Several poker events have been canceled around the world as Covid-19, also known as the coronavirus, continues to spread. Casinos are shutting down services or canceling poker tournaments due to players being in close proximity at the poker table. The 2020 Irish Poker Open was at risk of being shutdown due to the pandemic, but thankfully, partypoker came to the rescue. After the organizers of the event decided to cancel the event, partypoker decided to host the event.
Online Access
The 2020 Irish Poker Open will now take place online at partypoker from April 6th to the 12th. The schedule for the tournament festival is now being worked on as the original format would not work well online. Players should expect party to offer a full schedule with quality prize pool guarantees.
Information has been revealed involving the Main Event, which is called the Irish Open Main Event Online. The event will offer €1 million in guaranteed prize money and will take place across several days. Players should expect partypoker to offer several satellites that feed into this event and possibly others.
Irish Poker Open spokesperson JP McCann commented on the decision to work with partypoker for the festival, stating that since the announcement to cancel, considerable efforts have been made to find an alternative date to offer the Irish Open. The best decision was to cancel the live events. However, partypoker took the initiative and helped the oldest running poker festival to continue during this challenging time.
Partypoker will be launching the schedule of the Irish Poker Open at the festival’s website as well as their own in the future. Scheduling for satellites and mini-feeders will be launching thereafter.
Switching to iPoker
As poker tournaments are being canceled, players are switching to online gaming as a safer alternative. It is expected that online poker gaming will see a boost worldwide. On an international level, players have access to online poker gaming via several outlets like partypoker. In the US, players an enjoy the gaming options via Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.
The gaming is limited to these states as they are the only ones that have legalized online poker. It is expected that players in these states will be logging on in record numbers as more people are staying home rather than seeking entertainment outside the home. Offshore sites may also see an uptick in gaming as players look for entertainment alternatives.
Players around the world are being affected by the coronavirus. As more casinos shut down along with bars, restaurants, movie theaters and other venues, consumers need something to do. With online poker, the gaming option is safe as players can take part in gaming from home without being at risk of contracting the virus.
We shall see in a few weeks how the Irish Poker Open fares and just how many players log on to enjoy online poker as traveling outside the home is restricted.
