At PokerStars MI Summer Stacks Festival, Players Win Nearly $1.1 Million
Jump ahead to the main content
PokerStars Michigan wrapped up its first-ever Summer Stacks Festival on Sunday, adding yet another milestone to its debut year. Spanning from June 12 to 28, the series concluded with nearly $1.1 million in prize money awarded, further solidifying PokerStars MI as a thriving tournament platform.
100 tournaments, more than $1 million awarded
In total, the 100 tournaments managed to draw nearly 28,000 participants, counting both initial entries and re-entries. The prize money distributed among the winners amounted to a grand total of $1,087,430.65.
With a $100 buy-in, the Main Event attracted a total of 1,224 participants, accumulating a prize pool of slightly over $112,000. This amount surpassed the guaranteed $100,000. Emerging victorious was player “CheckUrPrivlege,” earning a remarkable first prize of over $17,600.
After the successful May PokerStars MI event, the first Michigan Spring Championship of Online Poker, the Summer Stacks Festival took place. This festival surpassed all expectations by accumulating a staggering $2.35 million in prize money over a span of 17 days. This remarkable series, with its higher buy-ins and guarantees, went on to become the most significant event in the site’s brief existence.
Nearly half of events have overlays, many in non-standard tourneys
The total amount guaranteed throughout the series was precisely $1 million. Out of the 100 tournaments held, 43 of them resulted in overlays. In order to fulfill the guarantees for those events, PokerStars MI had to contribute slightly over $73,000.
Roughly 50% of the overlays exceeded the $1,000 mark, with a few cases demanding PokerStars MI to contribute over $7,500 to fulfill the guarantee. These two occurrences took place during bigger tournaments featuring a guaranteed prize pool of $60,000.
It is important to mention that almost half of the tournaments with overlays had different games besides no-limit hold’em, were freezeouts with no re-entries, or had unique formats like 4-max or heads-up.
In Summer Stacks Festivals, MI well ahead of NJ, but behind PA
From June 12-28, PokerStars surprisingly organized the Summer Stacks Festival series simultaneously on its three US sites. It is worth noting that players on each of PokerStars’ US sites can only compete against others within their own state and not in a combined player pool.
The series in Pennsylvania and New Jersey both included 100 tournaments with buy-ins of $100 or lower. The guarantees on PokerStars PA amounted to slightly over $1,045,000, slightly surpassing PokerStars MI’s $1 million, and the schedule was almost the same. On PokerStars NJ, the guarantees combined to reach $500,000.
PokerStars PA emerged as the frontrunner, boasting the largest series with over 35,000 total entries and players raking in nearly $1.3 million in winnings. Following closely, PokerStars MI recorded almost 28,000 total entries and nearly $1.1 million in prizes. Meanwhile, PokerStars NJ attracted approximately 15,500 total entries and distributed around $565,000 in rewards.
All the main events followed a consistent format of a $100 buy-in and spanned over two days. The main events in Pennsylvania and Michigan boasted a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000 each, while in New Jersey, the guarantee stood at $50,000.
PokerStars PA outperformed all three sites, with 1,443 entries and a prize pool exceeding $132,000. This total surpassed Michigan’s, whereas New Jersey’s Main Event had 539 entries. The latter site had to slightly supplement the prize pool to fulfill the $50,000 guarantee.
BetMGM Poker MI series plays out during Summer Stacks final week
In regards to comparisons, the Summer Stacks Festival’s final week featured an additional tournament option offered by BetMGM Poker Michigan known as the BetMGM Online Series.
The 10-event schedule on BetMGM Poker MI had guaranteed prizes amounting to $275,000, which was lower compared to previous series. Despite a few overlays in the events, players managed to win nearly $350,000 overall. This total was almost equivalent to the prize money given out during the inaugural BetMGM Online Series held on the site in April.
All three tournaments on the final day, held on Sunday, surpassed their guaranteed expectations, making it the most successful day.
The highly anticipated tournament with a buy-in of $1,060 and a guaranteed prize of $75,000 had a total of 97 participants, resulting in a prize pool of $97,000. On the other hand, the $20 buy-in event, which was the lowest in the series and comparable to the lower buy-in events of the Summer Stacks Festival, attracted an enormous crowd of 2,169 players. This led to a prize pool of over $39,000, nearly eight times the guaranteed amount of $5,000.
Although the BetMGM Online Series did not pose significant direct competition to PokerStars MI’s series, it did bring some positive developments for BetMGM Poker MI.
PokerStars MI Summer Stacks Festival by the numbers
| Event | Event | Buy-in | Guarantee | Entries | Prize Pool | Overlay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NLHE (Summer Stacks Warm Up – Stars-B-Que) | $10 | $3,500 | 556 | $5,059.60 | n/a | |
| 2 | NLHE (Summer Stacks Kick Off) | $100 | $30,000 | 287 | $30,000.00 | $3,653.40 | |
| 3 | NLHE (Summer Stacks Mini Kick Off) | $30 | $8,000 | 329 | $8,981.70 | n/a | |
| 4 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $15,000 | 306 | $15,000.00 | $1,077.00 | |
| 5 | PLO (6-Max, Progressive KO) | $5 | $1,000 | 245 | $1,114.75 | n/a | |
| 6 | NLHE | $50 | $8,500 | 222 | $10,101.00 | n/a | |
| 7 | Razz (6-Max) | $10 | $1,000 | 113 | $1,028.30 | n/a | |
| 8 | Stud Hi/Lo (6-Max) | $50 | $3,500 | 54 | $3,500.00 | $1,043.00 | |
| 9 | NLHE (6-Max, Sunday Storm – PKO Edition) | $10 | $3,000 | 312 | $3,000.00 | $160.80 | |
| 10 | NLHE (Sunday Special) | $100 | $60,000 | 569 | $60,000.00 | $7,765.80 | |
| 11 | NLHE (Mini Sunday Special) | $30 | $10,000 | 493 | $13,458.90 | n/a | |
| 12 | NLHE (Micro Sunday Special) | $5 | $3,500 | 661 | $3,500.00 | $492.45 | |
| 13 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 227 | $10,328.50 | n/a | |
| 14 | NLHE (The Big Freeze) | $100 | $12,500 | 132 | $12,500.00 | $382.40 | |
| 15 | PLO (6-Max) | $30 | $4,000 | 133 | $4,000.00 | $369.10 | |
| 16 | NLHE (6-Max, PKO, Battle Royale Early Edition) | $10 | $3,000 | 387 | $3,521.70 | n/a | |
| 17 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 303 | $13,786.50 | n/a | |
| 18 | NLHE (6-Max, Progressive KO, Battle Royale) | $100 | $20,000 | 178 | $20,000.00 | $3,659.60 | |
| 19 | NLHE | $5 | $1,500 | 373 | $1,697.15 | n/a | |
| 20 | PLO8 (8-Max) | $20 | $2,500 | 176 | $3,203.20 | n/a | |
| 21 | NLHE (Super Tuesday Early Edition) | $10 | $3,000 | 395 | $3,594.50 | n/a | |
| 22 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 244 | $11,102.00 | n/a | |
| 23 | NLHE (Mini Super Tuesday) | $50 | $15,000 | 361 | $16,425.50 | n/a | |
| 24 | NLHE (6-Max, Summer Freeze) | $100 | $10,000 | 82 | $10,000.00 | $2,472.40 | |
| 25 | NLHE (8-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO) | $10 | $2,000 | 294 | $2,675.40 | n/a | |
| 26 | NLHE (6-Max) | $20 | $4,000 | 212 | $4,000.00 | $141.60 | |
| 27 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 267 | $12,148.50 | n/a | |
| 28 | NLHE (6-Max) | $100 | $17,500 | 191 | $17,533.80 | n/a | |
| 29 | NLHE | $30 | $5,000 | 215 | $5,869.50 | n/a | |
| 30 | 8-Game | $50 | $5,000 | 89 | $5,000.00 | $950.50 | |
| 31 | NLHE (PKO, Thursday Thrill Early Edition) | $10 | $3,000 | 409 | $3,721.90 | n/a | |
