• What Happened To Pokerstars Website
• Is Pokerstars Down Right Now
• What Happened To Pokerstars Classic Theme 2020
• What Happened To Pokerstars.net
• What Happened To Pokerstars

Back in New Jersey & More States to Come in 2021?

PokerStars was founded by an Israeli senior programmer for IBM Canada, Isai Scheinberg. He began to write the software that would form the basis for PokerStars in the late 1990s and formed Rational Enterprises, originally based in Costa Rica, to operate his new poker site. PokerStars offers many freerolls, but as of late, most of their tournaments are restricted in one way or another, with very few events truly open to all the players. This is a bit disappointing given the fact site used to host some really great freeroll events, but this seems to be in line with the new PokerStars policy. It’s happened to me a few times where I click the table in the middle of the table to get action on that table and it auto folds. 2021-01-07 15:55:24 @nutClubFlush @AndreiC94 @Amir8320014 @PokerStars Even with the delay. PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Players who have qualified online at PokerStars to the above events will be contacted in the next 24 hours for assistance. Any player who has won a package with us via a real money online qualifier will be refunded the cash value of the tournament buy-in into their PokerStars account. PokerStars is an excellent fit for Pennsylvania and will help to grow the new regulated market. It has superior client software and enough variety in action to attract online poker players. Their spread of tournaments will keep players coming back and will force other sites to raise the quality of their offerings.

Currently, PokerStars is only available in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Updated Jan. 3, 2021 – PokerStars launched in Pennsylvania and has the highest traffic of all regulated poker sites in America. It also hosted the Pennsylvania Online Championship of Poker. This was a huge series with more than $1 million in guaranteed prizes. It took years, but it looks like it was worth the wait for Pennsylvania players.

PokerStars has been running strong in New Jersey since 2016, but it hasn’t reached the size Pennsylvania has. A shared player pool could really kick things up a notch though. We’ll see if success in Pennsylvania leads to PokerStars in more states.

Online Poker in the USA

Six states have legalized poker. Out of those, four currently have sites up-and-running. Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Two more states legalized poker but are still working on setting sites up. West Virginia, legalized it in 2019, but poker sites there aren’t expected to launch until 2021. The same goes for Michigan.

When it comes to PokerStars, only two states have Poker Stars software. PokerStars gained approval to operate in New Jersey in 2015. Their site, pokerstarsnj.com, went live on March 21, 2016. Of course, you have to be physically located in New Jersey to play. It’s play money for all other states. PokerStars NJ also offers casino games like slots, blackjack, roulette and more.

PokerStars then launched in Pennsylvania in late 2019. They kicked things off with the Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker that drew thousands of players and culminated in a $300 buy-in main event with a $100,000-guaranteed prize pool.

If you’re not in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, PokerStars could still come to your state further down the line. If you want to play today though, there are still plenty of great alternatives.

Best PokerStars Alternatives for US Players

We recommend Ignition Poker as the best alternative. A lot of people prefer it to non-state run sites since they accept players from all 50 states. Bovada, BetOnline, SportsBetting, ACR, Black Chip Poker and Intertops also rank highly. As state by state rollouts occur, we will continue to keep you updated on when PokerStars makes it to your state.

Can You Play PokerStars in the USA?

PokerStars is only available if you are physically in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. PokerStars will be in more US states soon though. West Virginia and Michigan are the current front-runners to join the party.

PokerStars, which also owns Full Tilt Poker, is currently owned by The Stars Group, formerly called Amaya Gaming Group and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. PokerStars is partnered with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, and their main competition in the state is WSOP/888 and Borgata/PartyPoker. In Pennsylvania, they teamed up with FoxBet, which is the real-money wagering provided by FOX Sports.

While there are poker sits in Delaware and Nevada, but PokerStars has yet to get a license in either state. If you do not live in either New Jersey or Pennsylvania, we recommend Ignition Poker or Betonline.ag. They are safe and trusted sites that service all 50 states. Check out our reviews for a comprehensive look at each poker site. We detail the most important factors to look at when picking a poker site.

Make no mistake. Online poker is legal in the USA. It’s 100% legal for you to play. Don’t have to worry about getting arrested.

How Many Players on Pokerstars?

PokerStars remains the largest poker site on the internet with tens of thousands of players logging in weekly. PokerStars traffic is far superior to any other poker website and it controls over 50% of the market.

The sale of PokerStars has now changed the game in the US market. It is a prerequisite for any online casino that operates with a US license to also have or be partners with a US operated “land-based” casino. PokerStars partnered with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ. Unfortunately, PokerStars has struggled with its NJ-based traffic. On the bright side, Pennsylvania has been a traffic bonanza for PokerStars since it launched in late 2019.

PokerStars also made a massive deal with gigantic casino conglomerate Eldorado Resorts, which operates properties across 12 different states. The US government has to be pleased that PokerStars is playing ball and infusing the US market with plenty of cash.

When Will PokerStars Return to the USA?

