PokerStars Combines US and Canada for NACOOP Starting Sept 15
The tour name is new, but the tour is not. PokerStars is set to begin its first official NACOOP, the North American Championship of Online Poker, on September 15.
If you’re thinking that some of the North American markets have hosted COOP series in past years, you would be correct. It was never billed as NACOOP, however. It was a set of separate COOP series for each one – New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania in the United States; and Ontario in Canada.
This year, it all falls under one acronym, presumably for easier tracking and an attempt to make the US markets into one happy family.
The bottom line is that NACOOP consists of:
- PACOOP (PokerStars PA) in Pennsylvania, USA
- USCOOP (PokerStars NJ & PokerStars MI) in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, USA
- ONCOOP (PokerStars ON) in Ontario, Canada
Let’s get into it.
NACOOP for PA
PokerStars has a unique history with the Pennsylvania poker market, as it was the first poker site to launch in that state in late 2019. And it remained a monopoly there until Borgata and BetMGM launched their products, followed by the WSOP in mid-2021 – more than a year and a half after PokerStars opened its virtual doors.
That means that poker players in PA are very familiar with PACOOP. This year, it will still operate alone, as Pennsylvania has yet to sign the Multi State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) to join its player pools with New Jersey and Michigan.
So, PokerStars PA will offer PACOOP…under the NACOOP series umbrella.
- Total trophy tournaments: 19
- Total guarantees: $2.5 million
- Main Event: $300 buy-in with $250K guaranteed
NACOOP for NJ and MI
PokerStars was not the first poker site to launch in New Jersey, but its history dates back to 2016. And New Jersey poker players are well-versed in what they knew as NJCOOP. The operator then launched in Michigan in January 2021, a first in that state, and ran MICOOP there.
Since then, the governors of Michigan and New Jersey signed the aforementioned MSIGA, allowing PokerStars to combine its player pools. That is now referred to as USCOOP. (Presumably, when other states like Pennsylvania do finally join, they will all play on one site that will be collectively PokerStars USA.)
For the USCOOP series this year, PokerStars NJ and MI players will compete in the series with these highlights:
- Total trophy tournaments: 19
- Total guarantees: $3 million
- Main Event: $300 buy-in with $350K guaranteed
NACOOP for ON in CA
The Ontario market is the first segregated online poker market in Canada, and it became a reality in April 2022. PokerStars wasn’t the first to launch in the province, but it did join in June 2022, shortly after the official market kickoff.
PokerStars gave Ontario the ONCOOP. It remains the only separate market in Canada still, so it has not joined its player pool with any other in Canada because…there is no other. ONCOOP stands alone, and it will run a solo series…but it will now also be under the NACOOP umbrella.
The 2023 version of ONCOOP in NACOOP will feature these highlights:
- Total trophy tournaments: 17 (out of 137 total tournaments)
- Total guarantees: $1.5 million (translating to approximately CAD$2 million)
- Main Event: $300 buy-in with $150K guarantee
Full NACOOP Commonalities
The full NACOOP will run September 15 through October 7. Across the jurisdictions, there will be 315 poker tournaments in total, including 61 trophy events and $7 million in prize pool guarantees.
Each area participating in NACOOP will run a leaderboard contest to award the top performers in each market for collecting the most points in their respective markets.
There is another perk for players competing in this NACOOP, as the winner of each of the three Main Event tournaments will win a Vegas Gold Pass. That new promotion will present each Main Event winner with a $20,300-valued prize package. Each package will include:
- Seat to $5,300 NAPT (North American Poker Tour, resurrected) Las Vegas High Roller (Nov 10-12)
- Three-day pass to Oracle Red Bull Racing Fan Experience to watch the F1 make its Las Vegas debut (Nov 10-12)
- Nine nights of hotel accommodations at Resorts World Las Vegas
- Flight and expense money of $4,000 cash
Attention players in North America. The NACOOP schedule is now available. PLUS...
— PokerStars Blog (@PokerStarsBlog) September 5, 2023
Your first opportunity to win an epic Vegas Gold Pass on PokerStars. https://t.co/NOvVwgYwad
