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WSOP.com Tests New Jersey Poker Market With A Big Buy-In Tournament

WSOPcom

There was a glimmer of hope as New Jersey online poker showed signs of growth outlined in our last report on Nov. 21. In this recap, the darkness returned — well, mostly.

Actually, there are quite a few positive points to report from the last few weeks. Additionally, some exciting industry news may trickle into the Garden State and provide a much-needed boost to the online poker industry in 2019.

Regular readers of this report are fully aware of the struggles facing New Jersey’s online poker market.

We reached out to Bill Rini, Head of Online Poker at Caesars Entertainment, and asked about the challenges of trying to grow in a struggling market.

“The biggest challenge every operator faces is having the right offering for a constantly evolving market. There’s a constant tweaking process that goes on, experimenting, doing more of what works, and less of the stuff that doesn’t, to keep the lineup exciting and engaging for players.

“For instance, we’re going to be announcing the 2019 WSOP schedule soon, and we think players will be really excited by what we have to offer both online as well as at the Rio this summer.”

WSOP.com definitely experimented when they offered a $1,000 buy-in on Nov. 25. We will talk more about that a little later, but in short, the experiment paid off.

For now, though, let’s take a closer look at the key stories from the US regulated poker scene for the past two weeks:

  • WSOP.com posted its lowest seven-day rolling average number of cash game players since shared liquidity
  • Pokerstars NJ, on the other hand, posted its highest average number of cash game players
  • partypoker NJ also posted an increase in average cash game players for the first time in three months

Now, let’s take a look back at the tournament and cash game trends for the two-week period ending Dec. 2, 2018.

U.S. Regulated Online Poker Operators

The major U.S. poker operators are:

Operator Network Provider Other Sites in the Network

Operator Network Provider Other Sites in the Network
WSOP.com 888 888poker
PokerStarsNJ PokerStars None
partypokerNJ partypoker Borgata Poker and PlayMGM-NJ

Pala Poker also operates in New Jersey on its own network. We do not include Pala Poker in this report because the traffic volume is low and doesn’t affect the latest US online poker trends.

Major online poker tournaments summary

As mentioned earlier, WSOP.com ran a $1,000 buy-in tournament on Nov. 25. Bigger buy-in tournaments are more common on the global stage than in the New Jersey market. In the Garden State, $500 seems to be on the higher end for its players.

WSOP.com took the opportunity to test a larger amount for its monthly big-buy-in tournament. We asked Rini about the decision:

“We’ve seen some interest in higher buy-in tournaments during some of our previous tournament series. There are a lot of players that like the higher buy-in and smaller player pools than an event like our $100K Sundays so we try to have a robust selection of tournaments to play in.”

The guarantee was lower than its regular Sunday major, only $50,000, but that makes sense for the buy-in. In the end, the tournament attracted 99 entries (63 players plus 36 re-entries) generating a $91,200 prize pool. On the surface, it appears the experiment was a success.

In contrast, Pokerstars NJ took the opposite approach by offering a half-priced buy-in. The online poker site ran the $100 Half-Priced Sunday Special with a guaranteed prize pool of $30,000. The tournament resulted in the largest number of entries the poker room has seen in seven months.

And that is where the good news stops. Overall, the total Sunday majors drew the fewest entries the market has seen since Sept.

Sunday major online tournaments by the numbers

Information for the tournaments held on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018:

Tournament Entries Guarantee Actual Prize Pool Difference
WSOP $1,000 Monthly Sunday $50,000 Guaranteed 99 $50,000 $91,200 $41,200
PokerStarsNJ $100 Half-Priced Sunday Special $30,000 Guaranteed 391 $30,000 $35,893.80 $5,893.80
partypokerNJ $215 Sunday NLH $35,000 Guaranteed 160 $35,000 $32,000 -$3,000

Information for the tournaments held on Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018:

Tournament Entries Guarantee Actual Prize Pool Difference
WSOP $320 Sunday Weekly NLH $100,000 Guaranteed 347 $100,000 $104,100 $4,100
PokerStarsNJ $200 Sunday Special $30,000 Guaranteed 160 $30,000 $29,760 -$240
partypokerNJ $215 Sunday NLH $35,000 Guaranteed 159 $35,000 $31,800 -$3,200

Average cash game and peak traffic summary

The cash game side of online poker looks pretty similar to the tournament sides of things. Some individual wins, but overall, the market took a hit.

