One Week In, Michigan Is Busiest US State For PokerStars

Exactly one week after its launch, Michigan online poker took the lead in the country. At around 3:30 p.m. EST on Friday, PokerStars Michigan had almost 1,100 players seated, as the workweek was coming to an end and the Super Bowl weekend was about to kick off.

At the same time, PokerStars in Pennsylvania had a total of 983 seats occupied, while New Jersey games accommodated 334 players. It was Michigan that occupied the highest position among the three states on the platform.

On January 29th, Michigan joined the ranks of Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania as the fifth state to introduce regulated online poker. After just one week since its launch, PokerStars players express their satisfaction with the smooth rollout.

PokerStars Sunday Majors for Feb. 7

PokerStars wasted no time in introducing its regular Sunday Majors lineup to Michigan. During the first Sunday action last week, four out of the usual five events were made available. However, this upcoming Sunday, Feb. 7, all five tournaments will be lined up. By Friday afternoon, a total of 10 players had already registered for the highly anticipated Sunday Special event.

The Sunday Majors on February 7th consist of the following events:

• The Sunday Storm is a poker tournament with a $10 buy-in and a guaranteed prize pool of $2,000.
• Warm-Up – Entry fee of $30 with a guaranteed prize pool of $5,000.
• The Supersonic tournament has a buy-in of $50 and a guaranteed prize pool of $2,500.
• High Roller tournament with a $250 entry fee and a guaranteed prize pool of $10,000.
• The Sunday Special, which was not held last Sunday, has a $100 buy-in and guarantees a prize pool of $20,000.

First Sunday results included:

• BigCShepp emerged as the victorious champion in the initial Sunday Warm-Up event, which saw a tremendous participation of 317 contenders vying for a generous prize pool of $8,654. Remarkably, BigCShepp secured the first-place position and walked away with an impressive cash reward of $1,626.
• DavidKayePorker emerged victorious in the inaugural $250 Sunday High Roller tournament, outshining a competitive pool of 63 participants and seizing a remarkable $4,337 in winnings. Notably, this exhilarating event surpassed expectations by nearly doubling the initial prize guarantee of $7,500.

Just like old times for PokerStars players

After patiently waiting, Peter Hotaling from Rochester Hills expressed his satisfaction with the comeback of PokerStars in Michigan.

In a Twitter message to Playinmichigan, he expressed, “It felt nostalgic, just like the old days. Despite it being only a week in, the player pool sizes were promising. There were also great options for tournaments and cash games.”

Nevertheless, he pointed out that a disadvantage of the app was the inability for players to choose their table in cash games.

“I have a dislike for the fact that in cash games on the app, you don’t have the option to choose your table. The app automatically seats you,” he expressed. “Furthermore, there’s a glitch in the tournament feature where it fails to indicate your current ranking.”

PokerStars Michigan a ‘massive improvement’ to offshore

A player from East Lansing also expressed their belief in the reliability of the random generator software.

The anonymous player expressed in a message to Playinmichigan that playing poker on offshore sites is a dreadful experience, especially when compared to other options.

“Yes, indeed, this represents a significant improvement. Occasionally, players may perceive certain hands as more action-oriented, but this is typical considering the vast number of hands being dealt.”

According to the player, although there were still some lingering problems with depositing money on the site, the inclusion of PayPal as a payment option significantly improved convenience.

Naturally, participating in live tournaments is the ideal choice, like those held at FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek. However, considering the winter climate and the ongoing pandemic, online poker has successfully filled the void and fulfilled all the desires of poker players.

He mentioned that playing a tournament without having to drive to a casino in freezing temperatures was occasionally convenient. However, he expressed his hope for the pandemic to subside so that he could once again have the opportunity to enjoy tournaments in casinos.

Still to come for MI online poker

The growth of online poker in Michigan is set to continue as more platforms like BetMGM Poker are expected to launch soon, along with the introduction of multistate player pools.

BetMGM launched online sports betting and online casinos on Jan. 22, but they have not provided any information regarding the launch date of their MI poker site.

Interstate play and shared player pools share a similar narrative.

Until later this year, Michigan Gaming Control Board’s executive director, Richard Kalm, stated that Michigan will refrain from forming any interstate play compacts with other states.

Currently, the Multistate Internet Gaming Agreement comprises New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada, while Pennsylvania, despite having legalized online poker in 2019, has not yet become a part of this alliance.