Blow out that candle. This week, PokerStars PA marks the completion of one full year dealing virtual hands to Pennsylvania online poker players.
With the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono as its retail partner, PokerStars PA spent its entire first year as the only operating online poker site for Pennsylvania players.
It was a year highlighted by numerous tournament series and other events, all serving to establish PokerStars PA’s primacy at the start of the new era of online poker in the Keystone State.
PokerStars returns to PA after nearly nine years away
On Monday, Nov. 4, 2019, PokerStars Pennsylvania launched both its online casino and online poker room. After a couple of soft-launch partial days under the watchful eyes of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), the site went 24/7 on Nov. 6.
Those downloading the client gained access to both the online casino and online poker room. Also, for sports bettors, the Fox Bet Sportsbook was just a click away.
It was the first time since April 2011 that online poker players in Pennsylvania were able to play on PokerStars. Early indications revealed that they were enthusiastic to play on the site again.
There was another factor likely affecting players’ eagerness to sit down at the virtual tables. It had taken two full years for the first online poker site to launch after PA legalized online gambling in late 2017.
A warm welcome to the commonwealth
PokerStars PA marked the occasion right away with a 50-event Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker series starting at the end of November. Turnouts were larger than expected, with prize pools routinely exceeding events’ guarantees. In fact, in some cases, the prize pools doubled or tripled them.
That encouraged PokerStars to up the guarantees for several of the later PACOOP events. What had been $1 million in total guarantees was increased an extra $225K. Ultimately, the series awarded nearly $1.56 million.
Thus began what evolved into a regular series of announcements regarding new tournament series throughout 2020. Indeed, it seemed there was always either a series happening on PokerStars PA or a new one just around corner.
Tournament series central to site’s Year One strategy
It makes sense that PokerStars PA kept the tournament series coming. As turnouts for series’ events consistently demonstrated, they were giving PA players what they wanted.
While a few scattered tournaments had overlays, the majority again bested guarantees. Also, in every case, the series’ overall prize pools exceeded the events’ total guarantees.
Here’s a summary showing how PokerStars PA’s major tournament series went during the site’s first year.
PokerStars PA first-year tournament series stats
| PokerStars PA Tournament Series | Events | Total Guarantees | Total Payouts |
|---|---|---|---|
| PACOOP (Nov. 30-Dec. 15, 2019) | 50 | $1,225,000 | $1,559,767 |
| Winter Series (Jan. 25-Feb. 1, 2020) | 30 | $675,000 | $828,205 |
| Bounty Builder (Feb. 20-March 1, 2020) | 32 | $500,000 | $668,241 |
| PASCOOP (April 4-20, 2020) | 100 | $2,000,000 | $3,232,461 |
| Summer Series (June 18-28, 2020) | 38 | $757,000 | $1,175,464 |
| Bounty Builder (July 12-26, 2020) | 70 | $1,502,000 | $1,968,721 |
| PACOOP (Sep. 19-Oct. 5, 2020) | 50 | $1,500,000 | $2,039,133 |
Year One PokerStars PA tournament highlights
As shown, tournament series participation peaked in April with the PokerStars PA Spring Championship of Online Poker. Awarding over $3.2 million altogether, PASCOOP culminated with a huge Main Event featuring a $368,200 prize pool.
At the time, that was the largest prize pool ever for an online poker tournament in Pennsylvania. PokerStars PA would go on to break that record on a couple of occasions with special one-off tournaments called Pennsyl-MANIA.
Both Pennsyl-MANIA tournaments were $200 buy-in, two-day events allowing up to five entries. The first Pennsyl-MANIA in May more than doubled its $250K guarantee, drawing 2,774 total entries and creating a $515,964 prize pool to set a new all-time high.
The second Pennsyl-MANIA in August came with a $350K guarantee. That one attracted 2,026 total entries and awarded $376,836.
The focus on tournament series will no doubt continue into PokerStars PA’s second year. Indeed, it has already announced another one, the 35-event PokerStars 1st Anniversary Series with $1 million in guarantees, happening Nov. 8-16.
Strong spring revenue numbers highlight of first year
In terms of the site’s overall performance, those spring months were by far the strongest for PokerStars PA.
Being the only online poker site operating in the state was already a plus for PokerStars PA. But the forced closure of live poker rooms starting in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic no doubt increased online traffic even further.
Even when PA casinos started to open again in June, poker rooms remained closed per state regulators’ COVID-19 Casino Reopening Protocols. Some casinos started submitting reopening plans for their poker rooms to the PGCB last month, and by now a few have reopened with extensive safety protocols and limited capacity.
In terms of overall revenue, online poker exceeded PokerStars online casino (slots and table games) until May. Online poker revenue peaked in April 2020 at just over $5.25 million, while online casino brought in $5.20 million.
More recently, monthly totals for online have settled back closer to what the site earned during its first months, while casino maintains the momentum it gained during the pandemic closures. PokerStars Casino revenue peaked in May with $6.29 million, and these verticals have brought in $37.74 million in revenue in year one (through September). Compare that with $32.74 million for online poker.
Here’s a month-by-month overview of PokerStars PA revenue totals for its first year, with the October figures still pending.
PokerStars PA Year One revenue
| Month | Revenue | State/Local Tax (16%) |
|---|---|---|
| November 2019 | $1,965,494 | $314,479 |
| December 2019 | $2,473,137 | $395,702 |
| January 2020 | $2,157,266 | $345,162 |
| February 2020 | $1,830,356 | $290,752 |
| March 2020 | $3,133,019 | $500,384 |
| April 2020 | $5,253,304 | $837,550 |
| May 2020 | $4,596,418 | $729,851 |
| June 2020 | $3,240,917 | $509,590 |
| July 2020 | $2,986,498 | $477,840 |
| August 2020 | $2,729,199 | $436,672 |
| September 2020 | $2,376,045 | $380,167 |
| Total to date: | $32,741,652 | $5,218,150 |
PokerStars PA looks ahead to Year Two
Looking ahead, PokerStars PA will no longer enjoy its Pennsylvania online poker monopoly during its second year. Having cleared regulators’ hurdles, other online poker sites are expected to launch in the state in 2021, among them WSOP.com and partypoker.
Meanwhile, the new year will see PokerStars Michigan launching an online poker site in to go along with its sites in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It will be interesting to find out if PokerStars positions itself to enjoy a head start in MI much as it was able to in PA.
It will also be interesting to see how PokerStars PA fares in Year Two, as well as how Pennsylvania online poker players react when new options arrive in 2021.
Image via Dreamstime/Paul George Bodea
Related Articles
According to Max Bichsel, Kambi’s US director, the kiosk numbers even caught them off guard.
Finally, there is an ancillary benefit to kiosks for PA casinos. Namely, that customers will grow increasingly familiar with the interface when the betting apps finally do launch. For many, the additional interaction with the online “bet builder” functionality at Kambi properties also gives a glimpse of what to expect.
What immediately stands out about the Parx online sportsbook is a deep commitment to responsible gambling.
