COVID-19: More Poker Events Affected Due To Current Epidemic

With the coronavirus epidemic showing no signs of slowing down, another poker event has been cancelled over health and safety concerns.

The Golden Poker Million Marrakech, which was supposed to take place from March 13-22, will no longer proceed. The cancelation was made official after the host Casino de Marrakech released a statement.

Golden Poker Million is the latest event to be dropped from the poker calendar, with the Triton Poker and the World Poker Tour being the first to announce the cancellation of their Asian events back in February. The coronavirus outbreak, which continues to spread globally, has forced governments to impose travel restrictions, preventing the entry of foreign nationals to their respective territories.

The Moroccan government in particular has moved to suspend all events involving people coming from other countries, such as conferences, rallies, as well as sporting and cultural events to prevent the virus from spreading further. The measure is in place for the entire month of March. Morocco’s Health Ministry has so far reported two confirmed cases of the virus.

Several other high-profile global events have also been cancelled, including the popular SXSW Festival in Austin Texas – it’s the first time that the annual gathering has been cancelled in its 34-year history.

WPT Barcelona Withdraws Guarantees

The World Poker Tour meanwhile decided to proceed with its Barcelona stop as scheduled, but guarantees have now been removed due to the expected dip in participation numbers, arising from the coronavirus outbreak. In a statement on their official website and Facebook page, officials confirmed that their online partner partypoker will continue to host qualifiers for the festival.

News in regards to #WPTBarcelona in partnership with @partypokerlive. pic.twitter.com/htIyJFj2Ov

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) March 6, 2020

Qualifiers for WPT Passports will also continue to take place on partypoker, and they can be used for the tour’s UK and Canada legs, scheduled for September and October respectively.

WPT Barcelona will take place on March 22-15 at Casino Barcelona, in partnership with partypoker LIVE. The venue has pledged to provide adequate sanitization products to ensure a clean environment for players and staff during the festival.

Last week, the annual Siege of Malta was also cancelled amid growing concerns about the virus. The plug was also pulled on the Malta Poker Championship. Also last week, King’s Casino in Rozvadov imposed a temporary ban on Italian players, as Italy has recorded the highest number of coronavirus infections and deaths outside China.

The global death toll from the coronavirus epidemic has now passed 4,000, with over 113,000 confirmed infections. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned there is real possibility of a global coronavirus pandemic.