Pokerstars Pa Tournaments
While players patiently wait for online poker to go live in Pennsylvania, pokerfuse brings you another look behind the scenes, this time revealing the tournament offerings currently planned for PokerStars Pennsylvania.
A quick glance at a tentative weekly schedule deployed in the PokerStars PA, currently believed to still be in private testing but the odds on favorite to be the first legal and regulated online poker room to go live in the state, suggests that the operator will closely follow the branded tournaments seen in New Jersey but with some slight but significant differences.
The Pennsylvania PokerStars client will also have daily major tournaments to choose from including the Super Tuesdays, Thursday Thrills, Wednesday 6-Max, Fast Fridays, Saturday Speedways, etc. The buy-ins for these majors are on the higher side ranging from $50 to $200. Spin & Gos are considered the most popular tournaments at PokerStars New Jersey. We believe that these will eventually prove just as popular in Pennsylvania. The welcome bonus at PokerStars PA is the same at PokerStars NJ, a $10 bonus for Spin & Go play.
PokerStars PA Likely to Offer Bigger Guarantees than PokerStars NJ
PokerStars NJ monthly Multi-Table Tournament Leader Board The PokerStars NJ monthly Multi-Table Tournament Leader Board lets you show New Jersey that you're one of the best local MTT players. Every time you place in the top 15% of a regular multi-table tournament, you will be awarded Tournament Leader Board (TLB) points. Qualify for the biggest live and online poker tournaments and events on PokerStars.in. This tournament runs on the PokerStars PA poker software every Sunday. All details about the event and the bonus ticket to enter will be sent to the e-mail address you used during the registration.
Being the fifth-most populous state in the United States boasting a population of nearly 13 million—more than the combined population of Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey—means it is fair to expect the guarantees for these MTTs to be set higher than than those in New Jersey, and based on our view of the PokerStars PA client, that certainly appears to be the case.
Not only are the guarantees bigger compared to New Jersey, but the buy-ins are also less expensive making these tournaments more valuable for the players.
For instance, from what we can tell, the Sunday Special in Pennsylvania will guarantee $30,000 for a buy-in of $100 ($91.80+$8.20), requiring at least 327 entries to cover. It will allow players to re-enter up to five times. The same tournament guarantees $25,000 for a much higher buy-in of $250 with unlimited entries in New Jersey.
As another example, a $250 buy-in Sunday High Roller is also scheduled every Sunday at 19:00 ET with a guaranteed prize pool of $10,000. In New Jersey, a similar tournament carries a buy-in double the size with lower guarantee.
PokerStars PA vs PokerStars NJ Sunday Brand Tournaments Comparison
| Tournament Brand | PokerStars PA | PokerStars NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday Warm-Up | $30 Buy-in, $7.5K GTD | $50 Buy-in, $4K GTD |
| Sunday Storm | $10 Buy-in, $5K GTD | $10 Buy-in, $3.5K GTD |
| Sunday Special | $100 Buy-in, $30K GTD | $200 Buy-in, $25K GTD |
| Sunday High Roller | $250 Buy-in, $10K GTD | $500 Buy-in, $8K GTD |
| Sunday Supersonic | $50 Buy-in, $5K GTD | $75 Buy-in, $4K GTD |
Sunday Majors Offered on PokerStars PA
Sunday is typically the biggest day of the week for online poker tournaments, and currently it appears that there will be five Sunday majors offered by PokerStars in Pennsylvania just like in the New Jersey market.
Kicking off the action will be the $30 Sunday Warm-Up at 16:00 ET followed by the $10 buy-in Sunday Storm an hour later. Then the action escalates at 18:00 ET with the Sunday Special featuring the largest guaranteed prize pool. The $250 buy-in Sunday High Roller and the $50 Sunday Supersonic round out the action at 19:00 ET and 22:00 ET respectively.
As it stands, these five Sunday major tournaments will have a combined $57,500 in guaranteed prize pools, and while we do not expect the offering to be reduced before launch, there could certainly be additional tournaments added and guaranteed prize pools increased.
Here is a screenshot of PokerStars PA Sunday MTT draft schedule.
PokerStars PA Tournament Offerings Overview
Pokerstars Pa Tournament Series
Players could expect to see a wide variety of tournaments with dozens of them scheduled each day and almost all of them promising guarantees ranging from $100 to $30,000.
