Last week, representatives from PokerStars met with New Jersey players to get some feedback regarding the current climate of ipoker in the Garden State.
Two [geolink href=”https://www.usafriendlypokersites.com/pokerstars-sends-open-house-invite-nj-players/”]meet and greets[/geolink] were held at local restaurants, allowing players to vent any frustrations about online poker as offered by the likes of Party Borgata and the All American Poker Network presently. These gatherings were announced by email invitations sent to players residing in the state who had achieved various levels in PokerStars’ player loyalty program prior to the DoJ shutting down the site in 2011.
While PokerStars’ aim was to hear from players who are considered grinders or regulars to get a feel for the issues most concerning them, it is encouraging to hear that PokerStars will not be forgetting the recreational players. According to a post on the New Jersey Online Poker Thread
at the 2 + 2 poker forum, the needs and/or ways of catering to casual players also took center stage.
I went to the private dinner meeting with 9 other players and the 2 Poker Stars Reps,
stated poster ‘njpokerplayer24.’ First off let me say i felt way unqualified to be at that meeting compared to the accomplishments of the other players there. But the main point of discussion on the left side of the table was how to attract the casual player back into playing online poker.
As is known throughout the industry, recreational players are crucial to the success of online poker rooms in order to keep fresh money coming into the site via deposits. Grinders or “sharks” also hold an important status at poker sites due to the volume of rake generated through multi-tabling and playing poker for hours on end.
Actually, the best or perhaps most successful online poker rooms are able to obtain a certain balance between casual players and regulars. Many recreational players within the U.S. have seemingly turned their backs to Internet poker following Black Friday and other issues such as poker-tracking software that gives the grinders too great an advantage.
But PokerStars’ global site has found ways to attract both regulars and casual players alike through generous VIP programs for the grinders and various promotions such as milestone hand bonanzas for the recreational crowd. It is likely that once PokerStars is approved by regulators and launches in New Jersey, the site will continue to find that balance. That was made evident by the industry giant’s reps and various attendees who discussed casual players at the recent meet and greets.
Also gleaned from the gatherings was the fact that a launch date for PokerStars in New Jersey of mid to late October is not out of the question. However, ‘njpokerplayer24’ seems to think such a time frame is a best case scenario,
so it may actually come to fruition later in the year.
