- The new platform experienced some initial issues like download problems and geo-location difficulties, though a lot has already been resolved.
- WSOP Online is the first online poker site to connect Nevada and Michigan players.
- New Jersey and Nevada players now have access to the modern WSOP software, including improved mobile and desktop apps.
- The platform will offer 30 online bracelets this summer, with tournaments running from June 1 to July 24.
WSOP is now gone live with its new online poker platform, dubbed WSOP Online. It brings together players from three states — Nevada, New Jersey, and Michigan — for the very first time in a single player pool.
The transition was announced just three days ago, but, as planned and on time, the migration took place yesterday evening.
It was not without its teething problems — players reported download issues, geo-location problems, and account verification snags — many of these have been resolved.
With this change, WSOP Online becomes the first online poker site in the US to bridge Nevada and Michigan online poker players. It is also today the only online poker network to pool three jurisdictions together (the network NJ/NV network was in the past connected to Delaware, but the Delaware sites shut last year).
The new platform also brings with it a new name, WSOP Online, which replaces the WSOP.com branding in use until now.
Players from New Jersey and Nevada now finally have access to the modern WSOP software as well. The new platform has been in place in Michigan and Pennsylvania for a while now, and it was high time for the other two markets to get the upgrade as well. It brings with it a much improved mobile and desktop apps, plus new formats like PKO and Mystery Bounty.
A Bumpy Transition to WSOP Online
Players in Nevada and New Jersey have to install new software and go through a migration process. They must choose a new screen name, and then wait for their account and cash balance to be moved over. Those in Michigan just need to go through a software upgrade.
NV and NJ players had the opportunity to complete pre-registration from Saturday. Those who went through the process could started playing on the new WSOP Online platform . Everybody else in these two states now get a message when they run their old WSOP software, prompting them to upgrade to the new platform and transition their account.
Those ready to go yesterday faced some difficulties. The original download link provided by the operator wasn’t working for some; many of those who did get the software reported geolocation problems in the live client. Some couldn’t log in; others complained of being booted out in the middle of a hand.
WSOP responded to these complaints on its official Twitter channels, reassuring players that these were temporary problems and that they are working quickly to iron out all quirks.
At the time of writing, it seems many of these major issues have already been fixed. Players are reporting geolocation is no longer a problem, and the download links are fixed.
Not all problems are resolved. As per WSOP, players in Nevada and New Jersey are currently lacking a few other features, such as the ability to deposit via PayPal.
Some players are also reporting that, upon creating new accounts in New Jersey and Nevada, they had to go through an account verification process, despite their accounts being fully verified on the old platform.
As of right now, there are also some discrepancies between NJ/NV and MI platforms. As PRO reported earlier Tuesday, players in NJ/NV don’t have access to NL2 tables, which are running in Michigan. It remains to be seen if this was done on purpose or is another deployment glitch that needs fixing.
Two Years in the Making
For a long time, WSOP.com was the only operator in the US to share liquidity across state borders, combining New Jersey and Nevada player pools (as well as Delaware, to an extent, until last year). As no other operator is live in Nevada, WSOP had a monopoly on multi-state poker.
Almost two years ago to the day, Michigan joined the MSIGA —- and this created new opportunities for operators in that state to start their own multi-state online poker networks. Everyone was looking at the WSOP to expanding theirs to another state.
However, PokerStars was the first one to take advantage of the development, combining its Michigan and New Jersey platforms at the start of 2023 to form the PokerStars US network.
Despite players’ eagerness, WSOP took its time to follow suit. Earlier this year, we started getting positive signals that the merger would finally happen this year, and it was likely the company would want to do it before the start of the 2024 World Series of Poker. Pokerfuse has been reporting exclusively over the last month about progress towards this migration.
After a long wait, the guessing game is finally over: the new WSOP Online is finally live, with players from the three states playing together in a single pool and on one platform for the first time ever.
And, as expected, the merger happened on the eve of the 2024 WSOP, which kicks off today in Las Vegas. Online bracelet events will get underway just a few days later.
WSOP Online Offering 30 Bracelets This Summer
Together with the big news, WSOP unveiled the schedule for online bracelet events, announcing that players on the new platform will get to play for 30 bracelets this summer. The online action will get underway on June 1 and will last until July 24, with several tournaments happening every week.
While these events have no prize guarantees, it’s easy to guess that this summer will feature the largest fields in the operator’s history, and WSOP Online will certainly become the largest US online poker network moving forward.
The downside is that winning a bracelet will become harder as fields get bigger, but the monetary reward for the win will compensate for those hardships.
In addition to 30 online WSOP events on the new platform, players in Pennsylvania will get a shot at seven bracelets this summer. WSOP PA remains outside of the WSOP Online network for the time being, as the state has yet to join the MSIGA, which is the necessary first step for shared liquidity.
