Popular Poker Pros Bet on WSOP Cancellation Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

Over the past few weeks, some major poker tournaments have been cancelled or postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. But will the World Series of Poker (WSOP) follow suit?

Triton Poker announced early February that it was officially postponing the Jeju leg of its Super High Roller Series due to health concerns.

Author Note: Why not stay at home and play online poker instead, all the fun and thrill without the travel!!

There has been no confirmed date yet on when the Jeju stop will finally be held, but the Triton team are not discounting the possibility that the event will be cancelled if the coronavirus epidemic continues to worsen.

The World Poker Tour (WPT) also cancelled its upcoming event in Vietnam, and postponed the inaugural WPT Taiwan which was originally scheduled in May. Now, all eyes are on the WSOP and whether it could suffer a similar fate. With the virus showing no signs of subsiding, some well-known pros believe the biggest poker event of the summer could be cancelled. One of them is Doug Polk.

In a tweet, Polk said there is real possibility that the festival will not push through considering the numerous travel restrictions currently in place worldwide due to the outbreak. The WSOP attracts thousands of poker players from different parts of the world each year. But as the virus continues to spread on a global scale, it won’t be surprising if officials finally decide to cancel the event.

Looking for more action, I want 20:1 that all Live Las Vegas WSOP events will be canceled this year.

— Doug Polk (@DougPolkPoker) February 27, 2020

Polk is now putting some of his money on the line, betting 20:1 that all WSOP events in Vegas this summer will be cancelled. This is despite a statement from Vice President of Corporate Communication for the WSOP Seth Palansky that they have no plans to cancel the event and are still monitoring the situation.

More prominent names from the world of poker joined the betting game, with PokerShares founder Mike McDonald also expressing his interest to take action at 16:1, which he later dropped to 12:1. American poker pro Dan O’Brien also laid the same bet.

While some players think the coronavirus outbreak will force the cancellation of this year’s WSOP, others are still optimistic, like Josh Reichard. The 12-time WSOP Circuit ring winner took McDonald up on his offer and asked him to discuss the details via private message. In a reply to McDonald’s tweet, Reichard also suggested that two-time WSOP bracelet winner David Baker could have accepted McDonald’s bet too.

Coronavirus Death Toll Continues To Rise

The global death toll from COVID 19 has surpassed 3,000, with the majority recorded in mainland China.

The US, which serves as the host country of the WSOP, has reported 6 deaths so far. Over 89,000 people across 58 countries have been infected by the virus.