PokerStars Pennsylvania is celebrating a year of highs by hosting a $1 million anniversary tournament series.
PokerStars is celebrating its first year of operations in Pennsylvania by hosting a $1 million guaranteed tournament series. (Image: PokerStars)
The state-specific festival will feature 35 MTTs, including a $100 main event with a $200,000 guarantee. The action will begin on Nov. 8 and run through Nov. 15.
In the spirit of giving everyone a shot at winning, PokerStars Pennsylvania will also give away $10,500 worth of satellite tickets.
PokerStars Pennsylvania Celebrates
Other than the main event, the highlight of PokerStars 1st Anniversary Series will be a $100 Sunday Special and a $20 Mini Main Event with a $25,000 guarantee.
A $1 million prize pool wouldn’t be noteworthy in another context. Indeed, the recent WSOP Online and WPT World Online Championships both featured prize pools worth more than $100 million. However, Pennsylvania is unique in that it’s an isolated market.
As such, PokerStars PA only caters to a population of 12.8 million. In this context, the guarantee matches the circumstances and, moreover, PokerStars’ standing in the state.
Pennsylvanians have been able to play legal online poker since November 2019. PokerStars was the first and, so far only, operator to be licensed. Partypoker and 888Poker are on the verge of launching in the Keystone State but, until they do, PokerStars has a monopoly.
That fact hasn’t been lost on the company’s executives. Over the past 12 months, PokerStars has attempted to set the bar at such a level that other licensees won’t be able to match it.
Outlook for Online Poker in Pennsylvania is Positive
PACOOP got the ball rolling in December 2019 and exceeded expectations. The novelty of having regulated online poker in the state, coupled with a major tournament series, caused revenue to spike.
Then, in January 2020, PokerStars PA generated $2.4 million in revenue. That figure was more than Pennsylvania’s established online casinos made and demonstrated the potential of poker in the state.
Subsequently, COVID-19 lockdowns led to more MTT innovations, as well as an increase in activity across PokerStars’ entire network.
A $1 million anniversary series is as much a celebration of PokerStars’ recent success as it is the success of regulated online poker in Pennsylvania. Daily traffic reports show that 750+ players now ante up at peak times.
That compares favorably to states such as New Jersey, where online poker is not only more established, but where intrastate liquidity sharing pacts exist. By these measures, the outlook is positive.
After a year of activity, numbers remain strong and, with the prospect of more poker sites going live within the year, Pennsylvania should see online poker flourish in 2021.
