These case/death numbers aren't estimates by media outlets, they are data given by hospitals and local/national governments.

I guess it would be easier to just make up imaginary/comforting numbers in our own heads, which appears to be your approach.

Are you suggesting the numbers are artificially high? Where do you suggest we get our numbers from?

Trump says it will be business as usual by Easter so I assume WSOP is no doubt going ahead right?

Can’t believe I cancelled my flights yesterday.

Make sure you book a room ASAP before they sell out.

To all the people that are studying this and want and expect WSOP to be cancelled. Lets just say a certain someone has already took vacation and booked a trip that way June 26th to July 1st. WSOP or no WSOP should that person cancel now or what are chance Vegas will be up and running by then. Blows my mind to think the country and or Vegas being out that long but this is where we are at it seems.

Based on comments from the president and governors in heavily affected areas, (like Cuomo in NY) it appears as of right now, as soon as 2 weeks from now in mid-April, the US federal response is planning to pivot from a nationwide emergency footprint, to a more targeted response, geared towards containing the outbreak where it is most severe. In order to do this effectively, as apparently has been done in places like S.Korea, testing will be paramount. Hopefully the ramp-up in testing in the US over the last 7-10 days will continue and stories I have seen about simpler testing protocols and procedures will aid in that effort.

But while it will be months at a minimum before the entire country is more or less back to normal from a day-to-day business standpoint, I think its clear the economic toll current guidelines and procedures are taking is becoming an emergency in itself.

I don't know what a gradual re-opening of the economy will mean for the prospects of a summer WSOP occurring, but I would say it is more likely today than it was yesterday.

State and local governments will still have restrictions in place.

There also may still be bans on huge gatherings such as sporting events, WSOP, etc for a few more months even if/when Trumps reopens things.

Let's also not discount the possibility Trump is providing lip service about "reopening the country" to appease the markets, Fox News, and his voters.

I agree with Trump's notion that it's a balancing act between letting the virus spread and letting economic destruction spread, but two weeks seems way too early to loosen up on quarantines.

lol

"Mind blown", ..... check

I am neither in the want (why would I?), nor expect (too early to tell) group. Without commenting on the likelihood of a summer WSOP, and obviously depending on ever-changing circumstances, I would expect Vegas in general to be open for business, at least to some degree, long before June. This means things like hotels/casinos and restaurants by and large. Shows or other large gatherings will probably be slower to come back, as much out of lack of demand/fear as because of government edict.

Hopefully the availability, ease and speed of testing will continue to improve. And hopefully the measures already put in place for the 2-3 week period we are in the middle of now will have been effective in "flattening the curve", or at least spreading its effect out over a longer period of time.

And perhaps most importantly, hopefully some of the treatments which are currently showing promise, will turn out to be effective in order to both reduce the lethal-ity of the virus and also reduce the stress on the healthcare system. This is a factor which often goes un-discussed in this forum. The spread and effect of the virus in different countries obviously varies wildly for a variety of different reasons. To this point, the situation in the US has not been nearly as bad as some other places. And it has been worse than others. What that will all look like in a couple weeks is still unknown, but the fact that this hit the US later than some of these other highly effected areas is potentially a blessing in disguise since so much more is known now than was known a month ago. And for those countries which are earlier in the process, this will also be very important in mitigating the effects of the virus within their borders.

Perhaps Trump is confident that widespread testing will be available very soon. I also saw the idea today (not sure if Trump mentioned it in his interview) that we could also develop a new test to determine who has already been infected without realizing it and those people could head back to work while continuing social distancing from those who haven't been infected yet. I believe the test relied on looking for certain antibodies that are present in patients who have "beaten" the virus.

I admittedly know nothing about medicine or the viability of this idea, so I would love to hear someone knowledgeable comment on if this sort of test seems realistic in a short time span . If so, it could go a long way to getting America and the world back on it's feet a little quicker.

I don't, but I really hope you are right and I am wrong ...

Reopening the economy is also likely to be in phases, with an event like the WSOP that draws thousands from around the world being one of the last events to be allowed.

Well, no one knows for sure. And I would hope most people would also hope for the best-case scenario.

Of course, if there is a flare up or mini outbreak in Vegas, it could shut things back down as quickly as they are opened. Businesses and governments are going to have to be very careful. New infections are going to have to be identified, and isolated/treated much faster than they have been in the past. That is why I listed all those factors which I think are critical.

But I have to say I'm more optimistic today than i have been in a while. It seems like many of the executive decision-makers in power (at least in the US, and I suspect in many other places), no matter where they fall on the ideological spectrum, are really starting to make an effort to figure out how to "work around" this epidemic by using fine-tuned policy as opposed to blunt instruments.

I try not to try and get in the head of the president. This is not any sort of commentary about his effectiveness, as my personal opinion on such matters does not, and should not cloud my analysis of the COVID-19 situation. I am certain the POTUS is privy to a significantly larger amount of information than anyone on this message board and the vast majority, if not all of the "experts" and talking heads in the media and digital sphere are. How he manages that information and balances the myriad of competing interests will determine how he is judged historically with regard to this issue.

A for testing... this development is step in a better direction:

https://news.yahoo.com/fda-updates-c...225437369.html

And this sort of testing appears to have begun in Australia, though I don't know where it stands within the regulatory environment of the US:

https://www.afr.com/policy/health-an...0200322-p54cnz

I do not think this is funny. China withheld valuable information. If they warned other countries instead of downplaying it. (They even punished scientists who tried to warn other countries, yes)
We might have had a whole other situation. Glad to have this law firm looking into this. Can u imagine how much money is at stake? The Mike Postle 25 million is peanuts compared to this.

I'm hopeful about how things look here in Canada and around a lot of the world. As for the US - I'm worried for you guys. Pretty big numbers coming in, and then when I see things like spring break in Florida last week, the beaches in California this weekend after the big shutdown, the church service for 1,800+ in Louisiana, and then hear the president's messaging over the last 24 hours about wanting to get the economy roaring in a few weeks; I'm concerned people aren't getting the right message, and he's not helping.

The flip side is that those are the things that get the media attention - there have also been a lot of images of how things have changed in places like California and elsewhere with little traffic, empty beaches, etc. And of course I can understand the desire to give people hope, and Trump did qualify his optimism somewhat. But there is a portion of the population that don't think this is a big deal, and all they're going to hear is "back to normal by Easter"; I'm not so sure that was wise. Is it part of a communication plan, or is it Trump shooting from the hip? I hope it's the former, but fear it's the latter.

I thought your "fine-tuned policy as opposed to blunt instruments" comment was interesting. That does seem to be the way a lot of North American jurisdictions are going, including here in Canada, and I hope they have the mix right. What's a little scary about it is that we don't find out until it's too late to do much about it. As you alluded to, those in power have better information than us, and expert advice; I hope they're using it well.

Don't forget Liberty University opening its doors for instruction this week, either.

My hometown is mostly been pretty good about the shelter-in-place efforts. But I say "mostly" deliberately: a few days ago, I had to pick up some stuff from my office and saw a bunch of people out playing beach volleyball on our courts, while some track & field team (although not from the school team) was working out on our track.

So indeed, definitely not getting the right message.

It definitely strikes me as interesting that there are some very polarized opinions on that. Many believing the numbers are too high, others way too low. Both sides thinking the media is lying, but in such an opposite way, it seems strange to me.

It seems pretty obvious to me that the actual number of cases is much higher than the numbers reported, and it has nothing to do with honesty. The numbers we hear are confirmed cases we have discovered. Considering relatively few people have been tested, there are obviously many more cases that we don't know about.

i wish this wasn't the norm.

There's a balance to be struck between urging caution and urging optimism. Whether the president or any leader is striking the right balance is up for debate, but the idea that we must only emphasize the one as part of our attack plan against the virus is wrong, IMO. Its sort of like carrots and sticks. They are both necessary tools.

One thing which particularly alarming (not saying it was incorrect, but certainly striking) about the US response was how quick it was once the WA hotspot emerged. I mean there was this talk about limiting large gatherings ans whether sports leagues would play games in empty stadiums and, boom, over the course of just a couple days all of the sports leagues went on full hiatus. And the dominoes fell from there with many industries slowing down or halting altogether. I don't believe these things happened in a vacuum or as a result of the benevolent character of the leaders of these leagues. I believe it happened because of closed door meetings with the government. Trump himself mentioned that at that time there was talk of 50% infection rate + 3-5% death rate because this is what was seen in places like Italy, or even S.Korea in the very beginning. But time has passed. More data has come in. The reality of our ability to test has changed dramatically. The tools at our disposal today are not the same as they were two weeks ago. Therefore the response should naturally evolve.

Well, obviously the WSOP going off as scheduled is less likely to happen than casinos/hotels/restaurants opening back up. So if the latter is not happening by early May, the WSOP is not likely to happen. And whenever large gatherings start coming back, I imagine it won't be exactly the same as before. Its sort of like what happened after 9/11 with airport security. There will be a new normal.

As for timing, and the prospect of cancellation, I have always said that the latest date (or period) for the WSOP to decide will be based on pretty much one thing... how much time do they need to prepare for the event (get the venue ready and hire staff, including any new procedures as a result of COVID). I don't have access to their financial statements, but I'm pretty sure the WSOP can make money with a significantly reduced level of attendance. So the idea that "it won't be the same, so they should cancel", just doesn't hold water. They are in business to make money and they can do so without 150,000 entries.

I don't know how long it takes for them to get ready. If its 2 months, then clearly they will need to decide pretty soon. But if its a month, then they have time. And they could push that back if they modify the schedule to be shorter and/or later in the summer.

Forget the WSOP, I wanna know if Sheldon will cancel the Venetian Summer Series baby! The sad part is it wouldn't surprise me that the WSOP, Wynn Classic, Planet Hollywood all cancel their series and Mr. Adelson moves forward with "the only game in town", the Venetian summer tournaments. Watch.