It kind of already is. If you’re in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, just download the software. If you’re in another state, then you’ll have to wait. Regulated poker has been moving pretty slow. Even then, some states that have legalized it haven’t let PokerStars in. That’s because they have another obstacle. Some important gaming groups in the USA see the brand as a bad actor because it operated without a license in the USA for years.

The brand is still incredibly popular around the world though. The site also paid over an estimated $850 million in fines because of Black Friday. It might take some time, but PokerStars will make its way back to the USA on a broader scale.

Good Faith Will Not Prevail?

While some US states have been reluctant to allow PokerStars back, it should be noted that the company bailed out tens of thousands of American poker players. Full Tilt famously didn’t have funds on hand to repay its players after Black Friday. PokerStars then bought Full Tilt and repaid all its players for millions and millions of dollars.

PokerStars was simply a better-run business and separated their player accounts from operating expenses. It was, therefore, an easy task for PokerStars to immediately pay back its players after they were forced out of the US market in 2011. PokerStars was also better at becoming a global poker business. Most of its player traffic came from outside the USA.

This act of good faith was on top of the hundreds of millions they paid out in penalties to US officials. It was an example of responsible gaming. As more and more casinos based in the USA secure their licenses to operate, PokerStars will likely be entering several of these state-regulated markets.

When Will I Be Able to Play PokerStars in my State?

We have in-depth poker guides for many of the US states that are updated whenever there are changes to state legislation. Unfortunately, there’s no clear-cut guide to when it will be legalized in each US state. For now, it appears that progress will only occur at the state level and a federal online poker bill is still just a pipe dream.

Some states have a higher chance of legalizing and regulating online poker in the near future, however. We keep close track of some of the more progressive states and try to give our readers some insight into which states could be closing in on legalization. You can take a deeper dive into your states specific laws in regards to PokerStars and all poker laws with our state-by-state guides.

Online Poker USA Law State-by-State Guides

You can refer to the legal status of online poker in every US state here:
Alabama – Arizona – Arkansas – California – Colorado – Connecticut – Georgia – Idaho – Iowa – Kansas – Maine – Maryland – Massachusetts – Michigan – Minnesota – Mississippi – Montana – Nebraska – New Hampshire – New Mexico – North Carolina – North Dakota – Ohio – Oklahoma – Pennsylvania – Rhode Island – South Carolina – Tennessee – Vermont – West Virginia – Wyoming

The Entire History of PokerStars in the USA

PokerStars has a fascinating history in the online poker industry with a substantial portion of it taking place in the USA.

2000s

• Now a billion-dollar, publicly-traded company, PokerStars had rather humble beginnings.
• It began in the early 2000s as a Costa Rican company called Rational Enterprises that was majority-owned by Israeli-Canadian Isai Scheinberg.
• PokerStars was just one of many of the early real-money online poker operators including PartyPoker, Pacific Poker (Now 888poker) and Tropical Poker.

2003 – 2006

• PokerStars’ claim to fame came in 2003 when an accountant named Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP Main Event 2003-2006 Las Vegas after qualifying on the site.
• Moneymaker was the first player to win the Main Event after qualifying online and helped create the so-called “poker boom” of the early 2000s.
• PokerStars quickly became a favorite amongst poker players for its secure deposits, reliable support team and booming cash games.

2006 – 2011

• The poker boom was stifled early on when the US government passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 that led to publicly-traded companies like PartyPoker getting forced to leave the US market altogether.
• UIGEA had the opposite effect on PokerStars because it was a privately-held company, it remained in the US market and quickly took the reins as the most popular online poker site in the world.

2011 – 2016

• The gravy train came to an end in 2011 when the Department of Justice seized the .com addresses of three online poker sites: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute/UltimateBet.
• Online poker players referred to the day as “Black Friday”. It would be years before PokerStars would be allowed to re-enter the US market.

2016 – Today

• PokerStars continued to flourish on the international market and was purchased by Amaya Gaming in a massive $4.9 billion deal in 2014. Subsequently the first officially licensed online poker sites in the USA start to pop up in 2014.
• New Jersey became the first state to allow PokerStars back in 2016.
• In late 2019 Pennsylvania follows suit and allows PokerStars to officially open its doors to players in the state.

Unfortunately, many other states remain a pipe dream and it will likely be decades before PokerStars is allowed to operate in the entirety of the USA.

What Happened To Pokerstars Website

Live Report on the PokerStars Server Failure

This is the sort of thing you see far more frequently with other poker sites - it doesn't usually happen to PokerStars.

PokerStars Servers Start Going Down

At some time just after 4:am ET on Tuesday 18th of November the PokerStars game servers started failing and players started getting 'sat out' of the games - cash, S&Gs, MTTs were all effected.

By about 4:40 am it appears so many players were sitting out that PokerStars shut down the game servers entirely.

During this time anyone who tried to restart their PokerStars software, or anyone who tried to log in for the first time since the problem began, received a message saying that the servers were offline for maintenance and that they would probably be back up within 30 minutes.

PokerStars Comes Back Online - Sort Of

At around 5 am ET the servers came back online, and although cash games resumed, all MTTs were frozen with a message in the chat window saying 'Administrator: The tournament has been manually paused'.

