In the scheme of the new state-regulated online poker market, it didn’t take long for Michigan to approve and ready its poker operators for shared liquidity. Michigan officially legalized online poker in December 2019 and passed an amendment to authorize interstate online poker in December 2020. By early 2022, the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) had signed the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, and other states – Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey – signed it by the end of May 2022. PokerStars then combined its Michigan and New Jersey sits on January 1, 2023.
Notably, Delaware and Nevada signed MSIGA in 2015, with New Jersey not joining until 2017. And it took about a year for the only eligible site for interstate poker – WSOP – to connect its sites.
Pennsylvania has offered online poker with state licenses since the end of 2019, but that state has yet to sign MSIGA.
In addition, it’s notable that PokerStars was the first to announce its intent to connect New Jersey and Michigan for online poker. Meanwhile, MGCB confirmed that no other poker operator has gained approval to share sites across state lines. Even WSOP, which has experience in online poker liquidity, has yet to take the necessary steps to do it for Michigan players.
As of January 1, 2023, PokerStars opened its software so players in New Jersey and Michigan now share the same player pool.
In the notoriously slow US online poker market, PokerStars has shown its desire to move quickly. And poker players benefit from it.
MSIGA Approval to Launch
When the MGCB revealed its signing of MSIGA in the first half of 2022, it detailed the steps for online poker operators to take in order to join sites across state lines.
-1. Operators must meet all conditions in the MSIGA.-2. All regulators must approve new platforms and software or modifications.-3. An operator must establish a new data center. The MGCB must review, inspect, and approve it to combine Michigan poker action with that in other states.-4. New suppliers for multi-state poker must obtain a license from the MGCB, and vendors must register.-5. Employees of the new platform must obtain an MGCB occupational license.
PokerStars USA did those things. On December 9, the site announced temporary downtime mid-month for New Jersey and Michigan players to upgrade software. After that successful move, the operator announced its intention to launch the newly-joined Michigan-New Jersey site on January 1, 2023. The MGCB confirmed that move, stating that PokerStars and its casino partner – Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians – had permission to launch.
https://twitter.com/PokerStarsUSA/status/1606302615603748869?s=20&t=UPrgmZDF_taGZpkvoSIQ0Q
And on the first day of the new year, PokerStars USA did launch the site. It did so with several big online poker tournaments, which proved more popular than expected:
-$10 buy-in New Years Mini Special: 6,378 entries, $58K prize pool ($50K GTD)-$100 buy-in New Years Special: 2,189 entries, $201K prize pool ($100K GTD)-$500 buy-in New Years High Roller Special: 206 entries, $92K prize pool ($40K GTD)
PSPC Online Set
The PSPC is the PokerStars Players Championship, a record-breaking tournament that debuted in January 2019. The $25K buy-in tournament offered big opportunities, most of all for hundreds of players who qualified to play through live and online poker satellites. It brought in more than 1K entries and set the prize pool at $26,455,500. The next one is coming up January 31 through February 3 in the Bahamas. The event will return to the Bahamas amidst the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, as did the first PSPC.
As some in the poker world will be in the Bahamas in the coming weeks for the PCA and PSPC, most players will not be able to swing such a trip. Those in New Jersey and Michigan will be able to play a version of it online, though.
The PSPC Online is now set for January 13-30 on the new PokerStars MI/NJ.
The inaugural series will offer 85 events and $2.5M in guarantees. The highlights will be:
-Event 77 (Jan 29-30): $250 buy-in PSPC Online Main Event ($300K GTD)-Event 78 (Jan 29): $50 buy-in PSPC Online Mini Main Event ($75K GTD)-Event 79 (Jan 29): $2,500 buy-in PSPC Online Super High Roller Main Event ($125K GTD)
And not to leave Pennsylvania out, even though the players remain separated at this time, the PSPC Online will offer 72 events and $1.5M in guarantees for PokerStars PA players. This will culminate in three highlighted events as well:
-Event 65 (Jan 29-30): $250 buy-in PSPC Online Main Event ($150K GTD)-Event 66 (Jan 29): $50 buy-in PSPC Online Mini Main Event ($25K GTD)-Event 67 (Jan 29): $2,500 buy-in PSPC Super High Roller Main Event ($100K GTD)
Players in all three states will be able to qualify for the tournaments via satellites that start at just $1.
https://twitter.com/PokerStarsUSA/status/1611013908206166018?s=20&t=UPrgmZDF_taGZpkvoSIQ0Q
