PokerStars is taking precautions to ensure player safety during the worldwide coronavirus scare. The online poker giant is cancelling three upcoming live events in Europe to protect the health of players and staff.
The events in question were scheduled to take place in Germany, Spain, and France over the next few weeks. All other international PokerStars Live tournaments will go on as planned. Events in Europe will resume on April 10, 2020.
The 2020 WSOP isn’t the only poker series in jeopardy due to the coronavirus pandemic that is spreading internationally. Many health experts worry the virus will spread at an alarming rate in certain European countries, especially Italy, which is in an emergency state after more than 360 citizens have died in recent weeks from the coronavirus.
It’s likely that number will rise rapidly over the coming days. The entire country is on lock-down in an effort to calm the spreading of the coronavirus.
PokerStars Makes Rational Decision
Canceling a poker series that could make a company thousands of dollars is never an easy decision. But PokerStars knows they can’t risk players becoming ill at their events. So, in response to the COVID-19 scare, the online poker company is canceling all three European live satellite events until April 10. Those “Road to the PSPC” tournaments are as follows:
- Hamburg (Germany) March 10-15
- La Grand Motte (France) March 10-15
- Madrid Gran Via (Spain) March 31-April 5
Each mini-series features a low buy-in satellite tournament awarding a ticket to August’s second annual PSPC at the EPT Barcelona.
Three additional PokerStars events scheduled in the upcoming month, held in Manila, Sao Paulo, and Sochi, will go on as scheduled, but the tournament operators will take precautionary measures to ensure player safety. That includes having hand sanitizer readily available, changing card decks regularly, and sanitizing poker equipment daily.
PokerStars won’t be the last poker tournament operator to cancel an event due to the coronavirus scare. Player safety should always be more important than making a buck.
