The NJ Online Gaming Scoop: Cash Game And Tournament Traffic For The Week Of October 15
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That said, there has been quite a bit of jockeying for position amongst the state’s online poker operators.
Here’s US Poker’s weekly look back at the cash game and tournament trends in the New Jersey online poker market.
New Jersey has seven online poker sites operating on four separate networks.
| Platform provider | Online poker sites | |||
| partypoker | Borgata | playMGM | partypoker | |
| 888 | WSOP.com | 888Poker | ||
| PokerStars | PokerStarsNJ.com | |||
| Pala | PalaPoker.com | |||
On average, there are roughly 250 cash game players online at any given time. During peak evening hours that number rises to around 650 players.
Here’s how those players are distributed across the four online poker networks.
Cash Game traffic trends
*Cash game traffic data provided by PokerIndustryPro.com. Collected on October 17, 2017.
Borgata-MGM-partypoker
- Platform provider: partypoker
- Sites in network: BorgataPoker.com – NJ.PartyPoker.com – Poker.NJ.PlayMGM.com
The Borgata/MGM-partypoker network has made significant strides in recent months. The network is closing the gap on PokerStars and 888-WSOP.com in terms of cash game and tournament traffic, and more importantly, has moved ahead of 888, into second place, when it comes to monthly online poker revenue.
Seven-day rolling cash game traffic data:
- Seven-day rolling average: 71 cash game players – down 5.13 percent compared to previous seven days
WSOP-888
- Platform provider: 888
- Sites in network: WSOP.com – US.888Poker.com
WSOP.com-888 was the number one online poker network in New Jersey until PokerStars showed up but quickly ceded the top spot to Stars.
888 is starting to make some headway and cut into PokerStars lead, but with both of its competitors running major online poker tournament series, expect 888 to fall to the number three spot in the market.
Seven-day rolling cash game traffic data:
- Seven-day rolling average: 85 cash game players – up 11.96 percent compared to previous seven days
PokerStars NJ
- Platform provider: PokerStars
- Sites in network: PokerStarsNJ.com
PokerStars is the clear market leader when it comes to revenue, but its market share in New Jersey is modest compared to its global dominance.
Furthermore, the 888 and partypoker networks have been making up ground in recent weeks, with 888 nearly pulling even in cash game traffic over the course of the past seven days.
PokerStars’ struggles could be due to its lack of a physical, well-known brand presence in New Jersey, which seems to be a hurdle for most online operators in the market.
Seven-day rolling cash game traffic data:
- Seven-day rolling average: 87 cash game players – down 2.71percent compared to previous seven days
Pala Poker
- Platform provider: Pala
- Sites in network: PalaPoker.com
Pala is the newest independent online poker operator to enter the market, and like PokerStars it doesn’t have a physical presence in the state. As such, the site has struggled to gain a foothold in the market, with cash game traffic numbers typically in the single digits.
However, rather than as a revenue generator, Pala is using its New Jersey experience as a stepping stone to other states. Because of this, Pala’s success hinges more on the functionality and appeal of its software than its current traffic numbers.
Seven-day rolling cash game traffic data:
- Seven-day rolling average: 1 cash game players – no change compared to previous seven days
Tournament Report: A look at the Sunday Majors
Three of the four online poker networks host a signature Sunday tournament:
- The Borgata/partypoker/MGM online poker network offers a $40,000 guarantee tournament. The tournament has a $215 buy-in.
- The WSOP.com and 888 network also host a $215 buy-in, $40,000 guaranteed tournament that it’s dubbed, “The Warrior.”
- PokerStars NJ hosts the Sunday Special, a $200 buy-in with a guarantee of $45,000.
*Pala Poker is still in beta-testing and doesn’t offer a signature Sunday tournament at this time.
Results for October 15, 2017
PokerStars was wrapping its NJCOOP series this past Sunday with a $200k guaranteed tournament, and at the same time, partypoker’s GSSS series kicked off with a $60k guaranteed event. Meanwhile, 888 ran its usual $40k guarantee weekly tournament.
PokerStars fell just shy of its lofty guarantee.
partypoker easily bested its $60k guarantee.
888 modestly bested its guarantee.
Here’s a look at the total number of entries for the largest tournament held on each of the three main online poker networks in New Jersey events:
And here’s a look at the total prize-pool for each tournament:
