The Genting Group is a major gambling company that operates facilities around the world including the Singapore, Australia, the Americas and the United Kingdom, among other areas. They operate several large resorts which have been closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Now, news has appeared online that the Genting Group is now ceasing all live poker gaming at its properties in the United Kingdom.
UK Poker is No More
The pandemic seems to be claimed the life of poker in the UK at Genting Group venues. According to news outlet PokerNews, an employee reached out and explained after rumors began circulating that Genting will stop offering live poker at its casinos.
The source reportedly works at the Birmingham Genting Resorts World Casino and 98 employees are losing their jobs on Facebook, a Genting casino cardroom manager created a post thanking poker players and stating he was proud to have worked with his team members. At the end, he asked if anyone was hiring.
Genting has yet to officially comment on the subject. Unfortunately for poker players, the loss will include the Genting Poker Series. Having started in 2012, the GPS was a popular option among the poker community due to its affordability and nice guaranteed prize pools. Festivals such as GPS are often popular due to their location.
Three UK Casino Closures
The loss of poker at the Genting Casinos may be hard to believe but it comes at a time when the operator announced the closure of three casinos in the UK. According to leisure and hospitality employee union GMB, the casinos in Torquay, Bristol and Margate are shutting down permanently.
GMB stated that the closures will result in significant job loss. There is also a possibility that more jobs will be lost at the remaining 29 sites of the company. A statement was sent to employees via Genting UK COO and President Paul Willcock. Mr. Willcock stated that the pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges. The financial impact on the company has been huge and has caused uncertainty for the future. The closures are being considered a difficult option in order to ensure survival of the company.
It will be interesting to see what Genting says about the poker loss rumors. Employees would certainly not be speaking on it or searching for new employment if the casinos were not closing down the poker rooms.
This is just one of many ways the coronavirus outbreak has affected the economy as well as the gambling industry. As the virus continues to be an issue around the world, analysts fear another shutdown will be needed or more people will die than estimated for the economy to try and become stable once again.
So far, over 7.8 million people have been infected with the virus. More than 432,000 people have died. The numbers continue to rise each day as more cases are taking place. With states reopening in the US and international areas also allowing businesses to get back to work, a resurgence in cases is expected.
