The World Series of Poker (WSOP) live poker tournament is scheduled to take place at the Rio in Las Vegas from 30 Sept to 23 November. The WSOP had earlier released a number of rules and conditions for poker players to follow and there was no mention of a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.
However with the U.S recording an increase in COVID-19 cases across the country, there have been rumors circulating that the WSOP might end up canceling its live poker tournament once again like it did in 2020. One reason for the concern is that a lot of COVID-19 cases are testing positive for the delta variant.
COVID-19 Vaccinations Mandatory For WSOP
The WSOP surprised the poker community on 27 August when it released a new set of rules and conditions for the tournament. The biggest surprise is that the WSOP has now made it mandatory for all poker players to be COVID-19 vaccinated. This rule is not only applicable to players but also to media, fans and WSOP staff.
If a player does not produce a COVID-19 vaccination certificate, they will not be allowed to participate in the WSOP. Ty Stewart, executive director for the WSOP said that they had discussed things in detail before making this decision. Stewart said that there was no hidden agenda with the decision-making process and the sole reason for the decision was to ensure that the WSOP could take place without any issues related to COVID.
Players will only need to produce proof of vaccination once to be eligible to enter and participate in the WSOP. There are a number of ways for players to submit their digital COVID-19 vaccination proof. The easiest way will be for players to use the CLEAR app and the health pass feature to submit vaccination proof.
The vaccination proof must show that you have been fully vaccinated. This means you have proof that you have received all of the mandated vaccine shots at least 14 days prior to visiting the WSOP. The vaccination certifications that will be accepted at the WSOP are two shot vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer and Moderna and the one jab vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.
The WSOP has also made it mandatory for all players, staff and fans to wear a mask at all times.
Mixed Reactions From Poker Community
Many in the poker community were pushing for the WSOP to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory and hence they were not surprised with the decision. They were happy to see the WSOP make a decision to protect players, media and staff. There were also many poker players who were unhappy with the WSOP’s sudden COVID-19 vaccination decision.
Landon Tice put out a survey on Twitter asking his followers what they felt about the new vaccination rule. Over 2,000 votes came in and it showed that 54.7 percent were in favour of the decision, 23.6 percent did not like the decision and 21.7 percent were indifferent to the decision.
Power couple Alex Foxen and Kristen Bicknell are two of the most prominent names that have openly criticized the decision to make vaccination mandatory at the WSOP. Foxen questioned the WSOP on social media and said if the pandemic was so threatening, why is the WSOP not canceling its live poker tournament?
Foxen who is the current GPI Player of the Year said it was sad to see the WSOP given into the pressure of Big Pharma. He said he will not be playing at the 2021 WSOP and believes it is the biggest mistake that the WSOP has made in its history.
Kristen Bicknell who is engaged to Foxen also went on social media to support her finance. Bicknell said she was proud to see Foxen stand up and fight for what he believed in and called on other members of the poker community who were not happy with the WSOP’s decision to speak out!