It remains to be seen exactly what the World Series of Poker will look like in 2021, but at least it will have a place to call home after Caesars Entertainment, Inc announced plans this week to reopen the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino before the end of this year.
The Rio will welcome back guests from 10am on Tuesday 22 December, becoming the last of Caesars’ Las Vegas properties to open its doors more than nine months after first suspending operations due to COVID-19.
Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Flamingo Las Vegas, Harrah’s Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, Bally’s Las Vegas, The LINQ Hotel + Experience, Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino and The Cromwell are already back up and running.
“This marks the final Caesars Entertainment resort to reopen in the US and Canada,” said Caesars President and Chief Operating Officer, Anthony Carano.
“The past nine months have been filled with challenges … we recognize the incredible effort it has taken to reopen our resorts and get us to this important milestone, and we look forward to welcoming our Team Members and Guests back to Rio with their health and safety still top of mind.”
Originally held at Benny Binion’s Horseshoe Casino, the WSOP moved to the Rio in 2005 – the same year Australia’s Joe Hachem won the main event – where it has remained ever since.
However, WSOP organizers were forced to postpone the 2020 series in April, and eventually cancel it altogether, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 WSOP was ultimately held online instead, with Bulgaria’s Stoyan Madanzhiev eventually taking down the biggest online poker event in history.
Check out PokerMedia Australia’s recent chat with Madanzhiev below.
It seems increasingly likely that the WSOP will return to the live felt sometime in 2021, although to what extent it includes any international players will likely depend on the development and rollout timeline for the world’s first COVID-19 vaccines.
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