PokerStars NJ walks away as the biggest winner of the week posting a seven-day rolling average of 100 cash game players. That is the highest average the site has seen since we began regularly tracking the data in May.

partypoker NJ added about five players to its seven-day rolling average, bringing it up to 50. It has been at an average of 45 cash game players since the beginning of Sept.

WSOP.com seems to have gifted their competition with some players this holiday season. It posted a seven-day rolling average of only 110 cash game players. That is by far the lowest figure it has seen since May.

Looking at the charts since the launch of shared liquidity, there is a definite downward trend across all three major online poker sites.

Peak traffic continues to do its own thing. One notable item is that WSOP.com and PokerStars NJ had a few days where peak traffic took a severe dip. The dips occurred on different days, but both were significant and something we hadn’t seen before.

The trend lines still show a better story than the average cash game players trend does. Unfortunately, that doesn’t hold true for partypoker NJ. It is the only operator to show a declining trend in peak traffic.

Factors impacting U.S. regulated online poker in the coming weeks

If history were to repeat itself, online poker would maintain the status quo until we emerge from the holidays. That means there will likely be no big wins and no big losses for a few weeks.

That doesn’t mean there is nothing out there worth watching. On Nov. 28, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) approved PokerStars petition for a PA interactive gaming license. Don’t get too excited, though, combining player pools between the two states is a long way off.

That doesn’t mean New Jersey online poker won’t stand to benefit in some way. PA launching online poker in the first few months of 2019 will likely bring some new players to the online poker scene.

Just like New Jersey sports betting sees some traffic from its neighbor, online poker might as well.

It stands to reason that new PA poker players might also gravitate to the Garden State when a big prize is on the line. It will be hard to stay away if New Jersey is hosting popular tournaments, like Online Circuit or Gold Bracelet events and PA isn’t.

Additionally, poker players might be more likely to fire up their NJ client when placing a sports bet on a big game while in the luxury of their favorite sportsbook.

And finally, maybe, just maybe, the excitement around poker launching in another state will get New Jersey poker players excited about poker again.

We will keep an eye on that, and other news affecting the New Jersey poker scene, and the complete U.S. regulated online poker landscape. We will see you back here on Dec. 18.

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New Jersey Online Poker Revenue Down 14.5% Since Last Year

NJ Online Poker

Last week, the Department of Gaming Enforcement released the revenue figures for New Jersey online poker.

Overall, online poker posted a 0.60 percent decline in revenue in October 2018 when compared to September 2018. Year-over-year also showed a decrease of 14.5 percent. The revenue figures support the trends we have been reporting here.

Each week this report is a mixed bag of news, this week is no different. The most notable story, though, is it appears the cash games welcomed some new players. It has been a while since we have been able to say that.

Let’s take a closer look. Here are the key stories from the US regulated poker scene since our last report published on Nov. 12:

  • PokerStars NJ implemented its new Star Rewards program
  • WSOP.com continued to host the Coast 2 Coast III concluded with enough entries to exceed the $200,000 guarantee for its Main Event
  • partypoker NJ continues to hold down third place while posting the most consistent numbers from week to week

Now, let’s take a look back at the tournament and cash game trends for the two-week period ending Nov. 18, 2018.

U.S. Regulated Online Poker Operators

The major U.S. poker operators are:

Operator Network Provider Other Sites in the Network
WSOP.com 888 888poker
PokerStarsNJ PokerStars None
partypokerNJ partypoker Borgata Poker and PlayMGM-NJ

Pala Poker also operates in New Jersey on its own network. We do not include Pala Poker in this report because the traffic volume is low and doesn’t affect the latest US online poker trends.

Major online poker tournaments summary

The tournament summary continues to rely on big tournament series to produce decent prize pools. Last week we reported that it appears tournaments are losing their appeal.

This report supports that hypothesis. During the last two weeks, each of the three operators exceeded their guarantee once, and each posted an overlay once. There just doesn’t seem to be any consistency.

WSOP.com posted strong numbers both weeks most likely due to the continuation of the Coast 2 Coast Classic III. Even so, it still contributed to the prize pool on Nov. 11 to match the larger than usual guarantee.

