PokerStars announced on Monday that it is bringing its first US live tournament to Live! Casino Philadelphia from April 21-27. Players in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan and Ontario can qualify into the PokerStars Open Philadelphia by playing in online poker satellites.
The tournament in Philadelphia marks the launch of the PokerStars Open series in North America. For those that want to qualify, the online satellites start on Wednesday, March 26.
Anne Tran, Director of Poker at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia, is honored that the South Philly casino is hosting the first PokerStars tournament of the year. She said in a statement:
“We’re so excited to be the first North American host location for this year’s PokerStars Open live series.“Our Poker Room and all our dedicated team members are ready to welcome poker enthusiasts from across the region to deliver an unforgettable experience during this world class tournament.”
Schedule of the PokerStars Open Philadelphia
PokerStars is giving players a chance to compete in the PokerStars Open Philadelphia by first playing in online satellites. Those games buy-in’s start at just $10.
Once players qualify for the April event in Philadelphia, the schedule will look like the following:
| Buy-in | Event Name | Dates | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,100 | Main Event | April 23-27 | $500,000 |
| $2,200 | High Roller | April 22-23 | |
| $400 | PokerStars Cup | April 27 | $40,000 |
| $300 | Women's Event | April 24 | $10,000 |
| $300 | NHL Bounty | April 23 |
Though there is no guarantee on the NHL Bounty, the added value is to knock out a PokerStars Team Pro to win their bounty.
Steve Priess, VP of PokerStars North America, believes this poker tournament embodies the city the Philadelphia, which makes the venue a perfect fit. He said in a statement:
“We’re super excited to bring the PokerStars Open to Philadelphia, a city that knows what it means to compete, fight, and never give up. Poker is about heart, strategy, and knowing when to take your shot, and there’s no better place to showcase that spirit than in Philly.”
PokerStars to start pooling players from MI, NJ soon
PokerStars is going to be able to hold more tournaments online with larger player pools, which results in larger prize money. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) told PlayPennsylvania earlier this month it expects to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) sometime in April.
PGCB Communications Director, Doug Harbach, told us:
“We continue to work internally and with online poker operators to get the shared liquidity market up sometime in April. The agreement would, of course, be a signed prior to that launch.”
The PGCB accepted an invitation to enter the compact in January. At that time, Harbach predicted an “early second-quarter, 2025 launch,” which appears to be right on schedule.
