It is arguably the best time of the year for the poker world. The venerable World Series of Poker is back in action in 2021 (after an online effort in summer 2020 and a poorly advised “hybrid” “Main Event” at the end of the year), but this year is going to be extremely unique compared to its past competitions. What can we expect over the next eight weeks? We will take a look into the Poker News Daily Crystal Ball and see if we can come up with some ideas.
How Will the Mask Mandate and COVID Affect the Tournament?
The COVID-19 pandemic was the reason that there was not a full WSOP in 2020. And it has had an effect on the 2021 version also. First, the delay of the schedule from the summer to the early fall was supposed to give a chance for vaccines to take effect. After an excellent start, that has unfortunately fallen to the wayside because of the unwillingness of some portions of the citizenry to be vaccinated against the virus.
With that in mind, the WSOP has mandated that players will have to prove their vaccination status to participate in the 2021 WSOP. They have made it quite easy to provide proof of vaccination, teaming with the CLEAR mobile app to show such vaccination proof, and players only have to do it once – upon their first registration for an event (you also have to do it if you are playing any side tournaments and satellites and cash games). Even after making it fairly easy for players to show their vaccination status, there are a contingent grousing over the rule and the fact that, when standing away from the table, they must be masked (per Nevada regulations).
The WSOP and Caesars are trying to avoid being sued should there be a COVID outbreak at this year’s event, people. Instead of complaining about it, you should be happy they even decided to put on an event (because absolutely NOBODY, save for online “Main Event” winner Stoyan Madanzhiev and “hybrid Main Event” winner Damian Salas, were […]
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