On January 2nd, Jason Somerville announced that he will no longer be working with top online poker room PokerStars. His reasons for leaving the brand include lack of opportunity for players in the US as well as new priorities for his life.
Other Opportunities
To be successful in the world of poker, particularly online poker, there has to be opportunity. In today’s online poker world in the US, there is not a steady stream of tournament options. Years ago, poker players could easily sign up as an ambassador for a brand, competing online as well as in land-based events. Once online poker was outlawed, players had to go overseas to find success. For Somerville, he has done quite well via Twitch, posting videos of his gameplay online.
In 2019, he was able to move from poker to sports betting, working with the NFL with a show called Thursday night Football on RunItup.tv. Somerville spent five weeks hosting the show and has been inspired to do something similar as the New Year begins.
During a post online about his departure with PokerStars, Somerville stated that as a resident in New Jersey, his online poker gaming options were limited. While the state dominates in the online casino sector, they do not offer a steady stream of online poker games. His deal with PokerStars also limited him to showing games via PokerStars NJ and providing quality streams has been difficult for the pro.
Online poker gaming continues to be on a decline in New Jersey, with figures from last year showing a year on year revenue decline of 4.4% from November. A similar drop has been seen in other months of the year as well, including September, October and earlier on.
Now that he is no longer with PokerStars, Somerville will be able to stream games from anywhere, the WSOP, partypoker, and more. With more freedom, Somerville will be able to work in a variety of sectors in several formats, taking advantage of online casino gaming, online poker and sports betting.
Maintaining Twitch Status
Somerville first signed with PokerStars in early 2015 and the online poker offering in New Jersey was still new. With his position, Somerville built a solid Twitch following and continues to be a top streamer. It was the efforts of Somerville that inspired other poker players to do the same.
The environment has changed so now Somerville must make changes to adapt. What he plans on doing now remains a mystery. However, fans have been told that he will not end his career in poker. He will be offering more content, including from the Run It Up Reno which will take place in April.
After the Run It Up event, Somerville will be free and on his own. He will be able to stream what he likes when he likes and continue to offer quality poker gaming content, but this time on a much larger scale.
