Live poker may take many years to bounce back from the Coronavirus crisis of 2020, although by the tail-end of this year, we might be saying ‘of this decade’. Let’s face it; no-one know when the pandemic will end, and poker players running models or batting back political rhetoric know only as much or as little as anyone.

We may, however, find out a little more about the state of live poker by monitoring live poker tournaments. Cash games are a guide to how well casinos have prepared their poker rooms, sterilised chips, or bought up on plexiglass screens.

Tournaments are quite a different operation, often involving players from out of state, and one such event takes place in September at The Venetian resort in Las Vegas.

The Venetian re-opened for business almost exactly three months ago, and since then has made sure to let its players know that certain safety measures have been put in place and need to be followed.