Live poker is finally back in London, in line with the reopening of the country’s casinos, but the games are limited to cash games only. Some of the poker rooms which have recently started accepting customers are The Poker Room, The Hippodrome Casino, and the Empire Poker Room. All three rooms have reopened with enhanced safety guidelines in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
False Start
At the beginning of August, UK casinos were all geared up to return to operations after being forced to close since late-March as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. However just a day before the scheduled reopening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a U-turn and announced all gambling establishments would remain closed amid localized lockdowns. During that time, Johnson said casino were not yet ready to resume operations.
Johnson’s last-minute move had been widely criticized by operators and industry representatives who had been raising concerns over the massive impact of the delayed reopening. The five-month closure represents huge losses for the casinos and the government in general, add to that the threat to jobs, with many British workers becoming unemployed in the middle of the pandemic.
Back in Action Since August 15
After another two weeks of waiting, casinos, poker rooms, and other gambling establishment were finally given the go signal to open their doors, much to the excitement of UK poker players and punters.
Some casinos and poker rooms have begun accepting customers since August 15, such as The Hippodrome Casino in London, initially offering cash games. Plastic dividers were installed at the tables to separate players and minimize closed contact between them. As soon as the doors had been opened, the venue quickly hit its capacity, forcing it to temporarily suspend its waiting list. The room accommodated five tables throughout the day.
The venue is also implementing health protocols, such as utilizing a Track and Trace system, using hand sanitizers, and changing/disinfecting the cards each hour.
Three days later, The Poker Room at Grosvenor Casino also began shuffling cards. The venue is also running 7-handed cash games for the time being.
Face Mask Policy
The Empire Poker Room is also currently offering cash games to its customers. Plexiglass screens are also being used by the venue to implement strict social distancing among players. Players are also required to wear a face mask upon entry.
That differs from The Poker Room which isn’t implementing mandatory wearing of face masks, though officials earlier stated they’re advising players to wear a mask.
Face masks are also not mandatory at Hippodrome Casino though the establishment is enforcing stricter measures, such as allowing just the players to enter the room, with only the dealers being granted permission to touch the dealer button and other table implements.
While a number of poker rooms have reopened in England, some remain hesitant, such as the Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham, and Aspers Casinos. They have yet to provide a timeline as to when they’ll finally start operating again.
The recent reopening has been a welcome development in the industry and comes as good news for poker players. There are limited choices when it comes to the games being offered, but that’s understandable. With players not swapping seats during cash games, it will be easy to monitor them.
Operators have to be careful if and must do what it can to prevent their venues from becoming COVID-19 hotspots, otherwise the industry would have to be shut down again. If that happens, it would be more difficult for business to get back on their feet.
Players may have to wait a little longer to play in major live poker tournaments, but they can always look for top-notch tournament competition online. The reopening means huge changes have to be made on how things should be run, but hopefully it will pave the way for things to slowly return to normal.