Sports may be the king in the US regulated online gambling markets right now, but, poker will always be an important piece of the overall equation, especially as many operators run poker rooms in addition to their sportsbooks. Among those is BetMGM, which is kicking off the new year with a bang on both fronts, with the recent launch of its NY sportsbook this past weekend as well as a major online poker tournament series, kicking off next week in each of its markets.
Starting Friday, January 21, and running through Sunday, January 30, the Double Trouble Series will take place on BetMGM’s ring-fenced poker platforms in Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The series consists of 40 total events — scheduled as 20 pairs of events — running over 10 days in each jurisdiction, with nearly $1 million in combined guarantees.
- Good MTT schedule
- Solid loyalty scheme
- Quality software
The longest operating of the three, BetMGM Poker NJ, boasts the largest guarantee of $364,000 across its 40 tournaments. BetMGM Poker MI follows with $334,000 in guarantees and then (BetMGM Poker PA guarantees $324,000 in prize pools. Considering the fact that BetMGM MI and BetMGM PA were only launched within the past 12 months, the lower guarantees come as no surprise.
As the name might suggest, there is a special twist to the tournament schedule. Each of the 20 events includes a regular edition and a Progressive Knockout (PKO) version. The series line-up features moderate buy-ins, as 24 of the 40 tournaments in each state cost $50 or less for a seat. Price tags for the remaining 16 range between $20 and $535.
The vast majority of the tournaments will be played in the No-Limit Hold’em (NLH) format at either regular speed or in the turbo format. However, two of each 20 numbered events will feature Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) with buy-ins of $50 and $109. The series will host four individual tournaments every day.
Kicking off the series on January 21 is a pair of $109 NLH tournaments. Each features a $10,000 guarantee in the three jurisdictions. One hour later, one of the bargain $20 buy-in games is slated to get underway, providing players of all bankrolls an opportunity to take part right out of the gate.
The most expensive event on the schedule is slated to run in each state on Tuesday, January 25. Event #9A and #9B come with an elevated price tag of $535 attached to a $25,000 guarantee — the second-biggest guarantee of the entire series.
While none of the tournaments have been given the official label of Main Event, one in particular certainly fits the criteria — Double Trouble Event #19A and #19B running on the final day of the series, January 30. Both come with a buy-in of $215, while guarantees differ slightly between the states. Online poker players in Michigan and New Jersey will compete for a $25,000 guarantee, while New Jersey boasts a $30,000 guarantee.
The Double Trouble Series is BetMGM’s fourth online festival in quick succession. Soon after signing four-time WPT Main Event champion Darren Elias as a partypoker brand ambassador, the operator launched the End Boss series in November 2021. It was followed by the Cheap Stakes series and then partypoker US network’s New Year Knockout Mini-Series closed out 2021.
Despite BetMGM’s high volume of online poker tournament series, PokerStars remains the market leader in each of the three states with the biggest gap emerging in Pennsylvania. Likewise, the cash game traffic in Michigan is two times higher for PokerStars, while both brands are separated by a far smaller margin in New Jersey.
