The ongoing coronavirus outbreak has seen live poker shut down since mid-March, with effectively all of the world’s poker rooms shuttered during the pandemic. This week a few poker rooms have announced that they’re set to reopen for the first time in more than six weeks.
The Derby Lane Poker Room (pictured above) in St. Petersburg, Florida announced that they will resume operations on Monday, May 11 after closing up shop on March 20. The 52-table poker room is slated to be open starting at 10:00 AM local time, with a 10:00 PM closing time. The room will operate at 25 percent capacity initially, with 13 tables available for action and a maximum of six players at each table. Plexiglass barriers and social distance markings on the floor are being installed.
In a press release put out on May 4, Derby Lane included information regarding safety procedures for their racetrack. All employees, patrons, guests, and vendors will have their temperatures checked prior to being allowed onto the property and will be required to wear a mask and protective gloves while on the property. Poker dealers will be excused from wearing gloves, but are being provided with hand sanitizer at their workstation. If a mask is needed for patrons, one will be provided. Anyone exhibiting symptoms will be evaluated by a manager and possibly removed.
The poker room shares a facility with a greyhound racing track, which will reopen on Friday, May 8 with a 15-race performance starting at 12:30 PM local time.
In Europe, The King’s Resort properties announced that three of their properties would also be reopening on May 11, with doors opening at 3:00 PM local time. The three properties included in the re-opening are the King’s Resort Rozvadov, King’s Casino Prague and the Admiral Casino Rozvadov. They have been shut down since March 13.
“Poker Cash Games, live games like Roulette and Black Jack and Slots will be available. Tournaments won’t take place for now, but we hope we can start with them soon as well,” said a release on the King’s Resort Facebook page. “Highest hygiene standards will be implemented, such as hand sanitizers for the guests and frequent disinfection of all areas.”
King’s Resort Rozvadov has been the site of the World Series of Poker Europe since 2017. The 160-table room is still expected to host the WSOPE this fall, though exact dates have yet to be released.
