The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has officially postponed its summer series, pushing the event back for an unspecified date in the fall. The event, which was supposed to unfold from May 26 through July 15 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, will now have to wait on the backburner.
This decision came shortly before Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said that he doesn’t plan to open casinos in the foreseeable future and instead left that decision with health experts.
The uncertainties surrounding the event had been building up even between a national lockdown was announced due to COVID-19. The Eldorado acquisition of Caesars Entertainment briefly had some players doubt whether the original venue of the event would be retained.
How Is WSOP 2020 Going to Be Affected?
WSOP dismissed those rumors arguing that everything remained on track. With the 51st World of Series of Poker edition pushed all the way back to the fall, there could be yet more changes coming to the circuit and events.
WSOP will probably have to revisit its schedule and reduce the number of the 101 events planned for this year’s edition. The Main Event, with its $10K buy-in for the No-Limit, Hold’em World Championship is likely to stay intact. However, others might be cut out completely.
Online events are still an option with some 14 events planned for players in New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware – those are not very likely to change at all, as they will be an important cornerstone of the poker experience in 2020.
As previously reported by Adam, poker traffic to online cardrooms has doubled since the beginning of the lockdown. Yet, WSOP too has not just stood idly by hoping for the best in the face of adversity.
WSOP Circuit Events will now also be offered in collaboration with GGPoker following a partnership last week.
18 WSOP gold rings are available and more official bracelet events hosted by GGPoker should arrive.
WSOP’s Re-structuring Begins with Online Shift of Attention
Amid the difficulty and abrupt changes in schedule, WSOP may have decided to give up on a trusted ally, 888poker and replace it completely with GGPoker. There are many reasons to suspect as much.
For example, 888poker briefly stopped running WSOP satellites earlier in April, which could signal a pivotal shift in priorities. GGPoker has also not been giving up the gun, adding King’s Casino and tennis player Boris Becker as official partners.
Yet, GGPoker is a fairly new organization whereas 888poker has the backing of the parent company, 888 Holdings, a global behemoth that reaches far and wide in all verticals of the gaming experience, poker included.
