This past weekend was the biggest of the year thus far on New Jersey regulated online poker rooms thanks to the conclusion of the fourth-edition of the Garden State Super Series (GSSS) on partypoker NJ and BorgataPoker.com.
Ryan "hags021" Hagerty notched the biggest single online tournament win in the Garden State after he took first place following a three-way deal in the GSSS #57 �� $150,000 GTD NLH Main Event for $21,347. As part of the deal, "anotherphish" banked $17,489 for second place and "MYSTICMOUNTAIN" snagged $16,469 for third place.
Finishing just outside the deal, but still collecting big paydays, were Keith "T1mB3y_B33F" Donovan winning $9,750 for fourth place and Pennsylvania's Ryan "s1nnr" Gutzler crossing the border to play in New Jersey and taking fifth place for $7,890.
Donovan's big day was far from over, too, as he finished in first place as part of a heads-up deal in the GSSS #58 �� $75,000 GTD NLH High Roller to take home $17,178. New Jersey's "drew1115" took second place in this tournament for a nice consolation prize of $16,218.
Two other notable players to notch wins in some of the bigger GSSS IV events over the weekend included Jake "jakep474" Perry (GSSS #53 �� $4,620) and Daniel "mj23style" Sewnig (GSSS #59 �� $5,088).
Big Money On WSOP.com, Too
The WSOP.com NJ/888poker NJ Sunday $30,000 Guarantee has generally been the second biggest tournament of the weekend when there are no special series taking place. The tournament was still one of the bigger ones this weekend with 199 players ponying up the $200 buy-in to generate a $36,815 prize pool.
Jesse "No_Xcape" Elliot fell just short of collecting a five-digit payday in this tournament after finishing on top of the field to win $9,940. Also on the final table were well-known New Jersey online players Sean "Sean_naeS" Martin (3rd - $3,313) and Anthony "Flawlessbink" Maio (7th - $1,399).
Meanwhile, thanks to Donovan's strong performance in the GSSS IV, there was a shake-up in the PocketFives New Jersey Online Poker Rankings, which ranks the best online poker players in the state. Donovan, who is known on PocketFives as "donnysack" unseeded Yong "ykwon17" Kwon for the No. 1 spot with Kwon slipping down one spot to second place. Rounding out the top-five in the rankings were three well-known players in Daniel "RedsoxNets5" Sewnig, former number one-ranked NJ player Michael "JohnnnyDrama" Haberman Jr, and BorgataPoker.com Pro and Cardrunners instructor Michael "Gags30" Gagliano.
PokerStars Launches in New Jersey Today
In other news, New Jersey online poker players are getting excited as today at 4 p.m. ET the return of PokerStars to the United States takes place for the first time since the U.S. Department of Justice shut down the online poker room to Americans on Black Friday. While the official launch date is March 21, the site begins action today with a soft launch, capping the action to 500 players.
If you play regulated online poker tournaments in New Jersey and would like your real name appearing in future articles, please contact the editor at [email protected].
*Special thanks to PocketFives.com for some of the data in this article.
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