For anybody who’s tired of hearing about how New Jersey iGaming has failed to live up to projections, there’s a more positive story to report today. A Union County, NJ resident was playing Let It Ride when he got a royal flush and hit a $1.52 million payout. This is the largest payout won in the history of New Jersey’s regulated online gaming market.
As for how the anonymous player won his $1.52 million fortune, he made three initial bets of $500, plus another $500 on the 3-Card Bonus. The lucky guy was then dealt a royal flush in diamonds, which pays 1,000-to-1 on regular bets and 40-to-1 on the 3-Card Bonus wager. When everything was added up, it amounted to a $1,522,000 payday.
Will this do anything for the market?
As mentioned in the introduction, revenue numbers haven’t exactly reached expectations in the Garden State. Many believed that the market could make at least $300 million in its first year, while Governor Chris Christie even boasted of a $1 billion revenue haul. Well, the reality lies nowhere in between since New Jersey earned $122 million in its first full year of operation.
There were plenty of roadblocks to success in 2014, including geolocation issues, credit-card processing struggles and low liquidity. All of these aspects figure to improve in the future, but the market could still use some help. And big wins like the $1.52 million haul that we just discussed will certainly help publicize the New Jersey online gaming market.
Liquidity must increase
If online poker is to help the Garden State’s iGaming effort, then liquidity must increase. As it is right now, there just aren’t enough big tournaments and cash games to draw major attention to the market. The only way that this is going to happen is if New Jersey can form an interstate or international pact. They don’t seem to see much value in dealing with small states like Delaware and Nevada, however, they have spoken to the UK about an international deal.
But the larger problem remains that no big US states have legalized iGaming. California, once thought to be among the closest to launching online poker, is still going back and forth over the bad actor clause. So while big wins like the $1.52m payout will certainly help, New Jersey still needs other issues resolved to clear the way for larger success.