On Nov. 18, WSOP.com surpassed the $200,000 guarantee by $15,000. It’s only the second time since shared liquidity that NJ players have had a $200,000 guarantee tournament. Considering, WSOP.com failed to meet its guarantees the previous two weeks, the site took a big gamble. Luckily it paid off.

Now that the Coast 2 Coast Classic III concluded, there is sure to be a new tournament series starting soon. It seems as if a week doesn’t go by without one.

Both partypoker NJ and PokerStars NJ both held a series in Oct. So, it is hard to predict which operator will be the lucky host.

One last thing worth mentioning is PokerStars brought its global Star Rewards customer loyalty program to NJ. However, it is unlikely to have an effect on the results.

Sunday major online tournaments by the numbers

Information for the tournaments held on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018,

Tournament Entries Guarantee Actual Prize Pool Difference
WSOP $320 Coast 2 Coast III #25 $150,000 Guaranteed 488 $150,000 $146,400 -$3,600
PokerStarsNJ $200 Sunday Special $30,000 Guaranteed 188 $30,000 $34,968 $4,968
partypokerNJ $215 Sunday NLH $35,000 Guaranteed 203 $35,000 40,600 5,600

Information for the tournaments held on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018:

Tournament Entries Guarantee Actual Prize Pool Difference
WSOP $525 Coast 2 Coast III #48 $200,000 Guaranteed 430 $200,000 $215,000 $15,000
PokerStarsNJ $200 Sunday Special $30,000 Guaranteed 171 $30,000 $31,806 $1,806
partypokerNJ $215 Sunday NLH $35,000 Guaranteed 157 $35,000 $31,400 -$3,600

Average cash game and peak traffic summary

For the first time in many weeks, NJ poker seemed to grow. Both WSOP.com and PokerStars NJ posted gains to their 7-day rolling average number of cash game players.

It is encouraging that the gains happened without stealing players from partypoker NJ, who remained consistent posting a 7-day average of 45 cash game players.

There hasn’t been much good news for online poker in the Garden State. So it is understandable to latch on to the first glimmer of hope for a growing market in quite a while – no matter how small.

WSOP.com posted a 7-day rolling average of 200 cash game players. It hasn’t seen that number consistently since the summer.

PokerStars NJ showed a 7-day rolling average of 85 cash game players. It, too, was one of its highest figures in quite a while. Although, it was not quite enough to reverse the site’s declining trend line.

Peak traffic numbers were pretty much more of the same for the operators with one exception. PokerStars NJ, for the first time, posted a peak traffic number in the double digits. That, by the way, is not good news. They haven’t even really come close to dropping down that far before this week. We contacted PokerStars for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Factors impacting U.S. regulated online poker in the coming weeks

The holidays are upon us. That means some players will have more time to play and others will have less. Looking back over the past few years, online poker took a small hit over Thanksgiving weekend but rebounded nicely in the following weeks.

It will be interesting to compare last year’s online poker trends without sports betting over the holidays and this year’s trends that include sports betting.

We will take a look at that, and other news affecting the New Jersey poker scene, and the complete U.S. regulated online poker landscape. We will be back here on Dec. 4.

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New Jersey Online Poker Outlook: Fair To Partly Cloudy

New Jersey

New Jersey poker players are still flocking to tournaments more so than cash games. Thankfully, the news is not bad. But it isn’t great either.

There were some tournament overlays during the past two weeks, and some cash game players went into hiding, but nothing too drastic.

Overall, New Jersey poker keeps chugging along waiting for the next big thing. What that is remains a mystery.

Most are pointing to Pennsylvania coming online as the jump start New Jersey online poker needs. We are not so sure.

Even when it does launch online poker, Pennsylvania likely won’t join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) immediately.

So for the foreseeable future look for New Jersey poker to keep doing its thing and keep banking on a big poker tournament series here and there to add a little excitement.

Here are the key stories from the U.S. regulated poker scene since our last report published on Sept. 25 are:

  • New Jersey’s three major poker operators all posted positive tournament trend lines
  • The WSOP.com Online Circuit event ended on a high note
  • PokerStars NJ‘s NJCOOP takes center stage
  • partypoker NJ reports the most consistent numbers of the bunch

Now, let’s take a look back at the tournament and cash game trends for the two-week period ending Oct. 7, 2018.

