King's Casino Announces Radical New Policy Amidst Coronavirus Fears
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Europe's largest poker room, the King's Casino in Rozvadov, announced it intends to close its doors to all Italian players "to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) infection."
As stated in a post published on the poker room's official Facebook account on Monday, the unprecedented decision comes on the heels of the first coronavirus cases registered in Prague, Czech Republic's capital.
"[The] King's Resort regrets to announce that, given the evolution of the coronavirus epidemic that since a few hours affected also the Czech Republic,…to preserve the health of its international clientele, and to prevent the spread of COVID-19, has decided to limit the access to all areas of the casino as well as to not accept any hotel reservations made by Italian residents."
The casino said that the new policy is effective immediately and it will last for an "undetermined amount of time."
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As a consequence, all the events scheduled in March and April that targeted Italian players have now been taken off King's schedule.
Things are expected to go back to normal almost immediately afterwards, as the note explains that "the schedule continues to be as planned after May 1, 2020."
King's Casino personnel assured they will be monitoring the situation closely as they hope to lift the ban soon and welcome once again all Italian players within their premises.
Why Italy?
As of March 3, 2020, Italy has the most coronavirus cases of any country outside of Asia.
The country has confirmed a total of 2,263 cases of coronavirus and 79 deaths.
According to Czech local press, two out of the five individuals that have been diagnosed with a coronavirus infection in Prague have visited Italy during the past few weeks.
Despite many attempts by the Italian authorities to reassure the public opinion about the measures in place to prevent a further spread of the infection, several international companies including Delta and American Airlines have decided to limit their travels to the country and suspend their connections between the United States and Milan.
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2020 Malta Poker Championship Canceled
Shortly after the King's Casino announcement, also the Operations Director at Amateur Poker Association & Tour Tom Brady used Facebook for a new Coronavirus-related cancellation.
"Unfortunately, the Malta Poker Championship planned for late May, which incorporated the APAT Maltese National (PLO) Championship has been cancelled, due to uncertainty surrounding the Coronavirus."
The event should have run on May 23-24, 2020, at the Portomaso Casino in St Julians, Malta.
