The absence of a full WSOP in 2020 was due to the COVID-19 epidemic. It has also had an impact on the 2021 version. First, the timetable was intended to be moved from the summer to the early fall to allow vaccinations to take effect. Due to the refusal of certain citizens to get vaccinated against the virus, it has sadly gone by the wayside after a promising start. In light of this, the WSOP has required that participants must provide proof of vaccination status in order to compete in the 2021 WSOP. By collaborating with the CLEAR smartphone app, they’ve made it simple for participants to show proof of vaccination, and they only have to do it once – when they register for an event for the first time. Even after making it very easy for players to demonstrate their immunization status, some players are still grumbling about the regulation and the fact that they must be veiled when stepping away from the table.
People, the WSOP and Caesars are attempting to avoid getting sued if a COVID outbreak occurs during this year’s tournament. Instead of criticizing, you should be grateful that they decided to hold an event (since no one was satisfied with the procedures in 2020, save for online “Main Event” winner Stoyan Madanzhiev and “hybrid Main Event” winner Damian Salas).
According to the Crystal Ball, there will be some who try to sabotage the event. Some people will believe that the rules do not apply to them. They’ll be dealt with by Caesars and the WSOP. The finest advice that can be given to players is to obtain the shot then play. The $10,000 Championship Event included 89 nations in 2019 (the last live WSOP). When you look at the exact number breakdowns of the 8569 players, you’ll notice that 6110 of them were from the United States, which implies that 2459 of the players in the 2019 WSOP Championship Event were from outside the United States.
The World Series of Poker will take place in 2021, and the United States is still enforcing travel prohibitions due to the COVID issue. How many international players will jump through hoops just to get to the World Series of Poker this year? It might have a big influence on the amount of people who show up for the Championship Event and even the preliminary events. The WSOP discovered that they couldn’t make contract employees, including many of its dealers, comply with immunization requirements. For the duration of the tournament, Caesars shut down a handful of its hotel poker rooms and relocated dealers to the Rio.
In Las Vegas, the dealers as a whole are in a bad way. Many poker clubs have yet to reopen, and dealers may be searching for a temporary job. Is this going to affect the way people play at the tables? Will the pros be able to make the necessary changes and realize the benefits of this tenacious player? Or will the “Year of the Amateur” be the one to make the risky, gamble moves that will shock the establishment?
