The PokerStars NJSCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker) series will have at least $1.2 million in prize pool money awarded.
New Jersey online poker players have never competed in a poker series with so much cash on the line at a licensed poker site.
The event begins May 6 and runs until May 22. There will be 35 total events, with each tournament being separated by a high and low buy-in entry cost.
It will be the second annual series, which is a spinoff of the long-time popular SCOOP series on the PokerStars global website.
The first tournament, a “warm-up,” starts at 6 pm EST with a $100 buy-in for the high buy-in level ($15,000 guaranteed) and $10 for the low stakes players ($3,500 guaranteed). The game played will be no-limit Texas hold’em.
A Game for Everyone
NJSCOOP features various poker games including no-limit hold’em, pot-limit Omaha, Stud hi-low, and H.O.R.S.E. Tournament buy-ins range from $10 to $1,000.
The $1,000 High Roller, event #24, takes place on May 15. There will be at least $85,000 in the prize pool. Low buy-in level players can compete in a High Roller tournament as well, for $100.
As is the case with any poker series, the Main Event is the…main event. This two-day tournament kicks off May 21 at 5 pm. The buy-in is either $500 or $50. PokerStars NJ guarantees at least $200,000 in the pot for the high stakes players.
If the Main Event isn’t kind to you, there will be one final opportunity at a NJSCOOP title on May 22. The No-Limit Hold’em Deep Hyper Turbo event ($150/$20) concludes the 17-day series. Other tournaments likely to draw sizable fields include:
Event #2 (May 7) $150 NLHE Progressive SuperKO ($25,000 guaranteed)
Event #4 (May 7) $100 PLO ($15,000 guaranteed)
Event #6 (May 8) $200 NLHE Win the Button ($20,000 guaranteed)
Event #9 (May 9) $300 NLHE Heads-Up ($20,000 guaranteed)
Event #15 (May 13) $100 NLHE Deepstack 8-Max ($20,000 guaranteed)
Event #26 (May 18) $100 PLO ProgressiveKO ($7,000 guaranteed)
Could it Boost Revenue?
Online poker revenue in New Jersey dropped 8.5-percent in March compared to the same month in 2016. The state’s internet gambling sites brought in $2.25 million last month from poker.
The March decline, on the surface, doesn’t seem so bad. But last year’s figures only include PokerStars revenue for a small portion of the month. The world’s most recognized online poker brand didn’t launch in New Jersey until late in March 2016.
With online poker coming off a rocky month in the Garden State, PokerStars is taking a gamble by guaranteeing $1.2 million in NJSCOOP prize money. On the other hand, hosting a series of this magnitude could help grow the state’s internet poker industry.
