Finally: New Jersey Online Poker And Nevada Will Share A Share Player Pool, Making Steps Towards The Old Days

(Pictured: a handsome man who made zero (0) dollars at the 2017 WSOP)

OPR - US online poker liquidity is going to receive a major boost, as New Jersey has announced it has entered into an interstate compacy with Nevada and Delaware.

The deal will “allow Internet gaming patrons in New Jersey to play online against players in those two states.” Delaware and Nevada already had a compact to share player pools.

That should be good news for all three states in terms of the size and quality of their poker offerings, and will make online poker more attractive for users in those states.

The timeline for sharing player pools is to be determined and will be based on conversations between regulators in the states, according to sources.

Per a press release issued today, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced an agreement has been reached with Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and Delaware Gov. John Carney.

“New Jersey has been a pioneer in the development of authorized, regulated online gaming, which has been a budding success since its launch in late 2013,” Christie said. “Pooling players with Nevada and Delaware will enhance annual revenue growth, attract new consumers, and create opportunities for players and Internet gaming operators.

Finally, a lick of good news for online poker in the United States. What a ridiculous uphill battle it’s been to get some sort of positive progress in the land of the free. While online poker doesn’t appear to be on the verge of being legalized, as it’s now a state issue, NJ combining player pools with Nevada is a step in the right direction. Bigger fields means bigger prize pools which means more enthralling for recreational players to play.

When PokerStars was legal across the USA and the world, it was a dream world for professional poker players. A random Tuesday afternoon $11 tournament would have $10,000 for first place. The nightly $162 would have $20k+ for first place every single night. And the cash games were huge and fishy. There was so much money to be made in these games, and the player pool never ran out.

Now though?

I play on PokerStars NJ here and there. Mostly tournaments. And they stink. The rake is high, the fields are small, and it’s not as fun because there’s not a lot of money to be made. It sucks knowing what it used to be compared to what it is now.

So thankfully change is happening. Combining Nevada and New Jersey will make it much more worth the time and money. Guarantees on the tournaments can basically be doubled. And this will pave the way for more states to legalize internet poker and join the player pool. Hopefully New York is next- I cannot imagine how great the games will be if all of NYC is allowed to jump into high stakes poker games online. And then California. And once those dominoes fall, it could be like DFS where it is legal in the majority of the United States.

So while a small step, hopefully other states see the millions of dollars in revenue and decide they want in on it. If you let your residents play the lottery, why not poker?

PS: I’m playing a 5k this weekend in Jacksonville. My 2nd biggest tournament ever, obviously behind this last summer’s WSOP Main Event. Hoping to win. That’d be cool.