2022 Wish List: 5 Poker Ideas to Add Even More Fun to the Game in the New Year

It has been a rough couple years for some poker players around the country. Poker rooms have closed, games are limited, and tournaments are harder to come by. 

In 2022, players are hoping poker can get back to normal and wish to see a booming reemergence for years to come. If Santa didn’t deliver everything you asked for, here are five hopeful wish list items.

1 – New regulated online poker states

In January 2021 players saw Michigan officially jump into the regulated online poker market. The Wolverine State became the fifth state to deal a legal virtual hand.

Since then millions of tax dollars have been raised for the people of Michigan. Current legalized online poker states include:

• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• Michigan
• Nevada
• Delaware

West Virginia online poker is legalized as well but may need interstate compacts because of its small population.

In 2022 players are hopeful more states will in on real money online poker regulation. Indiana and Maryland have shown some interest in regulation and may eventually the club. 

2 – Interstate compacts

An interstate compact deal between all legal states would create a big buzz and even bigger prize pools. At the moment, 888poker in Delaware.

Michigan and Pennsylvania have already put compact deals on the table, but they have not launched yet. Gaming regulators would still need to reach agreements.

Once these are in place, a possible weekly Sunday million-dollar guaranteed event might be in the cards. Interstate compacts offer an even bigger opportunity to grow US regulated online poker

3 – WSOP mystery bounties

Before the pandemic flipped the world upside down, World Series of Poker officials announced its first Mystery Bounty event. The new tournament was set for the 2020 series.

However, this event was canceled along with all live events that summer. Players would love to see this event come to fruition. 

Mystery bounties allow players to win big, but they don’t know what prize they receive until opening their bounty. In 2020, the WSOP planned to give 100 mystery bounties away that totaled up to $1 million.

Other casinos have begun to embrace this concept and players have been ecstatic when they draw big prizes. One player at the Wynn recently scored a $250,000 payday.

4 – The return of WPT Borgata tournaments

Prior to COVID, the World Poker Tour events every year.

Many players looking to start their year chasing player of the year would begin along the Jersey Shore every January. 

The Borgata hasn’t hosted a major event since January 2020. Up until recently the property wasn’t even hosting daily tournaments.

Slowly but surely events are starting to return and players hope that these major series will return to the Garden State. 

5 – Run it twice

Poker pro Jason Koon recently went on Twitter and proposed a fun new idea for a poker tournament. The idea involved a “run it twice chip” and generally received positive from other players. 

Poker is always changing and adding a little more fun to the mix is always a good thing. Some fresh ideas help bring more people to the game and keep players engaged. 

Here’s to even more poker in the new year!