U.S. Regulated Online Poker Operators

The major U.S. poker operators are:

Operator Network Provider Other Sites in the Network
WSOP.com 888 888poker
PokerStarsNJ PokerStars None
partypokerNJ partypoker Borgata Poker and PlayMGM-NJ

Pala Poker also operates in New Jersey on its own network. We do not include Pala Poker in this report because the traffic volume is low and doesn’t affect the latest US online poker trends.

Major online poker tournaments summary

Two major tournament series descended on the New Jersey poker scene on Sept. 30. WSOP.com hosted its 13th and final Online Circuit event, and PokerStars NJ kicked off the always popular NJCOOP.

The WSOP.com Online Circuit event was a huge success. It met all of its guarantees and handily. PlayNevada.com spoke to Bill Rini at the conclusion of the event to get his take.

“We were actually quite surprised at how well the event performed. We were aware that a lot of players wanted something like this on the schedule, but we were truly blown away at the draw. We thought our guarantees were fairly in-line, but when every event is doubling or tripling the guarantee, it shows we underestimated the demand.”

Piggybacking on that success, all three operators are showing positive trend lines when looking back on the last two months of tournament data. It’s the first time in quite a while that we’ve been able to say that. Granted, partypoker NJ is mostly flat, but a little something is better than nothing in this environment.

Making its Sunday major guarantee was almost a certainty for WSOP.com over the last few months. Without the Online Circuit event on the schedule, the online poker room went into overlay territory for only the second time since the launch of shared liquidity.

You might assume the players went over to PokerStars NJ. You would be wrong. PokerStars NJ actually had fewer tournament players during its NJCOOP event than WSOP.com had on its regular Sunday major.

For now, let’s just keep our eyes on those positive trend lines and hope for a repeat in a few weeks time. 

Sunday major online tournaments by the numbers

Information for the tournaments held on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018

Tournament Entries Guarantee Prize Pool Difference
WSOP $525 Circuit Event #13 – Main Event 439 $200,000 $341,000 $141,000
PokerStarsNJ $250 NJCOOP-05 Sunday Special, $60,000 Guaranteed 285 $60,000 $66,405 $6,405
partypokerNJ $215 Sunday $35,000 Guaranteed NLH 157 $35,000 $31,400 -$3,600

Information for the tournaments held on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018

Tournament Entries Guarantee Prize Pool Difference
WSOP $320 Sunday Weekly $100,000 NLH 245 $100,000 $73,500 -$26,500
PokerStarsNJ $350 NJCOOP-25 Sunday Special, $70,000 Guaranteed 224 $70,000 $73,472 $3,472
partypokerNJ $215 Sunday $35,000 Guaranteed NLH 174 $35,000 34,800 -200

Average cash game and peak traffic summary

The seven-day rolling average cash game traffic report is anything but exciting. It keeps posting a slightly declining trend line.

The only exception came during the few days when WSOP.com and PokerStars NJ hosted a big tournament. You can see the blip on the charts.

It doesn’t seem that PokerStars NJ was as attractive to players as WSOP.com’s Online Circuit event. Of course, that most likely has to do with the fact the WSOP.com’s player pool includes Nevada and Delaware.

The expectation was that some of the cash game players would jump ship over to PokerStars NJ once the Circuit event concluded. They jumped ship, all right. But they left the online poker scene altogether.

On average WSOP.com lost 30 cash game players, PokerStars NJ lost five, and partypoker NJ stayed the same. In fact, of all three poker operators, partypoker NJ has posted the most consistent figures. It is not helpful that it remains solidly in third place, though.

New Jersey’s online poker forecast is fair to partly cloudy at best — at least until more states join the MSIGA.

Peak traffic continues to spike a few days a week, but overall, traffic is trending downward over the last month.

With two big tournaments on the schedule for Sept. 30, one might expect a decent peak traffic number. However, that is not the case. Instead, that day posted some of the lowest peak traffic numbers of the month.

Factors that will impact U.S. regulated online poker in the coming weeks

PokerStars NJ continues to host NJCOOP through Oct. 15. The big finale comes on Oct. 14 with the $500 NJCOOP-42 NL Holdem $150,000 guaranteed Main Event.

Online poker is entering its slow season. It would not be surprising to see an announcement of another tournament series soon.

It seems as if the industry is a one-trick pony these days. Players hop from one tournament to another, so the online poker rooms are giving them what they want. partypoker NJ hasn’t hosted one in a while; maybe it is time.

