The New Jersey Online Poker Briefing: PokerStars Returns to the Garden State

4 min read
New Jersey Online Briefing

Last week, New Jersey online poker players celebrated the return of PokerStars for the first time in the United States since Black Friday took place on April 11, 2011. While the official hard launch took place on March 21, players began getting in the action on March 16 with a limited-release soft launch.

As expected, players reacted positively to the new PokerStars NJ ring-fenced client, with many praising its software during the soft-launch phase. Additionally, many players are hopeful that the return of the online poker room will positively impact the landscape of regulated online poker rooms in the Garden State.

The first big tournament on PokerStars NJ took place on Saturday, March 19, when 239 players ponied up the $30 buy-in in the Saturday Kick-Off [3-Stack,6-Max] $5,000 Gtd and created a $6,525 prize pool. New Jersey's "WhostolemyRR" will forever be known for shipping the inaugural event, banking $1,501 for his efforts.

Notable players appearing on the final table in this tournament included Steven "FadeOrHoldz" Madara (3rd - $783) and Meir "fingers911" Yedid (4th - $522). Madara also appeared on another big final table over the weekend when, under the screenname "stevenmadara," he won $1,890 in the Daily $10K on the partypoker NJ/BorgataPoker.com network.

While PokerStars returning to U.S. soil is stealing most of the headlines, Moe "MoeFarah" Farah is continuing to prove why he is a force to be reckoned with by outlasting 283 entrants to take first place in the partypoker NJ/BorgataPoker.com $50,000 Guarantee for an impressive haul of $11,320, the largest of the weekend.

Also scoring big on the final table in this tournament were Jonathan "DaCoolerKing" Kim (4th - $4,528), Josh "Shipitagain" Rosengarten (5th - $3,792), Sean "wishihADSOMELuk" Martin (6th - $3,226), and Krishna "ninjaG0" Kalidas (8th - $2,094).

Both Kim and Martin also appeared on other major final tables this weekend. Kim finished in sixth place in the WSOP NJ/888poker NJ Sunday $30,000 Guarantee for $1,223, while Martin, under the screenname "Sean_naeS," finished third in the WSOP NJ/888poker NJ $10,000 GTD Weekly Sunday for $1,134.

The $30,000 GTD Weekly Sunday produced other big winners in addition to Kim including "UnoZombert," who shipped this event for $8,691. Daniel "centrfieldr" Lupo (2nd - $5,070) and Craig "Ruby_" Rubinstein (6th - $1,610) also navigated through the 174-player field to reach the final table. Coincidentally, Rubinstein was featured in a PokerNews by Donnie Peters talking to players about the PokerStars New Jersey launch, Poker Players Excited and Ready for PokerStars Launch in New Jersey.

Not to be left out of the mix was Michael Lavenburg, who, under the screenname"pay4medsch00l," won $3,800 after winning the Daily $10K as part of a heads-up deal on Sunday before winning another $760 later in the day under the screenname "myGAME" with a fifth-place finishing in the $10,000 GTD Weekly Sunday.

Next weekend promises to be a big one for players in the Garden State as not only does PokerStars launch its full slate of Sunday Majors which you can read about here, but WSOP NJ/888poker NJ will also hosting its big monthly tournament, The BIG Deal, which features a $500 buy-in and a $30,000 guaranteed prize pool.

Here's a full look at the New Jersey weekend results on PokerStars NJ, partypoker NJ, BorgataPoker.com, WSOP.com NJ, and 888poker NJ:


The New Jersey Online Poker Briefing: PokerStars Returns to the Garden State 101

Saturday Kick-Off [3-Stack,6-Max] $5,000 Gtd

Buy-inDateEntrantsPrize Pool
$27.30+2.70Mar. 19239$6,525
PlacePlayerPrize
1WhostolemyRR$1,501
2jakaseti$1,044
3Steven "FadeOrHoldz" Madara$783
4Meir "fingers911" Yedid$522
5wv_darkhorse$392
6MyDogPetrie$268

The New Jersey Online Poker Briefing: PokerStars Returns to the Garden State 102

Daily $10K [Re-Entry]

Buy-inDateEntrantsPrize Pool
$100+9Mar. 19122$12,200
PlacePlayerPrize
1Jamdizzi777$3,416
2VARJAK$2,227
3bobbyv64$1,464
4wangtang221$1,068
5AA5454$763
6NeverNude83$610
7RvrCrdBING$488
8Burritoboy28$397
9Mahi_Mahi$305.00

The New Jersey Online Poker Briefing: PokerStars Returns to the Garden State 103

Daily $10K [Re-Entry]

Buy-inDateEntrantsPrize Pool
$100+9Mar. 20180$18,000
PlacePlayerPrize
1Michael "pay4medsch00l" Lavenburg$3,800*
2boyequity$3,121.00*
3Steven "stevenmadara" Madara$1,890
4Jacob "jakep474" Perry$1,485
5kingking69$1,098
6Cdabby007$900.00
7Imperator3$720.00
8TENAFLY_BILL$567.00
9Billy_Wheels$450.00

*Reflects heads-up deal


The New Jersey Online Poker Briefing: PokerStars Returns to the Garden State 104

partypoker NJ/BorgataPoker.com $50,000 Guarantee

Buy-inDateEntrantsPrize Pool
$200+15Mar. 20283$56,600
PlacePlayerPrize
1Moe "MoeFarah" Farah$11,320
2bernstreg$7,454
3PayneKilla$5,377
4Jonathan "DaCoolerKing" Kim$4,528
5Josh "Shipitagain" Rosengarten$3,792
6Sean "wishihADSOMELuk" Martin$3,226
7LADYDICE$2,660
8Krishna "ninjaG0" Kalidas$2,094
9BrianFantana$1,528

The New Jersey Online Poker Briefing: PokerStars Returns to the Garden State 105

$10,000 GTD Nightly [R&A]

Buy-inDateEntrantsPrize Pool
$27.50+2.50Mar. 19150$10,592
PlacePlayerPrize
1driver$2,913
2Joseph "megolaman1ac" Liberta$1,695
3NJREDD1010$964
4MarcusAllin$752
5GBasile$646
6mavs19$540
7sevilla21$413
8cjdstable$265
9Ngudan777$191

The New Jersey Online Poker Briefing: PokerStars Returns to the Garden State 106

$30,000 GTD Weekly Sunday

Buy-inDateEntrantsPrize Pool
$185+15Mar. 20174$32,190
PlacePlayerPrize
1UnoZombert$8,691
2Daniel "centrfieldr" Lupo$5,070
3sansara52$2,897
4DrDoom$2,253
5Antinatalist$1,931
6Craig "Ruby_" Rubinstein$1,610
7Jonathan "DaCoolerKing" Kim$1,223
8therightreed$773
9CeeLos86$547

The New Jersey Online Poker Briefing: PokerStars Returns to the Garden State 107

$10,000 GTD Weekly Sunday

Buy-inDateEntrantsPrize Pool
$91+9Mar. 20137$12,467
PlacePlayerPrize
1liquidTLO$3,428
2Angel "ChromeKing" Lopez$1,995
3Sean "Sean_naeS" Martin$1,134
4Gmoney27$885
5Michael "myGAME" Lavenburg$760
6Bigcakes1111$636
7vanillaakim1$486
8verbal_kint$312
9Paul "rungood27" Scaturro$224

If you play regulated online poker tournaments in New Jersey and would like your real name appearing in future articles, please contact this editor at [email protected].

*Special thanks to PocketFives.com for some of the data in this article.

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