It looks like 43% is the total population. Based on a quick search it looks like 22% of the population is 18 or under, which I believe makes them ineligible for the vaccine (may be under 16, not sure). Taking out that 22%, I get almost 56% of the eligible population having at least one dose.

Require either vaccine or covid test to enter and we don't need any of that other stuff. They just need to come up with an efficient system to do it. Not going to Vegas to sit at poker table all day with a mask on and/or plexiglass.

I agree with that and don't understand the hesitation with that approach. They could outsource the testing and maybe even make a buck from that if people have to pay $20 for a daily test.

To avoid potential problems with fake vaccine cards they could even require permission to check the official records for everyone who makes a final table. I doubt anyone will enter with a fake card if they know they'll get disqualified if they reached a final table.

The Bloomberg tracker is showing that 46% of VA’s total population has received one shot. I just divided this by .80 to estimate the proportion of eligible adults.

Vegas is 8 handed right now, why the **** would it go backwards from 8? It can only go to 9 or stay 8. Also 8 is not "short handed" lol

As long as they only require the test on day 1 of a tourney or a negative result within a few days before the start of the tourney I'd be ok with that. I'd hate to see someone kicked out of a tourney because they tested positive on day 2.

At some point individuals must accept some level of risk if they decide to participate in activities during a pandemic. I think the WSOP should go to the local sky diving company to copy their disclosures and make every player signs it so they can play without plexiglass, masks or testing.

Thanks, wasn't thinking about eligible-only. Makes sense. Really promising to see so much progress.

Yeah that would suck, but the alternative is knowingly allowing a highly contagious person to continue to play. That's a non-starter. There's a debate to be had about whether you should refund them vs. give them their ICM value or something of that sort. I think it is clearly wrong to keep their entry fee, and it is clearly wrong to allow them to play. It also almost certainly rises to the level of recklessness and not protected by a player waiver.

or you could just mind your business because your health and their health are not the other person's responsibility

Ok, there is NO way that they would be requiring covid tests/vaccines to play in the WSOP.

Masks are going to be almost certainly voluntary. I don't think setting up plexiglass is viable or likely at all for the WSOP either.

They aren't knowingly allowing a contagious person to play if they don't test after day one and everyone was negative before the tourney started. Yes, we can assume some players will catch it between day 1 and the end of the tourney, but the same can be said for the grocery stores, movie theaters, etc. If you are walking into any of those other stores/venues with 100+ people in them and thinking there have been 0 positive people in this establishment all day you are likely wrong.

You're a very angry man, aren't you?

Whose hesitation are you referring to? If WSOP, they're a long way from announcing protocols. If you mean people in this thread, I don't think there's a strong belief that the US will be in a place in 5-6 months where such an approach would really be necessary.

Your prior post said they test positive on day 2, which assumes they were re-tested on day 2. Is your argument that WSOP (assuming it tests at all -- which I think is unlikely) should intentionally NOT test on subsequent days in order to maintain blissful ignorance? That's pretty close to the Trumpian logic of let's not test for COVID because when we test we just discover more cases.

I think a good argument for not testing every day is that the added cost isn't justified given that the initial test is a pretty effective screening tool, and it's pretty unlikely someone will test positive on day 2 if they cleared a test on day 1. But not testing for the express purpose of not finding more positive cases is not a good reason.

Of course there is a way. The way is if the WSOP determines they will attract more players and they can make more money by doing it, while any extra costs of doing it are low enough to make it feasible to do so. They are a business.

I was mostly talking about businesses right now because that's what some courthouses and other 'official' buildings do.
I'm no expert and have no strong opinion on the subject. The majority of health experts currently think that people have to wear masks at larger indoor gatherings until some point late in the year. Dr. Fauci said his estimate was late Fall or early Winter. That would be right after the conclusion of the WSOP. One way to avoid masks is to make sure everyone is vaccinated or tested.

Personally, I'd be thrilled to go grocery shopping tomorrow without having my glasses fog up for the first time in ages. Unfortunately that's not how it works apparently.

Precisely the attitude that will hit the bottom line of the WSOP. Under that condition, a whole lot of prospective players aren't going to show up.

They showed up to the Florida WPTs in record breaking numbers. Are you people even paying attention at all?

Shhhhhhh.....that doesn’t fit their narrative.

People showed up because only FL was running tourneys. Despite their mask / plexiglass crap which most people DONT enjoy using.... the pros of playing again with huge prize pools outweigh the negative of being uncomfortable.

People also enjoy taking the vacation to a state that’s normal again. And flights are pretty cheap. It cost me $210 round trip... totally worth it.

I bet masks will be optional for Wsop and certainly NO plexiglass.

Obviously my point is that they aren't going to make that determination. The WPT just crushed there all time live entrants in a tournament. I don't think adding extra barriers to play in the WSOP will help there business/numbers.

Texas is running $1,000,000 plus tournaments without plexiglass. In April. No masks.
Vegas should be good to go by October.
No way WSOP is paying money to install plexiglass on cheap, temporary tables.
Most older people are vaccinated. Most younger people, especially poker players, are not afraid of covid. Poker players are not exactly risk averse.

Ah, OK.

In that case, I think this comes into play:

But in the opposite fashion. Businesses are deciding that mandatory vaccines or negative tests would be detrimental to them, IMO.

Pent up demand is high, I'll give you that. But one tournament will not a World Series of Poker make. So we'll have to see what the pandemic is like in NV at the time, and what the turnout proves to be. The best case scenario would include the state and the nation as a whole having crushed the pandemic, to the point that community infection numbers are far lower than they are now, and LV is both fully open and safe. And just maybe, the efforts towards improved hygiene might put a dent in the incidence of the 'Rio flu'.

It’s great to see and I agree Vegas should be good to go ,,but Texas is among the free red states, Nevada is blue, they are still keeping restrictions in place even as they open back up. I made the point earlier in a post. Staying positive, I hope NV follow TX but I don’t think it will happen.