We will keep our eyes on the New Jersey poker scene, and the complete U.S. regulated online poker landscape and report back here on Oct. 23.

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WSOP.com Is Suffering the Post-WSOP Blues

WSOP.com

For the first time in a few months, there isn’t big news in the online poker world. The World Series of Poker has ended, and things are returning back to normal – or at least trying to.

The three major online poker sites never had the chance to settle into a new normal once shared liquidity launched on May 1. Now they do.

After seven weeks of taking a back seat to WSOP.com, PokerStarsNJ and partypokerNJ are gaining back some lost ground.

The key stories since our last report published on July 17 are:

  • WSOP.com is seeing declining trend lines across the board
  • PokerStarsNJ and partypokerNJ are seeing positive trend lines
  • PokerStarsNJ is seeing its highest seven-day rolling average of cash game players since the launch of shared liquidity
  • Now that the World Series of Poker has ended, tournament entries are leveling out, and WSOP.com has lost some of its advantage

Now, let’s take a look back at the cash game and tournament trends for the two-week period ending July 29, 2018.

U.S. Regulated Online Poker Operators

The major U.S. poker operators are:

Operator Network Provider Other Sites in the Network
WSOP.com 888 888poker
PokerStarsNJ PokerStars None
partypokerNJ partypoker Borgata Poker and PlayMGM-NJ

Pala Poker also operates in New Jersey on its own network. We do not include Pala Poker in this report because the traffic volume is low and doesn’t affect the latest US online poker trends.

Major online poker tournaments summary

Now that the WSOP has closed up shop and the dust is settling, it seems as if WSOP.com’s advantage is diminishing. It posted the fewest tournament entries since it combined player pools between Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey.

Many of those entries found their way to PokerStarsNJ. From July 22 – 29, PokerStarsNJ ran its popular Summer Series. We already know online poker players love a good tournament series. The series, smartly positioned at the tail end of the WSOP paid off for the struggling online poker site.

The Summer Series had two Sunday events, one with a $50,000 guarantee and another with an $80,000 guarantee. PokerStarsNJ exceeded both guarantees handily, something it has been unable to do in the recent past. The goal now is to see if PokerStarsNJ can hold onto its gains.

Both PokerStarsNJ and partypokerNJ are posting positive trend lines when looking at tournament entries for the six weeks. WSOP.com, however, is showing a sharply declining trend, no doubt because most of its captive crowd in Nevada left for home.

The last six weeks are showing some positive news on the tournament front. Going back to the launch of shared liquidity, however, all three operators are showing a declining trend line.

There was a lot of hope that the combining of player pools would help lift the struggling New Jersey online poker market. Shared liquidity does not seem to be living up to its end of the bargain, though.

Sunday major online tournaments by the numbers

Information for the tournaments held on Sunday, July 22, 2018

Tournament Entries Guarantee Prize Pool Difference
WSOP $320 Sunday Weekly $100,000 NLH 284 $100,000 $117,300 $17,300
PokerStarsNJ NJ Summer Series 2: $200 NL Hold’em $50,000 Guaranteed 278 $50,000 $51,708 $1,708
partypokerNJ $215 Sunday $35,000 Guaranteed NLH 184 $35,000 36,800 1,800

Information for the tournaments held on Sunday, July 29, 2018

Tournament Entries Guarantee Prize Pool Difference
WSOP $320 Sunday Weekly $100,000 NLH 296 $100,000 $121,800 $21,800
PokerStarsNJ NJ Summer Series 11: $400 NL Hold’em Main Event 247 $80,000 $92,625 $12,625
partypokerNJ $215 Sunday $35,000 Guaranteed NLH 161 $35,000 $32,200 -$2,800

Average cash game and peak traffic summary

The big news this week is there is a clear winner and a clear loser when it comes to online poker cash games. Based on our last report on July 17, all three operators were maintaining their ground.

Well, that has changed.

The big winner this week is PokerStarsNJ. When we last reported, the online poker room was hovering around a seven-day rolling average of 80 cash game players. That number was five short of its pre-liquidity figure.

This week PokerStarsNJ took a step forward. It is now posting a seven-day rolling average of 90 cash game players. No doubt, the WSOP closing up shop and its recent Summer Series played a role in the surge of cash game players.

partypokerNJ held its own this week. It is showing a seven-day rolling average of 55 cash game players. That figure represents five more players than its pre-liquidity number of 50, and it is precisely where it was when we last reported.

