A running joke for years at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas was that players spent more time waiting in line to register for a tournament than they did actually playing in it.
That certainly held true for massive events like The Colossus, a smaller $500 buy-in tournament that has attracted as many as 20,000 entrants in previous years. Hundreds of players waited in long lines, only to bust from the tournament within minutes — and then get back in line again to re-register.
Logistically, it just wasn’t the most efficient way to run a poker series or keep customers happy.
In 2025, however, the WSOP unveiled a new phone app that is revolutionizing the way poker tournaments operate and how information is delivered to players.
And long lines, for the most part, are dead and buried in the Nevada desert.
The WSOP+ app rolled out last month and immediately received rave reviews from players and poker fans alike. Participants can register and buy into WSOP live events directly from their phone using the app, eliminating the nightmare of in-person registration.
If players are eliminated from a re-entry event, they can re-enter from their device before they even stand up from their chair. The app adds them to a virtual waiting list and alerts them when they can take their new seat in the tournament.
Real-time information is also a major new feature. Once players are registered for a tournament, they can see every data point for the event, including the current blind level, minutes left in the level, players remaining, the names of players at their table and other tables, and stats and results for each player.
Players also have the ability to take notes on their opponents directly in the app. If they run into those opponents later in the tournament — or in a different event during the summer — the notes will still be saved.
Jack Effel, senior vice president of poker operations and the World Series of Poker, has been thrilled with the app’s success through the first two weeks of the series.
“It becomes so easy (for the players),” Effel told WSOP.com. “You have money on your account, you play the events that you want to, go directly to your table, sit down and start playing. You don’t have to go stand in line. And it’s helping us manage some really large fields in a more efficient manner.”
The app is a game changer, and other poker tours will likely attempt to mimic these massive upgrades in the coming months.
The 56th edition of the World Series of Poker features 100 gold bracelet events at the Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip. The series runs through July 16.
