It’s time to put the brakes on big poker events in Jacksonville.
The World Poker Tour (WPT) Scramble event slated for Aug. 13 at bestbet Jacksonville has been canceled in the wake of increased COVID rates in the area. The cardroom broke the news on its Facebook page last week.
“With the resurgence of COVID-19 in our community and around the country, senior management has decided to postpone the upcoming WPT bestbet Scramble, including all preliminary events and series satellites; a new date has not been determined. A revised August calendar will be posted online and in our cardrooms soon. bestbet will continue to operate under its normal business hours.”
The event was slated to be the first one at a bestbet facility since October 2019, ending a nearly two-year-long hiatus due to the pandemic. The two bestbet facilities have hosted nine WPT events in the past five years.
Poker players support the cancelation
Canceling a WPT event at Jacksonville’s premier card room was no doubt a tough choice, but followers of bestbet’s Facebook page seemed to take the bad news in stride. Responses to the post included:
- “Thank you I’m sure this wasn’t an easy call”
- “Thank you for caring about everyone’s safety. See ya’ll when things are better. Best wishes.”
- “Dang that sucks! I was definitely gonna play a couple events.”
The event was slated to take place over the course of 18 days, ending with the main event final table on Aug. 31. The cancelation comes amid unprecedented COVID rates in Jacksonville. Duval County’s rate of more than 120 new cases per 100,000 is among the top 20 in the nation.
Bestbet tourney schedule still on…for now
Despite the disappointment of the WPT cancelation, bestbet’s calendar is still full of smaller events. More than 40 events remain on the calendar. A few of the highlights include:
- Aug. 9-13: $80 satellites into $400 NLH
- Aug. 14: $400 NLH tournament
- Aug. 25 and 26: $180 satellites into an Aug. 28 $1,500 NLH tournament
- Aug. 29: Livestreamed $1,500 NLH final table
