The WSOP Introduced A New COVID Rule That Could Send The Entire Series Into Chaos And Possible Cancelation
So this is the biggest story in poker right now and it ain't good! While the country is once again dealing with COVID, the WSOP is scheduled to begin on September 30th. To combat any possible outbreaks, they wrote rule 115 which states a player can be DQ"d simply for being at a table with someone who tests positive for COVID. Yes, you read that correctly- you could be minding your own damn business, scooping pots and building chip towers, and if you sat next to someone the day before who has Covid, you could also be removed from the tournament. It's nuts.
And it gets even worse- they aren't going to refund you either. If you are chipleader and not yet in the money, you don't get refunded for the tournament nor do you collect any of the payouts. If you're in the money, you get awarded the next payout amount, regardless of chip stack. Bananas.
But obviously this absolutely will not be able to stand as is. It logically doesn't make sense in the least. A tournament director DQ'ing you from the tournament because someone at your table the day before tested positive? In what world? And then the trickle-down effect- everyone switches tables so much that it would be nearly impossible to run a tournament whatsoever while utilizing this rule.
Which means…yeah. It means WSOP is once again in jeopardy. If the rule stands as is, nobody would risk playing a tournament knowing they can be removed from it at any time. It just wouldn't be worth it.
So the WSOP basically has 2 options: Go full Florida and not give a fuck about Covid at all, or cancel the series until things calm down again. As it stands right now, Nevada is pretty bad with Covid cases. There is a shortage of hospital beds. Packing 10,000 people from around the world into one convention center is a recipe for disaster. I'm fucking livid that there is a large chance we might go ANOTHER Summer without the WSOP. It's all I want to do. I just want to play poker tournaments at the WSOP. And it is on the brink of being canceled once again. Fucking SUCKS.
Also on the podcast we talk about Smitty's deep run in a PA WSOP online event, how to properly play blackjack when Ryan Whitney is at your table, and some other odds n ends from the poker world. Was another fun episode with the boys, check it out and don't forget to subscribe!
