Bestbet Jacksonville casino has postponed the world poker tour dubbed Bestbet Scramble. The postponement comes after yet another rise of the COVID-19 cases in Florida. The poker room was scheduled to host the Main Event from august 27 to 31, 2021, while the festival started on August 13.
The poker room announced the changes via their Twitter account, stating that the casino’s management had postponed the event. In the same post, Bestbet said all preliminary events and series satellites were also canceled. But, Bestbet is still open for the usual business hours and games.
In poker, players sit in close proximity for hours during the day. Thus, it would make sense for the brand to postpone the world poker tour, as it would have drawn a larger number than the poker room holds typically.
There have been cynical comments about the postponement. Some people have commented on social media that Bestbet Jacksonville postponed the tournament, fearing a low turnout that could lead to overlay. There is no evidence of this.
Others are spreading rumors that the company does not have enough dealers. With many casinos around the country experiencing understaffing, this rumor would make sense. But no one has confirmed this is the case at Bestbet Jacksonville.
Florida Is a COVID-19 Hotspot
The most likely explanation on why Bestbet postponed the poker tournament is that Florida is currently a covid-19 hotspot. Health and safety measures were lifted across the country a few months ago. That, plus people refusing to get vaccinated and getting out for summer, has led coronavirus cases to skyrocket.
The country is reporting a seven-day moving average of 81,300 daily cases. Florida is among the states having the worst days.
It is contributing to the daily cases with 21683, which is more than a quarter of the country’s total figure. The number of new cases is even higher pre-vaccine. The number of those hospitalized in Florida is also high, having hit an all-time high of 11,515, as reported by the US Department of Health and Human Services on August 3.
The Silver Lining: partypoker is Holding WPT Online Championship
The silver lining to the postponement of the live poker tournament at Bestbet is the return of the WPT online championship. In fact, the COVID-19 has contributed to the birth of multiple successful online events, including the WPT world Online Championship by partypoker.
The online event will begin on August 13 and will run through September 15, 2021. The highlight of the championship is the WPT Main Event slated to start on August 29. It is a $5 million guaranteed prize pool requiring a buy-in of $5,300.
The Main Event is spread over two weeks. But, players will not play every day of the week. There will be three starting flights, one on August 29, September 5, and September 12.
The Main Event on September 15 will be live-streamed on World Poker Tour and partypoker channels. Also, the tournament’s champion will have their name embedded in the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.
The Vice President of WPT Europe said in a press release that he was excited for the return of the WPT World Online Championships after last year’s success. Hermance Blum said that partypoker and WPT were excited to create exceptional events for all buy-in levels.
100% up to $3,000 Bonus
Bovada is our most recommended ONLINE CASINO and POKER ROOM for US players with excellent deposit options. Get your 100% signup bonus today.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.