Hi! I’m Keith Becker, PokerNews Ambassador and Pennsylvania native, here with a PA poker update for October 2024. It’s an exciting time in America for the game we all know and love, and I’m excited to be bringing you state highlights every month.

What are the big issues and stories on everyone’s minds? Let’s get into it.

The thing on everyone’s mind of course is Pennsylvania joining the MSIGA and multi-state poker. While there isn’t immediate huge news on that front as these things take time, one interesting development this month was BetMGM finally – and somewhat quietly – combining their Michigan and New Jersey player pools.

Do they know something we don’t? Eh, maybe. But it’s just as likely that they are just benefitting from combining their existing pools, plus doing their due diligence enabling the proper infrastructure so that when the time does come to combine with Pennsylvania, they’re not at a disadvantage. For now, we here in PA will have to continue to wait.

Speaking of BetMGM, they’re also currently in the middle of their Poker Online Championships, a marquee series at the operator offering a combined $2 MILLION in guarantees. These are primarily big entries aimed at higher-stakes players.

PokerStars in the USA – and thus Pennsylvania – has gone the other way this month, offering their Fall Fest Series. This series features a lot of smaller entries, although it’s exclusively hold’em and Omaha, whereas Stars has been known to experiment with more mixed games in the past. But there’s a little bit of something for every buy-in level on the US clients. For reference, the ABI (average buy-in) in this BetMGM series is about $240. On Stars in their Fall Fest it is $112. So whatever level you want to play, you got it this month.

And when I say something for everyone I certainly don’t want to leave out cash game players. Those players should look to new operator BetRivers, who has made bold claims about their rake and rewards, particularly for those players in the cash game streets.

The rewards seem to be particularly lucrative for those players willing to redeem their bonuses from playing poker for casino or sportsbook play and promos, but the operator insists it has the leading rewards in the market for all players nevertheless. I’ve played a little bit on BetRivers, which of course is represented by Phil Galfond, and I am looking forward to putting in more volume there soon to take advantage of this honestly stellar return to the player.

And again on the subject of cash games, let’s pivot quickly to live poker, as BetRivers Poker is affiliated with Rivers Casino in both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and currently has some boosted high-hand promotions, paying out $1,000 to the qualifying high-hand – at times firing off every 30 minutes! Great place to be right now if you’re a live cash grinder.

Meanwhile, the competing poker room at Philadelphia Live! casino just concluded their Live Cup IV. This unique tournament with Day 1s at both the Maryland and Philadelphia locations saw the Philly Day 2 reach a $1.3M Prize Pool with 2,570 entries. The tournament ended in a seven-way chop, with Taerim Kum from Willow Grove, Pennsylvania taking home the largest share at over $112K.

Back to the online streets… We were talking about how there’s something out there for every buy-in level. Well, how about free! There has been a fervor for the massive ClubWPT Gold invitational freeroll, which now has a drawing with massive prizes for anyone who simply registers for a ClubWPT Gold account, in addition to the $5 Million invitational freeroll for those fortunate enough to score one of the coveted Golden Passports. 2,000 Golden Passports are being awarded through various giveaways and competitions, and some Pennsylvania residents have also been lucky enough to score one, like a longtime friend of my stream Patrick McCormack, who won by simply retweeting a tweet and getting someone else to sign up. What a spot! Good luck Patrick, AKA WTR.

And finally, Global Poker is currently running satellites to their 25 Days of Poker “Unfold the Present” tournaments. These tournaments have insane guarantees – 5 Million on the Gold Coin side and 500,000 guaranteed in the Sweeps Coin Final both on December 26th. Remember, you can’t qualify for these tournaments directly, so get firing away in those feeder satellites. It’s gonna be huge value in those finals.

Poker is surging in America, and I’m thrilled to be your ambassador here in Pennsylvania. For more information, check out our PokerNews Pennsylvania page here, and be sure to follow me on socials to stay in the know. I’ll be back next month with another update!

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RENFREW, Pa. (KDKA) — A dog was dumped outside a humane society in Butler County earlier this week. State police say the dog sat in a cage for over half a day.

That dog was left outside the Butler County Humane Society for about 13 hours with temperatures in the low 30s. Now, state police are looking for two people.

“It’s disgusting,” Megan Barber, the Kennel Manager at the Butler County Humane Society, said.

Surveillance camera footage caught a suspect in the act. Stills from that camera show a man getting out of a truck. He grabbed and left a cage with a dog inside, then drove away.

“She was really scared when we came in that morning,” Barber said. “Just lunging at the cage, very nervous and confused.”

Barber and her team are caring for “Mercy” as she’s now known.

“The girls at the front desk, they come up with all the names, and they felt that fit her,” she said.

Megan says Mercy is eating and drinking. She’s got a warm bed inside the shelter.

“We’re starting to get some softer vibes from her,” she said.

Still, they’re taking it one step at a time.

“When she’s comfortable, she will get the full workout from the vet,” Barber said. “Bloodwork, X-rays, everything, and exams.”

The humane society also says it would appreciate any help.

“If anybody wants to donate to Mercy, with her medical costs and care, they’re more than welcome to,” Barber said.

As this weekend’s bitter blast continues, it’s hard for people here to grasp why someone would do this.

“Even if people fell on hard times, still doing that to their supposed best friend is just… it’s unreal,” Barber said.

State police in Butler County are asking anyone with info on those two people they’re trying to identify to call them. The humane society also says you can contact them with any information.

You can also donate to the efforts to help Mercy by mail, in person, or on the Humane Society’s website.

The National Guard has been activated by the Shapiro administration to assist residents in Erie County impacted by the heavy lake-effect snow.

The National Guard will be assisting stranded drivers to ensure emergency vehicles and first responders can get to people who are in need.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has also signed a disaster declaration for Erie County.

The disaster declaration will allow the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to draw down funding and provide state agencies with the resources needed to assist counties and municipalities as they continue with ongoing response efforts.

More: Lake-effect snow warning until Tuesday across Erie County: The latest snowfall projections

“Our teams at PEMA, the Pennsylvania State Police, and PennDOT have been on the ground overnight to help their fellow Pennsylvanians as the impacts of heavy lake-effect snow hit Erie County. At the county’s request, I’ve called in the Pennsylvania National Guard — who are now on the ground — to help any stranded drivers and make sure emergency responders can get to folks who need them,” Shapiro said. “As we continue working with local leaders in Erie County to get trucks and cars moved off roads, I’ve also signed a disaster declaration for Erie County to send all necessary resources to the area. Stay off the roads if you can, be safe, and follow instructions from PEMA and your local authorities.”

Learn more about the disaster emergency proclamation on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s website.

Contact Nicholas Sorensen at nsorensen@gannett.com.