Mandatory masks likely at the World Series of Poker

Vaccinated and unvaccinated people will be required to wear masks in casinos ahead of September's WSOP.

Today a new mask mandate comes into place in Nevada, including in Las Vegas. It will apply to indoor public settings including casinos. 

This makes it quite likely that the World Series of Poker, which starts in September, will be forced to require masks at the tables. 

The problem, it seems, is that while vaccines are readily available in the States, not enough people have had them. As such the delta variant is running rampant amongst the unvaccinated, although the mask mandates are for everyone. 

No 'normal' WSOP?

It was looking very promising for the prospects of a 'normal' looking World Series of Poker a few months ago as live poker numbers were booming in the USA. In fact a lot of experts were suggesting the Main Event might be the biggest one in history. 

However, the news of a mandatory mask mandate will no doubt hurt the series. Even those who are not ideologically against the mask mandate might not relish the prospect of having to wear one for 12 hours a day at the tables. 

It also doesn't look promising for the prospect of International visitors making up a big part of the series. Right now players from Europe first have to spend two weeks in a country like Canada rather than flying in directly, due to US travel restrictions that don't look like they will end any time soon. 

This comes just as GGPoker launched official satellites to the Main Event, If winners are not able to attend the series their $12,500 package will be converted to a $10,000 in T$ instead. It is likely that the only people who play those satellites are the ones who had planned to go to Vegas for a full series anyway. 

If a Nevada county shows reduced transmission rates for at least two weeks, then vaccinated people will no longer have to wear masks in indoor public settings. Unvaccinated people will still be required to wear masks. 

Would you travel to Vegas right now to play in the WSOP? Let us know in the comments: