Less than a month now remains until the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) begins, the first live festival since 2019 for the most iconic brand in the game of poker. But the 2021 version will look dramatically different.

Despite a surge in the Delta Variant of COVID-19 since the series was announced on April 1, WSOP 2021 is still planned to run in full, offering a total of 88 gold bracelet events between September 30 and November 23.

However, there have been recent changes to protocols, with the most noteworthy one coming last week when WSOP announced all who wished to participate in the 2021 WSOP against COVID-19 to participate. The story has developed further since, with the WSOP announcing masks will not be required, provided players are vaccinated. This new policy is in line with citywide changes to conferences.

2021 WSOP To Require Full Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination

The first few months after the WSOP’s announcement of its return this fall seemed quite status quo, with the full schedule being released in mid-June. Life was also trending back to normal at that time as increasing numbers of Americans received COVID-19 vaccines, cases declined, and mask mandates disappeared.

WSOP Executive Director back in April, “This year, more than ever, we embrace our role at the WSOP to deliver memorable experiences and bring this community of poker lovers back together.  In 2021, the theme is, get vaccinated and get back to Vegas.”

Given the current pandemic situation, that theme is now mandatory, as all participants for both the $10,000 Main Event and the entire 2021 WSOP must provide proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before registration into any WSOP event held at the Rio. That includes bracelet events, side events, satellites, and live-action or cash games .

What Is Known About WSOP Vaccine Mandates

A few things are known around the WSOP vaccine mandate: players will only need to provide proof of the vaccine once (as opposed to doing so prior to every tourney one wishes to register), and they will also be able to link their vaccination status to the CLEAR app via Health Pass in order to verify eligibility more quickly, much the same as they can utilize CLEAR at airports or for entry into sporting events.

Furthermore, the WSOP recognizes all three vaccines available domestically (Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson) and allows international participants who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine to compete. All players must have received their final dose of the vaccine 14 days before becoming eligible to play. However, international players can be shut out by travel restrictions.

Rule 115 Begins the Uncertainty

The COVID situation around the WSOP got a little murky once August rolled around, with Kevin Mathers, the official operator of the WSOP Twitter account during the series, mentioning a certain Rule #115 as being notable. Mathers from his account.

In the rule, verbiage stated that anybody who tested positive or came into close proximity (within 6 feet for 15 cumulative minutes) with someone who tested positive would be subject to disqualification from the tournament with no refund. Should the tournament be in the money, the player would become the next elimination and be paid accordingly regardless of their chip stack.

Naturally, this sent much of the poker world into a frenzy. The cryptic language regarding “close proximity” could set up an entire field for disqualification: after all, much of a poker table is within six feet of itself. Furthermore, dealers are in the center of the table, likely within six feet of everybody, and switching tables every half an hour.

Factor in players waiting in registration/bathroom/food lines, and it’s easy to see how the situation could snowball out of control quite quickly.

WSOP Attempts to Accommodate

Nearly a week of outrage went by before , which stated players who were vaccinated and remained asymptomatic would not be subject to disqualification simply due to exposure from another infected person. No mention was made of if the player themselves would be required to produce another negative test, however, which could mean that, in theory, a player could continue to play while infected as long as they remain asymptomatic.

Of course, the vaccine mandate followed two weeks later, effectively rendering the entire WSOP population to fall under such a set of rules. After all, the mandatory vaccine policy extended beyond the players to also include staff, spectators, press, and vendors.

That was until things changed for staff, which all of a sudden were only “strongly encouraged” to be vaccinated with Caesars “providing significant incentives” to those who choose to become vaccinated.

PokerNews’ Chad Holloway with several questions in the hopes of receiving further clarification, and despite PokerNews being the official WSOP live reporting partner, Holloway has not received much by way of anything further.

WSOP Main Event

Turnouts for the 2021 WSOP Main Event, scheduled from November 4-17, will likely be the smallest in recent years, given the current state of COVID-19 and everything related to it. The aforementioned Mathers also predicted smaller field sizes across the board in his own new publication, .

Mathers also confirmed that two more prominent names in the Poker Media world will be back in action for the 2021 WSOP Main Event, as Lon McEachern and Norman Chad will commentate for CBS Sports Network’s inaugural coverage of the tournament after the network took over broadcasting rights from ESPN in a partnership with PokerGO that will ultimately bring about expanded WSOP coverage.

Until then, one more thing seems certain: the story leading up to the 2021 WSOP is far from complete. More news is almost sure to arise before the first cards are dealt in the series, and we’ll be sure to let you know when that happens.

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