Coronavirus Update: More Poker Stops Affected, Shut Down of Casinos Continues

The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is genuinely a ‘once in a generation’ disease that has in just four months affected 1,358,946 worldwide and resulted in 75,897 deaths. Governments all across the globe have been compelled to take stern action that has led to the shut of multiple industries. This is turn has brought on a global recession of sorts.

With over half the world’s population forced into lockdown to contain the spread of this highly contagious virus, online poker has seen a spurt in traffic. However, this has come at the expense of live operators like casinos, poker rooms, and tournament brands that have been left in the lurch.

International poker companies such as the World Poker Tour (WPT), Triton Poker, World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC), and many more have either canceled or postponed their live series. In fact, WPT and WSOPC have also hosted an online series each to make up for the lack of live-action.

The Chinese Texas Hold ’em Poker Association (CTP Club), which was supposed to host the WPT Taiwan, has announced that the planned series has been postponed yet again and has now been scheduled for December 11-21. In another unsurprising announcement, the Asian Poker Tour (APT) has confirmed the cancelation of its APT Philippines 2020 stop, which was expected to take place from April 27 to May 10.

On the other hand, Europe’s largest casino located in Rozvadov, Kings Casino, announced that it will remain shut till at least September 1 while Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa has been closed down till May 4.

While we have reported four cases where poker operators were forced to shut operations or postpone their events, Taiwan was probably the only country in the world to host two poker fests during the ongoing crisis. The Global Poker League (GPL) and the Master Poker Series concluded recently at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP Poker Club) in Taipei after following what they labeled strict guidelines and ensuring necessary precautions.

While several brands and companies have been canceling/postponing events, the ‘World’s Biggest Poker Festival’ – World Series of Poker (WSOP) – is yet to make any announcement regarding the fate of its 2020 annual series. However, with the US presently the most affected country in the world in this pandemic with 367,650 confirmed cases and 10,943 deaths, it’s only a matter of time before the announcement is made.

WPT Taiwan Postponed

The World Poker Tour (WPT) has faced several challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The brand had to cancel its WPT Vietnam series along with the postponement of the inaugural WPT Taiwan, which was initially scheduled from March 27 to April 6, 2020, but was postponed to May 14-24, 2020.

Even its stops at Thunder Valley, Jacksonville, and Deauville had to be postponed. The focus for the WPT has since shifted towards the virtual felts. As reported earlier, it has collaborated with partypoker for the launch of the WPT Online Series.

WPT’s Taiwan venue partner, Chinese Texas Hold ’em Poker Association (CTP Club) recently announced on its official Facebook page that the Taiwan series has once again been postponed, this time to December 11-21, 2020.

The CTP Club’s announcement read, “Due to the recent Covid-19 outbreak around the globe, serious consideration has been undertaken especially with most countries facing lock down and flight restrictions, meaning the attending of international players and WPT staff cannot be assured.”

The 11-day long series comprised of 17 events, with buy-ins ranging from TWD 6,000 (~USD 198) to TWD 66,000 (~USD 2181). The Main Event had a guaranteed prize pool of TWD 8 million (~USD 264,297) with a buy-in of TWD 33,000 (~USD 1,090).

Surprisingly, the Master Poker Series is currently underway at CTP Club, Taiwan, but restricted only to the country’s nationals. Taiwan has reported a total of 348 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus, 50 of which have already recovered to date.

APT Philippines 2020 Canceled

The Asian Poker Tour was one of the first international brands that had to postpone a series (APT Da Nang 2020) due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Like the WPT, the APT has entered the virtual gaming forte after tying up with Natural8.com to announce the APT 2020 Online Series from April 29 to May 10.

On April 3, APT officially announced the cancelation of the APT Philippines 2020 series on their website.

The announcement stated, “Because of the ongoing COVID-19 situation, it is with regret that APT Philippines is canceled. Watch out for new details soon to be announced of next APT Philippines at Resorts World Manila, which starts September 10, 2020.”

