“It seems very difficult to postpone given the space/pre-commitment needed to execute it. Having an online series would be fine, of course, but if you have to be in Nevada to play, it’s not going to be a big series.”
Whether or not the poker world gathers in Las Vegas this summer for this year’s most prestigious competition or not, the bigger question remains whether players will eventually want to return to live poker rooms. Or will players continue to flock to online poker, which is seeing a huge surge in traffic due to offline casino closures.
“I’m not going to play live games until the pandemic is under control,” Blumenfield said. “But once it goes ahead or we have an effective vaccine, I’m definitely going to play games. Poker is just one of the billions of activities that have to get together. We have to solve bigger problems.”
Ron Mackin, the WSOP voice on ESPN since 2002, said, “I think it’s going to go back to normal eventually, and it’s probably going to go back faster than a lot of other industries because it’s the gaming industry, it’s the casino, it’s gambling, it’s a lot of money involved.” “It’s not going to be an immediate door-bashing, it’s going to be a slow climb. But when things go back to ‘normal’ I hope and pray that we can trust people who make the decision that it’s going to be safe when the doors reopen.”
And this brings us to a new “normal” look. Will the dealers and players be wearing masks and gloves? Will the tables get bigger if there is more space between players? Will there be a limit to the number of tables allowed in a particular space?
“Nothing is going to change,” Moneymaker said. “Once you find an antiviral drug or vaccine, you don’t have too much to worry about.” 안전놀이터
“In theory, there could be widely available protective gear, but it’s hard to imagine people dressing up like that to play poker,” Weisner added. “If the chips could be sanitized effectively and efficiently, it could make some progress. Everyone will continue to evaluate it, but I think life will return to normal sometime next year.”
“We’ll have to see what medical and health professionals recommend,” Fallonsky said. “No health professional would say it would be healthier to do something like limit a table to six people. I realize there’s a lot more paranoia now, and with all due reason, I don’t see it as much different from poker going to a concert or a nightclub. The reality is whether everything will be safe or not.”
McEan agreed that precautions like masks and gloves would not be needed or helpful at the table, but added, “Maybe the new saying in poker will be ‘Shuffle and trade and wash your hands.'”