PokerStars USA has confirmed that their player pools in Michigan and New Jersey will be merged on January 1, 2023. PokerStars announced several weeks ago that players from the two states would be combined at an indefinite future date, and yesterday, Stars verified that New Year's Day 2023 will be the official launch date for the merged pool of players.
A PokerStars statement declared that players from both states will enjoy "more choice, more tournaments, more players, and bigger prizes" as a result of the merged pool. And to kick that off, Stars will offer two special New Year's tourneys with a combined $150,000 in guaranteed prize money.
The first of the two welcoming events is a $100,000 guaranteed event on Sunday, January 1, with a $100 buy-in. The tourney starts at 6 pm ET, the time zone for both states. Thirty minutes later, a $50,000 guaranteed event with a low $10 buy-in will begin, adding to the New Year's fun.
Players from both states will be able to register for one or both tournaments as early as Tuesday, December 27. PokerStars' Michigan and Pennsylvania players recently underwent roughly 36 hours of downtime while significant software upgrades were installed that are expected to make the player pooling a virtually seamless process.
“Michigan and New Jersey joining forces is great news for our players in these two states, and poker, more generally, as it promises a better experience and even more value, all with the confidence provided by a trusted, licensed operator,” said PokerStars US Managing Director, Severin Rasset. “Our community will experience more breadth and depth of games, more tournaments with bigger prizes to win, amped-up promotions, and more choice. To kick start, we are offering generous guarantees on our debut multi-state tournaments, that will no doubt provide lots of value for those who take to the tables. We worked closely with the regulators of New Jersey and Michigan, and we hope that more will follow this great example.”
Featured image source: PokerStars USA
