WPT Amsterdam Canceled Midway During Main Event As Holland Casino Closes Doors
The Holland Casino, the state-regulated series of casinos in The Netherlands, has closed its doors effective immediately and up until March 31 as a result of coronavirus-combating measures. The unprecedented move was taken after the Dutch government held a press conference on March 12, in which additional measures were announced to stop the coronavirus from spreading in the European country.
One of the announced measures is a ban on gatherings that host over 100 people, at least until March 31. In response, Holland Casino, routinely housing over 100 guests and employees, announced it would close its doors starting midnight and keep them closed until the end of the month. The statement further read that "health and safety of our guests are always a priority" and touted on shared responsibility between all parties to solve the impending health crisis.
The press conference was held while Day 1a of the World Poker Tour DeepStacks Amsterdam Main Event just got underway. Although other poker tournaments across Europe had already been canceled or postponed, WPT Amsterdam, which had kicked off earlier on March 7, was underway as planned and had already crowned several winners in the previous days. Following the announcement, play got suspended for several hours before the Main Event and the remainder of the series were officially canceled.
Players that entered the Main Event or bought tickets for upcoming WPT Amsterdam events will receive their money back from Holland Casino. The next Holland Casino series, the Venlo Poker Series (March 18-22), is automatically canceled as well as a result of the closure. Future poker events in April, such as the Rotterdam Poker Series, are also uncertain to be held at this time.
Coronavirus: which poker tournaments in March and April are affected?
A former professional poker player with a background in sports marketing and journalism. Yori has been a part of PokerNews since 2016 and manages the content team.
