Players Eagerly Await Pennsylvania’s Online Poker Launch

By Jerry Smith Staff Writer Updated: 09/22/2019

Jerry Smith Staff Writer See Full Bio

Jerry’s greatest advantage is his extensive experience on the casino floor. His time as a casino manager taught him everything about what makes a player tick. Besides being a skilled poker player, he has deep knowledge of all live table games and gambling regulations in the US.

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PA Online Poker Expected in September, Photo by Pixaby

Ever since casino gambling was made legal in Pennsylvania, poker players in the state are eagerly awaiting the launch of online poker as well.

Overall, seven gambling venues have earned licenses to offer online poker games. They include:

• Mount Airy
• Hollywood Casino
• Valley Forge
• Sugarhouse
• Parx
• Harrah’s and
• Wind Creek

While virtual poker games in the states of Nevada and New Jersey aren’t growing at the rate initially envisioned, the Keystone State might offer more promise.

PA’s Online Poker Potential

Currently, Pennsylvania boasts a vibrant cash game and tournament environment. And many players are even taking part in New Jersey events.

While the Harrah’s Casino in Philadelphia has previously hosted the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit, the WPTDeepStacks Taour features the Parx Casino, close to Philadelphia, and the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh on its list of venues.

A Professional Poker’s Take

Prior to Black Friday in 2011, Zach Gruneberg was a regular on the professional poker scene and earned a pretty packet online, including $1.8 million, which he won via live poker tournaments. Though he doesn’t play as frequently now, he’s familiar with both Pennsylvania’s and New Jersey’s poker landscapes.

Mirroring the growing frustration of players across the Keystone State, Gruneberg had this to say,

The feeling is that everyone is just getting a little impatient because everyone keeps hearing that it’s going to be soon. Apparently, it was supposed to be in August; well, that didn’t happen.

PA’s Online Poker Partnerships

A few of Pennsylvania’s gaming destinations have already partnered with three leading international companies to offer online poker.

• PartyPoker and Valley Forge Casino – PartyPoker is the oldest poker company with long-standing partnerships in NJ. While their software has been drastically transformed over the last decade, they are still a favorite among recreational poker enthusiasts.
• PokerStars and Mount Airy Casino – PokerStars is the biggest global online poker platform with a presence in NJ’s market. Renowned for their exceptional software platform, speculation is rife that in addition to tournaments and cash games, they might offer popular games like Zoom Poker and Spin & Go.
• 888/WSOP.com and Harrah’s Casino – 888 has collaborations with several Caesars Entertainment venues across different states. The 888 player pool in combination with WSOP.com boasts the largest active player pool among state-regulated sites today.

The question is which brand will launch first and when.

According to some reports, Penn National Gaming might join the PA’s poker scene as well. Responding to a query on the Two Plus Two forum, the Executive Administrative Assistant to Hollywood Vice President and General Manager, Daniel Ihm said that poker will not be initially available on the app but that they are “hoping to have poker integrated by the end of 2019.”

Will PA Online Poker Go Live This Month?

Though players were hoping that online poker would launch mid-July, nothing came to fruition at the time. Now, the rumor mill is alive with anticipation that PokerStars will be the first operator to launch sometime this month, but this is yet to be confirmed. In the meanwhile, a recent article in the Online Poker Report indicates a September launch as well.

Like gambling, Gruneberg says that poker is also very popular in Pennsylvania and players are getting frustrated, so it will be great if online platforms went live soon. He concluded by saying that he hopes once they do, the prize pools will be connected to the New Jersey market.

It’s been nine years since Black Friday and Gruneberg is waiting to get back on the online scene.