Michigan online poker players will soon have even more to fight for at the felt.
The PokerStars MI Bounty Builder Series begins Friday, May 13, featuring 44 events across two weekends with $700,000 in total guaranteed prize pools. Given the theme of the series, all tournaments will be played in the Progressive Knockout (PKO) format.
Five trophy events (including $125K GTD Main Event)
Five marquee events during the 11-day series will offer trophies to their eventual champions, one of which is the $125K Guaranteed Main Event on Sunday, May 22, at 5 p.m. ET.
The full list of trophy events includes:
- Event #10 (May 15, 5 p.m. ET): $200 PKO Special, $60K Guaranteed
- Event #19 (May 17, 8 p.m. ET): $1,000 PKO High Roller, $50K Guaranteed
- Event #22 (May 18, 7 p.m. ET): $100 6-Max PKO Wednesday Storm, $17.5K Guaranteed
- Event #37 (May 22, 5 p.m. ET): $300 PKO Main Event, $125K Guaranteed
- Event #42 (May 23, 8 p.m. ET): $200 PLO 6-Max PKO, $15K Guaranteed
All tournaments will be one-day events except for the $300 Main Event on Sunday, May 22. The Main Event will pause after 7 1/2 hours of play (including breaks) on Day 1 and will resume the following day at 5 p.m. ET to play down to a winner.
PokerStars MI bounty series has options at all buy-in levels
With 44 total events, the PokerStars MI Bounty Builder Series offers something for all players and bankroll sizes. Buy-ins start as low as $5, though most lower-stakes events are in the $20-$30 range. On the high side, $100-$200 tourneys can be found all series long, with the largest buy-in event at $1,000.
Some highlights on the schedule in terms of lower buy-in events include:
- Event #1 (May 13, 6 p.m. ET): $5 – Free Bounty, $2K Guaranteed
- Event #8 (May 14, 10 p.m. ET): $30 6-Max PKO, Turbo, Zoom, 7.5K Guaranteed
- Event #11 (May 15, 6:30 p.m. ET): $30 PKO, Mini Special, $10K Guaranteed
- Event #34 (May 21, 6 p.m. ET): $10 – Hybrid Satellite, $6K Guaranteed (7 additional entries awarded to $125K Guaranteed Main Event ($300 value) on May 22)
A full event list for the series is shown below:
| Date | Buy-In | Event | Guarantee | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13 | $5 | 01 - $5.00 NLHE [Free Bounty], $2K Gtd | $2,000 | Regular |
| May 13 | $50 | 02 - $50 NLHE [Turbo, Progressive KO, Turbo Warm Up], $10K Gtd | $10,000 | Turbo |
| May 13 | $30 | 03 - $30 NLHE [7-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO, Last Man Standing], $5K Gtd | $5,000 | Turbo |
| May 13 | $20 | 04 - $20 NLHE [6-Max, Hyper-Turbo, Progressive KO, Bounty Builder Express], $3K Gtd | $3,000 | Hyper |
| May 14 | $100 | 05 - $100 NLHE [Progressive KO, Kickoff], $25K Gtd | $25,000 | Regular |
| May 14 | $200 | 06 - $200 NLHE [6-Max, Progressive KO, Big KO's], $17.5K Gtd | $17,500 | Regular |
| May 14 | $20 | 07 - $20 NLHE [Progressive KO, Mini KO's], $5K Gtd | $5,000 | Regular |
| May 14 | $30 | 08 - $30 NLHE [6-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO, Zoom], $7.5K Gtd | $7,500 | Turbo |
| May 15 | $50 | 09 - $50 NLHE [Progressive KO, Marathon], $10K Gtd | $10,000 | Slow |
| May 15 | $200 | 10 - $200 NLHE [Progressive KO, Special - Trophy Event], $60K Gtd | $60,000 | Regular |
| May 15 | $30 | 11 - $30 NLHE [Progressive KO, Mini Special], $10K Gtd | $10,000 | Regular |
| May 15 | $500 | 12 - $500 NLHE [6-Max, Progressive KO, High Roller], $40K Gtd | $40,000 | Regular |
| May 15 | $50 | 13 - $50 NLHE [6-Max, Hyper-Turbo, Progressive KO, Bounty Adrenaline], $5K Gtd | $5,000 | Hyper |
| May 16 | $100 | 14 - $100 NLHE [6-Max, Progressive KO, Deepstack Royale], $12.5K Gtd | $12,500 | Regular |
| May 16 | $20 | 15 - $20 NLO8 [Progressive KO], $1.5K Gtd | $1,500 | Regular |
| May 16 | $100 | 16 - $100 NLHE, $10K Gtd | $10,000 | Turbo |
| May 16 | $50 | 17 - $50 NLHE, $10K Gtd | $10,000 | Turbo |
| May 17 | $250 | 18 - $250 NLHE [Progressive KO, Bigstack Tuesday], $30K Gtd | $30,000 | Regular |
| May 17 | $1,000 | 19 - $1000 NLHE [Progressive KO, High Roller - Trophy Event], $50K Gtd | $50,000 | Regular |
