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WSOP 2020 to be cancelled due to coronavirus?

The 51^st annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) has had tons of updates since 2019. The most prestigious, richest and the longest-running tournament series is just three months away. The only thing poker players are talking about this week seems to be around the coronavirus epidemic.

That which originated in China has taken the lives of nearly 3,000 individuals and almost 80,000 in China have contracted this deadly virus over the past few months, including the first death in the US quite recently. This has impacted the casino industry and postponement and cancellation of various live poker tours in Asia so far including Triton Jeju, APL Da Nang, and WPT Asia.

The last official update from the WSOP was that the officials are monitoring the situation with no alterations in dates as of now. Although the global risk assessment is set quite high. The speculation of poker players has led to many of them willing to bet on how this might impact on the 2020 WSOP. 

3-time bracelet winner Doug Polk tweeted on Wednesday saying “there is a real chance of WSOP being canceled. There are just so many countries that fly in and with severe travel restrictions it might not be realistic.” He has even offered odds on all live WSOP events except the 14 online tournaments. Polk is accepting action, betting that all WSOP events will be terminated this year. He wants to book at 20:1, which means that he will put $1 for every $20 someone else is willing to risk. Read his tweet below:

However, the official WSOP Twitter account stated that the event would kick off in three months which prompted a reply saying, “How many people will not come because of the pandemic fear?” Another post came from Daniel Negreanu who was critical of those who are betting on the virus forcing WSOP cancellation.

The WSOP is scheduled to start on 26 May at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino and the poker players are growing concerns about the impact of coronavirus in their summer plans. There have been discussions so far whether the 2020 WSOP could be cancelled.

Caesars Vice President of Communication, Seth Palansky said that hand sanitizers will be throughout the facility, “We would be prepared to expand measures to ensure the safety of our guests and employees, again leaning on the experts.” On 26th February Kevin Mathers also called the Poker Oracle, did a poll on Twitter, asking “Due to COVID-19, how likely will you attend this year’s WSOP?”

However, the story has shaken the world and impacted business, travel, stock markets. No one knows how widespread the virus will be in US in the coming months. For more updates on WSOP 2020 or other poker tournaments around the world, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com and stay tuned!

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