There will be tournaments for all types of players with buy-ins starting from $2 ranging up to $250 with a majority of them allowing re-entries. The draft schedule also reveals that MTTs will come in various formats including the very popular Progressive Knockout (PKO) tournaments, time tournaments, turbos and hypers, a rebuy tournament and a couple of Pot Limit Omaha MTTs.
Like in other markets, there will also be daily Bigs, Hots, Bounty Builders, and even a Moonlight Express—a tournament that is offered in New Jersey and runs at midnight daily. All these tournaments are priced at the lower end of the range, between $5 and $20.
The Pennsylvania PokerStars client will also have daily major tournaments to choose from including the Super Tuesdays, Thursday Thrills, Wednesday 6-Max, Fast Fridays, Saturday Speedways, etc. The buy-ins for these majors are on the higher side ranging from $50 to $200.
The Super Tuesday and Thursday Thrill at 20:00 ET on Tuesdays and Thursdays respectively will feature a $10,000 guarantee for a $200 buy-in ($186+$14), meaning they will need to attract at least 54 entries to cover the guarantee and avoid an overlay. $100 buy-in Nightly Stars scheduled daily at 19:00 ET will be guaranteeing $7500.
Notably, no Zoom tournaments or other niche variants such as 8-Game, 2-7 Lowball or Stud are part of the draft schedule.
PokerStars PA Major Tournaments
| Tournament | When? | Buy-in | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Tuesday | Tuesdays at 20:00 ET | $200 ($186+$14) | $10,000 |
| Wednesday 6-Max | Wednesdays at 20:00 ET | $50 ($45.50+$4.50) | $5,000 |
| Thursday Thrill (PKO) | Thursdays at 20:00 ET | $200 ($93+$93+$14) | $10,000 |
| Fast Friday 6-Max Turbo | Fridays at 20:00 ET | $50 ($45.50+$4.50) | $3,500 |
| Saturday Speedway | Saturdays at 20:00 ET | $50 ($45.50+$4.50) | $3,500 |
| Sunday Warm-Up | Sundays at 16:00 ET | $30 ($27.30+$2.70) | $7,500 |
| Sunday Storm 6-Max | Sundays at 17:00 ET | $10 ($9.10+$0.90) | $5,000 |
| Sunday Special | Sundays at 18:00 ET | $100 ($91.80+$8.20) | $30,000 |
| Sunday High Roller | Sundays at 19:00 ET | $250 ($233+$17) | $10,000 |
| Battle Royale | Sundays at 20:00 ET | $50 ($22.75+$22.75+$4.50) | $5,000 |
| Sunday Supersonic Hyper-Turbo | Sundays at 22:00 ET | $50 ($47+$3) | $5,000 |
| Nightly Stars | Daily at 19:00 ET | $100 ($91.80+$8.20) | $7,500 |
| Nightly PLO 6-Max | Daily at 19:30 ET | $20 ($18.20+$1.80) | $400 |
Pennsylvania Online Casino Revenue Figures
Meanwhile, operators offering online casino games in Pennsylvania reported $3.4 million in revenue in August—the first full month since the market opened.
SugarHouse generated the majority of the revenue accounting for $1.6 million and capturing over 48% of the market, while Parx Casino generated just over $1 million and Hollywood Casino generated just over $680,000.
Online casinos are authorized to offer slots (including video poker) and table games such as roulette and blackjack, but online poker still remains on the sidelines.
However, the recent activity in PA observed by pokerfuse suggests that the launch could happen soon.
Keep watching this space for more information on PokerStars’ launch in Pennsylvania including additional details on its poker offering, its casino games and more.
Please note that the details provided consist of educated predictions based on information we have gleaned. None of the information obtained has been provided by PokerStars, and things may very well change prior to launch.
If you’re a regular at the poker table, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of PokerStars.
PokerStars is the biggest online operator in the world and comes with a solid reputation among players. The company boasts a stable of team pros, the most advanced poker software in the industry, and one of the best rewards programs for regular players.
PokerStars PA is a great option for those hoping for some table action. Licensed through the Mount Airy Casino Resort, the site gives players a place to play real money poker legally from within Pennsylvania.
Pokerstars Tournament Results
There are numerous incentives to make that first deposit and begin playing.
PokerStars has been available in New Jersey for a few years now and is one of the market leaders. In the matter of just a couple of weeks, the traffic for PokerStars PA easily surpassed its Garden State counterpart, PokerStars NJ.
The site is now live in Pennsylvania. The client is available for download on Android and iPhone on the Pennsylvania PokerStars website, which you can access directly via our links.