| May 17 | $50 | 20 - $50 NLHE [7-Max, Progressive KO, Last Man Standing], $15K Gtd | $15,000 | Regular |
| May 17 | $30 | 21 - $30 NLHE [3-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO], $4K Gtd | $4,000 | Turbo |
| May 18 | $100 | 22 - $100 NLHE [6-Max, Progressive KO, Wednesday Storm - Trophy Event], $17.5K Gtd | $17,500 | Regular |
| May 18 | $50 | 23 - $50 NLHE [Progressive KO, Win the Button], $7.5K Gtd | $7,500 | Regular |
| May 18 | $30 | 24 - $30 PL 5-Card Draw [Turbo, Progressive KO], $2K Gtd | $2,000 | Turbo |
| May 18 | $20 | 25 - $20 NLHE [4-Max, Hyper-Turbo, Progressive KO], $2.5K Gtd | $2,500 | Hyper |
| May 19 | $250 | 26 - $250 NLHE [Progressive KO, Deepstack Thrill], $30K Gtd | $30,000 | Regular |
| May 19 | $50 | 27 - $50 NLHE [Progressive KO, Mini Thrill], $12.5K Gtd | $12,500 | Regular |
| May 19 | $30 | 28 - $30 NLHE [5-Max, Turbo, Progressive Total KO], $5K Gtd | $5,000 | Turbo |
| May 20 | $50 | 29 - $50 NLHE [Progressive KO], $10K Gtd | $10,000 | Regular |
| May 20 | $100 | 30 - $100 NLHE [4-Max, Progressive KO], $10K Gtd | $10,000 | Regular |
| May 20 | $30 | 31 - $30 PLO [6-Max, Progressive KO], $4K Gtd | $4,000 | Regular |
| May 20 | $50 | 32 - $50 NLHE [6-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO, Bubble Rush], $5K Gtd | $5,000 | Turbo |
| May 21 | $100 | 33 - $100 NLHE [Progressive KO, Afternoon Bigstack], $15K Gtd | $15,000 | Regular |
| May 21 | $10 | 34 - $10 NLHE [Progressive KO, Hybrid Satellite], $6K Gtd | $6,000 | Regular |
| May 21 | $200 | 35 - $200 NLHE [Progressive KO, Mini KO's], $15K Gtd | $15,000 | Regular |
| May 21 | $20 | 36 - $20 NLHE [6-Max, Progressive KO, Big KO's], $6K Gtd | $6,000 | Regular |
| May 21 | $300 | 37 - $300 NLHE [Progressive KO, Main Event - Trophy Event], $125K Gtd | $125,000 | Regular |
| May 22 | $50 | 38 - $50 NLHE [Progressive KO, Mini Main], $30K Gtd | $30,000 | Regular |
| May 22 | $100 | 39 - $100 NLHE [Turbo, Progressive KO, Second Chance], $10K Gtd | $10,000 | Turbo |
| May 22 | $75 | 40 - $75 NLHE [6-Max, Hyper-Turbo, Progressive KO, Supersonic], $7.5K Gtd | $7,500 | Hyper |
| May 23 | $100 | 41 - $100 NLHE [Progressive KO, Sendoff], $20K Gtd | $20,000 | Regular |
| May 23 | $200 | 42 - $200 PLO [6-Max, Progressive KO, Trophy Event], $15K Gtd | $15,000 | Regular |
| May 23 | $50 | 43 - $50 NLHE [6-Max, Turbo, Progressive KO, Turbo Royale], $10K Gtd | $10,000 | Turbo |
| May 23 | $50 | 44 - $50 NLHE [6-Max, Turbo, Progressive Total KO, Zoom], $7.5K Gtd | $7,500 | Turbo |
Hunting WSOP MI’s bounty, too
In addition to the Bounty Builder Series, poker players in Michigan will also have some jewelry to play for at the same time, thanks to the WSOP MI Online Circuit Series, which runs May 13-24 with $510,000 in guarantees of its own.
A dozen WSOP Gold Rings will be awarded during this series, one per day, with primarily high-stakes buy-ins instead of the wide range of buy-ins featured on PokerStars MI for its four daily events.
This means that while both WSOP MI and PokerStars MI may be running series at the same time as one another, their variation in schedules will ultimately bring about a wider array of offerings for the player pool. In other words, players will be the biggest winners in the two sites competing here.
Bigger series on the horizon?
With Michigan’s recent acceptance into the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), it will soon be able to share potential player pools with Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware.
Of those states, PokerStarsUSA only serves New Jersey, which is its smallest U.S.-facing market despite being its oldest. Even still, its concurrent Bounty Builder series offers $500K in guarantees of its own, which means a future series with combined player pools could bring about more than $1 million in guarantees.
For the time being, however, play still remains ring-fenced within The Mitten State.
