STAR ATTRACTIONS: PokerStars Launches Anniversary Series in PA; NJSCOOP Scores Big in NJ
November marks a milestone for online poker in Pennsylvania. PokerStars launched in the state one year ago and has announced a new series to mark the occasion.
The PokerStars First Anniversary Series runs Nov. 8-15 with an overall guarantee of $1 million across 35 events. The $100 Main Event highlights the series and guarantees a $200,000 prize pool. It should be another nice festival for Keystone State grinders.
Celebrating a year of PokerStars in PA
PokerStars remains the only operator in PA although others have now been approved in the Keystone State. The site has seen plenty of nice fields in the first year including major tournament success since the Coronavirus pandemic.
The site has offered some of its traditional series like the Bounty Builder, Summer Series, and Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker (PACOOP). There have also been two Pennsyl-MANIA events, centered solely on PA and generating major prize pools.
The Anniversary Series now adds to some of that momentum while celebrating the platform’s first year in the state. The series should appeal to players of every level with buy-ins ranging from $10 to $500. A few other events to watch out for include:
- $100 Sunday Special – Nov. 8 with a $100,000 guarantee
- $500 High Roller – Nov. 9 with $50,000 guarantee
- $20 Mini Thrill – Nov. 12 with $17,500 guarantee
- $20 Mini Main Event – Nov. 15 with a $25,000 guarantee
- $50 Phase tournament – runs throughout the series and guarantees $50,000
Here’s a look at the complete schedule:
Event Date Tournament & guarantee Buy-in Time (ET)
1 Nov. 8 (Su) NLHE (8-Max, Series Kick-Off), $25K Gtd. $100 1:00 p.m.
2 Nov. 8 (Su) NLHE (8-Max, Progressive KO), $15K Gtd. $20 2:00 p.m.
3 Nov. 8 (Su) NLHE (6-Max), $20K Gtd. $150 3:30 p.m.
4 Nov. 8 (Su) NLHE (Sunday Special SE), $100K Gtd. $100 5:00 p.m.
5 Nov. 8 (Su) NLHE (Mini Special), $10K Gtd. $15 5:30 p.m.
6 Nov. 8 (Su) NLHE (8-Max, Progressive KO), $30K Gtd. $200 7:00 p.m.
7 Nov. 8 (Su) NLHE (Sunday Supersonic SE), $10K Gtd. $50 9:00 p.m.
8 Nov. 9 (M) NLHE (4-Max), $30K Gtd. $200 7:00 p.m.
9 Nov. 9 (M) NLHE (Progressive KO), $7.5K Gtd. $10 7:30 p.m.
10 Nov. 9 (M) NLHE (6-Max, High Roller), $50K Gtd. $500 8:00 p.m.
11 Nov. 9 (M) PLO (6-Max, Turbo), $10K Gtd. $100 9:00 p.m.
12 Nov. 10 (Tu) NLHE (Super Tuesday SE), $50K Gtd. $200 7:00 p.m.
13 Nov. 10 (Tu) NLHE (Mini Super Tuesday), $15K Gtd. $20 7:30 p.m.
14 Nov. 10 (Tu) NLO8 (8-Max), $10K Gtd. $100 8:00 p.m.
15 Nov. 11 (W) NLHE (6-Max), $15K Gtd. $30 7:00 p.m.
16 Nov. 11 (W) 8-Game, $7.5K Gtd. $50 7:30 p.m.
17 Nov. 11 (W) NLHE, $25K Gtd. $200 8:30 p.m.
18 Nov. 12 (Th) NLHE (8-Max, Progressive KO, Thursday Thrill SE), $40K Gtd. $200 7:00 p.m.
19 Nov. 12 (Th) NLHE (8-Max, Progressive KO, Mini Thrill), $17.5K Gtd. $20 7:30 p.m.
20 Nov. 12 (Th) NLHE (Turbo), $20K Gtd. $150 9:00 p.m.
21 Nov. 13 (F) FLHE (6-Max, Turbo), $10K Gtd. $200 7:00 p.m.
22 Nov. 13 (F) PLO (6-Max, Progressive KO), $10K Gtd. $100 8:00 p.m.
23 Nov. 13 (F) NLHE (Hyper-Turbo), $15K Gtd. $200 9:00 p.m.
24 Nov. 14 (Sa) NLHE (6-Max), $40K Gtd. $300 6:00 p.m.
25 Nov. 14 (Sa) NLHE (Progressive KO), $10K Gtd. $50 7:30 p.m.
26 Nov. 14 (Sa) NLHE (6-Max), $20K Gtd. $75 9:00 p.m.
27 Nov. 15 (Su) NLHE (Turbo, Progressive KO, Deepstack), $25K Gtd. $100 2:00 p.m.
28 Nov. 15 (Su) NLHE (Main Event), $200K Gtd. $100 5:00 p.m.
29 Nov. 15 (Su) NLHE (Mini Main Event), $25K Gtd. $20 6:00 p.m.
30 Nov. 15 (Su) NLHE (Progressive KO), $25K Gtd. $100 8:00 p.m.
31 Nov. 15 (Su) PLO (6-Max, Turbo), $10K Gtd. $100 9:00 p.m.
32 Nov. 15 (Su) NLHE (Sunday Supersonic SE), $12.5K Gtd. $75 10:00 p.m.
33 Nov. 16 (M) NLHE (8-Max, Phase 2), $30K Gtd. $10 8:00 p.m.
34 Nov. 16 (M) NLHE (8-Max, Phase 2), $50K Gtd. $50 8:00 p.m.
35 Nov. 16 (M) NLHE (6-Max, Hyper-Turbo, Series Wrap-Up), $15K Gtd. $100 9:00 p.m.
Freerolls and satellites planned for PokerStars Anniversary Series
PokerStars has plenty of added value in store for Pennsylvania players throughout the series. Second Chance Freerolls will offer $10,500 in tournament tickets across seven freerolls.
Players can also qualify for events for as little as $1. Satellite events are already underway.
Over the past year, PokerStars has awarded millions of dollars in prize money. PACOOP was the first series to run in the state last December.
After a successful year, PokerStars hopes to offer even more in its second year. The First Anniversary series becomes the kickstart for even more action.
NJCOOP tops $1 million guarantee
PokerStars players also recently racked up nice prize pools in the New Jersey Championship of Online Poker (NJCOOP). The series closed on Oct. 26 after awarding more than $1.1 million, topping the $1 million guarantee.
The two week-long series featured 9,743 entries across 54 events. A few players even scored multiple titles.
In the $300 Main Event, “DabledoreNJ” took the title for $22,445. “Dabledore” also won Event 25 and reached seven other final tables.
The series also featured a three-time champion. “loxonbagel” hit the trifecta and scored more than $13,000 in the process. That moved “bagel” to second place on the all-time NJCOOP/NJSCOOP winners list with 12 titles overall.
Dan “AvaGray” Lupo, of Lopatcong, NJ, leads that list with 16 titles and added another during this series. In 2019, the recreational player and architect also won five titles in the NJ Spring Championship of Online Poker (NJSCOOP).
Eight other players secured two NJCOOP wins during the series: BurntBagels, JohnnyMania, ISlowRollYou, coldandwarm, DabledoreNJ, TobogganM.D., laura33188 and Scooby-D0O.
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