| 32 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 233 | $10,601.50 | n/a | |
| 33 | NLHE (Progressive KO, Mini Thursday Thrill) | $50 | $15,000 | 302 | $15,000.00 | $1,259.00 | |
| 34 | NLHE (Summer Freeze) | $25 | $3,500 | 159 | $3,617.25 | n/a | |
| 35 | PLO (6-Max, Turbo) | $5 | $1,000 | 209 | $1,000.00 | $49.05 | |
| 36 | NLHE (4-Max, The Big $10 – 4-max Edition) | $10 | $2,500 | 334 | $3,039.40 | n/a | |
| 37 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 296 | $13,468.00 | n/a | |
| 38 | NLHE (8-Max, Mega-Stack Turbo) | $100 | $15,000 | 198 | $18,176.40 | n/a | |
| 39 | NLHE | $20 | $3,000 | 263 | $4,786.60 | n/a | |
| 40 | NLHE (6-Max, Hyper-Turbo, Progressive KO) | $5 | $1,000 | 267 | $1,254.90 | n/a | |
| 41 | NLHE | $10 | $2,500 | 273 | $2,500.00 | $15.70 | |
| 42 | NLHE (6-Max, Saturday Warm Up) | $20 | $5,000 | 194 | $5,000.00 | $1,469.20 | |
| 43 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 212 | $10,000.00 | $354.00 | |
| 44 | NLHE (8-Max, Progressive KO, Bigstack) | $100 | $20,000 | 220 | $20,196.00 | n/a | |
| 45 | NLHE (8-Max, Progressive KO, Bigstack) | $30 | $10,000 | 400 | $10,920.00 | n/a | |
| 46 | NLHE (6-Max, Summer Freeze) | $30 | $4,000 | 80 | $4,000.00 | $1,816.00 | |
| 47 | 5-Card PLO (6-Max) | $10 | $2,000 | 118 | $2,000.00 | $926.20 | |
| 48 | HORSE (6-Max) | $50 | $3,500 | 43 | $3,500.00 | $1,543.50 | |
| 49 | NLHE (6-Max, Sunday Storm) | $10 | $3,000 | 222 | $3,000.00 | $979.80 | |
| 50 | NLHE (Sunday Special) | $100 | $60,000 | 567 | $60,000.00 | $7,949.40 | |
| 51 | NLHE (Sunday Special – Mid) | $30 | $15,000 | 515 | $15,000.00 | $940.50 | |
| 52 | NLHE (Sunday Special – Low) | $5 | $3,500 | 591 | $3,500.00 | $810.95 | |
| 53 | PLO (6-Max) | $30 | $3,500 | 100 | $3,500.00 | $770.00 | |
| 54 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $8,000 | 111 | $8,000.00 | $2,949.50 | |
| 55 | NLHE (Summer Freeze) | $50 | $7,500 | 136 | $7,500.00 | $1,312.00 | |
| 56 | NLHE (7-Max) | $5 | $1,000 | 433 | $1,970.15 | n/a | |
| 57 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 256 | $11,648.00 | n/a | |
| 58 | NLHE (6-Max, Progressive KO, Battle Royale) | $100 | $20,000 | 196 | $20,000.00 | $2,007.20 | |
| 59 | NLHE (6-Max, Progressive KO, Mini Battle Royale) | $30 | $8,000 | 261 | $8,000.00 | $874.70 | |
| 60 | NLHE | $15 | $2,500 | 220 | $3,003.00 | n/a | |
| 61 | NLHE (Super Tuesday Early Edition) | $20 | $6,000 | 397 | $7,225.40 | n/a | |
| 62 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 222 | $10,101.00 | n/a | |
| 63 | NLHE (Mini Super Tuesday) | $75 | $17,500 | 292 | $19,929.00 | n/a | |
| 64 | NLHE (6-Max, Summer Freeze) | $100 | $12,500 | 86 | $12,500.00 | $4,605.20 | |
| 65 | NLHE (4-Max, Turbo) | $30 | $4,000 | 144 | $4,000.00 | $68.80 | |
| 66 | NLHE (6-Max, The Big $10 – 6-max Edition) | $10 | $2,500 | 350 | $3,185.00 | n/a | |
