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Why Live Poker Rooms Should Wait Until 2021 to Reopen

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Poker Rooms Closed

The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City has announced that they will be reopening their poker room this week. This opening has been long-awaited since the room shut down back in March due to the pandemic.

However, it is an opening that I personally think is going to be short-lived. Despite the fact that poker is apparently thriving in Las Vegas and other areas, now is not the best time to reopen poker rooms. If a venue has a poker room that’s still shuttered, it is a good idea they remain to do so.

Today, I will give you some reasons why poker rooms should reconsider opening until next year. I’ve already stated that I won’t play live poker until the pandemic is over, and you should consider the same.

Coronavirus Numbers Are Spiking

According to the most recent data at the time of writing this article, there are over 8 million cases of coronavirus in the United States and over 40 million cases globally. Over half of the states are seeing upticks in the number of cases compared to last week. Only two states are showing decreases in the number of cases, those being Vermont and Hawaii.

The number of cases is in line with what many experts have been predicting. Personally, I knew this was coming as early as April. How? My father is a veteran and under care from the Veterans Administration. His doctor and I spoke and he revealed that he was trying to schedule non-vital appointments in 2021 rather than in 2020. When asked, he stated that things will get just as bad or worse in the winter and there won’t be a vaccine until 2021.

It’s now October, and it appears he will be right on all accounts.

Things Will Get Worse

We are just beginning to see the increase in Coronavirus numbers and things are likely about to get a lot worse. With the days now shorter and cooler weather setting in, many people are going to be indoors a lot more. This means more isolation and more chance for the close quarters contact that leads to the spread of infection.

Couple this with many school systems holding live learning at least a couple of days a week, and you have a potential breeding ground for the virus. I would not be surprised to see a 50% increase in cases across the board in the next month. It’s already trending there and it may get even worse. This is one time I hope I am wrong.

Restrictions Are Coming

Nobody likes to talk about it, but future restrictions are coming. It is just a matter of when, and not if. If you look at other countries, there are some restrictions slowly being instituted. Israel instituted a second lockdown that’s just now being eased. Restaurants in Europe are facing restrictions. It’s just a matter of time before US states start imposing tighter restrictions.

Another lockdown seems likely. When this happens, that will mean the end of poker for the rest of the year, and maybe until Spring.

Live Poker Not Worth it Right Now

Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, plus the likelihood of things to come, it is a bit too dicey right now to try and play live poker. Some of you may not like my position, but I am taking a more conservative approach. This is not an area of life where being aggressive is a winning strategy.

Sometimes, you have to stand back and wait to allow things to play out. Unfortunately, this is one of those times. Live poker rooms should consider remaining shut down. There’s are plenty of online poker rooms offering poker games 24-7. Whether you like to play at PokerStars, partypoker, or a US-facing online poker room, you can find somewhere to play online where you don’t have to worry about whether your opponent has COVID.

This will eventually pass, but not anytime soon.

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