Since the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a lot of speculation around the world’s richest and longest-running festival – WSOP 2020, with some renowned pros predicting that the series might be canceled or moved online, while others speculating that the festival might be postponed. The officials from Caesars Entertainment finally cleared the air Monday afternoon that the 2020 WSOP would be postponed – not canceled – due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has already resulted in the cancelation or postponement of dozens of other major sporting events worldwide.
According to an official statement, the WSOP 2020 originally set to begin on May 26 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas has been pushed back to fall this year, but no exact dates have been determined.
“We are committed to running the World Series of Poker this year but need additional time to proceed on our traditional scale while prioritizing guest and staff well-being,” said Ty Stewart, WSOP Executive Director.
The WSOP executives hinted that some events would be played online in the United States on WSOP.com and outside of the United States with some partners who have not been named.
“In the interim, official WSOP competitions are expected to be played online this summer, and we will soon announce details of an expanded series of tournaments to be played on WSOP.com and through partnership with international operators, which will allow players to chase WSOP glory from their homes.”
The WSOP officials also indicated that the WSOP $10,000 buy-in main event will be included in the series later this year. The next WSOP live event on the schedule is the much-awaited Global Casino Championship that takes place from August 11-13, 2020 at the Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina. Both that event as well as the WSOP Europe will remain on the schedule for Fall this year.
The announcement comes as Las Vegas casinos enter a second month of remaining closed by order of Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak. The order, issued on March 17, was to last for 30 days but Sisolak has not lifted the order and it still continues due to the increasing threat of COVID-19 pandemic.