The outbreak of war in the Middle East has forced the cancellation of poker events in Cyprus and Las Vegas due to ongoing canceled flights and travel restrictions.
Violent conflict has spread in the Middle East as Israel and the United States carry out a joint offensive on Iran and its proxies throughout the region. The World Poker Tour had planned to run a $1M Prime Championship in Cyprus from March 5-9, but it has postponed the tournament to a later date in the wake of travel concerns. Robbie Strazynski of Cardplayer Lifestyle, who lives in Israel, has also canceled his planned Mixed Game Festival in Las Vegas this month.
The show goes on
Cyprus sits around 1,000 miles from Iran's capital city of Tehran in the Eastern Mediterranean, where a British air base on the island suffered an attack from an Iranian drone on Monday. WPT says the remaining schedule of events will be played as planned, but the Prime Championship is on ice for now.
"As this situation continues to develop, we encourage all players planning to travel to Cyprus to remain in contact with their respective airlines, follow updates from official sources, and stay informed so they can make the best decisions based on the most current information available."
Meanwhile, poker's own Robbie Strazynski expressed regret with the unfortunate news that he would be forced to cancel his upcoming Mixed Games Festival, which was planned to go off over two separate weeks at Resorts World in Las Vegas this month.
"For those who don’t know, I live in Israel," Strazynski said on his website. "As of this writing, our skies are closed 'indefinitely' due to the ongoing situation in this part of the world. British Airways cancelled my ticket almost immediately. Even our national carrier, El Al, which always flies (even during wartime), is not currently allowing people to purchase new tickets as it focuses its operations and resources on bringing citizens stranded abroad home to their families."
The very best efforts were made to continue on with the festival as planned, but Strazynski needs to stay home and be with his family. In the meantime, mixed game players are planning to gather for informal cash games at Resorts World from March 8-12, so keep an eye on socials for more info. Fear not, Robbie will be back this summer for Mixed Game Festival XIV from May 31-June 11 at Bellagio Las Vegas.
Lead image courtesy of the World Poker Tour.
