Wildhorse Casino Cancels Fall Poker Contest

 Wildhorse Resorts and Casino canceled its planned 2021 Fall Poker Round in November despite early efforts to re-host the prominent event.

The Wild Horse typically hosts two large poker competitions each spring and fall, with the first held in 2005. Each highly anticipated event brings together more than 400 players eager to win the pot, which cost nearly $2 million in 2019.

The pandemic forced organizers to cancel all of their season tournaments in 2020 and also canceled spring tournaments in 2021. Organizers were optimistic a scaled-back tournament could be held again in November this year. However, they were unable to recruit enough dealers for the event to work.

A typical tournament in the Wildhorse requires 40-50 dealers. This year, only about a dozen dealers could be recruited, which is not enough for a small tournament. Almost all of the qualified dealers were working elsewhere, especially in Rio in Las Vegas.

The World Series of Poker, a TV event that began in 1970, usually takes place in April. However, the pandemic forced the event to be rescheduled for November, the same time the Wild Horse planned to hold a pole poker roundup. Many of the dealers the Wild Horse would have hired for the fall tournament were already committed to working on the World Series.

The absence of this kind of event represents a significant revenue loss for hotels, restaurants, and retail in Pendleton, a small town in Eastern Oregon located at the nearest Wild Horse Resort & Casino. However, communities have faced bigger challenges, such as the cancellation of the 2020 Pendleton Roundup and the Pendleton Whisky Music Fest, which could attract 50,000 and 20,000 people, respectively.   슬롯사이트

"We're going to have a spring tournament," Verne McKay, Table Games' manager, affirmed.

Of course, McKay shares the good news, and enthusiastic fans have something to look forward to. But for now, 400 players and local businesses will have another quiet November.