Official Announcement from PokerStars

Then at 5:37 am ET an official announcement from PokerStars was posted here on 2+2, saying that all MTTs that were running at the time of the problem will either be Rolled Forward or Rolled Back.

PokerStars MTTs Resume - And then Don't

Suddenly at 6:14 am ET MTTs resumed, only to have them become paused by the Administrator again within 1 to 3 hands.

Anonymous PokerStars Hacking Rumors

Meanwhile during all this drama, rumors began circulating on poker forums that the PokerStars servers were under attack by hackers using the pseudonym 'Anonymous'. Although many people were claiming this rumor to be true, and that it was a response to the recent announcement by PokerStars that the rake would be going up, no one was able to provide any evidence other than to say it came from 'underground sources' - they didn't specify whether PokerStars were actually being hacked or if they were being targeted by a DDOS Attack.

There is no confirmation of any PokerStars hacking rumor at the time I've written this.

Confusion Reins

Even after the official announcement had been posted on 2+2 about what was going to happen, which was in direct contradiction to what actually happened when the MTTs came back online briefly, the support staff were sending out the following emails which contradicted the 2+2 announcement:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting PokerStars.

PokerStars has recently experienced some technical difficulties on the site. However, these issues have been resolved now and normal play has resumed.

We will be considering refunds for materially affected players. 'Materially affected' means you missed a considerable number of hands and lost a significant portion of your chip stack due to blinds and antes. If you believe you were materially affected by this issue, please email us with the following subject line:

'REFUND: T#_________, $X+Y, User ID'

Where '________' is the Tournament ID, 'X+Y' is the buy-in of the tournament, and 'USERID' is your PokerStars User ID.

For example, 'REFUND: T#123456780, $20 + 2, KidJoker'

For multiple tournament refund requests, please note additional tournaments in the text of your email. For example:

T#123456780, $20 + 2
T#123456781, $10 + 1,
T#123456782, $50 + 5
etc.

If you do not know the Tournament ID, you can find it in the PokerStars software using the playing audit feature. From the PokerStars Lobby screen, select:

'Requests -> Playing History Audit...'

Please also be aware that your refund request may take a few days to be processed.

We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Regards,

Sam E
PokerStars Support Team

The procedure above should be unnecessary to get a refund according to the official announcement.

About the only thing that is quite clear is that there is a lot of confusion both within PokerStars and among the players themselves.

All New MTTs and Cash Games Now Working

You can now join MTTs and Cash Games on Pokerstars, however some SNGs are not yet working.

As for MTTs that were running before all these problems began, PokerStars have reiterated that the paused MTTs will either be Rolled Forward or Rolled Back after each one is manually reviewed.

It's currently 6:45 and players in the paused MTTs are still waiting to see what will happen.

Paused MTT Players Left Hanging

It's now after 7am ET and 2 hours after the tweet above, and PokerStars have still not addressed the issue of the paused MTTs. Given the long delay will mean some players will have left for work or gone to sleep, or otherwise are unable to continue, it's looking increasingly likely that all the frozen MTTs will be cancelled and either rolled back or forward.

It's Official - Paused MTTs Will Not Resume

PokerStars Chris on 2+2 has said, 'No MTT paused as a result of our technical problems today will resume. All tournaments will be cancelled and rolled forward/back (evaluated on a case by case basis).'

He also confirmed that the paused games did briefly restart, 'When the site went live again they automatically resumed and had to be manually paused. They won't be resumed now.'

This will work out well for some, but it's bad news for people like me - I am sitting at 3 frozen MTTs in 4th, 4th, and 6th place.

I'll let you know more about what's happened when information comes to hand.

Players Will Be 'Refunded'

MTT players in the frozen games are now seeing the following message in the chat box, 'Administrator: This tournament will not be resuming, and it is safe to leave the table. Players will be refunded as soon as possible, although it could take up to 24 hours. PokerStars sincerely apologizes for the inconvenience.'

Is Pokerstars Down Right Now

It would have been nice for them to mention that at least an hour ago given that 'PokerStars Chris' had already said that would be the case.

I sincerely hope that by 'refunded' they actually mean that funds will be allocated by not refunding players who had been knocked out before the problem began as this would be very unfair to players who were still in the game at the time.

I can see a reason why they would do this - some MTTs had guarantees and there will have been overlays, if they refund all players then they avoid paying out based on their guarantees - one of the tournies I was in had a 56% overlay.

It's now 8:48 am ET - I'll end my main coverage here for a while unless there are any major new developments.

What Happened To Pokerstars Classic Theme 2020

Payouts Have Happened

What Happened To Pokerstars.net

Almost exactly 24 hours later I got the payouts from the 3 tables I was on - all were rolled forward.

While the guarantee wasn't included in the one which had an overlay, it appears they put some thought into it and based the payouts on stack sizes at a representative point in the game - not once some people were still connected and stealing blinds while others were locked out.

What Happened To Pokerstars

It must have been an enormous amount of work and I appreciate the way the staff have handled the payouts.

Now, all that's left to do is to find out what caused all this in the first place - I'll let you know if I find anything interesting.