Coronavirus Update: Online Poker Action Picks Up As Casinos Shut Down

The novel Coronavirus that originated in the Wuhan province of China, has sent the world scuttling in fear. With over 200,000 confirmed cases and 8,227 deaths reported across 141 countries, city administrations have been forced to take drastic measures, the fallout of which has been the shutdown of schools, colleges, and bars among other public spaces.

Casinos and poker rooms bring large groups of people together in an enclosed space for a prolonged period of time, which is why casino-goers are considered to be at a high risk of contracting the Covid-19. This realization was not lost of many international tournament brands that called off planned stops even before the casinos were forced shut by the government.

Major venues in poker hubs like Los Angeles and Las Vegas voluntarily shut shop even before the administration stepped in, forcing the closure of the few remaining casinos that were still running.

On Tuesday, the Governor of Nevada, Steve Sisolak, announced that all casinos in Nevada would remain closed for 30 days. He also ordered a statewide shutdown of hotels and other non-essential establishments.

In the wake of the increasing Coronavirus cases in the U.S., even the Atlantic City Governor Phil Murphy has ordered the closure of all nine casinos in the city for an indefinite period.

Amidst all this chaos, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) continues to stay on track (for now), even though the fate of the summer extravaganza remains undecided! It is widely being speculated that unless the outbreak is contained soon, there is a slim chance of the series running through as planned.

With live poker action all but biting the dust, the player traffic has since moved online with cash game action peaking across major poker networks. Sniffing the opportunity, many tournament brands have shifted their live stops online. While the WSOP Circuit and WPT were the first two live stops to come out with online editions, the Irish Poker Open has become the latest series to take the online route.

Casino Shutdown Continues

Nevada Governors Orders Closures of All Casinos

The world’s gambling capital, Las Vegas, is reeling from the fallout of the Coronavirus outbreak that has all but killed the business in Sin City. While many Vegas casinos like the Palazzo, Wynn, Encore, and MGM were quick to the buck by temporally shutting down, the few casinos that took the risk and stayed open wore an empty look with players and gamblers alike exercising self-isolation.

Making the lockdown official, the Governor of Nevada, Steve Sisolak, on Tuesday ordered all casinos in Nevada to shut operations for 30 days. While the majority of casinos in the U.S. state are located in Las Vegas, this announcement has impacted 440 licensed casinos across Nevada.

“If your business brings groups of people together, it should not be open,” Sisolak said in his announcement. He added that the only businesses that could remain open will be those offering essential services like healthcare and food outlets.

Atlantic City Casinos Shut Down

Just like Nevada, even New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has ordered all nine casinos in the Atlantic City to close down temporarily. Murphy didn’t give a 30-day lockdown limit like in Nevada but said that the casinos would remain closed “until such time as it is deemed safe for their reopening.”

He underlined the increasing incidence of Coronavirus cases, “It is no longer time for business as usual. This is real. Stop believing folks who say this isn’t real.”

The affected casinos include Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, Bally’s Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City, and Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City.

Reacting to the directive, the President of the Casino Association of New Jersey and Senior Vice President of the Eastern Regional Operations for Eldorado Resorts, Steve Callender, said, “The closure of our properties is a prudent decision to ensure the safety of our employees, guests, and broader communities. During this challenging time, we must all take the necessary measures to help prevent the spread of this virus. We look forward to reopening all of our casino resorts and welcoming back guests and employees as soon as it is considered safe.”

WSOP Still On Track – For Now

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the richest sporting event in the world, and the summer festival is something every poker player looks forward to all year round. The WSOP has been gradually filling in its 2020 schedule with the last announcement on February 28, adding eight more events, formalizing a 101-event schedule for this summer.

The recent Covid-19 outbreak has put a spanner on things and has got the poker community speculating on whether the series that is scheduled to start on May 27 will actually run as planned. The blanket closure of casinos in Las Vegas includes the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, the host venue of the WSOP. So it goes without saying that unless the situation improves in the next few weeks, the likelihood of the WSOP 2020 going ahead as planned look slim.

Poker Action Moves Online

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a nail in the coffin for live poker, but the outbreak has brought with it a windfall for online poker operators. With the contagion forcing people to stay indoors and practice social distancing, online poker has become more than a pastime for many.

Like their international counterparts, even domestic gaming sites are witnessing a significant spike in traffic since last week.

Player Traffic Peaking on Domestic Gaming Sites

There’s been a surge in traffic on the online poker sites and other gaming platforms. While PokerBaazi has reported close to a 25% increase in traffic, online gaming app WinZo has witnessed a 3X spike in traffic in the last two days.

“On March 14 and 15, our gameplays went up by around 3x, and this was unusual. Time spent also went up. We generally see four million games played on our platform, and this went up to approximately 10 million over the last weekend (March 14-15),” claims Saumya Singh, co-founder of WinZo Games.

Italy Records Historic Online Traffic Surge

Poker Industry Pro has reported that Italy, which is the worst affected country by the COVID-19 outbreak outside of China, is witnessing its highest online poker traffic ever. Cash game traffic is at a five-year peak, with weekend tournaments overriding guarantees by huge margins.

According to PokerScout data, there were at least 5,000 players reported across all the sites on Tuesday with the PokerStars’ client in Italy alone recording over 2,700 cash game players.

While the online traffic is relatively lower in the rest of Europe, there has been a significant surge in both cash game traffic and tournaments at online sites.

Irish Poker Open Moves Online to partypoker

Following the footsteps of the World Poker Tour (WPT) that has come out with the WPT Online Series in partnership with partypoker, the popular Irish Poker Open has also teamed up with partypoker for its online edition. The series is the longest-running poker tournament in Europe and was scheduled to run at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin from April 6 to 12.

“Since our announcement last week regarding the postponement of Irish Open 2020, considerable efforts have been made to find an alternative date to run Irish Open 2020,” said Irish Poker Open’s JP McCann, adding, “We would like to thank partypoker for taking the initiative to help ensure Europe’s oldest running poker festival goes ahead during these very challenging times. We hope to see you for the first time ever on the virtual tables for the 40th Anniversary of the Irish Open.”