A partypoker NJ glitch left players using the Mac OS Catalina operating system unable to play for a few weeks. As of Saturday, the company resolved the issue in time for the weekend’s final tournaments in the partypoker Online Series.
Partypoker has been working the last few weeks to release new software for its New Jersey platform. Since the last update, players in NJ using Mac computers were unable to play.
Partypoker and its skins BorgataPoker.com and BetMGM all share the same player pool and software in NJ. The fix comes as the platform ran another Online Series with some nice results in the championship event.
Error caused geolocation problems
New Jersey uses a geolocation system to track players and to verify they’re within the state borders to play legally. New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada online sites use a company called GeoComply for the GPS-like software.
The recent partypoker software update was unable to geolocate players in the Garden State. The issue affected players using the software client for traditional Mac computers, not mobile or tablet users.
“I was frustrated when I found out I couldn’t get onto BorgataPoker.com to grind my Sunday tables,” New Jersey player Eddie Roman said.
Borgata Poker ambassador Katie Stone reported on Twitter over the weekend that the problem had been resolved.
Getting messages from players in NJ that @partypokerUS is now working on Macs
— Katie Stone (@KatieStonePoker) August 22, 2020
Just the latest online gaming issues for Mac users in New Jersey
This isn’t the first time Mac users have had to deal with online gaming problems. WSOP.com and Golden Nugget’s online casino had issues in October 2019.
Apple released its 16th major software release last fall, Mac OS Catalina (10.15). The system caused a geolocation issue that locked out some players for months.
“Nine months later and I was still worried about updating my Mac to the Catalina system,” New Jersey online grinder Pierre Deissler said, “because I feared I wouldn’t be able to play anymore.”
Macs users on average make up about 10% of the American PC market share. The 10% could account for some of the company’s lost poker revenue from July’s poker revenue report.
The site was expected to launch a “ringed-in” poker platform in August in Pennsylvania. That didn’t pan out and players are now hoping for a September launch.
Partypoker Online Series tops guarantee
The resolution of the Mac issue comes after some building momentum for partypoker in the US. Adding Pennsylvania would be another nice coup as the company expands into a second state.
The Online Series ran Aug. 16-23 with 15 events and $160,000 in total guarantees. While several events missed guarantees, a good turnout for the $215 Main Event meant the series topped the guarantee with $180,000 paid out.
“Our focus was on the $50,000 guaranteed Main Event, and that met our expectations,” partypoker US director poker Ray Stefanelli said. “The other prelim events for this series were focused on providing access to lower-priced events.”
The Main Event featured a $50,000 guarantee with $64,314 paid out. Dan Lupo, no stranger to NJ online poker success, took down the event for $14,792.
That comes after Lupo won PokerStars’ Bounty Builder Main Event earlier this month. He pocketed $6,273 and $7,984 in bounties in that event.
Big plans ahead for another New Jersey WPT event
Partypoker has had a longtime partnership with the World Poker Tour. The two companies partner on international live and online events.
The two are currently running the WPT Online Championships on the international party platform. In June, partypoker joined forces with the WPT in NJ and held a successful online championship.
The WPT Online Poker Open main event attracted 868 entries for a $317,540 prize pool. That was a nice result, topping the $300,000 guarantee.
David Coleman took down the $400 buy-in tournament for a cool $56,586.
“It feels incredible,” Coleman told WPT.com after winning the title. “Winning a poker tournament always does, but this one was something special. I have a very underwhelming live tournament resumé, so this is for sure the most notable win in my career.”
For winning, the 26-year-old from Livingston, New Jersey, also took home an official WPT trophy and $11,000 prize package to play in the WPT Five Diamond Poker Classic.
New Jersey grinders may soon have another shot at WPT glory. Partypoker and the WPT have plans to team up for a second event in the state, USPoker has learned.
Details haven’t been released yet but another series is expected for the fall, believed to be in September. The timing might be perfect.
The Borgata holds its Poker Open each September and attracts players from around the northeast. However, the property’s poker room remains closed however.
Perhaps a partypoker/Borgata/WPT co-branded series is next in line for the market? Expect more news later in the week.
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