The 14-day festival was supposedly scheduled to run from April 27- May 10, 2020, hosting a total of 25 events.

GPL and Masters Poker Series Take Place as Planned in Taiwan

While operators were forced to shut shops or postpone their events, two poker fests continued unabated in Taiwan. Last weekend, Chinese Texas Hold ’em Poker Association (CTP Poker Club) in Taipei hosted the Global Poker League (GPL) and the Master Poker Series.

Now, one would wonder how this was even possible, with over 300 positive cases in the country. While this was undoubtedly a risk taken by the organizers, the venue put in place safety measures like daily temperature scans of all players, sanitation of all poker equipment and hands, installing hypochlorous acid water machines, ensuring a safe distance between tables, etc.

For foreign players, proof of arrival in Taiwan of more than seven days, along with their passports, was a must. Also, anyone with a temperature above 37.5° and/or exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms was not permitted inside the poker room premises. A limit of 100 person maximum was allowed in the venue.

With all this in place, the GPL kicked off on March 28 and concluded yesterday with Team Taiwan winning the league.

According to Raymond Wong, Global Poker Index Asia CEO, “We are well aware that with the current Covid-19 situation around the globe, it is not the best time to host any events, especially with the flight restriction and country lock down, however we thought that the show must go on with the support from the local poker community. We are expecting ZERO foreign players, and player numbers will definitely be low, but we are ready for any outcome.”

The decision-making to run the festival is not just from MPS/GPL, but also our venue host CTP Poker Club – Mr. David Tai. Taiwan has been doing a great job keeping the people safe. Despite cases increasing every day, the numbers are not critically high, and most cases are from abroad. Taiwan’s CDC is keeping good eyes while arrivals in the airport and quarantine are taking place. The local community is also well in control.” he added.

King’s Casino in Rozvadov Closed Till September 1

With the entire world getting used to the social distancing concept, Europe’s largest casino, Kings Casino in Rozvadov, made the announcement that it will remain closed till at least September 1.

❗️CLOSURE❗️

King’s Resort, King’s Casino Prague and Casino Admiral Rozvadov will be temporarily closed from today, March 13th, until further notice. https://t.co/xVH0Btkj65 pic.twitter.com/r9g9kR6RAr

— King’s Resort (@PokerroomKings) March 13, 2020

Last we checked, the official website stated, “In compliance with the Czech government-issued restrictions on March 12 to prevent the spread of COVID-19, King’s Resort, King’s Casino Prague and Casino Admiral Rozvadov will be temporarily closed from today, 13th of March, until further notice. King’s Resort Team deeply apologizes for any inconvenience these measures may have caused. Please check our social media for any further updates.”

The owner of King’s Casino, Leon Tsoukernik, announced that the employees of the casino will get paid till at least September 1 and assured that probably the WSOPE in the upcoming autumn will be the “first major festival after the crisis.”

The luxurious property is home to the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) and MILLIONS Main Events. The venue is extremely popular for its high stakes cash game action as well. The poker room also played host to the third chapter of The Indian Poker Series (TIPS) in February this year.

The Czech Republic was among the first countries to announce a total lockdown with at least 3,085 detected cases and 44 deaths because of the COVID-19 pandemic to date.

Singapore Casinos Stop Operations

Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa properties were also forced to shut their operations when the country’s Prime Minister ordered safe distancing measures from April 7 to May 4. Casinos closed today with all gaming activities stopped at 6 am.

Marina Bay Sands announced the suspension of all its services and will not accept any new hotel reservations. For the guests already present at their property, the management is looking for alternate arrangements.

Resorts World Sentosa announced, “In the meantime, we will continue to look after our RWS family, including the marine life under our care,”

Similar to other countries, only essential services and critical sectors are allowed to operate in the country and according to the mandate. “Only selected restaurants and food and beverage outlets, which can support the necessary daily living needs of residents, will remain open for takeaway and deliveries.”