WSOP’s Promotions May Point to Delay of Multi-State Poker Expansion

The World Series of Poker announced various promotions available for players to enjoy during the month of November. While this will bring a busy and exciting month, players can’t help but wonder if these promotions are being used as a means to delay WSOP’s multi-state poker expansion to Michigan. Michigan joined the multi-state poker agreement earlier this year but has yet to release any new information on when the activity would go live. Fans of online poker now fear multi-state poker will not happen until 2023.

WSOP Special Promotions

WSOP has announced a calendar full of new promotions for players in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada.  

WSOP’s monthly online circuit started on November 9th and runs through November 20th in all four states. This series will allow players to compete to win one of twelve gold rings and the chance to gain a spot at the Tournament of Champions. Michigan and Pennsylvania guarantee $385,000 in prize money, while the New Jersey/Nevada circuit series is awarding $875,000.

The Fall Online Championships started on November 3rd and runs through November 22nd. Similar to the monthly circuits, each state has its guarantees. WSOP Michigan and Pennsylvania offer $475,000 over 60 tournaments, and WSOP New Jersey/Nevada is $1 million. 

There are a few promotions that will only be offered in particular states, like Gift Drop Mania. This promotion will only be running in Michigan and Pennsylvania since they are the only states whose software (888poker’s Poker 8) supports the giveaway.

The one promotion that has been getting the most fanfare is the new promotion titled: Vince Vaughn Vs. The Champions. In these events, actor Vince Vaughn will compete against poker champs Phil Hellmuth, Koray Aldemir, and Joe Cada. Players can place bets on “Vince” or the “Champs”, watch them play (via WSOP.com, or Youtube.com/WSOP), and hopefully win! Winners will be a part of the 2023 $10,000 Main Event Seat Freeroll. This specific promotion has players thinking MI won’t be merging with the NJ/NV pool soon because of the timing of the series. Vince Vaughn Vs. The Champions runs at WSOP PA between November 15-22, WSOP NJ/NV from November 29th – December 6th, and WSOP MI from December 13 – 20. 

Michigan Still Waiting on Expansion

The Great Lakes State has been one of the most progressive states when it comes to legal real-money gambling. With a wide range of in-person and online casinos and sports betting, the state usually keeps up with the industry’s demands. 

In May 2022, Michigan became the fourth state to join the Multi-State Poker Agreement. The other states active in the agreement are Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey. Months after Michigan’s entrance and still, no progress has been made. No operators in the state have been approved by the Michigan regulatory board to begin offering multi-state poker on their sites. 

It looks as though the plan would be to merge Michigan with the Nevada/New Jersey players pool. If this happens, it would make PokerStars the first to offer multi-state poker games, which would surely motivate other operators to follow suit. 

Considering the many new promotions World Series of Poker is advertising for this month, especially the timing of the Vince Vaughn vs. The Champions poker series, players can assume this multi-state poker isn’t happening this year.

Mac Daniel is a Michigan native and freelance writer for PlayOnlineCasino and PlayOnlineSportsBetting. He has experience writing about a wide variety of topics, including healthcare, tourism, non-profit organizations, and most recently casino and sportsbetting news. To check out more of his work, visit: playonlinemichigan.com