Live! Casino & Hotel announced the postponement of its World Poker Tour tournament series that was scheduled for September.
The WPT event, scheduled for Sept. 15-28 at the casino in Hanover, Maryland, was scheduled to include 16 tournaments with the marquee tourney being a Main Event that would have had a $1.5 million guaranteed prize pool.
The delay comes at a time when Maryland gambling is about to expand. Sports betting in Maryland is slated to launch in the fall, at some point during the NFL season.
In a statement on its website, Live! Casino & Hotel gave no specific reason for the postponement but an inquiry made to the poker room confirmed the postponement was because of COVID-19 concerns. The statement read:
“We regret to inform you that this year’s WPT tournament scheduled for September 15th-28th has been postponed. We hope this postponement puts us in the best position to safely host the WPT at some later date. Please check back for any future updates.”
Poker Tournaments at Live!
Live! has successfully held a number of WPT events in the past. The one in September would have featured a wide variety of poker events, including bounty tournaments, turbo tournaments, Omaha variations and even a mixed-game tournament. Buy-ins ranged from $130 to up to $3,500 for the Main Event.
Players who had previously qualified for a WPT tournament at Live! through a satellite will receive a refund.
While the WPT event has been postponed, there is still poker happening at the casino. On its Twitter account, Live! is promoting current in-casino tournaments.
MD Sports Betting on the Way
Maryland’s Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) held its first meeting last week. SWARC is a six-person committee empaneled to award sports betting licenses in the state.
When sports betting launches in Maryland, Live! Casino & Hotel will have a sportsbook ready to go. Live!’s Sports & Social Maryland is a sports bar/cocktail-dining lounge that is a sportsbook-in-waiting. It can accommodate more than 200 bettors and has a 47-foot-wide main TV screen surrounded by smaller ones so fans don’t miss any action.
