The coronavirus is spreading at a very fast rate, and this directly affects almost all industries. The poker industry seems to be suffering a lot already, as dozens of events worldwide were canceled to prevent the virus from spreading.
The thing about poker events is that they attract players from all over the world. When there are no dangerous viruses in sight, this is regarded as a beautiful thing, as players have an opportunity to meet various people coming from different cultural backgrounds.
However, with a global pandemic knocking on our doors, it’s vise to minimize cross-border traveling.
One of the biggest poker festivals in the world is the World Series of Poker, which attracted thousands of players last year. In fact, it was the biggest WSOP ever back in 2019, and the one in 2020 is expected to be even bigger. But what will happen with it if the coronavirus continues to spread?
Business As Usual for Now
Although the virus continues to spread, many poker lovers are hoping that nothing will happen to their favorite poker tournament. For now, everything is “business as usual” when it comes to the 2020 World Series of Poker.
Seth Palansky, Vice President of Corporate Communications for the WSOP, stated that the situation was monitored closely by the WSOP officials. However, according to him, everything remains “as is” for now.
In other words, there’s no reason to worry so much at the moment that the coronavirus would affect the 2020 edition of WSOP.
But it seems that the statement itself was a bad jinx on the state of Nevada as the first case of coronavirus appeared after that. In other words, the virus just got closer to the very heart of the WSOP and poker in general — the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.
The popular place where WSOP events have been taking place for a long time is located in the Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas.
Despite the fact that coronavirus is found in Nevada, there is one poker tournament already going on in Vegas, and that’s Wynn Spring Classic. For now, it is unaffected by this fact.
The issue with Las Vegas is that it is a tourist hotspot, meaning people from every corner of the Earth go there to visit some of the iconic properties and test their luck.
Therefore, the coronavirus is definitely going to have a negative impact on the economy of that city and the entire state of Nevada, especially in the upcoming months.
Even if the virus itself is contained in Nevada and no further cases are present, people will still be discouraged from traveling, meaning the WSOP could see some numbers sink in 2020.
However, there are still a couple of months before it begins, and a lot can change during that time. For now, all we can do is hope that the virus will not affect the tournament that much and that we’re still be able to see some great poker action.