BetMGM Poker MI has launched SPINS, a version of the popular lottery sit and go (LSNG) game, in Michigan. The operator has previously launched the game in Pennsylvania.
The SPINS game launched by BetMGM is similar to those offered by the partypoker US Network. It is a hyper-turbo, three-handed game where the tournaments are usually winner-take-all and the prize pool is randomized at the start of play. Prizes range from 2x to as high as 1,200x. Players start with 500 chips and blinds go up every three minutes.
In Michigan, players can choose from four different buy-ins: $1, $5, $10 or $25. Top prize pools range from $1,000 to $25,000, the same as what BetMGM offers players in Pennsylvania.
SPINS coming to all BetMGM states
While BetMGM launched SPINS in Michigan on October 6, it rolled the product out in Pennsylvania when it first entered that market in April.
BetMGM has indicated that it plans to deploy SPINS in all of the markets it serves, leaving New Jersey as the only state without the game. SPINS could possibly be awaiting approval by the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE).
Although there currently are no promotions surrounding SPINS’ launch in Michigan, the operator has offered such promos in Pennsylvania in the past. Similar promos are expected to eventually come to the Wolverine State.
A brief history of LSNG
LSNG games have been around for years and are popular because they can be played on mobile devices.
Winamax, a French company that operates one of the world’s largest online poker rooms, developed the LSNG concept in 2013. It launched a product called Expresso, which it currently offers in an ultra-turbo, 3-player SNG format. PokerStars built on the concept and launched its popular Spin & Go product in 2014.
Since then, the format has become extremely popular and can be found in online poker rooms worldwide, no matter if they are the sweepstakes model, subscription model, unregulated or the traditional regulated platform.
PokerStars and WSOP.com, two of BetMGM’s biggest competitors in the poker vertical, have been offering the format for years.
In New Jersey, PokerStars NJ has been running its Spin & Go product since the market’s inception, with buy-ins ranging from $1 to $25. PokerStars MI and PokerStars PA have also offered the game in those states with similar buy-ins and prizes.
Meanwhile, WSOP.com offers the same format in the three US states where it operates: Nevada and New Jersey, which share the same player pool, and Pennsylvania.
But the operator added a twist to the game by including a countdown timer, which appears at the table after a certain amount of time has elapsed, based on the prize pool multiplier. When the timer goes off, any remaining players in a tournament are automatically all-in until a winning player emerges.
The WSOP.com offering also has a slightly different structure. Instead of starting with 500 chips, players begin with 1,500 chips. Also, instead of blinds going up every three minutes, on WSOP.com they go up every two.
The top prize multiplier is also 10,000x, which means players on the network could find themselves playing for a $300,000 prize—a much more generous offering than what’s available on either PokerStars or the BetMGM/partypoker US Network.
WSOP.com also offers BLAST poker, a 4-handed, super-turbo version of Texas Hold’em Sit & Go, in Nevada and New Jersey. In Pennsylvania, the operator offers BLAST in a 3-handed format.
Comparison of LSNG Products in US
| BetMGM/partypoker US Network |
PokerStars | WSOP.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product | SPINS | Spin & Go | BLAST |
| States | MI and PA | MI, NJ and PA | NJ, NV and PA |
| Buy-ins | $1 to $25 | $1 to $25 | 10¢ to $30 |
| Structure | 3-max | 3-max | 4-max (3-max in PA) |
| Top Prize Pool | $1k to $25k | $1k to $25k | $1k to $300k |
| Multipliers | 2x to 1,200x | 2x to 1,200x | 2x to 10,000x |
| Rake | Unknown | 7% | 10% to 6.67% |
| Format | 500 chips, 3-mins levels | 500 chips, 3-mins levels | 1,500 chips, 2-mins levels |
