Four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and former WSOP Player of the Year Shaun Deeb has admitted to his Twitter audience that he has contracted the COVID-19 virus. While playing the 2020 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) from Mexico, Deeb contracted the virus and was so severely affected that he had to be… Read more »
Poker players will have to wait On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission approved the health and safety guidelines for reopening casinos. The main takeaway for our readers: there will be no poker for a while. No date has been set yet for when Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park Casino will be allowed… Read more »
No date has been set for Detroit’s three commercial casinos to reopen, but they now have a set of official health and safety protocols for when they finally do welcome back guests. On Monday, the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) issued its minimum guidelines that MotorCity, MGM Grand, and Greektown casinos must follow in order… Read more »
The UK’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has announced that casinos in England can reopen in a month, on July 4.* The country’s casinos have been closed to help slow the spread of the coronavirus since March 23. The government actually set July 4 as a target date last month for the third and final… Read more »
Meadows is cleared for takeoff The Meadows Racetrack & Casino will become the first of Pennsylvania’s dozen casinos to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. The facility southwest of Pittsburgh plans to welcome its first guests in over two months on Tuesday, June 9. It is able to do so because it is in Washington County,… Read more »
Gambling, but with smaller crowds As many Las Vegas casinos ready themselves to reopen on Thursday, June 4, final preparations are underway to make sure the return of guests goes as smoothly as possible. On Monday, local news station KSNV got a tour of the Bellagio as one of the center pieces of the Strip… Read more »
Long-awaited announcement has arrived Nevada locals and tourists yearning for a trip to Las Vegas can finally get excited. On Friday, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak announced via a press release that “pending the evaluation of trends in Nevada’s COVID-19 data,” he will allow the state’s casinos to reopen on June 4. Casinos have been closed… Read more »
King’s Resort, home of the World Series of Poker Europe, reopened its poker room on Monday. The 160-table poker room, the largest in Europe, was closed for nearly two months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sister casinos Admiral Casino and King’s Prague also opened. In addition to poker, King’s Resort has also made casino games… Read more »
He said that, once he left the poker realm, he wanted to concentrate on other areas of interest in life outside the game, and he is now doing just that. Former poker professional Doug Polk has started a petition drive against Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman, seeking to have the mayor recalled from office –… Read more »
Though several states have begun to “reopen” in recent days, giving people who just absolutely cannot deal without a haircut the opportunity to have somebody else groom them, Nevada casinos are still shuttered because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And rightfully so. No state has even met the minimum requirements for the federal government’s “Phase 1,”… Read more »
Poker during a pandemic is a bad idea We were all waiting for this shoe to drop. It felt inevitable. Caesars entertainment finally announced that the 2020 World Series of Poker has been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled to begin just over a month from now on May 26th, the goal is… Read more »
L’Autorité de régulation des jeux en ligne (ARJEL), the French internet gaming regulatory body, has issued guidance to online gambling operators, discouraging them from offering bonuses to players. ARJEL pointed out that the combination of people being confined to their homes during the current coronavirus pandemic and the lack of sports and horse race betting… Read more »
Virus spread quickly Eight retirees ranging from age 70s to mid-90s had been getting together for a home poker game at their condo in South Florida for years. Five days a week, they played a low-stakes game like many of us might, just having a blast spending time with friends. A month ago was their… Read more »
Not home, but safe and comfortable Among all of the problems the COVID-19 pandemic has created, one of them is the quandary health care workers and first responders have been put in. They work so hard every day to save lives, but in turn risk the lives of their family members when they return home… Read more »
Dan Smith, fifth on the all-time poker tournament money list, announced on Monday that he has launched an initiative through his Double Up Drive organization to raise money for households in the Las Vegas area that are most at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, he has teamed up with Phil Galfond,… Read more »
This doesn’t exactly have anything to do with poker. Actually, it has nothing to do with poker. It doesn’t kind of relate to sports betting, so if we want to pretend this has something to do with gambling, there you are. But regardless, Wimbledon is cancelled. On Wednesday – and this was not an April… Read more »
We are now officially unable to gamble at commercial casinos in the United States. The coronavirus pandemic has either forced them all to shutdown or some level of state, county or local government has forced their closures. The last place to fall was Deadwood, South Dakota, which shuttered its casinos as of noon today. Took… Read more »
Troubled times can bring out the goodness and the shittiness in people. We have seen both every day during the current coronavirus pandemic. People helping out neighbors in need on the one hand, others hoarding supplies from their neighbors on the other hand. Doctors coming out of retirement to help treat the sick, other doctors… Read more »
The coronavirus pandemic is a weird thing. We in the United States heard about it weeks, if not months, ago, but because it didn’t affect most of us, most people didn’t take it seriously. It was just in China. It was just up there in Washington. But then the NBA season was suspended and people… Read more »
Even small gatherings aren’t a good idea The World Poker Tour (WPT) announced on Tuesday that it is postponing this season’s televised final tables because of the coronavirus pandemic. Three final tables were scheduled to be held at the HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas inside the Luxor from March 31st through April 2nd. The WPT… Read more »
And there it is. On Tuesday, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak ordered all “nonessential businesses” in the state to close to the public for 30 days. Most notably for our interests, that means that all Nevada casinos – Las Vegas Strip and all – have now gone dark. Governor lays it all out Sisolak made no… Read more »
It is a 100 percent, stone-cold, lead pipe lock that the phrase of 2020, whenever that title is handed out, is going to be “social distancing.” There is absolutely not a doubt in my mind. I would bet my entire net worth on it, which fortunately isn’t that much right now after these last couple… Read more »
The hits to the poker calendar continue as the world goes on semi-lockdown in an attempt to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As poker players know, a poker room has got to be one of the worst places to be if trying to avoid a virus. And casinos know this, too. To… Read more »
It was inevitable As the United States finally starts to embrace the seriousness of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), social distancing has become the key tool in fighting the virus. By staying away from each other, by limiting crowds, we can help slow the spread of the coronavirus. To this end, MGM Resorts International announced on… Read more »
Hundreds of poker players in one room might be a bad idea With coronavirus (COVID-19) spreading quickly across the globe, PokerStars announced on Sunday that it has postponed all of its PokerStars LIVE events until April 10th, 2020. The three events that will no longer be held as scheduled are: Road to PSPC – HamburgRoad… Read more »
