As cases of COVID-19 and number of deaths due to the virus continue to increase each day in the US, the prospect of the 2020 World Series of Poker (WSOP) happening as planned has dimmed.
While the 51st WSOP is slated to run this year from May 26 to July 15 at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, it is unlikely that it will happen as the threat of the COVID-19 continues to grow each day. Over 143K active cases of the deadly virus and more than 24k deaths have been reported so far in the US. While many prestigious sporting events including various poker tournaments series have already been cancelled or postponed or moved online, the WSOP 2020 is likely to join the list.
Several prominent poker pros and industry insiders believe that the WSOP 2020 will not go ahead as scheduled. The Canadian tournament star and Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu, who has six WSOP gold bracelets to his name, is certain that there will be no WSOP this year, though he along with many other pros welcomes the idea of rescheduling the world’s biggest and richest festival.
Talking to PokerNews about the status of this year’s WSOP, the world’s most popular pro Daniel Negreanu, who recently signed as an ambassador for GGPoker, said, “Personally, I don’t see a WSOP happening this summer. Maybe it happens in the fall, but I would be really surprised if all this blows over by then. There really isn’t much you can do to safeguard a poker tournament from the spread of germs.”
When asked if he was taking any precautions to deal with the current crisis, he said,“Honestly, the quarantine life works quite well for Amanda and I since we are both home bodies. Not much changes for us other than not being able to go to hockey games. We were quarantined pretty early on.”
While the former PokerStars ambassador and high-stakes poker legend along with several other prominent pros does not expect WSOP 2020 to happen, the promoters and organizers of the festival are still waiting for the situation to improve and will not be taking a decision until May 2020.
Updating on the status of the upcoming event, Gregory Chochon, director of the WSOP recently said, “It’s too early to make a decision, there can still be a lot going on by the end of May ”.
