So, I had surgery yesterday and according to doctor's orders I'm not supposed to make any "important decisions" until the drugs in my system are totally gone. (Yes, it literally says that.)
But F- it, I'll respond anyway.
You're absolutely right.
The rate of improvement in our software is not acceptable. We absolutely should have delivered a host of things to the players by now. I push for a lot of these things daily. Realize that we *are* at core a poker company. Myself, Scott Yeates (Director of Gaming Ops) and Chris Danek (Director of Product) have all been Supernovas and we all played poker for a living. Our boss, Joe Versaci (COO) has been in the online poker industry for his entire professional career and is pretty much the definition of the coveted "recreational player".
We get it, and it's even more frustrating to us than to you guys, hard as that might be to believe. We absolutely should have waitlists, time banks, sync breaks, proper button draws, proper rebuy/addon functionality, notes, a perfectly stable client, Mac/iPad/Android clients, faster deal speed, automatic deposit/play bonuses, and more. No one knows better than us what we need. Yes, there is definitely a problem with technological throughput and we're working on that.
It is not all the technology/product team. No one wants to hear this, but the regulatory hurdles are substantial. I can tell you that our most recent software update (which does include waitlists, among other things) was submitted for approval to the New Jersey regulators on 2/26 and to Nevada on 3/5. Obviously today is 3/26 and a big part of our CTO's time is being spent basically harassing these regulators to hurry up and approve our release. We thought by now that we'd be in a much better flow and be able to iteratively release much more often. When a release is held up for a really long time, it has a cascading effect on our product because when it does get approved into production (i.e. you guys can play on it), then we learn more about what we need to approve. We get feedback from players and we discover new issues and bugs ourselves. But because there is such a massive delay between the completion of our work and getting it into the wild, we're not able to speed up our development and continue to iterate better products.
I definitely don't want to use the regulatory process as an excuse, however. It's a reality that us and our competitors have to live with, and the bottom line is that we have to get better internally. I technically have no role or authority when it comes to product or technology (I'm basically a customer service guy and a payments/anti-fraud guy) but I sit in on every meeting I can where the product roadmap and status of new features/bug-fixes is discussed, because I know that right here, right now, that's where my experience can best serve UP's players.
Thank you guys for both your support, and your criticism. We hear you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PALLADINN
Open Letter to Terrence Chan:
March 25, 2014
Dear Terrence and Ultimate Gaming Poker Side of the Business,
Get the software updated. It has been four (4) months of waiting in New Jersey and an additional 2 months in Nevada.
You should be jumping up and down to get UFC and Station Casinos to get the necessary personnel to get it more sophisticated.
Tonight we couldn't even get 3 people for the $10 Double Stack ($400 Guaranteed) R&A Tournament at 5:30 PM in New Jersey.
If necessary, cut a deal with a software provider that can give you a new look and added bells and whistles. See the list of available already approved vendors on the NJDGE site.
A re-launch six months after your introduction in Nevada would be a coup.
You are leaving a lot of New Jersey business on the tables and you know it.
Your Customer Service Staff of Aces has the highest of regard from every player that comes in contact. It is time to parlay this compelling, competitive advantage.
When is it going to happen? Instead of more players, your core is going to jump ship.
What do you have to say Terrence and Team?
An Ultimate Poker Player
PS Any other New Jersey Players feel the same?