October is shaping up as another big month for online poker, with the partypoker Caribbean Poker Party moving online, and several newsworthy events from the realm of regulated online poker in the U.S.
Poker.org takes a look at some of the biggest stories in the industry in this roundup for the week ending Oct. 3:
Partypoker Caribbean Poker Party moves online
Partypoker's annual Caribbean Poker Party became the latest major live tournament festival to reschedule as an online-only event. Partypoker partner Rob Yong made an announcement on Twitter that the 2020 edition of the Caribbean Poker Party will move online this November, with hopes that the series can return to the Baha Mar Casino for the 2021 edition of the event.
The online Caribbean Poker Party will run on partypoker Nov. 15-24. The full schedule is expected to be released in the coming weeks, and the centerpiece of the series comes in the form of a $5 million guaranteed Main Event.
The Main Event features a pair of Day 1 flights. Day 1A runs Sunday, Nov. 15, and Day 1B commences the following Sunday on Nov. 22. Survivors from the Day 1 flights return for Day 2 Nov. 23 and play down to the final table. The final table then plays out Nov. 24, ending with the crowning of the Main Event champion.
"FYI: Caribbean Poker Party postponed but will run online @partypoker," Yong wrote in the Twitter announcement. "Spoke to Baha Mar, still not open, we have agreed with them to postpone CPP until 2021 but will run CPP Online - details to follow. Not much can say except will make 2021 an amazing experience."
PokerStars NJCOOP full schedule released
The New Jersey Championship of Online Poker hits the PokerStars NJ platform this month. PokerStars released the full schedule for the New Jersey-only series, which takes place Oct. 10-26.
NJCOOP 2020 features 54 events, with over $1 million guaranteed in prize money across the series. Like every other version of the PokerStars Championship of Online Poker, NJCOOP 2020 offers multiple different poker variants, with Omaha, Badugi, mixed games, limit hold'em, and PKO all well represented across the schedule.
The series culminates in NJCOOP-47: $300 NLHE Main Event, which comes with a $125,000 guaranteed prize pool and starts on Sunday, Oct. 25. Other big guarantees on the schedule include NJCOOP-27: $300 NLHE Sunday Special ($50,000 guaranteed), set for Sunday, Oct. 18.
The NJCOOP series gets going just as another big U.S.-based series comes to a close for PokerStars. The Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker ( PACOOP) wraps up Monday on the PokerStars PA platform.
PokerStars NJ functions as a state-regulated online poker site, not connected to any of PokerStars' international poker clients. Players must be located within New Jersey borders while playing NJCOOP events.
With live poker rooms in Atlantic City still shut down due to COVID-19, the NJCOOP will likely draw big numbers on the PokerStars NJ network.
Will Michigan join interstate poker network in the U.S.?
Gaming regulators in Michigan continue to push forward in an effort to launch state-regulated online casinos and poker by the end of 2020. When the state's online poker platforms do launch, Michigan players might also get access to interstate online poker networks.
Senate Bill 991 amends the current language of the Michigan Lawful Internet Gaming Act, in a manner that would allow Michigan's regulated online poker sites to enter into shared player pool agreements with other states. SB 991 passed through the state Senate Wednesday, and will now go to the Michigan House of Representatives for a vote.
If SB 991 gets approval from the House, the bill would then only need a signature from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to become law. The original version of the Michigan Lawful Internet Gaming Act legalizes online poker, but the amendments outlined in SB 991 are necessary for Michigan operators to enter any kind of interstate shared liquidity agreement.
The amendment proposed in SB 991 is specific to online poker. If passed, Michigan's addition to an interstate online poker network isn't a guarantee, but it would become legally possible.
The only existing shared player pool among regulated poker sites in the U.S. is known as the All American Poker Network (AAPN). The AAPN combines player pools from WSOP Nevada, WSOP NJ, 888 Poker NJ, and the 888 network of online poker sites in Delaware.
If SB 991 goes into law, Michigan's potential online poker operators could legally join the AAPN or any other interstate poker network that might come together in the future. As of now, however, neither WSOP nor 888 has a land-based casino partner in Michigan, which would be necessary for a WSOP/888 platform to launch in Michigan.
Both partypoker and PokerStars are expected to launch Michigan-only online poker platforms, based on agreements already in place with retail casinos in the state.
Online Fall Circuit, PLO Mania series coming to WSOP.com U.S. network this month
Online poker in the U.S. has presented unprecedented opportunities in 2020, and that trend continues with two more major series running on the AAPN this month.
Two concurrent series on AAPN run Oct. 15-27. The WSOP.com Fall Online Circuit series presents 13 WSOP Circuit Ring Events, with more than $1 million guaranteed across the series. The Fall Online Circuit marks the sixth time the WSOP/888 U.S. network has put WSOP Circuit Rings up for grabs in online-only events.
The Fall Circuit Online offers buy-ins from $215 up to $1,000. The biggest buy-in event of the series comes in Event #13: $100,000 NLH High Roller 6-Max. The $1,000 buy-in event kicks off Tuesday, Oct. 27.
The biggest guarantee in the Fall Circuit Online series comes in Event #11: $250,000 NLH Main Event,. The centerpiece event of the series offers a $525 buy-in and up to three re-entries and begins on Sunday, Oct. 25.
WSOP/888 will also run it's first-ever Pot-Limit Omaha exclusive series in October. The PLO Mania Tournament Series also runs Oct. 15-17, with more than $300,000 guaranteed.
The PLO Mania series offers 13 different tournaments, all playing as PLO events. The series pinnacle beings Sunday, Oct. 25, in the form of Event #11: PLO Mania Main Event. That tournament guarantees $75,000 with a buy-in of $525.
Both the Fall Online Circuit and PLO Mania Tournament Series are accessible on WSOP Nevada, WSOP NJ, 888 Poker NJ, and 888 Poker's Delaware network (Delaware Park, Dover Downs, and Harrington).
Featured image source: Twitter
