To help celebrate the launch of live dealer games in Michigan, Stars Casino MI and its casino license partner, the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, has launched a weeklong promotion.
From August 5 – 11, blackjack players will have the opportunity to not only play the game live, but to also get up to $50 of their net losses back—in essence, giving players the chance to play with reduced risk.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) authorized live dealers at the state’s online casinos in mid-July, becoming the third US state to do so.
Must Play 10 Games
The live dealer promotion is available to players active with Stars Casino MI. Players must log into their account—specifically, either FOX Bet, Stars Casino or PokerStars—before navigating to the “My Stars” section and selecting “Challenges” to opt-in. Players must opt-in to participate and a player may only do so once during the promotion period.
Players must complete 10 live dealer blackjack games to receive the bonus. After playing the 10 games, players will receive a 100% bonus based on their net losses, with “net loss” meaning the difference between their aggregate real money winnings and losses over the blackjack wagers. For example, if a player were to play 10 hands with a $5 bet placed each time and they end up losing $20 in total, Stars Casino will reimburse the player $20.
Under the terms of the promotion, if a player were to win enough of the 10 blackjack games to finish with no net loss, the player won’t receive a bonus.
The promotion is also being made available in Pennsylvania for Stars Casino PA players.
Just Blackjack for Now
While Michigan launched online casino gaming in January, it didn’t get to authorizing live dealers for several months. The MGCB has initially allowed live dealers for blackjack, baccarat and roulette, but said additional games may be added in the future.
According to a source, Stars Casino is only offering the promotion for blackjack at this time.
MGCB moved forward with live dealers after conducting an on-site review of Evolution, a Swedish provider of digital platforms for online and land-based casinos. Evolution operates a live dealer studio in Southfield, a suburb just north of Detroit.
At the time the MGCB authorized live dealers in mid-July, Evolution said nine of the operators it partners with in the Wolverine State—Bet MGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, Fox Bet/PokerStars, Golden Nugget, Penn Sports/Barstool, Rush Street, TwinSpires and William Hill—had launched their live dealer studio games on July 22, the day the MGCB issued its authorization. A tenth operator, WynnBET, is expected to launch its live dealer games soon.
While Evolution currently holds a monopoly on live dealer studios in Michigan, gambling software developer Playtech announced that it had secured a long-term lease for a separate studio in Southfield in late March.
At the time, Playtech, which has partnered with Parx in Michigan, said its studio would “deliver bespoke areas for operator dedicated tables and networked tables,” adding that the studio had “room to grow and expand” to support its expansion in the US.
