WSOP.com Nevada Unveils Major Upgrades

August 5th, 2014 | by Jason Reynolds

Nevada’s WSOP.com site received a major software upgrade on Monday. (Image: WSOP.com)

WSOP.com has become the most popular online poker site in the state of Nevada, holding onto that lead even after the World Series of Poker ended for the summer. But that doesn’t mean the site is ready to rest on its laurels, and this week it’s seeing a major upgrade to the Caesars-backed site.

On Monday morning, WSOP.com in Nevada was offline for about eight hours in order to push forward with a major software update, one that was expected to significantly improve the site’s functionality for players in the state. Once the site went live again, new players could immediately download the new version of the software, while existing players were expected to see their clients patched in 24 hours.

Immediate Upgrades to PC Client

According to a post on the Two Plus Two forums by Bill Rini, the WSOP head of online poker, several features were immediately available to players that were designed to improve the player experience while in the poker room. Rebuys and add-ons in tournament play have been enhanced, and more tournament information is now available in the lobby view. Players will also now receive friendly reminders if they are registered for a sit-and-go tournament, but try to log out. It’s also possible to quickly review the last hand played.

For now, these updates are only available in the PC version of the client, but they are also expected to be rolled out on a future Mac/OSX client update. According to Rini, no target date has been set for the Mac version of the software upgrade, however.

Other features of the upgrade may not be immediately obvious to players at the tables. But when these new changes come online, they should help make the site easier to use for those in Nevada who have been experiencing difficulties so far.

Geolocation, Mobile Features Coming Soon

One major change will be the capability to use better geolocation software. The WSOP Nevada site will now be able to use the same GeoComply software that the company already uses in New Jersey. According to GeoComply CEO Anna Sainsbury, the WiFi-based technology they use is nearly 100 percent efficient, keeping out players located beyond the state’s borders, without locking out a significant number of in-state customers.

The upgrade will also include the technology necessary to support mobile devices, with both Andriod and iOS support available. However, neither the geolocation upgrade nor the apps for mobile play will immediately be rolled out. In the case of playing on mobile devices, Nevada regulators will still have to approve the apps, which will go live as soon as those approvals are received. The WSOP expects the geolocation technology to go live sometime around the end of August or the beginning of September.

Another supported feature in the upgrade will be the ability to withdraw funds from Caesars’ casinos in Nevada. Players have been able to make deposits at these casinos for some time now, with that function heavily promoted during this year’s World Series of Poker. As with these other updates, cage withdrawals won’t immediately be available, but are expected to go live in about a month.

The WSOP site leads Nevada’s online poker market, attracting about 65 percent of all traffic in the state. The increase in traffic the site saw during the 2014 World Series of Poker helped Nevada produce over $1 million in online poker revenue in June, the first month to surpass that mark.