PokerStars is a big player in a small market. Well, the United States market, such as it is, is just a series of state-run markets, and only three of them allow PokerStars to operate there. PokerStars has been operating in New Jersey for quite a few years, Pennsylvania for several, and Michigan a year and a half. And since none of them are allowed to connect over state lines yet, PokerStars operates three separate poker sites for those states.
This is important to know because of the things that PokerStars is teasing for US players.
Platinum Passes
The Platinum Pass is a ticket to one of the biggest poker tournaments in the world.
The first time PokerStars did this, the operator awarded hundreds of Platinum Passes to the Poker Players NLHE Championship (PSPC) in the Bahamas in early 2019. And one of the Platinum Pass winners, Ramon Colillas of Spain, won that event for $5.1M and ended up with a PokerStars sponsorship, too.
The second $25K buy-in PSPC was scheduled for the summer of 2020 in Barcelona, but…..pandemic. It is now rescheduled for the Bahamas in late January and early February 2023. The event will run as a part of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), a new take on the classic tournament series.
Many poker players cannot afford the massive buy-in, so PokerStars awards tickets in a variety of ways, including contests and low buy-in tournaments around the world. The “Road to PSPC” is the main promotion, a path to earning a Platinum Pass worth $30K – for the buy-in and expenses and including accommodations. Online satellites run regularly, but the live ones are scheduled at upcoming series in Nottingham, Hamburg, Sevilla, and Thessaloniki in Europe, as well as the Philippines. More paths will appear as 2022 progresses.
But what about US?
The US will see its fair share of Platinum Pass opportunities. “Ways to win a pass will be released soon!”
https://twitter.com/PokerStarsUSA/status/1556719148046090240?s=20&t=bBkQYca6Je0FPIclj8MrzQ
COOP 2022
PokerStars has yet to reveal the ways that it will find approximately 40 Platinum Pass winners in the United States. One safe bet, however, is that some will be available during the upcoming COOP series.
The Championship of Online Poker (COOP) will run in New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania – separately – in September. And PokerStars just announced that each state will run their COOP series September 9-26 with the corresponding Main Events set for September 25.
https://twitter.com/PokerStarsUSA/status/1557002261225775104?s=20&t=bBkQYca6Je0FPIclj8MrzQ
Players can look for the full schedules to be released in the coming weeks, likely along with Platinum Pass information.
PokerStars LIVE?
The PokerStars page says it: “PokerStars is giving away multiple passes right here in the US. Platinum Passes can be won in numerous ways including the return of US live events, US online tournaments, and more.”
Since PokerStars partners with a land-based casino in all of the three states in America in which it operates, there are opportunities to organize live poker tournaments. It is unclear if those live events will be in those states.
Another possibility is for PokerStars to partner with a live poker tour in America – Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) or RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) seem like good possibilities – to add them to the “Road to PSPC.”
With an announcement pending, it may be only a matter of weeks before players know how to take their shots at Platinum Passes from within the USA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT6hG2Rrbws
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