeders

$1 sub-feeders into into $20 feeders

OK, so if all this talk of satellites, feeders and sub-feeders is getting a bit confusing, a simpler way to think about how to qualify for the WSOP is to think of it as a road with different lanes, that move at different speeds, but will all eventually lead to the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas

The fastest lane and most direct route into the main event is to buy-in (if you have the money). It will cost $10,000 to do so and if you buy-in online via GG Poker, you will also get all the same benefits that online satellite winners receive (Players Lounge Access, Goody Bag, $1m Bonus of you become WSOP ME Champ).

If you’re not going to cough up the $10,000 entrance fee out of your own pocket (and we’re assuming that’s you), you’ll be looking to join a slower lane to satellite into the biggest poker event of the year. The lanes that are currently open that lead to the 2024 WSOP Main Event include:

$150 to $525 to $12,000 Package

Buy-in to a $150 feeder with a very low entrant to winner ratio for a seat in the daily $525 direct qualifier.

$60 to $525 to $12,000 Package

Similar to lane 1, but starts off slower, with a slightly higher entrant to winner ratio in the first step.

$20 to $250 to $12,000 Package

Still a two step route to win a package, but the ratios are getting a little large, with only 1 in every 48 entrants in the $250 satellites securing $12,000 packages

The easiest of the three step lanes, with the lowest entrant to winner ratios at each step. For most players, this will be the preferred route. There will be a lot of traffic in this lane.

$20 to $150 to $1,200 to $12,000 Package

If you’ve got a dollar, you’ve got a chance (albeit a very slim one) of negotiating your way through the congested traffic in lane 5. If this route were a song, it would most likely be named after the Chris Rea classic, the Road to Hell

$1 to $20 to $250 to $12,000 Package

Another long-shot lane of traffic, which gives low staking players a chance to keep the dream alive.

$2.50 to $20 to $150 to $1,200 to $12,000 Package

Some things to watch out for include making sure you will be old enough to play poker in Las Vegas when the series is on, as the age limits to play online are often lower than the 21-year restriction that applies in Las Vegas. 

But age isn’t the only thing you may need to consider. Make sure you will be able to travel to the event if you win a package. This might include making sure your passport is valid and you have applied for a visa to travel (if applicable). It might also include mandatory health certificates, however as of April 2024, this is not currently a requirement. 

If you cannot attend, for whatever reason, you will forfeit the expenses part of the package ($2,000) plus $700 of the cost of the seat. In lieu of using the package, you will receive $9,300. This is also what you will receive for any subsequent packages you win, if you keep playing Road to Vegas satellites. We don’t advise it, once you’ve won your seat, set yourself some more challenging and less -EV goals. 

The Road to Vegas is not an easy one, best of luck if you venture onto the qualification highway to the WSOP.