Full Tilt Poker, currently the second largest online poker room in the world, has announced its preparations to host the “Mini Series of Poker”, a lucrative online poker event developed to mimic the World Series of Poker in almost every way. The most notable difference is that the buy-ins for each event will cost a mere fraction of the Las Vegas buy-ins, equally 1/100th in comparison.

Full Tilt Poker’s Mini Series of Poker – MSOP for short – will run directly alongside the World Series of Poker, hosting the same style tournaments at the same starting times. Starting May 30 and running through July 5, 2008, the MSOP will consist of 54 events.

The only events to be changed from their original WSOP format are the ‘ladies’ and ‘seniors’ tournaments, which Full Tilt Poker will host as open events instead due to the ‘online’ poker forum in which they are played. The ‘casino employees’ event has been stricken from the schedule, as well.

The winners of each MSOP event will receive not bracelets, but Full Tilt special-edition champion watches; not to mention the 1st place prize corresponding to their victory. Full Tilt Poker will also run a Leaderboards competition throughout the MSOP, where players have a chance to win a seat in the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

The online poker room sees this as a spectacular way to let poker players who do not share the excessive bankroll of today’s poker pros take a shot at an event that parallels the most prestigious poker tournament in the world – the WSOP. Buy-in for the diverse schedule of events range from $15+$1.50 NL Hold’em up to $500+$35 H.O.R.S.E. All told, the MSOP at Full Tilt Poker is worth more than $700,000 Guaranteed.