For my last article about WSOP satellites, I will write about the promotions happening at PokerStars. Every year PokerStars sends a ton of people to Vegas to play in the World Series Main Event, and this year should be no different. Like UB and Full Tilt, they have a bunch of ways to satellite into a seat, and they have a bunch of incentives for those that go deep in the event.

You’ll find a large selection of ME satellites to choose from on PokerStars, which isn’t a huge surprise since they’re the largest poker site on the internet right now. There’s always a wide variety of standard cash satellites, so you’re guaranteed to see a bunch of freeze-out tournaments of all stakes that award Main Event entries to the winners. If you’d prefer to start at a really low buy-in, Steps Satellites are a good alternative if you don’t mind working your way up. You’re not going to be left out of the fun if your bankroll is on empty, either. As long as you’re not saving up your FPPs for anything special in the VIP store, you can spend them on FPP satellites. Consider how satisfying it would be to win your package to the Main Event without spending any money at all!

Like the other sites, the package you’ll win in PokerStars satellites boasts more than just the tournament buy-in. Here is a list of the extra things you receive: $1,000 cash to spend on airfare (or anything else you need), 8 nights hotel accommodation at the Palms, and use of a free shuttle to the Rio. If you already have Vegas accommodations, you can choose to receive $1k instead of staying at the Palms. You’ll also receive a couple invitations to the PokerStars Player Party in July, and this alone makes it tempting to get your ME buy-in from PokerStars even if you’re properly bankrolled for the tournament!

Let’s talk about the bonuses you’ll receive if you agree to wear PokerStars clothing during the Main Event. The first thing is an automatic free 50k VPPs at the start of next year. With this VPP lump sum, you’re already half way to Supernova for 2011! If you’re able to cash the ME, you receive a free 2011 PCA or NAPT event package. If you can win the event, you’ll receive the Main Event Champion Bonus. This includes entries into high buy-in PokerStars tournaments online, half a million in live tournament buy-ins, and a nice $400k in cash. If you add up all the tournament buy-ins, the entire Champion Bonus is worth $1 million.

I admit that the PokerStars incentives seem underwhelming compared to Full Tilt. After all, Full Tilt is offering $10 million to the player that wins the event while PokerStars is only offering a total value of $1 million, and it’s not even all cash. Also consider that making the final table on Full Tilt still nets you some pretty good money while on PokerStars you’ll only receive the NAPT or PCA package. For final table incentives, it looks like UB loses out to both PokerStars and Full Tilt. Let’s compare the incentives outside of the final table, though. If you fail to cash the event you won’t get anything from Full Tilt, but UB gives you a cash bonus and PokerStars gives you 50k in VPPs. It’s tough to make the money in big events like this, so it’s kind of nice to know you’ll get something no matter what happens from UB and PokerStars.

When it comes to deciding which site is best regarding the WSOP, it all depends on what you’re looking for. All three sites have a ton of satellites and some great incentives, so do your homework and pick what’s best for you. Good luck in Vegas once you finally win your seat and get there!