At PokerStars MI Summer Stacks Festival, Players Win Nearly $1.1 Million
Continuing its series of firsts during its inaugural year, PokerStars Michigan completed its initial Summer Stacks Festival on Sunday. The series ran from June 12-28 and ultimately awarded almost $1.1 million in prize money, marking another successful tournament series on PokerStars MI.
100 tournaments, more than $1 million awarded
The 100 tournaments ultimately attracted almost 28,000 total entries (including re-entries), and they awarded $1,087,430.65 in prize money.
The $100 buy-in Main Event drew 1,224 total entries to create a prize pool of just over $112,000, thereby exceeding the $100,000 guarantee. Player “CheckUrPrivlege” prevailed to win a first prize worth more than $17,600.
The Summer Stacks Festival followed the first Michigan Spring Championship of Online Poker in May on PokerStars MI, in which players won $2.35 million over another 17-day period. That series featured bigger buy-ins and guarantees, ultimately becoming the largest ever in the site’s short history.
Nearly half of events have overlays, many in non-standard tourneys
Guarantees across the series totaled $1 million exactly. All told, 43 of the 100 tournaments ended up having overlays. Added together, PokerStars MI had to supply just over $73,000 to meet the guarantees in those events.
About half of the overlays were for more than $1,000. A couple required PokerStars MI to put up more than $7,500 to satisfy the guarantee. Both of those instances came in larger events with $60,000 guarantees.
It’s worth noting how among the tournaments with overlays, nearly half either featured games other than no-limit hold’em; were freezeouts (with no re-entries); or featured unusual formats such as 4-max or heads-up.
In Summer Stacks Festivals, MI well ahead of NJ, but behind PA
PokerStars interestingly ran similar and separate Summer Stacks Festival series on all three of its US sites from June 12-28. (Editor’s note: Players on each of PokerStars’ US sites can compete only against others in-state, and not in a shared player pool.)
In both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the series similarly featured 100 tournaments with buy-ins of $100 or less. On PokerStars PA ,the guarantees totaled $1,045,000, just a tad over PokerStars MI’s $1 million, and the schedule was nearly identical. On PokerStars NJ, the guarantees added up to $500,000.
PokerStars PA ultimately had the biggest series, with more than 35,000 total entries and players winning nearly $1.3 million. PokerStars MI’s almost 28,000 total entries and nearly $1.1 million came next. PokerStars NJ’s series, meanwhile, drew close to 15,500 total entries and awarded about $565,000.
The main events all featured the same $100 buy-in and two-day structure. In Pennsylvania and Michigan, the main events had $100,000 guarantees, and in New Jersey the guarantee was $50,000.
There, too, PokerStars PA bested all three sites, with 1,443 entries and a prize pool of over $132,000. That total beat Michigan’s, while New Jersey’s Main Event had 539 entries. That site paid a slight overlay to meet the $50,000 guarantee.
BetMGM Poker MI series plays out during Summer Stacks final week
Speaking of comparisons, during the final week of the Summer Stacks Festival, BetMGM Poker Michigan gave players another tournament option with its own BetMGM Online Series.
The 10-event schedule featured guarantees totaling $275,000, a reduction from previous installments of the series on BetMGM Poker MI. In the end, there were a few overlays among the events. Even so, players ultimately won almost $350,000 in the series. That total nearly matched the amount awarded during the first BetMGM Online Series on the site in April.
The final day on Sunday was the most successful, with all three tournaments exceeding guarantees.
The climactic $1,060 buy-in event with a $75,000 guarantee drew 97 entries, making for a $97,000 prize pool. Meanwhile the $20 buy-in event — the lowest of the series and the only one rivaling the lower buy-in events of the Summer Stacks Festival — attracted a huge field of 2,169 entries. That created a prize pool of more than $39,000, nearly eight times the $5,000 guarantee.
Thus, although the BetMGM Online Series didn’t necessarily provide too much direct competition to PokerStars MI’s series, it did provide some good news 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 |
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