Glitch that allowed WSOP gambling website to accept wagers corrected

LAS VEGAS -- An online gambling website based on the World Series of Poker that is awaiting final approval from Nevada gaming regulators accidentally went live Wednesday for a brief time but was shut down quickly when the glitch was discovered.

Caesars Interactive Entertainment, which operates the World Series of Poker, informed gaming regulators of the error.

Caesars wants to launch the Nevada-based pay-to-play website during the World Series of Poker, which began its six-week run at the Rio on Wednesday.

Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett said Caesars officials reported the incident quickly after it was discovered.

“They addressed it immediately, and we are working with them to see how the mistake was made,” Burnett said. “They notified me right when it happened.”

Caesars is promoting the website during the World Series of Poker. The company is encouraging players to preregister for the website by offering more than $700,000 in incentives, including seats at various live tournament events and entry into the website’s “Online Nine” and “Online Championships.”

Player posts on the twoplustwo.com poker forum first unveiled the glitch. A source said at least seven players competed.

A post from a “WSOP Ken” on twoplustwo.com said the glitch involved players using a Mac computer, but that payment transactions were not completed.

“Unfortunately, for a short time this morning, two Nevada players were able to gain access to the Mac version of our real money poker client and participated in a live game,” the post stated. “These players should not have been able to deposit or play. The technical glitch that enabled these players to gain access to the Mac client has been corrected.”

Caesars Interactive spokesman Seth Palansky said technicians uncovered the glitch during a test.

“We immediately detected it and stopped the activity and closed our system to prevent further activity,” Palansky said. “We appreciate the enthusiasm of folks wanting to play with WSOP.com and will publicly announce when we go live for customers. The good news is we are progressing well in our testing, and it won’t be too much longer until we can offer it online.”

Under Nevada gaming regulations, players can wager on online poker from computers or mobile devices within Nevada borders only.

Nearly two dozen casino operators and technology companies have been licensed for interactive gaming.

Ultimate Poker, which is operated by Station Casinos’ subsidiary Ultimate Gaming, was launched on April 30 and is the only legal pay-to-play online poker website in the U.S.