The plot around the spread of the Coronavirus keeps thickening and more and more events, poker or otherwise, are being cancelled or postponed around the world.
One of the most recent announcements came out of the house of the world’s leading online poker brands, PokerStars.
PokerStars postpones all European events up until 10th April
A blog post was published on 8th March by the Head of Poker at PokerStars, Severin Rasset, informing customers about the decision to postpone all European events up until 10th April.
Due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus, we have taken the decision to postpone all European events up until April 10, 2020.
Full update: https://t.co/RsM2RP3G8S
— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) March 8, 2020
This affects the “Road To PSPC” events in Hamburg, La Grand Motte and Madrid Gran Via. Events outside of Europe will go ahead for now.
Those are EPT Sochi which takes place 20th to 29th March, Okada Manila Millions (9th to 16th March) and BSOP Sāo Paulo (19th to 24th March). There was no mention of any changes to EPT Monte Carlo end of April/early May yet.
Rasset writes, “The situation is highly dynamic and live tournaments are a big part of what we do. So we are endeavouring to strike a balance of catering to our players’ wants while also protecting attendees, and ensuring we act responsibly.
We are reviewing every event on a case by case basis, and keeping up to speed on the latest developments alongside our casino partners.”
Players that had qualified for the postponed “Road to PSPC” events will be contacted by Stars to inform about transfers of participation to a later date.
Another event affected in Asia: APT Danang
The Asian Poker Tour took it to Twitter on 9th March to announce the next Asian poker event to be cancelled.
Please be informed that due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation & the latest advisories issued by Vietnamese Government & health authorities, APT VN Da Nang 2020 scheduled for 7-18 April will now be postponed & rescheduled for 19-30 Aug. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. pic.twitter.com/1SkomACcy5
— Asian Poker Tour (@AsianPokerTour) March 9, 2020
For the first time an event has been clearly postponed to a much later date this year, bridging the summer. It has been widely assumed that the virus might not survive the summer, though this is definitely not confirmed by any official source.
However, APT Danang chose a date for late summer and might go ahead 19th to 30th August this year.
Africa: Golden Poker Million Marrakesh cancelled
While Asia has been on the forefront during this virus crisis, being quick to take measures to contain the spread of the virus by canceling events and restricting travel, other continents are reacting more slowly.
After Europe taking clear measures now there are also first reports about events in Africa being cancelled.
Africa isn’t the biggest poker market in the world, but Morocco has always been a popular destination for international gamblers.
If the Golden Poker Million Marrakesh was on your list of events to travel to this year, we have bad news as this event also has been cancelled over Coronavirus concerns.
The event was scheduled to run from 13th to 22nd March at the Casino de Marrakech in the Es Saadi Resort. But due to government-imposed restrictions it has now been fully cancelled without a new date.
The messages are clear from all continents: Everybody should do their part to contain the virus even if it causes inconvenience. Wash your hands, don’t touch your face and don’t move around in public unnecessarily, especially if you are feeling sick.
