King’s Casino, Rozvadov, Czech Republic, has declared Italian players persona non grata due to coronavirus fears. Europe’s biggest poker room made the decision after the situation in Italy became much worse.
Italians Not Welcome at King’s Casino
“King’s Resort regrets to announce that, given the evolution of the coronavirus epidemic that since a few hours affected also the Czech Republic,…to preserve the health of its international clientele, and to prevent the spread of COVID-19, has decided to limit the access to all areas of the casino as well as to not accept any hotel reservations made by Italian residents.”
The decision to ban all Italian residents from the casino was not taken lightly. During this week, cases in the country rose to 4,636 with 197 fatalities – 49 in a single day.
A number of events at the King’s Casino that were aimed at Italian players during March and April will also be cancelled.
This might look like a knee jerk reaction, but two confirmed cases of the virus in the Czech Republic were found to have visited Italy recently.
Italy is also seeing the most infections for any nation outside of Asia.
Tournament Cancellations
As many will have expected, the tournament cancellations are now starting to roll in.
Malta is the first place to see major events cancelled or postponed. The Amateur Poker Association & Tour festival that was due to take place in May has now been shelved.
Operations Director Tom Brady said,
“Unfortunately, the Malta Poker Championship planned for late May, which incorporated the APAT Maltese National (PLO) Championship has been cancelled, due to uncertainty surrounding the Coronavirus.”
Next up to fall by the wayside was the Siege of Malta. A spokesperson said,
“Due to grave concerns about the outbreak of Coronavirus, and following health guidance from organisations such as the Maltese Health Authorities and the World Health Organisation, we have reluctantly decided to cancel the new Siege of Malta tournament in April.”
There was more talk of disappointment, but it looks like organisers are not taking any chances.
The Battle of Malta is set to go ahead in October, but that’s still a long way away. Much will happen between then and now.
The Poker One by Stanleybet – 5th Edition – is also being put back to September. The event was to be held later this month but players will now have to wait until September at the earliest.
Finally, and this will upset the most poker fans out there, the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series, Jeju will not take place.
The Triton Super High Roller Series is probably the most popular festival out there right now. Showcasing so many of the world’s best players with excellent coverage.
"It’s with great sadness that Triton Poker announces the cancellation of the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series, Jeju."
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) March 4, 2020
South Korea has more than 6,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and the proximity to China has made the position untenable for the organisers.
Not the World Series of Poker As Well
We reported last week that Doug Polk was looking for odds to bet that this year’s World Series of Poker will take a hit because of the coronavirus. Could it really happen?
I think there is a real chance of WSOP being cancelled. There are just so many countries that fly in and with severe travel restrictions it might not be realistic. https://t.co/IkgVNFNrdI
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) February 27, 2020
There are lots of opinions floating around social media news but, of course, people are reaching out into the dark.
Nobody knows and the USA looks to have the situation under control. Unless travel bans come in, everything looks to be business as usual.
Although a single case reported in Las Vegas could change things dramatically.
Vegas just got its first Covid-19 case, what do you guys think odds for a WSOP cancellation look like now?
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) March 5, 2020
Seth Palansky, vice president of corporate communications for the WSOP, said,
“We are monitoring COVID-19 developments very carefully and have no plans to cancel WSOP at this time,”
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