With PokerStarsNJ and partypokerNJ gaining ground, that leaves WSOP.com to lose some. WSOP.com is showing a seven-day rolling average of 240 cash game players. That is 40 fewer players than when we last reported and the most significant two-week change in the last three months.

At the beginning of the summer, we were unsure how the WSOP would affect the numbers. Looking at the first set of data post-WSOP indicates it played a major role in bringing players to WSOP.com. WSOP.com is showing two significant declining trends in this report; it will be interesting to see what it has up its sleeve to correct it.

Peak traffic numbers are following a similar trend as the average cash game players. PokerStarsNJ and partypokerNJ are showing positive trend lines, and WSOP.com is showing a declining trend, although it is only a slight decline in this case.

Factors that will impact U.S. regulated online poker in the coming weeks

The first few weeks of data post-WSOP may be an indication of things to come. It might also be a sign that players will jump ship and play wherever the best tournaments are.

Either way, the online poker site that begins to develop brand loyalty is the one that will win. That means stop lowering tournament guarantees, reward players better than the competition, and work harder and getting more players online.

The site that can do all that will be positioned to capitalize on the market surge that will inevitably happen when Pennsylvania launches online poker in the near future.

We will keep our eyes on the U.S. regulated online poker landscape and report back here on Aug. 14.

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WSOP.com Hosts Three More Bracelet Events, Continues To Lead U.S. Online Poker Traffic

Poker players in Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware are two months into shared liquidity, and the news mixed.

Not surprising, the benefit of WSOP.com being the only operator in Nevada and Delaware is an advantage to the online poker site. Its lead is growing, and it is at the expense of PokerStarsNJ and partypokerNJ.

The key stories since our last report published on June 19:

  • Three more gold bracelet events ran on WSOP.com, and the first bracelet went to a player outside of Nevada
  • PokerStarsNJ and partypokerNJ lower their Sunday guarantees as tournament entries continue to decline
  • The seven-day rolling average for cash game players grows for WSOP.com while declining for PokerStarsNJ and partypokerNJ.

Now, let’s take a look back at the cash game and tournament trends for the two-week period ending July 1, 2018.

U.S. Regulated Online Poker Operators

The major U.S. poker operators are:

Operator Network Provider Other Sites in the Network
WSOP.com 888 888poker
PokerStarsNJ PokerStars None
partypokerNJ partypoker Borgata Poker and PlayMGM-NJ

Pala Poker also operates in New Jersey on its own network. We do not include Pala Poker in this report because the traffic volume is low and doesn’t affect the latest US online poker trends.

Major online poker tournaments summary

The big tournament news from the last two weeks is golden. Three more online bracelet events took place, and there was more history in the making for WSOP.com.

As expected, the final three online bracelet events did not disappoint with entries, prize pools, and some history-making headlines for WSOP.com.

WSOP.com awards three online bracelets

The first PLO bracelet played out on the virtual felt, and the bracelet went to a New Jersey player while playing in New Jersey.

Event #47: $565 WSOP.com ONLINE Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed generated a total of 1,223 total entries. There were 657 unique players and 566 re-entries which created a prize pool of $635,950.

Matthew ‘mendey’ Mendez from Sicklerville, NJ, earned the top prize of $135,077 after battling it out for over 15 hours from his home in New Jersey. He then packed up the family and headed to Las Vegas to collect his first gold bracelet in person.

Event #61: $1,000 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em Championship registered 1180 unique players. Those players re-entered 455 times for a total 1635 entries.

Ryan ‘Toosick’ Tosoc collected all the chips and took home his share of the $1,553,250 prize pool. It’s the first gold bracelet for Tosoc, and the first-place prize of $238,778 puts Tosoc at over $3.7 million in live earnings.

Event #63: $3,200 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em High Roller saw a 13% increase in entries over last year with 480. There were 356 players and 124 re-entries that generated a prize pool of $1,459,200.

Chance “BingShui” Kornuth collected his second gold bracelet and the first-place prize of $341,598. It was his sixth cash of the WSOP, and he is nearing $6 million in lifetime earnings.

The expanded online bracelet event schedule was a success. Compared to the technical glitches from the first event, the three events ran rather smoothly.