| 67 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 294 | $13,377.00 | n/a | |
| 68 | NLHE (6-Max) | $50 | $10,000 | 190 | $10,000.00 | $1,355.00 | |
| 69 | NLHE | $25 | $3,500 | 226 | $5,141.50 | n/a | |
| 70 | NLHE (8-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO) | $20 | $3,000 | 255 | $4,641.00 | n/a | |
| 71 | NLHE (PKO, Thursday Thrill Early Edition) | $20 | $6,000 | 356 | $6,479.20 | n/a | |
| 72 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 222 | $10,101.00 | n/a | |
| 73 | NLHE (Progressive KO, Mini Thursday Thrill) | $75 | $17,500 | 261 | $17,813.25 | n/a | |
| 74 | NLHE (Summer Freeze) | $50 | $6,000 | 100 | $6,000.00 | $1,450.00 | |
| 75 | NLHE (6-Max, Hyper-Turbo) | $5 | $1,000 | 217 | $1,019.90 | n/a | |
| 76 | NLHE (6-Max, Turbo, Fast Friday Early Edition) | $20 | $3,500 | 275 | $5,005.00 | n/a | |
| 77 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 344 | $15,652.00 | n/a | |
| 78 | NLHE (6-Max, Turbo, Fast Friday) | $100 | $15,000 | 136 | $15,000.00 | $2,515.20 | |
| 79 | NLHE | $100 | $12,500 | 155 | $14,229.00 | n/a | |
| 80 | NLHE (Heads-Up, Turbo, Prog. Total KO, Zoom) | $30 | $7,500 | 250 | $7,500.00 | $675.00 | |
| 81 | NLHE (8-Max, Afternoon Bigstack) | $30 | $6,000 | 345 | $9,418.50 | n/a | |
| 82 | Stud (6-Max) | $50 | $3,500 | 49 | $3,500.00 | $1,270.50 | |
| 83 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 279 | $12,694.50 | n/a | |
| 84 | NLHE (8-Max, Bigstack) | $100 | $25,000 | 295 | $27,081.00 | n/a | |
| 85 | NLHE (8-Max, Bigstack) | $25 | $7,000 | 398 | $9,054.50 | n/a | |
| 86 | NLHE (Summer Freeze) | $30 | $4,000 | 118 | $4,000.00 | $778.60 | |
| 87 | NLHE (4-Max) | $100 | $17,500 | 137 | $17,500.00 | $4,923.40 | |
| 88 | NLHE (Sunday Drive) | $30 | $7,500 | 309 | $8,435.70 | n/a | |
| 89 | NLHE (6-Max, Half Price Sunday Storm) | $5 | $2,500 | 365 | $2,500.00 | $839.25 | |
| 90 | NLHE (Main Event) | $100 | $100,000 | 1,224 | $112,363.20 | n/a | |
| 91 | NLHE (Main Event – Mid) | $30 | $25,000 | 928 | $25,334.40 | n/a | |
| 92 | NLHE (Main Event – Low) | $10 | $7,500 | 789 | $7,500.00 | $320.10 | |
| 93 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $8,000 | 177 | $8,053.50 | n/a | |
| 94 | NLHE (Summer Freeze) | $15 | $2,500 | 150 | $2,500.00 | $452.50 | |
| 95 | NLHE (6-Max, Hyper-Turbo, Bigstack) | $50 | $6,000 | 101 | $6,000.00 | $1,253.00 | |
| 96 | NLHE (6-Max, Mega Stack) | $5 | $1,500 | 398 | $1,810.90 | n/a | |
| 97 | NLHE (Summer Stars) | $100 | $25,000 | 317 | $29,100.60 | n/a | |
| 98 | NLHE (8-Max, Nightly Summer Stack) | $50 | $10,000 | 278 | $12,649.00 | n/a | |
| 99 | NLHE (4-Max, Shootout) | $30 | $7,000 | 94 | $7,000.00 | $4,433.80 | |
| 100 | NLHE (Summer Freezeout – Last Call) | $10 | $1,500 | 220 | $2,002.00 | n/a | |
| TOTALS | 27,967 | $1,087,430.65 | $73,135.10 |