Of course, there was the occasional player that failed to create a new account on WSOP.com. That was a requirement following the launch of shared liquidity. WSOP.com worked to get players online and playing as fast as they could.

Pennsylvania is likely to be online by the 2019 World Series of Poker. It already indicated it would join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement.

It would not be surprising to see more online bracelet tournaments and more history-making events when poker players convene in the Nevada desert next summer – both in person and virtually.

PokerstarsNJ and partypokerNJ lower their guarantees

The second big tournament poker story from the last two weeks is PokerStarsNJ and partypokerNJ lowered their Sunday major tournament guarantees to $35,000.

It is the second time since the launch of shared liquidity that PokerStarsNJ lowered its guarantee hoping to find the sweet spot. It reduced it for the first time on June 3 and again on June 24. Even so, it barely squeaked by, only exceeding the guarantee by $526.00. On July 1, it was another story as the online poker site posted an overlay of $7,844.

On July 1, partypokerNJ also lowered its guarantee. The site has not met its guarantee for the last six weeks, and the overlays seem to be getting larger. Even after the reduction, it posted a hefty overlay of $10,800. partypokerNJ

Looking at the trend lines for Sunday tournament entries and PokerStarsNJ and the picture isn’t rosy. It is hard to say for sure if this a bonafide trend or if it is a symptom of a big online weekend for WSOP.com.

It will be another few weeks before the WSOP closes down summer camp. The picture is likely to become more clear after that. Overall, the news is not good for the two online poker operators not named WSOP.com.

Major Sunday online poker tournament data

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Tournament Entries Guarantee Prize Pool Difference
WSOP $320 Sunday Weekly $100,000 NLH 394 $100,000 $173,100.00 $73,100.00
PokerStarsNJ $200 Sunday Special, $35,000 Guaranteed 191 $35,000 $35,526.00 $526.00
partypokerNJ $215 Sunday $40,000 Guaranteed NLH 158 $40,000.00 $31,600.00 -$8,400.00

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Tournament Entries Guarantee Prize Pool Difference
WSOP OC #122 $320 Sunday Weekly $100,000 NLH 472 $100,000.00 $141,600.00 $41,600.00
PokerStarsNJ $200 Sunday Special, $35,000 Guaranteed 146 $35,000 27,156 -7,844
partypokerNJ $215 Sunday $35,000 Guaranteed NLH 121 $35,000 24,200 -10,800

Average cash game and peak traffic summary

The cash game picture isn’t much better than the tournament one, but it’s a bit brighter for WSOP.com than PokerStarsNJ and partypokerNJ.

WSOP.com barely managed a positive trend line last week, but as of July 1 is has a more solid footing.

When we reported last, WSOP.com posted a seven-day rolling average of 260 cash game players. That number was down from 240 for the two-weeks prior. The all-time high was about 280 upon the launch of shared liquidity.

As of July 1, WSOP.com is posting 280 average cash game players on its site. It looks like all that online gold bracelet action helped propel the cash game traffic to some post-liquidity highs giving their rolling average a nice bump.

All that traffic on WSOP.com is taking away from the average cash game traffic on PokerStarsNJ and partypokerNJ. There is no denying that shared liquidity is impacting their traffic even though the declines leveled off a bit over the last week.

As of July 1, PokerStarsNJ has a seven-day rolling average of 70 cash game players, down from its pre-liquidity number of 85. partypokerNJ has 45, down from 50. You can see the more significant drop-off for PokerStars reflected in its trend line.

Peak traffic numbers are reporting similar trend lines to that of the average cash game players. All three online poker sites are trending down.

It is concerning that WSOP.com’s trend line is slightly in negative territory especially during the height of activity on the site.

As mentioned earlier, it is just too hard to tell what this means in an environment that is conflated with online bracelet events, live tournaments, and little to talk about outside of the WSOP.

Factors that will impact U.S. regulated online poker in the coming weeks

WSOP.com’s dominance of the online poker landscape will continue. We will be watching how the market settles down as the World Series of Poker marks the beginning of the end with the Main Event starting this week.

Expect more activity from PokerStarsNJ and partypokerNJ as they start to woo players back to their platforms. It would not be surprising to see healthy promotions or maybe a big tournament series to attract players.

We will be watching the U.S. regulated online poker landscape and reporting back here on July 17.